For the past several months, I have been having "attacks" in the middle of the night of severe pain in my upper abdomen. I had one attack in July, one in August, and have had one a week for the last four weeks. The attacks always happen late at night or in the middle of the night and last between one and several hours. The pain feels like someone is trying to rip my insides out. It is also accompanied by nausea, fever, chills and back pain. After the second episode, I called my doctor's office, and the nurse told me it was heartburn and that I should take some antacids. I really didn't think that severe of pain could be "heartburn," but I decided not to press the issue. During my next attack, I took antacids, and they didn't help relieve the pain at all. I called the doctor's office again and the nurse still insisted it was heartburn. I had read about gall bladder symptoms online, and I they were similar to what I was experiencing. So, I requested that I have a test (ultrasound) done on my gall bladder. The nurse still did not think it was necessary. At my next prenatal appointment, I again asked to have a gallbladder test done. The nurse told me that they would "do the test to appease me, but she would be SHOCKED if that's what is was." My appointment lasted all but 5 minutes and I was practically pushed out of the door. I don't think she appreciated my questioning her expertise on heartburn during pregnancy.
This picture somewhat shows what I've experienced:
So, I had my ultrasound on Wednesday. In the words of the ultrasonagrapher, my gallbladder is "gallstone city" and "there is no question that is what is causing me problems." SHOCKING. I will have to have surgery to remove it after the baby is born.
I've been thinking of some passive-aggressive ways to express my frustration to the nurse, like giving her reading material about the symptoms of gallstones vs. heartburn. But, probably the best thing I can do at this point is sit down with my doctor, politely express my disatisfaction with the way the situation was handled, and make sure I recieve the care I need from this point on. (And maybe slip the nurse a webMD printout about gallstones too).
2 comments:
Wow, that's so terrible! I'd had similiar run-ins with nurses at my doctor's office (with my first pregnancy mainly, back in march/april) and a few times throughout this pregnancy, but I know how frustrating it is when they don't listen to your opinions, just because they're the nurse and supposedly know everything - yeah right! Good for you for trusting yourself and making them do the test. I'm so glad you pursued it and found out the cause, even if it was with no help from the nurse!
Oh wow! That is scary. You would think that your doctor and nurses would be as vigilant as possible during pregnancy. I'm proud of your perseverance.
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