Don’t Forget the Physical

I am really good at paying attention to my mental health.  I am the exact opposite when it comes to dealing with my physical health.  I tend to ignore physical symptoms for as long as possible.  This is driven mostly by my fear of needles, invasive tests, surgery, etc.

For over 6 months I’ve been having stomach pain.  One night after eating spaghetti, I had heartburn so I figured that was the problem all along.  Except, it started getting worse.  I was avoiding acidic foods but suddenly, everything I ate made my stomach hurt.  The pain levels varied from a  2 or 3 to an 8 or 9. 

Finally, I went to the doctor due to nasal congestion.  I decided to go ahead and mention the stomach problems as well.  My doctor prescribed me Nexium and then scheduled me to come back in two weeks to see if that medicine had helped.  It didn’t.  Not one bit.  My doctor then sent me to have an ultrasound at the imaging center.  They found several gall stones in my gall bladder.  Not just one or two…several.  I’ve probably been building them up for months.

I have a consult with a surgeon at the end of the month.  It is most likely that I will need to have my gall bladder removed.  Surgically.  Um, excuse me?  Anyone know what a phobia is?

I’ve ended up talking with a lot of people who have had various types of surgeries.  I have so many questions.  What does it feel like to be under anesthesia?  Where do you wake up?  What is the operating room like?  What do they do before surgery?  That is just a sample of my questions.  My friends have really provided me with some great answers to these questions and more.

To tell the truth, I am actually looking forwards to this surgery.  My stomach pain is so constant that I feel sick all day long.  Sometimes the pain wakes me up in the middle of the night.  I’ve lost several pounds just because I don’t eat near as much.  The less I eat, the less severe the pain is.

I am good at advocating for better mental health care.  I am a wimp when it comes to my physical health.  Hopefully I will learn from this experience to get help as soon as something is amiss.