A mystery, wrapped in an enigma

[drwex]

...and baked with a fluffy crust of WTF.

Short form: I'm home at the moment, from the ER. Again. Essentially a rerun of last Sunday. Without which I really could have done. Same song and dance, with some amusing variations like big blotchy hives that didn't go away even after 100mg of Benadryl. I went into the ER with the express intention of getting an answer as to what's causing this, as well as symptoms treated. One out of two.

Once again Winchester gets pretty high marks. They were overloaded bu still managed most of what I needed and everyone treated me well.

The doc spent a good amount of time listening to the story and overtly holding his own judgment back. He felt it wasn't worth subjecting me to another CT after he reviewed the first one. So he did a bunch of blood work, a couple of x-rays of my intestines and determined... that we have no clue what's causing this. Last time they did blood work (a week ago Sunday) my white cell count was off the chart - double the high end of normal. This time: normal.

Which could be interpreted to mean that I am not cultivating some kind of infection. That'd be GOOD, since it meant I didn't pass anything on to people I was in contact with lately. That would also be BAD because it would mean we have no idea why this is happening, what triggers it, or when it might happen again. Can you imagine how un-thrilled this makes me?

I got all my records from Winchester sent over to my PCP. Next step is probably to see him and get a referral to a GI specialist.

Comments

[catya.livejournal.com]

*hugs* yuck :( :(

[coraline]

that sounds exceedingly unpleasant :(
good luck getting it figured out and fixed as quickly as possible!

[mizarchivist]

Mysteries are bad. At least you're not contagious? Good luck

[docorion.livejournal.com]

"I went into the ER with the express intention of getting an answer as to what's causing this, as well as symptoms treated."

If you, or anyone else, goes to the ED with the expectation that we will, like Dr. House, keep you there until we find out what is wrong with you, moving heaven and earth to figure it out...get used to disappointment.

One of the hardest things for non-ER docs to get used to in emergency medicine is something we call diagnostic uncertainty. That's the fact that we will, during the course of a shift, have about a 50/50 split between the people to whom we can assign a firm diagnosis, and the people for whom we're just not sure what it is. And the latter are sent to their own doctors for eventual diagnosis and treatment. All we do for that group is stabilize and control symptoms, as much as possible.

Hope you get it figured out, and feel better, soon.

[klingonlandlady.livejournal.com]

eek! poor thing! and you looked fine yesterday...

Corollary to the above:

[edichka2.livejournal.com]

It's been said that the main task of an ER doc is: getting patients out of his/her ER. In other words, figuring out who needs to be admitted, and who can safely go home.

If you were listened to and treated well, and your symptoms improved, plus you got some useful rule-outs diagnostically, then it sounds like a pretty darn respectable ER visit. I've certainly seen worse.

Good luck with everything,
- Eddie

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

my goodness. i (clearly) missed the last round of all of this through being preoccupied with other matters at the time. i hope they figure out what is going on and what to do about it, quickly, and that it doesn't turn out to be unexplainable by any of the usual susp... er, specialists, because if it does then you sometimes end up edging closer to rhematology (that being my biggest fear after cancer on behalf of anyone i know. on the other hand, if you do, i know the rheumatologist i'd send you to...).

and beyond all that, i hope that you physically feel better, soon, and can get some rest.

[guenpanther.livejournal.com]

Dang, that sucks. I hope you feel better soon!

Sending positive karma your way,
-Jill

[kimberlogic.livejournal.com]

I really hope this gets resolved soon and that you feel better much more quickly than that - you've been battered quite a bit this month on the health front.

*hugs*

[hlmt.livejournal.com]

Iggledy ooks. That sounds un-fun to the extreme. *hugs*

[gosling.livejournal.com]

eep. I really hope you feel much better very soon and that someone can give you some answers soon.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear that you're having still more health problems. Your house must be under a curse this month.

When my husband had symptoms similar to the ones you describe, it turned out to be an allergy to a new medication (sulfa drugs, in his case). Are you taking anything new?

Good luck with it, whatever it is!

[drwex]

Thank hon.

[drwex]

Thank you. Step 1 will be getting my damned PCP actually to return my phone calls. Grr.

[drwex]

I *think* I'm not contagious. Certainly if I'm not swapping bodily fluids with people I should be OK. But who the heck knows. :(

Re: Corollary to the above:

[drwex]

No, I don't expect that an ER doc will keep me in the ER - usually I'm itching to go sooner than they want to let me. Nor do I expect them to move heaven and earth. But they do have the ability to get a wide variety of stuff done fast.

What I expect is that an ER doc has seen a wide variety of stuff and applies her knowledge without bias. By contrast I think of the allergy specialist who, having spent 30 years in his profession, was convinced my problems were allergies and when confronted with three sets of negative results was at a loss to figure out what else to do. The answer I got this time ("We don't know - go see a GI doc") wasn't what I'd hoped for, obviously. But it was the most realistic assessment, given the available diagnostic data.

So, yes, this was a top-notch ER visit.

[drwex]

I *was* fine yesterday (Tuesday) except for some minor intestinal rumblings. These things come at me pretty suddenly, which is part of what makes it so disheartening.

[drwex]

If you skim back in my journal, I wrote up the previous two bouts with this thing. I understand your being preoccupied, obviously.

[drwex]

Thanks. I could use some good karma after the past six weeks.

[drwex]

Appreciated, thank you. The last six weeks have definitely been TEH SUQ for me and wellness.

[drwex]

Hee. You're cute. Thank you, dear.

[drwex]

Appreciated. The lack of answers is definitely the most distressing aspect of this.

[drwex]

No, nothing new in the med or food or even environmental part. In my past experience, histamine reactions for me start in 2-6 hours if I'm going to get them. Nothing really matches this "wake up in bad shape" pattern.

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry hon and I meant to call this morning before you went to work too but well, the spirit was willing the body was weak.

*HUGS* I was upset to hear that you went through this again and I hope that you do ok for a while and the docs can figure out what is going on quickly.

I love you, I will try to call later today. P said you would be in meetings until noontime.

[drwex]

It is the crazed.