Hospital Update

Well, I am home from the hospital. I was discharged on Wednesday. Unfortunately, I wasn't discharged in time to make it to go to Boston. I was able to reschedule my appointment for September 22nd (2 weeks from my original appointment). I have been extremely impressed with the people in his office. Not only are they accommodating, but they actually call you back. They put me on a cancellation list, and should anything come up sooner, they will call me. At this point in time, I just want answers. I am so tired of being sick and in the hospital constantly. I DESERVE to have a life, and I can't do that when I'm in the hospital constantly.

Anyway, sorry, back to my hospital update. I was discharged on Wednesday. I can't say I was truly ready to be discharged, but the doctor wanted to discharged me, so discharged I was. See, the way it works is that my doctor rounds in the hospital on the weekend or holidays. During the week another doctor rounds. This doctor doesn't actually see patients. Strange, I know.

Tuesday they tried to allow me to eat. That didn't go so well. Caused a lot of pain and extreme nausea, but I stuck through it. I guess my CT scan showed what looked like a small ovarian cyst. I was sent down for an ultrasound. The GYN that did the ultrasound was amazing. She said that she did not think that it was a cyst, but rather a natural occurrence. It is less than 1 cm, so she said there is no way that something that small is causing my upper quadrant abdominal pain. She did not see evidence of any fluid indicating something had burst or was infected. So good news there.

Dr. S (the doctor that doesn't see patients) came in on Wednesday and was adamant that my pain was being caused by my non-existent (only a few millimeter) cyst. Apparently he knows more than the GYN, in which this is her specialty. She at least sees patients. Then he went on to tell me that women get cysts nearly every month. Okay, that is true in some cases. That these cysts can cause fever and increase WBC. Well, if they get infected, yes. And they are mildly uncomfortable and treated with Tylenol and Advil. Whoa there! I know people who have had ovarian cysts and they can be EXTREMELY painful. He then went on to tell me all about what it was like to be a woman and have a menstrual cycle - because his last menstrual cycle was when?

He then wanted to discharge me without finishing the course of antibiotics. All through the hospital stay, I'd been on IV Cipro. My lungs had mildly improved from when I was admitted, but I was still fairly wheezy and junky. I was able to talk him into prescribing enough oral antibiotics to get me through Saturday, which would be 7 days of antibiotics. I tried to impress upon him that whether or not the exact infection causing my problems was identified didn't matter, but that stopping any course of antibiotics mid-cycle is dangerous and how antibiotic-resistance develops.

This doctor obviously does not understand PIDD. I often think doctors should actually read a patient's chart before going in to see them. I also think that if that patient has a diagnosis that a doctor does not understand or is not knowledgeable about, that he/she should educate him/herself on this disease. Everyone has access to the internet, so there really are no excuses. I often wonder if all doctors acted as med students with the need to impress their attending, if perhaps patients would get better care. I wonder if some doctors just become lazy over the years. I have ceased expecting doctors to do this, but I get so tired of playing both doctor and patient. I do not mind educating people, but it's hard when you feel like you're talking to a brick wall. Well maybe talking to the brick wall would have more of an effect and it would be more responsive.

So, I am home. My lungs are not doing so well. The small improvement I felt in the hospital is slowly being lost. I don't know if the oral antibiotics are just ineffective or what? Maybe my body is not absorbing them properly? It seems that every time I take oral antibiotics, they do nothing. I do not know why this is. I also have horrible thrush. I've tried OTC products, with no luck. My doctor hasn't prescribed anything. It's down my throat and possibly in my stomach. Is this possible? Would that be why I feel so sick?

Again, more questions asked than answered. Feeling a bit discouraged. One and a half weeks until Boston.

"I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." - The Little Engine that Could