Had to go to ER today

[W800]

Just got home about an hour ago. Had serious pain on right abdomen, and some other symptoms that are consistent with a problem with my appendix. Advice nurse conferenced in doctor and said I needed to get right in.

Drove to Kaiser in SF.

They ran a bunch of tests. Could not find anything, still have some pain. They think it might be pulled muscle.

Anyway - to make the journey so it wasn't a total loss, I parked my car on the roof, with a plan to take a fashion pic when I got out. I think this came out pretty good!!!

 

[budman]

Nice pic. :thumbup

Good result. :thumbup

 

[W800]

Nice pic. :thumbup

Good result. :thumbup

Thanks! I almost wasn't going to go. I called my boss first and said I might not come in Monday because I was waiting it out. He was the one who suggested calling the advice nurse.

Yes - that's a 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe, with the Summer Tire (19 inch wheels) option, and a bunch of other things. 304 HP stock on a 3.7L V6. I did a muffler delete and added a K&N, so maybe 315 to 320 in a car that weighs about the same as a Honda Accord.

It's a running joke among CTS owners that the 3 groups that like them are:

1) Old white guys (like me).
2) Middle-aged Black women.
3) Young car bros (all races) in their 20's

And that's exactly the groups that give me the thumbs up at gas stations and stuff. I like that my car is more unifying than our politicians.

 

[berth]

Had my appendix out. Night before I bought a ladder to change an smoke detector or some such thing.

Felt crummy all night, didn't really sleep. Went to the doctor, got blood, got xray, got ultrasound, drove from the doctor to another testing center. Then they sent me to the ER.

I'm just casually going along here.

At the ER they're strapping the plastic band on me and I'm like "Um, am I being admitted?"

Stuck me in a curtain area, doctor eventually came and said they're not sure if it's an appendix or not, but it's safer to take it out and be wrong than to not take it out and be wrong.

So, I was in surgery that night.

Took them 2 hours to find it and work it out.

Then I ran a fever for a week and couldn't get out of the hospital.

Not the way I planned to spend my day at all, I'll tell you.

Bright side, I brought a book. Dark side, no, I didn't have on clean underwear. Felt so crummy in the morning I just went straight in.

Scary side, it just happened out of the blue.

One minute happy go lucky, next thing ya know I'm in the ER getting booked in to an OR.

 

[W800]

Had my appendix out. Night before I bought a ladder to change an smoke detector or some such thing.

Felt crummy all night, didn't really sleep. Went to the doctor, got blood, got xray, got ultrasound, drove from the doctor to another testing center. Then they sent me to the ER.

I'm just casually going along here.

At the ER they're strapping the plastic band on me and I'm like "Um, am I being admitted?"

Stuck me in a curtain area, doctor eventually came and said they're not sure if it's an appendix or not, but it's safer to take it out and be wrong than to not take it out and be wrong.

So, I was in surgery that night.

Took them 2 hours to find it and work it out.

Then I ran a fever for a week and couldn't get out of the hospital.

Not the way I planned to spend my day at all, I'll tell you.

Bright side, I brought a book. Dark side, no, I didn't have on clean underwear. Felt so crummy in the morning I just went straight in.

Scary side, it just happened out of the blue.

One minute happy go lucky, next thing ya know I'm in the ER getting booked in to an OR.

Ouch! That was my fear. I brought my Chromebook in case I needed to read something. But didn't take any underwear. As soon as they put on the band, I knew they were going to admit me.

With all the COVID stuff, Kaiser Emergency looks like MASH. They have two tents outside for triage. Once I got inside, people were wearing masks and plastic hoods, but way too cramped for any social distancing, which I found odd.

Parking was free for some reason. Gate open. No lot attendant.

I'm still having pain - so hoping they were right. If it continues tomorrow, I may call advice nurse again, or email my doctor. I have been septic a few times. The first time almost killed me. I was on Oxygen and IV antibiotics for several days.

I am one of those people who thinks that if I ignore a health problem, it will go away. I am the same way with my car a little bit. I have to force myself to be proactive, since I know I am like this!!!

 

[Slow Goat]

Could be appendix, white blood cell test would show infection.

Best to get a CT scan and/or ultrasound.

My appendix completely burst. Pain started around noon and by 5am I was in surgery. This shit can kill ya.

Be well.

 

[W800]

Could be appendix, white blood cell test would show infection.

Best to get a CT scan and/or ultrasound.

My appendix completely burst. Pain started around noon and by 5am I was in surgery. This shit can kill ya.

Be well.

TY!

Yes - they did an EKG for some reason - then did CT. They also had me pee in a cup. I don't remember if they took blood or not. Keeping my hospital "go bag" ready for next few days in case it flares up, whatever it is.

 

[BillSmith]

Or gall bladder. Read about both.

My simple appendix removal turned into, as the surgeon said afterward,

"We are in a siege and not winning the battle."

Got Kaiser's bugs in the OR, but good team keep me from losing the war. That was 13 years ago.

 

[W800]

Or gall bladder. Read about both.

My simple appendix removal turned into, as the surgeon said afterward,

"We are in a siege and not winning the battle."

Got Kaiser's bugs in the OR, but good team keep me from losing the war. That was 13 years ago.

Ya - I got MRSA once. It wasn't at Kaiser. It was scary. Actually had it 2x, come to think of it. The survival rate is not good. But I beat the odds both times.

I just looked at my labs. My WBC count is higher than it normally is for me - but still within range. I think I will email my MD tomorrow and get her opinion of what this means. I think I have something, I just don't know what it is.

 

[kuksul08]

I had my appendix go south last year suddenly. About 5PM one day I started having stomach pain right in the middle. Felt like bad gas or something. Wouldnt go away.... got worse and worse, slept maybe 20 minutes that night. Went to ER in the morning with some of the most excruciating pain ever. I mean... verge of tears overwhelming intense pain.

Weird thing is the pain all along was right in the middle. However, when the nurse pressed on my lower right side, I got shooting pains.

It didn't show up as much on the CT. Elevated WBC in the bloodwork. Had it out that afternoon. All better.

 

[W800]

I had my appendix go south last year suddenly. About 5PM one day I started having stomach pain right in the middle. Felt like bad gas or something. Wouldnt go away.... got worse and worse, slept maybe 20 minutes that night. Went to ER in the morning with some of the most excruciating pain ever. I mean... verge of tears overwhelming intense pain.

Weird thing is the pain all along was right in the middle. However, when the nurse pressed on my lower right side, I got shooting pains.

It didn't show up as much on the CT. Elevated WBC in the bloodwork. Had it out that afternoon. All better.

Yes - that's what is tripping me out right now. Looking at my labs, my WBC is at the top end of the normal range, but it's normally right in the middle. So something's up. Can't sleep. Not a lot of pain unless I turn a certain way - more like stress. So I'm just online paying bills and checking budgets and stuff.

May take morning off if I am still not at 100 percent.

 

[berth]

I am one of those people who thinks that if I ignore a health problem, it will go away.

I am one of those people who thinks that if I ignore a health problem, it will go away.

My appendix taught me different.

I don't go in for a sniffle, but if I'm in "unidentifiable" pain or discomfort, and it continue over night, I'm going to a doctor.

I've had bouts of food poisoning, but they don't tend to last the night. Once I went to a local Urgent Care to get some nausea meds.

But, just last year, pre-Covid thankfully, I had it again, but it felt different, and it lasted the night.

Pop over to Urgent Care, they sent me to the ER. They sent me there simply because it was a better place to get quickly tested.

But in the end...

Or gall bladder. Read about both.

Ding, ding, ding. Bill gets a gold star.

As I was waiting in the prep area to be rolled in to the operating room, the last thing the doctor said "We have a 2% just of this being an open procedure". The bulk of surgery is arthroscopic, with little cameras and small holes.

Nope! Lotto day. Gutted me like a fish, 6" inch incision, took it out with an ice cream scope. "Worst gall bladder ever". The nurses later had comments like "I've never seen an open operation before".

2 days in the hospital, went home for the weekend. Went in to work Monday. Pinged a 102 fever that night, back to the ER.

Bile leak \o/. 7 days in the hospital fighting infection, they put in a stent for a short time, and plugged a drain bag in to me which I kept for 6 weeks.

During this experience I learned about Morphine. Wow, I hate morphine. I don't see the attraction.

I also learned that even on morphine, you know how they say "How's your pain, 1-10?" When they sent me in to a cat scan, I bounced off of 11 while trying to move.

So, anyway. Yea, when I can't pin it down rapidly, I'll let the professionals and their galaxy of test equipment figure it out.

The doctor said it would not be surprising if those previous "food poisoning" bouts were actually the gall bladder making noise.

 

[afm199]

Ditto on Gall bladder. What kind of pain? Excruciating burning or excruciating sharp? My Gall bladder presented as burning, I figured taking antacid would make it better. Nope. I felt like I had swallowed battery acid.

berth had it worse than me, for sure. I just had three little holes poked in me.

Morphine kills pain better than codeine, but it does suck.

 

[Maddevill]

My hernia got stuck, bloated, very uncomfortable. Doctors had told me to get to the hospital if it felt like it was strangulated.
Got to Shasta Regional, admitted to a waiting room, hooked up for BP etc. Sat there for 3 HOURS. By this time my hernia had receded back. ( it was just gas) Finally I asked a passing nurse if I could leave. So, now a doctor comes in, paws my groin a bit and says I'm good to go. $168.
I switched to Mercy Hospital for my knee. Glad I did.

Mad

 

[Climber]

Where did the pain start?

If it was slightly around the back side, it could be a kidney stone. I've had it 4 times, the first time I thought it was appendicitis.

 

[GAJ]

I still recall the day in 1968 in excruciating pain driving around in the summer to see the surgeon who eventually took out my appendix.

Hot, humid, in the back seat of a no a/c 1966 Mustang with black vinyl seats with Mom at the wheel.

Good times.

 

[Climber]

During a campout in the mid 70's, we were on a 5 day hike on the opposite side of the snake river from where the road was on our second day when one of the scouts had worsening pain in his abdomen.

It would be decades before cell phones were created and somehow our scout master was able to catch the attention of the only person who drove their boat past our location on the river. This guy transported the scout over to the other side where they were able to get back to the cars and get him to the hospital for an appendectomy. He was damn lucky that the guy on the boat was out there.

 

[berth]

With my gall bladder, it could be confused with a kidney stone, I think.

One of the beauties of pain is that we can forget it, so hard to say.

With my appendix, it was more an overall discomfort.

The key points for that were simply it wouldn't let me sleep, and it didn't go away. Most things don't survive the night. If it goes longer than that, then thats when I think about the doctors.

And, to be honest, at this point, I'm glad the appendix is out. Just for the fact it came on so suddenly and waylaid me for a week in the hospital. There's a camp in Antartica that they won't let you come unless you have it taken out.

Obviously, folks shouldn't just get them yanked out "just cuz", but when it hits, it hits without warning, and with no apparent cause.

 

[Climber]

With my gall bladder, it could be confused with a kidney stone, I think.

One of the beauties of pain is that we can forget it, so hard to say.

With my appendix, it was more an overall discomfort.

The key points for that were simply it wouldn't let me sleep, and it didn't go away. Most things don't survive the night. If it goes longer than that, then thats when I think about the doctors.

And, to be honest, at this point, I'm glad the appendix is out. Just for the fact it came on so suddenly and waylaid me for a week in the hospital. There's a camp in Antartica that they won't let you come unless you have it taken out.

Obviously, folks shouldn't just get them yanked out "just cuz", but when it hits, it hits without warning, and with no apparent cause.

Yeah, I've heard about the distinction of appendicitis is that it comes on pretty quick (less than a day) and keeps getting worse while a kidney stone gets better after significant pain for 4-8 hours. I think (from experience) that kidney stones also get to a high pain level in a shorter time period than appendicitis.

 

[budman]

Thanks! I almost wasn't going to go. I called my boss first and said I might not come in Monday because I was waiting it out. He was the one who suggested calling the advice nurse.

Yes - that's a 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe, with the Summer Tire (19 inch wheels) option, and a bunch of other things. 304 HP stock on a 3.7L V6. I did a muffler delete and added a K&N, so maybe 315 to 320 in a car that weighs about the same as a Honda Accord.

It's a running joke among CTS owners that the 3 groups that like them are:

1) Old white guys (like me).
2) Middle-aged Black women.
3) Young car bros (all races) in their 20's

And that's exactly the groups that give me the thumbs up at gas stations and stuff. I like that my car is more unifying than our politicians.

Throw me into the Old White guy group. :laughing

My 2011 CTSV - Still have it and still love it.
Blacked some shit out. Exhaust system, hi-flow air and belts.
6 speed because.. well I like to shift. :teeth

Bumped HP up from the 556 claimed stock too :dunno

Planning on painting it in 2021 to make it look like newish again.