9. Paying My Medical Bills
The system we have sucks. I have to pay a lot of out-of-pocket costs and the insurance company is always trying to find ways to not pay for certain things. It’s a nightmare.
8. Stubbing My Toe
This is somewhat of a joke, but also very true. Stubbing your toe hurts and I thought it deserved a spot on this list.
7. Recovering From Abdominal Surgery
I’ve had 4 major bowel resections, along with one minor surgery. No matter how many times you do it, it’s always painful. My first surgery was the worst and I didn’t know about simple things like splinting your stomach with a pillow or blanket when you move or cough.
6. Bowel Obstructions
I’ve been pretty fortunate to never have a full bowel obstruction (knock on wood), but I’ve had plenty of partial obstructions and boy do those suck. They typically only last a day or two and sometimes I head to the ER for fluids and pain relief because it can be unbearable. The only good thing about these is that I know the pain will stop, it’s just a matter of getting through that pain.
5. Kidney Stones
I remember when I was a kid my mom suffering with kidney stones on multiple occasions and I don’t ever think I’ve seen her in that amount of agony and pain. I was 23 the first time I had a kidney stone and thankfully it only lasted a day. The same thing happened the second time when I had a kidney stone. It was New Year’s Day and I was on a cruise with my family. It was over in less than a day, but it was still awful. It was my first visit to a cruise ship infirmary.
4. Pancreatitis
I’ve only been through this once and that was enough. It was a long time ago, but I can still feel the pain if I think about it. The pain was this constant sharp pain that was high up on my abdomen and wouldn’t go away even after I threw up. Total nightmare and since this was a reaction to a medication I always dread it happening again when starting a new treatment.
3. Peri-Rectal Abscess Drained in the ER
I’ve never done a full post on this one and it probably deserves it. It was around 4th of July I noticed that my butt was sore every time I got up, it only felt okay when I was sitting. It didn’t sound like hemorrhoid pain. The pain only got worse so my doctor told me to go to the ER. The ER doctor said I had a peri-rectal abscess that needed to be drained and he called a surgeon down to do it since my history is complicated. I asked to be sedated but was told it would take too long and I would have to be admitted. I will never let that happen again. They gave me a local, which stung like hell, and proceeded to drain the abscess while holding me down. I was screaming and everyone kept telling me to sit still. Fuck that, the local wasn’t working and a doctor had a scalpel on my ass! The only good thing was once it was over the pain was gone, but still, not worth it.
2. Having My Surgical Wound Opened While I Was Awake
This was maybe a week or two after my first surgery. My incision was not healing and I had so much greenish discharge. The surgeon decided to open a part of the incision WHILE I WAS AWAKE. No sedation, no pain meds. I was fully conscious. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. AND HE DIDN’T EXPLAIN WHAT HE WAS DOING. I was so mad but so sick that I didn’t have the energy to argue about it. This also happened while my mom was out of the room, otherwise, I know she would have said something.
1. Abscess Burst and Perforated My Colon
This is what led to my first surgery. I had an abscess on my right colon that needed to be removed right away. Between being admitted to the hospital and going into surgery the abscess burst and perforated my colon. In lamen’s terms, a ball of puss exploded inside of me. I was in so much pain that I was unable to grasp the pen and try and sign my name on the consent forms. I was curled up in the fetal position and couldn’t even get up to pee. It was the worst thing to ever happen to me and it haunts me to this day. I’ve come a long way, but every time I have a painful day I have PTSD and worry that it might be another lurking abscess about to blow.
