i am falling apart. uh, ouch.
Apr. 6th, 2007 11:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fr_defenestratohad a scary night last night. some time in the last hours of thursday i started noticing a pain in my back, left side only, lower-middle-back, just under my ribcage. pain intensified over a couple hours, and when i went to bed (well, "bed") i found it was achy and uncomfortable to sleep on my right side; only lying on my left side (prone and regal are both right out for sleeping) afforded enough comfort to get to sleep. so i feel asleep and slept for maybe 1.5 hours, dreaming of back pain and waking up in more severe pain and afraid. i've been thinking this is precisely where one of my kidneys lives (but honestly, do i really know that? nope). and despite what ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
maestro_live might tell you, i'm really not a hypochondriac... but when a very Big Pain of unknown origin arises suddenly in a place riddled with vital organs, well... ok, i was pretty concerned. so i get up for some water (if it's a kidney, let's flush the system) and within one minute i'm flushed, light-headed, and ready to pass out. i lie down again, panicking. after a while of forcing myself to be calm i get up again and grab my oral thermometer and BP cuff. vital signs are normal: temp is low at 97.6 (it IS 2:45 in the morning) and BP and pulse are normal. i'm running this whole "what if" scenario: living alone, what happens if a vital organ stops functioning in the middle of the night? i consider calling maestro, or 9-1-1, and start making contingency plans, i.e., what will constitute a sufficiently worrisome situation to warrant waking people up or declaring my self in an emergency? since this pain has done nothing but get worse, i am worried that somehow whatever's been causing kidney failure in household pets (and for fuck's sake it's NOT melamine; they just needed to pretend they have the slightest fucking clue why people's non-human companions are keeling left and right) has somehow gotten into the human food supply. but! why is it only the one side? what could attack only one kidney like that? so, blah blah blah, i'm worried but not hysterical.
i finally convince myself i am not in immediate danger and lie down again on my left side and get back to sleep. this morning when the alarm goes off i am (a) happy i've slept through the rest of the night with only trifling half-waking disruptions from shifting position, (b) annoyed and still concerned that there's still quite a bit of pain when i move, and (c) pretty much convinced that the pain is muscular in origin. dunno what the hell i did, but i expect i've found a brand new location where my spine fucks with its immediate surroundings (typically it's shoulder blades or lower back). anyway, i got up a bit late and the pain seems to have subsided somewhat; i manage to dress and get to work where i'm trying not to move my torso too much... but i think i may live.
maestro_live might tell you, i'm really not a hypochondriac... but when a very Big Pain of unknown origin arises suddenly in a place riddled with vital organs, well... ok, i was pretty concerned. so i get up for some water (if it's a kidney, let's flush the system) and within one minute i'm flushed, light-headed, and ready to pass out. i lie down again, panicking. after a while of forcing myself to be calm i get up again and grab my oral thermometer and BP cuff. vital signs are normal: temp is low at 97.6 (it IS 2:45 in the morning) and BP and pulse are normal. i'm running this whole "what if" scenario: living alone, what happens if a vital organ stops functioning in the middle of the night? i consider calling maestro, or 9-1-1, and start making contingency plans, i.e., what will constitute a sufficiently worrisome situation to warrant waking people up or declaring my self in an emergency? since this pain has done nothing but get worse, i am worried that somehow whatever's been causing kidney failure in household pets (and for fuck's sake it's NOT melamine; they just needed to pretend they have the slightest fucking clue why people's non-human companions are keeling left and right) has somehow gotten into the human food supply. but! why is it only the one side? what could attack only one kidney like that? so, blah blah blah, i'm worried but not hysterical.i finally convince myself i am not in immediate danger and lie down again on my left side and get back to sleep. this morning when the alarm goes off i am (a) happy i've slept through the rest of the night with only trifling half-waking disruptions from shifting position, (b) annoyed and still concerned that there's still quite a bit of pain when i move, and (c) pretty much convinced that the pain is muscular in origin. dunno what the hell i did, but i expect i've found a brand new location where my spine fucks with its immediate surroundings (typically it's shoulder blades or lower back). anyway, i got up a bit late and the pain seems to have subsided somewhat; i manage to dress and get to work where i'm trying not to move my torso too much... but i think i may live.
