Ok, my jaw just dropped reading Ron's thread.. Most of this summer I've not felt too well. Stomach soreness, not really pain in my book. Two weeks ago, my 53rd birthday, in my sternum area I started experiencing discomfort, thought I had just pulled a muscle and I would feel better in a few days. But while eating, it felt like the food was getting bottled up just below the sternum area, and took a while to go down. But the soreness didn't let up. After a week and a half, this past Friday, I came home from work and took my bp meds, and told Steph that I thought I should go to the hospital and get checked out. She knew I must be bad off, 'cause I am not fond of hospital visits, and avoid the thought of it. They treated me as a heart attack candidate, and started with a blood test, monitor leads in place, then they slapped a nitroglycerin patch on my chest, and Valium for my nerves.
The Valium was good. The nitro sucked, massive headache. Chest xray came back clean, blood work clean, my bp was dropping like a rock, 90 over 60, and my head was spinning, all because of the nitro patch. Then the Cardio doctor came in, said my heart appears fine, he wants to run another blood work or two, 6 hours apart, then I might be able to go home. A meal was sent in to me, and I ate half of it, but it felt that nothing would pass my sternum area, and my belly blew up like a balloon, with lots of pain, tried to walk it off, no good. Complained to the nurse, she would get back to me. Gastric doctor came in, said a hernia may be in my chest area, possibly a gall stone problem, so he ordered an ultra sound of my belly area. An hour later I was wheeled down to for that test, done by a nurse by the first name of, get this, Ecco! She checked out my Arterial artery, and gall bladder. Back to the room just in time for my 6 hour blood work up, and an hour after that, they gave me Maalox and 400mg of Motrin, neither helped my belly or my headache. New shift head nurse comes in, says they plan on keeping me because my bp is too low. I said "no sh?t, take off this damn nitro patch, and I'll go back to normal, just ask the cardiac doctor. She shook her head, and slid the door closed. Another hour and a half went by, then the cardiac Doc's associate came in and said that my blood tests were all normal, and my problem wasn't my heart, though a stress test is in order next week. The nurse removed the nitro patch.
He said he was ordering me to be discharged, and his office will call me Monday to schedule the test. Finally made it home Friday night. Saturday morning my Chiropractic doc, who I am close to, and consider a friend, called me and said he received my test results from the hospital!! HUH? My Chiropractor??
Any case, he told me all my testing came back clean Except for my Gall Bladder, and several stones showed up on the ultrasound. Long conversation with him gave me insight to my future possibilities. Gastric Doctor is scheduling a endoscopy and a colonoscopy..Yippie.. Been avoiding the latter, but it's time, and I'm worn out feeling like crap, so hopefully this is the road to wellness. This is a classic case of misery loves company, 'cause I don't know anyone, until just now, that's experienced this. Yeah, I'm a bit freaked out of my near future, and could use some conversational 'hand holding' support from you 'veterans' of this.
My biggest fear is Esophageal problems, I lost my Dad 10 months ago (seems like last month) to Esophageal cancer..