20w 5d (Not that Kind of Hospitalization)

So I was hospitalized, but not for what you might be thinking. KGII and I went to my Ob Gyn appointment and on the way there, I started experience severe abdominal pain. Seriously, if someone told me that preterm labor felt like that, I would have understood. I had to take breaks walking into the doctor's office and breathe through my mouth. My Ob Gyn looked at me, felt around my uterus, and immediately sent me upstairs to the triage area of the hospital.

Everything hurt, but one spot in particular was hurting more than the others. It happens to be exactly where my appendix is. It also happens to be the exact spot that lap band port rests under my skin. Unfortunately, to rule out appendicitis, I had to fast for hours on end in case I needed surgery. They hooked me up to an IV of saline so I didn't die, but making a pregnant woman fast is just asking for nausea and morning sickness. They finally got me in for a CT scan. When I told my sister that (Aunt Jen, soon to be Dr. Jen) she immediately asked, "How did they shield the baby?" and I was like, "Um, they didn't". So yeah. I irradiated the baby after being pumped with contrast fluid in three different places (don't ask, you don't want to know, but I felt violated afterwards). Good news - I wasn't constipated when they finished that bullshit.

My scan came back and showed no inflammation and no fluid build up. The on call Ob Gyn called my bariatric surgeon and asked about symptoms of a gastric band port infection and it didn't look like I had that either. The pain had started receding in other areas of my uterus and just localized on the port. Finally, I was given some food and some pain medication. That was the best damn hospital food I've ever eaten after fasting allllllll day. The narcotics were nice as well.

The on call doc talked to my regular Ob Gyn and I was deemed "Not a physical pain complainer" ( !!!which made me laugh because I have been hospitalized three times in two weeks due to pain and/or inability to keep down liquids) and was told that since I was still in pain that they wanted to keep me overnight for observation. I was moved, finally, out of the triage room with the very uncomfortable gurney to the Woman's Suite with the Temperpedic mattress. So nice.

KGII got his futon cushions all ready and we settled down to sleep at 8:30pm after asking for my night medication at 8pm. You know - the medication I take every night to keep me sane and help me fall asleep. The medication that I'm addicted to and could no way fall asleep in a hospital without. I was told that the pharmacy didn't have my medication, but they were working on it.  The hospital I go to is brand new, state-of-the-art facility that is managed by a children's hospital. The children's hospital doesn't stock all the adult medication, particularly for depression and anxiety, particularly if it doesn't relate to labor or fetal care. At 11:30pm, I started begging them to just give me anything they had so I could fall asleep. I'm not proud, but I threw a hissy fit and asked to speak to the on-call doctor. I wanted to leave, so I could go home and take my medication, and fall asleep. She convinced me to stay since I didn't want to leave against medical advice and 20 minutes later my exact medication showed up.

The next morning, I felt fine. No more pain and I asked to speak to the Maternal Fetal Psychiatrist before I was discharged. She came into my room and we had a good talk. I had planned to go on medical leave in a couple of weeks, but after this recent hospitalization, both she and my Ob Gyn requested that I go on immediate leave. I went into work the next day and gave them the news. It was an incredibly stressful, overwhelming, and panicked day. I have one day on medical leave (Friday) under my belt and I can honestly say I have no idea what to do with myself besides go to medical appointments. That's not hard to do since I have So Many Appointments.

The Maternal Fetal Psychiatrist wants me to go to an Intensive Outpatient Program and I'm looking around for the right one. I've also started cooking and even cleaned a little on Friday. It was a big day. More to come.