Over the years I have heard philosophers scoff at their navels in an ivory tower. Why an ivory tower? Maybe the lighting is better. I don’t know about you, but my belly button is a cute little “innie” and it would be hard to see it properly without the right lighting.
But my contemplation of the navel is more mocking than philosophical. I recently had a laparoscopic appendectomy. My abdomen has a couple of small bandages: left side, right side, and a small cut above my belly button so the surgeon can poke around, find, and remove my inflamed appendix.
I didn’t see this coming.
I felt a bit tired and nauseous over the weekend. When I ate pizza on Saturday night (a treat from my usual healthy diet) it felt like a lump of lead in my stomach. I blamed it on overeating and my age. On Sunday I felt lethargic. On Monday, when I had chills, muscle aches, and a fever that hit 101.5, I thought I had the flu. I took it easy, drank water and took ibprofen for the pain. As I am a reasonably healthy woman and do not have any medical problems, I do not have a general practitioner.
I have a couple of good friends who are doctors, one is Carol, an OB/GYN, and the other is Andrea, a naturopath. When I have medical questions I talk to them. On Tuesday my fever dropped to 100, the muscle aches were gone and I had a little bit of energy. My appetite wasn’t great, but I managed to eat yogurt, some fruit, and some soup, so I knew I wasn’t in any danger of burning out.
Both of my doctor friends said I should stop procrastinating and find a regular doctor who could treat me. Doctors should not treat friends and members of their own family. He knew his advice was sound. I promised to find a family document from the list provided by my health care provider. However, when you’re sick, it’s hard to get an appointment for a new patient, so it’s best to have a doctor on board. Also, when you’re sick or in pain, it’s hard to understand a health provider’s website.
I learned this the hard way.
Tuesday night I still wasn’t feeling well, but at least I didn’t have a fever anymore. I called the nursing hotline. I had completely different symptoms than the day before. The nurse asked questions and listened to my answers. I thought he would tell me to take two aspirin and call in the morning. Instead, he said I should see a doctor. I told him I didn’t have one. She said to go to the emergency room or urgent care the next morning. Ever the optimist, I asked her if I should still go even if I felt better, and she said I absolutely should. I was already tired, so I thought I’d go to bed, go back to the provider’s website in the morning, and find out which urgent care center would accept my insurance.
Which brings me to my second tip; know which hospital and/or urgent care your insurance accepts BEFORE you need it.
Around 4 am on Wednesday morning I had abdominal pain in a band-like region in the front of my stomach. I went to take an ibuprofen, but I read the label and it said it could cause stomach bleeding. There is no ibuprofen for me. I tried browsing my health care provider’s website and finding an urgent care that accepted my insurance. I couldn’t figure it out, nor could I find a customer service number for help. Again, this information may seem easy to navigate under normal circumstances, but I was alone, in pain, and frankly, scared. I contacted my OB/GYN friend Carol (who was out of town) and she told me to call the nurse helpline again and ask where I should go. I knew the nurse wouldn’t have this information, but I asked, she put me on hold, called customer service, and found a spot near my house. A great example of how nurses go the extra mile!
I kept thinking that my problem would be solved with antibiotics, but I went to the emergency room. I didn’t call first. Got there at 7:15 am They don’t open until 8. This brings me to my third thought. Not all urgent care centers are available 24 hours a day. Again, it pays to know these things ahead of time.
I waited in the parking lot for 45 minutes, but once I got in, everything went pretty quickly. The doctor poked around my abdomen and it was tender. In my infinite wisdom (hrmph) I had searched for appendicitis on the internet and since my pain did not reach my navel and I did not have the classic symptoms, I discarded it. The doctor was not so dismissive about the possibility of a misbehaving appendix. And even if it was, SOMETHING wasn’t right and my pain had lasted long enough. Ordered a CT scan – stat. I didn’t even have time to urinate all the dye they gave me to drink when they told me to go down to the ER. It was my appendix.
I let Carol and Andrea know that I was on my way to the ER. Carol tried to convince me to have someone take me. But I had already driven to the urgent care and CT scan center, so I was sure I could drive myself. I was lucky on this one. I did it well. But in retrospect, that was not a smart choice. Don’t do like me. I was lucky. You may not be. Even if no one is available to drive you, call an ambulance or even a taxi. Do not drive yourself.
Once in the emergency room, things went quickly. I had planned to call my sister, Tina, and my daughter, Alicia, later. I didn’t want to worry them. I thought I’d have plenty of time to call. Wrong again. But luckily for me, Carol called my sister and my daughter and they were both with me while I did my pre-op tests, etc. Having my family there meant more than I thought. In addition to moral support, Tina had a better handle on our family medical history and is very good at remembering details. Alicia is always calm in a crisis and was there for practical matters like taking care of the bunnies and letting my friends know what happened.
Once I had painkillers on board I felt pretty good. With Tina and Alicia as the audience, I managed to crack a few jokes and tell them a few stories. I don’t know if I would have been so brave if I had faced all this alone. Even with the drugs, I would have spent less time exposing the staff to my unfiltered, drug-induced sense of humor and more time worrying. So another idea, don’t go into surgery without telling someone. If nothing else, it’s reassuring to know that someone is waiting for you when you wake up from the operating table.
The 45 minute surgery was a success and I am recovering very well. My good friend, Lauren, drove me home and made sure I had what I needed (soup, ginger ale, etc, recipes, etc). I go back to work on Wednesday. I’m not sure why I had appendicitis. I think it’s a mystery to most of the documents. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned a few things that I’d like to pass on to you:
• Know which hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and urgent care centers accept your insurance BEFORE you need to use it.
• Find out about urgent care hours. Not all are 24 hours.
• Don’t try to diagnose your own symptoms through webMD, especially if it’s something that could be fatal, like a burst appendix.
• Do not drive yourself to the hospital.
• Let your friends and/or family know if you don’t feel well so they can check on you.
• Never assume your problem is minor. Flu-like symptoms often mask more serious conditions.
Looking back, I would like to say how grateful I am to the doctors, nurses, and support staff who treated me. They were the best! I would also like to thank my family, friends and co-workers. They outclassed me like champions.
While I have to admit I’ve been contemplating my belly button more than usual the past few days, this unexpected event has made me contemplate a few other things as well. Don’t wait for an emergency to react, be prepared in advance. It will save you time, money, stress, and maybe even your life.