Initially appeared on vox.com on 3/13/2010.
(I'm never quite sure what other people's sensibilities are in terms of publicity - not that my blog is widely publicized - but for the sake of privacy I've eliminated other names and faces from this post.)
At the end of this week i was diagnosed with acute diverticulitis with a micro-perforation. As i am still in semi-patient mode and don't really want to go through pathophysiology etc., the interested reader can find information about the condition here.
I first started feeling some hypogastric pressure on Tuesday, but i thought it was just bad gas. Wednesday morning was more uncomfortable, but having a few good poops seemed to make it slightly better, and i was still able to do a treadmill 10-miler and go to work. Wednesday night was when it started getting really bad, with the sensation localizing to the left lower abdominal quadrant, bad enough to keep me from getting a good night's sleep. It was mostly a feeling of wanting to have a major poop, but now completely unrelieved by going to the bathroom.
On Thursday morning i already had the sinking feeling that something bad was happening. Flexing my left hip produced abdominal discomfort, my appetite was shot, and i generally felt feverish - although my temperature was only 37.1 Celsius. In what is perhaps an excellent example of very bad judgment, i massaged the tender area and strained more than usual while sitting on the toilet - as if trying to squeeze a large chunk of fecal matter through.
Still, with the Filipino worker mindset in place (i.e. keep working unless you're actively dying), i went in to the hospital to do my 2-10 shift. Tentatively self-diagnosing myself with acute diverticulits, i asked one of my partners to call in some antibiotics for me - fully expecting to finish my day, start them as soon as i got home, and wake up feeling much better the next morning. I even spoke to one of my GI partners and scheduled myself for a colonoscopy in the upcoming weeks.
Alas, it just kept getting worse. Four hours into the eight-hour shift, i felt like i got run over by a truck. I had to stop and take frequent rest breaks, people kept pointing out how terrible i looked (which is always good for the ego), one co-worker accused me of walking "crooked," and another said i was just "grunting" instead of conversing. So i finally called one of the ER docs, filled him in on my suspicions, and asked to be evaluated.
The ER folks were nice enough to let me go about my business (people don't stop getting sick when their doctors are ill, of course) in between lab draws and getting prepped for an abdominal CT, but eventually when Gianina came to the hospital i just laid in an ER bed and became docile. Soon after the CT scan, the ER doc came in and gave me the bad news - acute diverticulitis with micro-perforation: bowel rest, IV antibiotics, and possible surgery.
Thankfully the colorectal surgeons felt that conservative treatment would be best; after a night of NPO, a day of liquid diet, a few bags of normal saline, and several doses of IV antibiotics i was eventually allowed to go home. So here i sit, typing on the keyboard - hungry, a little uncomfortable, but happy to be home.
Commentary to follow.
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