Well, the head doctor finally came in mid-morning and the first thing he said was, "Virginia! I thought you were getting your gallbladder out!" I was a little offended because he made it sound like I was refusing to have something done that was necessary when it was his idea to try the gallbladder and the specialist he sent who said it wasn't necessary. But I kept that to myself--I was afraid to say anything that might prevent him from releasing me! I felt that we had corrected every issue I had initially experienced and that the other issues were either created by the hospital stay, or exaggerated -- like maybe they were fishing for a reason to keep me. I thought it would be better to go home, settle down, pay attention to any possible symptoms, regroup and fight another day if necessary.
I was on pins and needles until the nurse actually came in with the discharge papers. I had been afraid to call Melissa in case they changed their mind again! Time seemed to move at a snail's pace. Melissa came on her lunch break to take me home. We had to go through some rigmarole to get the starter prescriptions from the hospital pharmacy and ended up leaving without them and having Darlene go back later in the day after they had the paperwork straightened out and bring them to me at home.
I was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable because I had not had a bowel movement since before they put me on NPO. And it was ridiculously tiring just to walk across the parking lot to the car. Plus as soon as we hit the sunshine, I got very dizzy. I guess that is a side effect of the new medication that I hadn't felt before. Even though I'd been on it the whole time I was in the hospital, I was never out in the sun.
I just rested the rest of the day. It was so nice to be there when Bryan came home from work and just talk and be together. My back was still sore but I slept much better in my own bed.
Joe and Melissa came first thing in the morning while Bryan was still sleeping and took me to the pharmacy to get my new medication that she found a coupon for that the hospital didn't give me. I used an electric cart because I wasn't sure how far I could walk or how dizzy I might get.
I had by then eaten normally for 5-6 meals but still my digestive system was not moving properly. We tried to buy medicine that would make my bloating go away. I tried prune juice, coconut milk, laxative, gas medicine, and everything else we could think of but nothing really did any good. It took 2 more days to have a bowel movement. And in the meantime I was hungry but could only eat a small amount of a meal before it felt like it was just coming up my throat.
I was very surprised it took that long for me to get regular again.
Monday I started trying to get my life organized again. I made several appointments: one for the chiropractor, one for the prescription assistance program to get things going there, and one for a follow-up appointment at my regular doctor. Plus post consults with the kidney and gall bladder specialists. More bills.
Tuesday, I went to the office but only for a few hours. I missed a whole week of pay and need to keep from getting further off budget. I want to get back in the swing of things without over doing it.
Normally, we go on vacation the last weekend in June through the first weekend in July. That is what we have done for the past maybe 10 years, but this year we changed it (which is how Bryan had time to go to D.C. and to Salt Fork in August). I can't imagine what it would be like for me right now if our family was taking our regular vacation--no way I'd be up to packing to leave Friday for a week of camping!
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