Pain & Rock Star No More (Part One)

The pain in the upper middle region of my abdomen was becoming worse as the days went by. It was so excruciating to the point I was swallowing all sorts of gastric medication which I had. And yet the pain did not go away. It got worse and worse. I couldn't eat or sleep. All I could do was curl up in bed and whimper.

I finally succumbed to the pain and went to the ER on a Monday night (10th April) The usual ER doctor who knew my history of reflux and my allergies gave me Nexium (PPI) via IV. Usually it would work after about two hours. This time the pain didn't diminish at all. Imagine having this kind of pain 24-hours non-stop. I told my dad that it felt like like something was clawing from the insides, eating my insides and that there was a huge cavity in my stomach. He said it sounded like Ripley's Aliens. HAHA!

The climax of that night was fantastic. I had parked my car in the basement of the hospital because of the rainy weather. Also the open carpark was full of cars from visitors. When I left, I took the lift as usual. The lift was slow in arriving but I did not give it much thought because I was in so much pain. I entered and pressed B (for basement). The buttons didn't work. As I was about to step out of the lift, the doors closed and down it went. I walked out of the lift and pushed the doors which led to the carpark. Lo and behold, they were LOCKED! I then walked back to the lift, and that was when it dawned on me that the lift wasn't FUNCTIONING! I was trapped. And the best part was that my phone did not have a SIGNAL as I was in the basement!!!!!!! OMG! I could see my car through the glass window of the door. I was so near yet so far. I shouted for help at the top of my voice and banged the door. No one came. I continued doing it until I realised that nobody could hear me. I tried the lift again. I jabbed the buttons furiously hoping that the lift would descend. The lift did not move. I then walked to every part of the area that I was trapped in trying to get a signal with my phone. No signal at all. Tried banging the door AGAIN and screaming for help at the top of my voice. Tried jabbing the lift buttons AGAIN! Walked at every corner of the area that I was trapped in AGAIN! Suddenly, I had SIGNAL on my phone!!!!!!! I called the ER and told them of the predicament that I was in. They got someone to send the lift down. Then only was I told that the lift ceased operating by 10pm. Then why did the lift worked when I used it? No one could answer me. Twilight zone? By the time I got home, it was 11pm.

Tuesday was no different. The pain was as bad. My part-time cleaning ladies said I looked like hell. I HAD to see a gastroenterologist. I knew that if I went to see Dr. Rock Star, I would be sent for a scope again and he would prescribe me PPIs to no end. My last endoscopy and colonoscopy was only over a year back.

Who should I see?

I did not know of any other gastroenterologist. I decided to go to the hospital's website and check out each and every gastroenterologist that worked there. Finally, one caught my eye. One of the conditions that he had treated was food intolerance! Dr. Rock Star doesn't believe in this. He told me I could still eat whatever I wanted even though I told him that certain food caused me to be sick in the stomach. He instead said that I was stressed or filled with anxiety and proceeded to give me PPIs and anti-anxiety/sleeping medication. I called up the hospital and the new gastroenterologist had a slot available on Thursday afternoon! I couldn't wait.

Wednesday evening came, and I was at the ER again. Hubby had to take emergency leave and bring me to the hospital. I couldn't even drive. The usual ER doctor who saw me on Monday stayed back to attend to me even thought his shift was over. Bless him! He said I was so pale looking that I looked like a ghost. This time he IV-ed Nexium and Tramadol (an opioid group painkiller which I could thankfully take). And he did blood tests and sent me for an ultrasound. Everything came back excellent. He said that I had to see a gastroenterologist ASAP. I told him that I would be seeing one the next day.

Thursday finally arrived.

I would be lying if I told you that I wasn't anxious. Would he be like Rock Star? Or even worse than Rock Star?

My heart sank when I walked into his consulting room.....

(...to be continued)


The beginning of this journey: 1000 Kilometres and Candida
The second part of this journey: Candida and Dr. Yadav