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April 29, 2005
Almost two years to the day
Yes, that's my best estimate for the first time that I experienced what I thought was a nasty piece of food poisoning that kept me up all night, then migrated down to the lower right abdomen where it felt like a stabwound.
After 24 hours, all was good again. Or so I thought.
My advice now is that if you ever feel anything that you consider the worst pain in your life, get it checked out even if it's gone away. I had maybe six more bouts with the beast. The problem is doctors are often like mechanics -- they can't always figure out what's wrong till it goes really wrong. And the last coupla times I saw a doctor, it was for things that turned out to be in my head.
Until the grand-daddy of them all. Last Thursday night, I drank a scary amount of booze, the next day, a stabbin' sensation down thar. I figured it was the liver. Better give it a break.
Friday for lunch I felt like one of those Carl's Jr. Big Spicy BBQ burgers. Ate it. Felt full, in a bad way. Mild stomachache continued all day. I eat nothing more. Am disappointed to lose my appetite, as a hot-looking new sushi place just opened by the Sunset 5.
Late in the night, the pain kicks in, and I know it's gonna be one of those. I figure it must be e. coli from the burger. Every previous time I've managed to trace it back to chicken in my mind, and have thought salmonella.
My technique developed from previous bouts has been to take a higher-than-recommended dose of Benadryl and sleep off the pain. That doesn't work this time.
I run a bath. Step in and out of it several times during the night, just for a change of sensation. There's no way to deal with the pain, but one still tries.
Day breaks. The all-over pain begins to move into the stabbing pain part. I figure it's ending now.
I still don't feel too good. Bouts of extreme temperature shifts, and fatigue. So I go to the convenience store, load up on Gatorade, Aguas Frescas, and water. Try to rest.
But this time, the stabbing pain increases. Even getting in the bath, rubbing deep heat on it, etc. does nothing (not that it did much before).
At around 10:30 a.m. Sunday I called 911. They said they'd send someone, but with no sirens. If it got worse, I should call back and ask for sirens.
How could it get worse?
It wasn't medics that came, but fire department. Firemen who talked to me like the guys on COPS talk to drunk shirtless dudes.
"Hey, man, whut's goin' on?"
"I'm in intense pain"
"Well, what do you want us to do about it?"
"Help me"
The conversation continues once inside the vehicle along similar lines, with them asking stuff like "You been in pain three days, why didn't you go to the doctor?" "You don't have any friends you can call? Cuz we're gonna charge ya for the ride"
Maybe they thought I was a junkie craving Vicodin. But the plus side is that as soon as we got to the hospital, they took me straight to someone, with no bullshit waiting around. Maybe they believed me by then.
to be continued...
Posted by LYT at April 29, 2005 6:35 PM [Message Board]
Comments
hey luke. i been thinking about you. i didn't hear about this until just the past couple days. i'm shocked. i'm glad you're back. very glad. i also really look forward to reading more of your account. the last two posts have been deep and mature.
i'll see you soon i hope.
Posted by: Justin Stone at April 29, 2005 9:48 PM
Yeah, these posts have been cool. Suffering brings out the best, huh?
Posted by: David Scott at April 29, 2005 10:46 PM
not sure about the suffering bringing out the best - some suffering is just that - shit on wheels with razor blades... but good to read the back story to what is a "I nearly died" experience.
I am not sure if, from this far away, there is any way people like me can pick up what the whole experience is like but at least with writing skills we can begin to see...
It may be that this is a "life changing event" and in some ways it marks the end of 2 years of being slowly poisoned by your own body... interesting that the spicy food and booze was constantly a trigger - all the medical evidence is pointing to the extreme perils of a high meat, high fat diet (sod Atkins!) with regard to chronic and acute intestinal/bowel/liver conditions, I just watched "Supersize me" on Channel 4 here...
The vegan idea does not appeal to me but five fruit and veg portions and a meat diet of less than a fifth of the average US citizen's intake seems a good start...
Maybe now you'll be taking your Mom's advice on a healthy diet take up!
Posted by: offpat at April 30, 2005 1:56 AM
I have only just caught up on your news LYT - it sounds horrendous! I was very shocked to know how seriously ill you have been. Your descriptions give a good picture of how you must have experienced it - I sincerely hope you are recovering speedily. I send you get well wishes (and prayer) and good wishes to your family and friends who must have experienced their own distress too.
Posted by: DMF at April 30, 2005 9:56 AM
Hey Luke,
I read that you had been in the hospital a few days ago. Know that my thoughts were with you señor.
I'm glad that you are out and kicking, with great stories to account. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
Oddly enough, it made me think of the Diffret Strokes episode when Arnold's appendix ruptured. The little guy doubling over in wincing pain. Hillarious shit. But obviously your's wasn't in this case.
I'm glad you're alright, man.
Love to you.
Anyways, these Sideshow ads that you have popping up in here have made me think that you should maybe commission someone to do a small bust of yourself that you could mass replicate and sell.
Posted by: zp at April 30, 2005 10:24 AM
Sounds a lot like the symptoms I used to have. For about 2 years, I would get this unbearable pain that felt like someone trying to inflate a balloon under my righthand ribcage. It struck seemingly at random, and the only treatment was to try to pass out and it would be gone in the morning. Because of the pressure sensation, I thought it was gas, so I bought things like Gas-X which had no effect at all.
Eventually it occured to me to look in a biology text book at the exact place I was feeling pain, and see which organ was the likely cause. It said gall bladder, and a quick search on the internet confirmed every symptom of gall stones. The temporary treatment was to not eat any fatty foods (which was pretty hard) and eventually surgery.
The ironic thing is that the gall stones formed while I was on a rather effective diet. The bile that usually breaks down fat had nowhere to go, so it hardened into huge jagged rocks. So I guess the lesson is, never go on diets.
Posted by: ReJeKt at April 30, 2005 12:24 PM
I meant suffering in relation art, in particular. Delayed reply, here.
Posted by: David N. Scott at September 7, 2005 1:31 AM