This Is the Dawning of the Age of Esophagus

[lawnrrd]

After going well over a decade without needing emergency medical care of any sort, I am now on the verge of getting a frequent customer card from the local emergency rooms. (Get resuscitated nine times, and the tenth is on us!)

Starting about Wednesday of last week, I had had a little trouble swallowing. Well, by Friday, "a little trouble" had become "noticeable pain." This interfered with my enjoyment of the Rosh Hashanah dinner we went to Friday night, but I still kept my reputation as a trencherman. By Saturday morning, though, I was in terrible pain. By afternoon, about all I could get down was a few mouthfuls of water; I couldn't manage even a milkshake for dinner without being doubled over in pain.

I slept well enough, but things did not improve overnight. Pain, dehydration, and hunger do not bring out the best in me, either. By mid-afternoon, I decided that I needed to go to the emergency room. (Well, actually, I decided that I needed to go to the emergency room; Lauren decided that she needed to call my doctor first; and then my doctor decided that I needed to go to the emergency room.) So we set off to NYU hospital.

The emergency room at NYU hospital was full, and the triage nurse was nowhere to be found. After an extremely drunk man sat down next to me and asked for a cigarette, Lauren suggested that we try another hospital. We then went to Beth Israel, where we were seen right away, although they didn't get my information right.

That last was partly my fault. I indeed had serious pain, and it was indeed in my chest. But if I had said the magic words "chest pain," I would have immediately had wires and tubes stuffed into every orifice (and they wouldn't even have bought me a drink first), and I would have sat that way for the next three hours. I didn't see how this would have brought me closer to solving the real problem, so I tried to talk around that. Unfortunately, this meant that my chart indicated that I was there for a sore throat, which put me way at the bottom of the pile.

But eventually I was seen by someone with a brain, and she diagnosed me with an inflamed esophagus, probably caused by the antibiotic my dermatologist had prescribed. She told me to cut that out. She also prescribed a thick, goopy anesthetic for me to swallow. It did wonders for the pain, I have to admit, but it's really gross and feels pretty weird, too. I also have a prescription for prilosec, to keep the acid under control until things heal up. I'm optimistic, as a Google search suggests that things should heal in just a couple of days, now that the source of the irritation is gone. But I have to follow up with my own doctor, and I also need to get "scoped," which doesn't sound like fun.

This is an awkward time for all of this to be happening. Lauren's insurance options at her old job were much better and much cheaper than mine, but because she left that job, the insurance turns into a pumpkin on Tuesday. Our new insurance will go into effect the following Monday, but that's still a week in which we're not covered and in which I'm still recovering. Moreover, even after the new coverage starts, it will be a few weeks before we have the new cards and such. I shouldn't be complaining—we're still much better off than most people—but it's inconvenient.

And how was your weekend?

Comments

[starkyld.livejournal.com]

that's godawful and i'm sorry to hear it. and suddenly my weekend looks so much better in comparative retrospect.

dermatologist? are you still having skin-on-your-back problems? eep.

i was uninsured for about a month earlier this year. was scary. am covered again now.

and triage sucks. once again, i feel for you.

hope all is much better soon.

[lawnrrd]

The pills at this point were as much for the skin on my face as for the skin on my back, but it looks as though it's going to be topical treatments only for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for the good thoughts.

[wishiwas.livejournal.com]

For what it's worth, I've know two people who have had multiple endoscopies, and while it is a pretty serious procedure for something that is purely diagnostic, they just put you under and you don't remember anything. I can't recall any after effects for either person.

[lawnrrd]

Well, we'll see what happens. They said in the ER that everything may resolve itself before we can schedule the scoping, anyway.

[senseless.livejournal.com]

Geez,
Very sorry for you, and I'm gonna tell you that getting scoped won't be much fun. Not that I personally have been scoped, but I worked in the hospitol long enough to know its generally not something to look forward to.

Being the lawyerly type, I'm sure you've checked into this, but just to be sure, when you switch insurance, are they going to have a preexisting condition clause? Usually this wouldn't apply to work provided policies, but sometimes they'll sneak that in, and it would be a good thing to be 100% sure since you could get COBRA ont he old policy if the new one refused any of this.

I never go to the Doc either. Well, I did when the rattlesnake bit me, but I waited a good hour before deciding to go.

[lawnrrd]

Thanks for the insurance tip. Living in the People's Republic of New York as I do, I expect that preexisting conditions are covered. We can check before the COBRA election deadline if it looks like it's going to be important.

And actually, I'm not all that bashful about seeing the doctor. I just had my annual physical a week and a half ago. It's just that I haven't needed to do so on an emergency basis until recently, when I broke my hand, then had an attack of gout, and now this.

[senseless.livejournal.com]

Heh,
It's not that I'm bashful about seeing a doctor, it's just that I hate waiting rooms. Everytime I shoot myself in the hand with the nail gun or whatever the wife goes crazy trying to get me to go but it stops bleeding eventually.

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Yurk- very much wishing you the best.

[lawnrrd]

Thanks.

[genders.livejournal.com]

Very quiet, compared to yours! Good yontif, and I hope you're feeling better very soon.

[lawnrrd]

Thanks very much.

[eleanor.livejournal.com]

Wow. Glad you're on the mend.

[lawnrrd]

Thanks. With a little Gatorade and chicken soup, I'm starting to get my strength back. A few days more and I'll be back to fried chicken with lots of hot sauce.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

It's been quiet, with all the stress waiting, but please take care of yourself, okay?

[lawnrrd]

Absolutely. From now on, it's nothing but good, clean fun—for me, and my esophagus.

Jeebus

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

Man . . . puts my day in perspective.

For the love of GAWD never go to NYU for medical care though. I'm surprised they didn't try to give you a pregnancy test.

Take good care of yerself, and if you need a Jewish mothuh to bring you some chicken soup from Katz's, I'm just a phone call away.

Re: Jeebus

[lawnrrd]

Heh. I'm glad I could add some perspective. On the other hand, my pain should be gone in a couple of days, while I expect your vexations will keep going.

Anyhow, thanks for the offer of soup. It was very kind and generous. But we already have a good supply made by Lauren's Jewish mothah. And right now I'm pretty much limited to shots of lidocaine chased by Gatorade.

BTW, I haven't seen you in forever. We should have coffee or something once I'm capable of coffee or something.

[lawnrrd]

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday. He yelled at me for going to Beth Israel instead of NYU. "Of course they were crowded! That's what happens when you're the best!"