Over the past three days, I have spent over 23 hours in hospital facilities, I have seen 15 waiting rooms, I have had three IVs, four sets of bloodwork, a urine sample, an ultrasound spanning three sections of my body, an X-ray, an MRI, a blood-product infusion, two new medications, and several diagnostic scares.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling as if I had been hit with a sledgehammer on my back overnight. The pain was between a 7-8/10. I had no clue why, so I just tried to tough it out on Saturday, hoping I had simply cracked my ribs or pulled my intercostal muscles somehow, as had happened a dozen times in the past. I worked on some music and played some piano... which exacerbated it to an absolutely unbearable level.
On Sunday I tried to sleep in, but the pain was too much to handle. Being the stubborn person that I am, I did not want to think it was anything more than pulled muscles, but the pain told me different, so I opted to go to an Urgent Care center. The pain was new and intense and sharp and none of my regular pain medications would even touch the pain in my back, not to mention my blood pressure had increased by about 30%.
Then the investigation started.
The first thought was kidney/bladder/urinary infection. There was some potential evidence of a UTI but nothing obvious. Then there was concern for my liver, which was also negative. Bloodwork and X-rays ruled out certain possibilities, but I was given an additional antibiotic in case I did have a UTI.
Blood cultures were drawn and I was to get the results the next day. I was booked for an emergency ultrasound for the following day to check my kidneys, liver, bladder, and abdomen, with instructions to return to Urgent Care for results.
Monday morning I prepared for my ultrasound, which brought my pain up to 10/10 while my bladder was full, making me incapable of doing anything other than crying. It didn't help that the ultrasound was to explore a possibility of a massive kidney stone or something even more sinister - tumors.
Due to all of the pain and stress, I began to have an HAE attack. I was faced with another full day of appointments and waiting rooms.
After the ultrasound, I was told that results would not arrive at Urgent Care for 2 hours, so I decided that we should go for breakfast. We got a table directly next to the washroom, and me with my messy hair, sweatpants, and slippers, we distracted ourselves with pancakes and French toast. Then back to Urgent Care.
NO CANCER! Yay!
No other sign of the cause of my pain either though, which is both good news AND frustrating news. After more tests, I was sent home around 4:30pm, with instructions to go to a hospital Emergency Department the following day if the pain remained unchanged.
Yesterday I was instructed to go to the ER as well as to go to an appointment at the Rare Blood and Bleeding Disorders clinic to receive treatment to help my HAE episode. So I spent another entire day - over 8 hours - exploring the cause of the pain. I started in Emergency, going over everything previously done, looking for potential infections in the organs, inside the bone, and being monitored closely. Then I was sent upstairs to be seen by my Hematologist, brought downstairs for an MRI, returned to my Hematologist to receive treatment, then sent back down to the ER for results.
7 hours on Sunday, 8 hours on Monday, and 8 hours on Tuesday, all the while uncomfortable with insane pain... but I have to say that I'm not sure I have ever been treated better than I have been over the past few days from staff in an Emergency Department. Everyone was absolutely incredible at Urgent Care, the ER, and some of the staff at the RBBD clinic even stayed late to administer my treatment.
So the findings?
Turns out I have two herniated discs in my spine, one protruding a bit to the right, which has triggered my arthritis to move to my spine and ribs, plus tense and cramped muscles.
It is likely a massive flare that *should* settle down within the next few weeks.
I will have to see my family doctor, a rheumatologist, and may need a temporary increase in pain meds until things settle down, but this is probably the best possible outcome apart from a simple UTI or pulled muscle.
The reason for all of the intense investigation is not only due to the pain, but also because of my complicated medical history, my being immunocompromised, and the potential for severe to even life-threatening complications (in the case of a massive kidney infection, bone infection, or cancerous growths), even from infections that could be deemed "simple".
Today I plan to rest, watch chick flicks, and try to get some kind of comfort.
I also have a new appreciation for the MANY people who experience herniated discs - this pain is BRUTAL!