A Trip to the ER

Monday morning I woke up with a very mild stomach ache that continued throughout the day, slowly getting worse. 

It was painful to do anything that required the use of my stomach muscles- laughing, coughing, going potty, and even just walking.   

I went to bed at 8:00 hoping to just sleep it off.

Every 30 minutes I tossed and turned in pain. 
 I'm never one that's quick to go to the doctor. I intended to hold off until morning and go to urgent care.  
Then when I got up and used the potty at 1:00am, the pain was severe.

Not knowing what was going on, I began to panic. 
As I attempted walking back to the bedroom I collapsed on the floor sweating, hyperventilating, shaking, and losing all feeling in my hands.

The symptoms of panic was just feeding my panic, making it worse every second. 
I made it to the bed and woke Jay up. We quickly decided to go to the ER.

He started the car, came back and got me dressed, heroically carried me to the car, then drove to the hospital. [Thankfully, literally only one minute away.]

We arrived and Jay pushed me to the ER in a wheelchair. 

Meanwhile, I was fighting the urge to pass out. My whole body was numb except for my stomach. [Later the nurses told me my face was as white as could be.]

The nurse checked my blood pressure multiple times which made it even more difficult to stay coherent. 

They asked questions about my symptoms, my height, my weight, what medication I was on, etc.  
They then finally wheeled me into a room so I could lay down.

The nurse took my blood, placed in an IV, and covered me with warm blankets.

Dr. Bringhurst came in and asked about my symptoms. 

He told me not to eat or drink anything in case they needed to do surgery.

Being in the hospital surrounded by people who were quick and determined to find out what was wrong eased my anxiety and allowed me to slowly catch my breath, as well as regain feeling in my body. 

After an ultrasound and approximately 2 hours of waiting, Dr. Bringhurst came in with the results.

Three ovarian cysts. Measuring at about 3 cm each.

While this is nothing life-threatening, Dr. Bringhurst sympathized with me in recognizing how excruciating cysts can be.

[An ovarian cyst is a fluid-filled sac within or on the surface of an ovary. Majority of the time, they are harmless, but painful depending on the size which can range from the size of a pea to the size of an orange.

A cyst is most painful when it bursts. After it bursts, the pain subsides fairly quickly.]

The doctor sent me home with a prescription for pain meds, and informed me that cysts can linger from 2-3 days to a couple weeks. 

He instructed me to return if the symptoms got worse.

By 4:00am we were home. I took my medicine then slept peacefully for 4 hours.

When the medicine wore off, the pain was mild instead of severe. Thank goodness. 

But I had so many questions! Why did this happen? How can I prevent this from ever happening again? How long will it take me to recover?

Thankfully all it took was a phone conversation with my wonderful doctor to get a few answers.

According to her, the cysts burst that morning causing the severe pain that resulted in a trip to the ER. The worst of it is over and I should be feeling normal within a couple days.

Jay took the day off so he could cater to my every need. I'm so insanely blessed to have him. He's my knight in shining amor.

All day long I received phone calls, text messages, and messages via Instagram.

People were offering their prayers and assistance with meals and anything else I needed. My heart was so full!

Tiffany insisted on bringing us dinner that night. It was so delicious! And we were so grateful.

Thankfully by the next day [Wednesday] I was about 90 percent better. And by Thursday, completely 100 percent!

There is nothing like being ill or having an awful night full of pain and panic to make you appreciate good health!
And though the thought of ever getting a cyst(s) like that again is terrifying, I do take comfort in my new knowledge.
If it happens again, I will be prepared with my Lortab! ;)