(no subject)
May. 3rd, 2017 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI've got my Not Prime Time assignment now. It's not something I expected to match on, but it is something I already knew I was comfortable writing rather than one of the things I looked at and thought that maybe it would be a fun stretch to try them. I'm not sorry to have matched on this, not even remotely, but I have to laugh a bit after how I worried about whether or not I could actually write some of the things I offered. I think the main hitch for this assignment is that my recipient and I have focused on different bits of canon. Nothing insurmountable.
The Tylenol they gave me in the ER helped my chest pain. That surprised me because, with most pain I get, taking Tylenol wouldn't help in the least. Of course, the bottle store brand stuff we've got is pretty much impossible for me open at this point due to my hands. I have a much easier time opening child safety lids on prescriptions than I do this stupid little pop-top thingy. Last time, I ended up spilling tablets everywhere, about a third of the bottle, because I had to use the edge of a toolbox to pry the dratted thing open.
I kind of want a nap, but Cordelia has an appointment in less than an hour, and I really can't send Scott off with her, solo, on this one. If nothing else, Scott will need time to park the car and so be late getting to the office. We'll be cutting things pretty close. He should be home around 4:00, and the appointment is downtown at 4:15.
I ordered lunch from Cottage Inn, a calzone, a milkshake, and cheesy bread (that last only because I was two cents under the minimum order for delivery). I had wanted to get a burger on my way home from the ER, but when we got there, there were two school buses in the lot and the drivethu was very backed up. Scott's sister really wanted to get home, and I didn't really want anything else I could have bought nearby, so I just asked her to take me home.
Scott's sister ended up staying with me all through the ER trip. Scott's parents had only just gotten out of bed when she called them, and Scott's father had a rehab appointment mid-morning. Scott's mother was prepared to come down after that if necessary, but we were done before it became an issue. There was a possibility that I'd be stuck there until after Cordelia got home because there was a possibility that they'd have to do a CT scan. I didn't want that if I could avoid it, so the doctor offered me a blood test to see if I had a clot anywhere in my body. He said it gives a lot of false positives and that, because of that, he doesn't usually bother with it. My having recently been on Tamoxifen made pulmonary embolism a concern.
But all the ER staff understood my desire to minimize more radiation exposure for my chest, and I think all of the signs were pointing toward me being right that the whole thing was chest wall muscles. They just needed to be sure they weren't missing something that would kill me. I didn't have a fever or a headache or nausea or coughing/sneezing. I wasn't wheezing. My blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygenation were all good. My cholesterol has never been even remotely iffy, nor have my triglycerides.
The doctor was willing to wait on ordering a chest xray until after we knew if he'd need to send me for a CT scan. The latter would show everything the former did and then some, so the only reason to do both was if we were in need of something immediately available. They do xrays within about ten minutes of them being ordered. CT scans take a good bit longer.
I do find it kind of boggling that the radiation oncology people reassure patients by telling them that the radiation levels involved are much less than those involve in an xray while the ER people kept telling me that xrays were much less than the levels involved in radiation therapy. I suspect they're both lying and that the answer is more complicated. They're used to patients panicking at the mention of radiation of any sort. I pretty much said that I was willing to do what the doctor thought was necessary but that minimizing additional exposure for my left breast was something I wanted taken into consideration.
The Tylenol they gave me in the ER helped my chest pain. That surprised me because, with most pain I get, taking Tylenol wouldn't help in the least. Of course, the bottle store brand stuff we've got is pretty much impossible for me open at this point due to my hands. I have a much easier time opening child safety lids on prescriptions than I do this stupid little pop-top thingy. Last time, I ended up spilling tablets everywhere, about a third of the bottle, because I had to use the edge of a toolbox to pry the dratted thing open.
I kind of want a nap, but Cordelia has an appointment in less than an hour, and I really can't send Scott off with her, solo, on this one. If nothing else, Scott will need time to park the car and so be late getting to the office. We'll be cutting things pretty close. He should be home around 4:00, and the appointment is downtown at 4:15.
I ordered lunch from Cottage Inn, a calzone, a milkshake, and cheesy bread (that last only because I was two cents under the minimum order for delivery). I had wanted to get a burger on my way home from the ER, but when we got there, there were two school buses in the lot and the drivethu was very backed up. Scott's sister really wanted to get home, and I didn't really want anything else I could have bought nearby, so I just asked her to take me home.
Scott's sister ended up staying with me all through the ER trip. Scott's parents had only just gotten out of bed when she called them, and Scott's father had a rehab appointment mid-morning. Scott's mother was prepared to come down after that if necessary, but we were done before it became an issue. There was a possibility that I'd be stuck there until after Cordelia got home because there was a possibility that they'd have to do a CT scan. I didn't want that if I could avoid it, so the doctor offered me a blood test to see if I had a clot anywhere in my body. He said it gives a lot of false positives and that, because of that, he doesn't usually bother with it. My having recently been on Tamoxifen made pulmonary embolism a concern.
But all the ER staff understood my desire to minimize more radiation exposure for my chest, and I think all of the signs were pointing toward me being right that the whole thing was chest wall muscles. They just needed to be sure they weren't missing something that would kill me. I didn't have a fever or a headache or nausea or coughing/sneezing. I wasn't wheezing. My blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygenation were all good. My cholesterol has never been even remotely iffy, nor have my triglycerides.
The doctor was willing to wait on ordering a chest xray until after we knew if he'd need to send me for a CT scan. The latter would show everything the former did and then some, so the only reason to do both was if we were in need of something immediately available. They do xrays within about ten minutes of them being ordered. CT scans take a good bit longer.
I do find it kind of boggling that the radiation oncology people reassure patients by telling them that the radiation levels involved are much less than those involve in an xray while the ER people kept telling me that xrays were much less than the levels involved in radiation therapy. I suspect they're both lying and that the answer is more complicated. They're used to patients panicking at the mention of radiation of any sort. I pretty much said that I was willing to do what the doctor thought was necessary but that minimizing additional exposure for my left breast was something I wanted taken into consideration.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-03 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-04 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-04 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-05-04 01:24 am (UTC)It's okay. I figured the odds of finding anyone at that time of day weren't great.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-04 12:24 am (UTC)I am flabbergasted.
This might help quantify radiation exposure of a chest X-ray, compared to a chest C-T. X-Ray Risk FAQ
Any doctor, nurse, or technician who is telling their patients lies is committing an unforgivable breach of trust.
From the FAQ: Isn’t radiation used to treat cancer? Answer: Radiation is very successful at treating some cancers. An entire field of medicine (Radiation Oncology) is devoted to this practice. Radiation treatment doses are much higher than doses used for medical imaging. High dose radiation causes cell death, specifically the cells which are growing the fastest including cancer cells, hair cells and gastrointestinal tract lining.
The whole experience sounds scary. Thank heavens the Tylenol helped your pain in this case.
People without any prior history of heart disease can die of it quite suddenly. I'm glad your ER staff was aware that women's symptoms of an MI can be much different from men's and that yours were taken seriously.
no subject
Date: 2017-05-04 01:23 am (UTC)The ER staff were quite upfront with me that they needed to be sure that the really nasty things weren't happening. They admitted that I might well be right that it was a purely chest wall muscular, but they told me that even a small chance that it wasn't meant they had to proceed as if it might be the worst case.
I'm just very glad that the blood test for blood clots was clear. I wasn't sure it would be because I often have bruises on my legs. I just figured that trying it was worthwhile since it was just a quick blood test.