Restart

I thought I would end up writing a big ol' update post about what's been going on the past week. Turns out, I don't really feel like reliving every detail. So here is a brief summary of what's been going on...

Last Tuesday: felt fine, even went out bowling that night.

Last Wednesday: chest hurts, call in sick to work, make an appt with my regular doc for late the next afternoon, took ibuprofen throughout the day as advised by the doctors after my last episode

Last Thursday: chest hurting significantly, go to the office to turn in my schedule and let them know that I couldn't work, head over to the doctor early in hopes to see before 4:30, she had a 9am opening

Many conversations and tests later I end up in the ER at Providence in Everett around 1pm. Initially they thought I had Mediastinitis and was becoming septic. Heart rate about 145 and a fever, I was started on antibiotics and fluids. Everyone in the ER was whispering about "the really sick girl who is also a nurse." A handful of doctors were going over my symptoms and CT scan results and bloodwork. They initially were going to put me in the cardiac ICU but then decided it wasn't as serious as they thought.

So I spent Thursday and Friday night on the telemetry unit. Thursday night was fairly sleepless in an uncomfortable bed with IVs and EKG wires all over and a new roommate that moved in at 3am who was hard of hearing and on about 800 medications and phlebotomists that came in at 5am to draw more blood. Friday was horrible. I spent most of the day dizzy and nauseous and lightheaded due to pain meds. I decided I'd rather deal with the pain then feel so shitty.

Many doctors came to see me. Not one doctor was able to determine an exact diagnosis. I was plenty stable enough to be discharged Saturday morning.

My boss cleared my schedule for the week and I just chilled at home. I feel tons better, the main symptom I have now is fatigue which is progressively improving.

I saw a rheumatologist on Thursday. Another doctor that didn't know what was wrong with me.

Some diagnoses that were thrown around: pericarditis, mediastinitis, pleural effusion, serositis, familial Mediterranean Fever, blah blah blah. Basically, the linings around all the important organs in my chest keep getting inflammed but there is no good reason why. So no one really knows what to do. One thing I do know for sure...it's not lupus.

Bah, I ended up writing more than I really wanted to.

So, I am working half days this week. I go back to see my regular doc on the 6th.

Enough of that.