# An unsettling weekend



## PamelaLois (Feb 25, 2008)

So, I had chili for dinner Wednesday night. About 2:30 am I woke up with what I thought was a case of indigestion. Not common, but not unusual given that I had chili (very spicy chili at that). I took a couple Tums and waited a few minutes for it to get better, but it didn't. I couldn't lay down, couldn't even sit down, just paced and paced and paced. Occasionally I got nauseous, but it was mostly just this intense pain right under the solar plexus. It felt like a combination of a rock inside my chest, and a knife going right through me to my spine. 
By 8 am I realised something was seriously wrong and that I had to go to hospital. When I got there, they grabbed me, took me in back and started giving me nitroglycerin. That didn't work so they gave me pepcid, that didn't work. Then they gave me this green stuff with lidocaine and maalox, that didn't work. Morphine was next, but that just made me vomit. Dilauded finally knocked out the pain. 
They did a bunch of tests, MRI, CT, sonograms, EKGs, and admitted me. They said I had gallstones, but they didn't think that was what was causing the pain. That night, the pain came back. On Friday, they did a stress test and that showed that the very bottom point of my heart had some reduced blood flow, but the don't think that was the problem either. Now they want to do an endoscopy to see if I have an ulcer. So now what? 
Oh yeah, on the discharge papers, they mentioned that I needed to go back in 3 months for a follow up CT on the 3mm "nodule". I was like "What nodule? No one mentioned a nodule? Where is this nodule?" I will find out wednesday when I see the doc, I guess. So, what a fun weekend I have had.


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## JerseyGirl07093 (Feb 25, 2008)

I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I hope you get some answers soon.
The first thing that I thought of when you mentioned the pain you were having was gallstones because that sounded just like the pain I had when I had them too. 
It's nice to see that the hospital actually seemed to try and find out what was wrong with you and gave you good care. When I went the first time with what I later learned was gallstones I was treated horribly. After suffering and complaining for hours I finally got that maalox lidocaine mix and it did no good. I never got any pain meds. (Never did until about a year later either) And they did an ultrasound and both the technician and the doctor who read them said everything was ok and no gallstones. I kept having pain for over a year and went from dr. to dr. searching for answers all the while telling them it can't be my gallbladder because I had an ultrasound and it was clear. Fast forward one horrible year later. Turns out the ultrasound was never done right and was unreadable so both the tech and the doc lied to me. And to top it off the tech had written on the pictures 'patient too obese to take properly' or something like that. The surgeon who finally took out my gallbladder said that was BS and my weight had nothing to do with it (and I was actually on the 'thinner' side then after having lost weight--which brought on the gallstones!).
Sorry to hijack your thread and make it all about me! I just wanted to tell my story so that you and others don't always just take what the doctor says as 'the one and only answer'. Get a second opinion and keep trying!
I hope you feel better soon!


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## Risible (Feb 26, 2008)

Wow, that sounds scary! Has the pain abated, or are you treating it with the dilaudid?

I hope it's nothing serious! Keep us posted on what the doctor has to say.


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## PamelaLois (Feb 26, 2008)

Risible said:


> Wow, that sounds scary! Has the pain abated, or are you treating it with the dilaudid?
> 
> I hope it's nothing serious! Keep us posted on what the doctor has to say.



Thanks for asking, the pain has abated somewhat, to merely an irritation. It gets a bit stronger at night, but they gave me Vicodin and I have used it twice so far, just to get some sleep. I see my PCP tomorrow, and the Gastroenterologist and Cardiologist on Thursday. I will see what everyone has to say, and you can bet I will be asking about the freaking "nodule" that no one mentioned to me earlier.


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## HottiMegan (Feb 27, 2008)

nodule could mean something in your intestines. my mom had nodules.. they turned out to be precancerous nodules and had to be removed. (not to worry you) She also found out that she is a carrier of the colon cancer gene. (my great grandmother died of colon cancer) so i get to be regularly routed out after i turn 40.. So nodules may be nothing but it's best to keep on top of that.. don't you hate when medical professionals aren't forthcoming about EVERYTHING?! I sure hope you find relief.


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## PamelaLois (Feb 28, 2008)

I saw the PCP today, we talked about the nodule, which is in my lung. I joked that it is probably dog hair (I am a dog and cat groomer) but I wonder if the dog hair couldn't be an issue, in the way asbestos is. Some kind of irritant that causes inflammation and ultimately scar tissue. Who knows. But anyhow, I got the "weight" lecture from the med student, but the doc never hassles me about it. I see the Gastro and Cardio tomorrow, so I will keep y'all posted.


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## Friday (Feb 28, 2008)

He's a student? Get on him while he's trainable.


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## Risible (Feb 28, 2008)

Let us know how the tests and consultations go. Needless to say, I hope it's benign.


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## PamelaLois (Feb 28, 2008)

I saw the Cardiologist and the Gastroenterologist today and got some sort of good news. The Cardiologist said that while there were abnormalities in my heart during the stress test, she didn't think they were anything that needed an immediate angiogram and she wanted to wait until after I have my upper gastric scope to rule out ulcers. The Gastro, who by the way is ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN HOT AS HELL said that he also wants to wait til after the scope and the angiogram to determine if I need my gall bladder out. He also told me that the med student was absolutely out of line to try to scare me into losing weight by telling me that they couldn't do the gall bladder surgery laparoscopically on a fat patient. He said that he thought that I was a good candidate for the laparoscopy and that my weight wouldn't be an issue, but only if he found there were problems internally would they have to open me up. He is a doll, and oh yeah, did I mention he is HOT AS HELL?  So, the saga continues. The scope is next wednesday, so I will update y'all then. Thanks for all the support

I am wondering whether or not to mention the student's attitude to my doctor. She has never had the standard medical attitude toward my weight, she is a mid size BBW herself. I also wonder if this guy's attitude could be a cultural thing as well. Lets just say he is not from this country. That kind of attitude is what kept me from going to doctors for 20 years until I was in a crisis situation. I would hate to have some other woman go through what I did because of rude, ignorant treatment by a chauvanistic, prejudiced man.


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## Sandie_Zitkus (Feb 28, 2008)

Pamela - he's a student and now you know why. He's an idiot. I had my gallbladder our laparascopically this past August and there were no problems! Tell the STUDENT to shove his opinion!!





PamelaLois said:


> I saw the Cardiologist and the Gastroenterologist today and got some sort of good news. The Cardiologist said that while there were abnormalities in my heart during the stress test, she didn't think they were anything that needed an immediate angiogram and she wanted to wait until after I have my upper gastric scope to rule out ulcers. The Gastro, who by the way is ABSOLUTELY FRIGGIN HOT AS HELL said that he also wants to wait til after the scope and the angiogram to determine if I need my gall bladder out. He also told me that the med student was absolutely out of line to try to scare me into losing weight by telling me that they couldn't do the gall bladder surgery laparoscopically on a fat patient. He said that he thought that I was a good candidate for the laparoscopy and that my weight wouldn't be an issue, but only if he found there were problems internally would they have to open me up. He is a doll, and oh yeah, did I mention he is HOT AS HELL?  So, the saga continues. The scope is next wednesday, so I will update y'all then. Thanks for all the support
> 
> I am wondering whether or not to mention the student's attitude to my doctor. She has never had the standard medical attitude toward my weight, she is a mid size BBW herself. I also wonder if this guy's attitude could be a cultural thing as well. Lets just say he is not from this country. That kind of attitude is what kept me from going to doctors for 20 years until I was in a crisis situation. I would hate to have some other woman go through what I did because of rude, ignorant treatment by a chauvanistic, prejudiced man.


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## PamelaLois (Feb 28, 2008)

I remember when you were going through the gall bladder thing, Sandie, and now you are "100% gall bladder free" . How are you since then? Anything that you can or can't do anymore because of it? How long were you out of commission after the surgery? 
And I kinda figured that this student was an idiot right away. He didn't really listen to me, and seemed to have his own agenda right off. I am not a big fan of the students that this practice helps train, but I absolutely love my doctor so I put up with it. Usually I have no problem educating/informing the students, but this guy just hit an old nerve that made me feel insecure and nervous like doctors in the past have done, moron doctors that blamed every health issue on my weight, including, but not limited to strep throat, dislocated shoulders and ear infections.


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## Sandie_Zitkus (Feb 29, 2008)

I'm doing really well - thank you for asking.  I have no food restrictions - and for the first time in years I can eat cheese!! YAY!

It took about 4 - 5 months for me to feel really OK. And now I'm just fine I'm 7 months out. Healing was slower than I expected however the Laparoscopic surgery was really wonderful considering the alternative. 

You'll be fine. 



PamelaLois said:


> I remember when you were going through the gall bladder thing, Sandie, and now you are "100% gall bladder free" . How are you since then? Anything that you can or can't do anymore because of it? How long were you out of commission after the surgery?
> And I kinda figured that this student was an idiot right away. He didn't really listen to me, and seemed to have his own agenda right off. I am not a big fan of the students that this practice helps train, but I absolutely love my doctor so I put up with it. Usually I have no problem educating/informing the students, but this guy just hit an old nerve that made me feel insecure and nervous like doctors in the past have done, moron doctors that blamed every health issue on my weight, including, but not limited to strep throat, dislocated shoulders and ear infections.


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## Friday (Feb 29, 2008)

I really think you need to call the hospital and ask who you need to talk to to file a complaint against this guy. Not only was he totally completely unprofessional, he was through either stupidity or deliberate assholism handing out false information. He needs to have his ass kicked now while it will do some good because once he gets full status he's going to be one of those shrimp souled bastards who thinks he's god.

Glad you're feeling better.


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## Miss Vickie (Feb 29, 2008)

The student told you they couldn't do your gall bladder surgery laparoscopically? Well that's just plain SILLY. Ten years ago when I had mine out, I was borderline at 260 pounds or so with a big tummy. They weren't sure if they'd be able to do it that way, and for me to be prepared to have a big ol' scar. But that was ten years ago and they did do it laparoscopically with nary a problem, and were even able to repair an umbilical hernia. In the decade since then they've gotten better and better at doing lap surgery on bigger and bigger people -- largely (pun intended) because of the explosion of WLS in the US. They're operating on bigger and bigger people and so they had to make their instruments bigger; that was the hold up -- that the instruments weren't long enough to pierce our tummies.

So the student is way misinformed. I watch "Big Medicine" off and on and they are routinely doing lap surgery on 400, 500, 600 pound people. So yeah, the student is a moron.


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## moore2me (Mar 1, 2008)

PamelaLois said:


> I saw the PCP today, we talked about the nodule, which is in my lung. I joked that it is probably dog hair (I am a dog and cat groomer) but I wonder if the dog hair couldn't be an issue, in the way asbestos is. Some kind of irritant that causes inflammation and ultimately scar tissue. Who knows. But anyhow, I got the "weight" lecture from the med student, but the doc never hassles me about it. I see the Gastro and Cardio tomorrow, so I will keep y'all posted.



Dear PamelaLois, I know a little about the health hazards of inhalation particles and I could not find any studies at this time showing dog hair to cause the problems you mentioned (or cat hair). I did find that dog hair and other animal hair (and dander & its debris) are associated with asthma in animal handlers. NIOSH issued a warning on this over ten years ago. You can find it at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/animalrt.html But, nodules or scar tissue are not part of the hazards - just asthma and inflammation.

I did find some warnings that if a dog or cat is carrying contaminants on their fur, a groomer or handler can transfer the product to their person. This would include pesticides, poison ivy, ticks, fleas, diseases, and whatever else a dog or cat has gotten into. More reason to wear protective clothes at work and a hair net & have good ventilation in your shop.

Some documented hazards of animal handlers were the ability to transfer a disease from an animal to the person coming into close contact. There were a few parasitic diseases that cause nodules in the lungs that feasibly could be transfered from a cat or dog. 

My dog eats mice & rats when it kills them and can therefore consume the worms inside a mouse or rat. When the dog defecates & licks its hindquarters, the worms or its eggs can be transferred to the mouth of the dog. Some worms such as the ascarids can also crawl out of the anus of the cat or dog, the unfortunate secondary host can contract them but contact during cleaning out cages or cleaning the dog or cat, or cleaning up the waste materials.

I doubt tho if these are causing your nodules. They are a remote possibility. Just a long stretch. It is rare to have these diseases in civilized countries.
Lung disorders associated with working with animals that can cause nodules in human lungs:

1. Leptospriosis (a parasitic disease commonly contracted from rodents),

2. Toxoplasmosis (a protozoan parasitic disease, can be contracted from mammals), 

3. Toxocariasis (a parasitic worm disease of canines),

4. Schistosomiasis (a parasitic disease caused by trematodes which are found in flukes in snails in infected water).


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## PamelaLois (Mar 1, 2008)

moore2me said:


> I did find some warnings that if a dog or cat is carrying contaminants on their fur, a groomer or handler can transfer the product to their person. This would include pesticides, poison ivy, ticks, fleas, diseases, and whatever else a dog or cat has gotten into. More reason to wear protective clothes at work and a hair net & have good ventilation in your shop.
> 
> 1. Leptospriosis (a parasitic disease commonly contracted from rodents),
> 
> ...



Since Schistosomiasis tends to be found in the Nile river, I think I can rule that out. I only have one nodule and it's tiny. We do wear protective clothes and the shop has great ventilation. Since I work for a huge corporation, OSHA has TONS of rules that they have to follow, safety and cleanliness being the top of the list. Believe me, I have considered all these things, but the doc says not to worry, they find nodules all the time, and they are usually nothing. I have decided that the nodule is the seat of all wisdom and it must be consulted like a Magic 8 Ball whenever I have to make a decision. Right now it is telling me to go have soup.:eat1:


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## PamelaLois (Mar 5, 2008)

Just got home from hospital where I had the endoscopy on my esophagus, stomach and duodenum. So far, things looked OK. The doc said I had gastritis but that he isn't too concerned about that. He didn't see any ulcers or anything serious. I did get the standard "You need to lose weight" lecture again from this doc, as usual, but then, I expected that. The sedation didn't work so I was alert and awake through the whole procedure, but it wasn't any big deal, didn't hurt too bad, just uncomfortable. So, now it's on to the Cardiologist to see about the Angiogram next week. whoop de freakin do:blink:


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## Risible (Mar 8, 2008)

I'm glad to hear that there no findings in the GI tract, PL, other than the gastritis. Any new pain like the beginning incident?


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## PamelaLois (Mar 10, 2008)

Risible said:


> I'm glad to hear that there no findings in the GI tract, PL, other than the gastritis. Any new pain like the beginning incident?


 
Thank God, no, no pain like the first, thanks for asking. I have had a few bits of discomfort, more like a vague sense that something isn't quite right, but nothing more. I did see the cardiologist today and am scheduled for the Angiogram on Thursday. So, we will see what happens. If this all goes well, then I see the surgeon (yummy) again about the gall bladder issue. 

I hate all this, not to mention the expense, I don't need all these bills. I just got the preliminary bill for the 2 day, 1 night stay in hospital three weeks back, it came to over $20,000!!!!  And that doesn't include the doctor's bills. Thank God for United Health Care and employer-provided insurance. I will still owe a couple grand, but that's better than what I would have to pay without insurance.


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## HottiMegan (Mar 10, 2008)

It's good to see you don't have an ulcer. Good luck with your angiogram!


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## PamelaLois (Mar 13, 2008)

I had the angiogram today, and it showed I have no blockages to speak of. YAY!!! It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, didn't hurt at all. So, now we move on to the gall bladder issue. At least now I know that there is nothing life threatening to worry about. Thanks everyone for the support.


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## Risible (Mar 14, 2008)

So it's sounding like you're doing good with all the negative tests. That must be a relief.

Speaking from experience, gallstones can cause a hell of lot of pain. Dreadful pain. I guess you know that you're likely gonna have to have that gallbladder removed. That's not too bad an operation if they can do it laparoscopically.


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## PamelaLois (Mar 14, 2008)

Risible said:


> So it's sounding like you're doing good with all the negative tests. That must be a relief.
> 
> Speaking from experience, gallstones can cause a hell of lot of pain. Dreadful pain. I guess you know that you're likely gonna have to have that gallbladder removed. That's not too bad an operation if they can do it laparoscopically.



Yeah, I know it's got to come out, and my surgeon (yum) says he should have no problem with the laparoscopic surgery, so long as everything inside is OK. It was a relief yesterday to find that there were no heart blockages. So, next step is to see the surgeon (mmmm) again and schedule the gall bladder surgery if he says.


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