Here is the story in a nutshell (I guess since I'm a nut, that's a fitting word, LOL)

Tuesday I was in art class, standing and painting, got some leg cramps. NO big deal, right? WRONG. I had a hard time driving myself home as the cramping got worse. I figured since the doc had changed my BP meds, it was a potassium thing, so went home, drank some gatorade, took extra vitamins, went to bed.

I woke up on Wednesday and thought all was well. That lasted about 30 minutes. Figured I had strained my muscles, as the pain wasn't that severe and took a few excedrin. Then in the afternoon / early evening, took too many excedrin, ended up with yucky tummy, but my legs didn’t really hurt. Figured I would be fine in the morning.

Thursday...Pain got progressively worse throughout the day. Tried to go to school, but stopped at the urgent care on the way. Now, I made sure the doctor was aware that I have that damned tumor in my abdominal wall / uterus as well as the one in my knee, and I asked if it could be related to either of those. Doctor at urgent sends me rushing to the ER telling me that I have a blood clot. I sit at the ER from 6:30 until 9 before I see a doctor. Doctor tells me I probably have a blood clot but that they do not have access to the doppler ultrasound test after 7pm. I had taken special paperwork from the urgent care with me so they would do it. Instead, this doctor orders a Fragment D-dimer* blood test. Says if it's negative, no blood clot, but positive could mean other things also (they get a kind of false positive, but no false negatives). So, D-dimer comes back negative, doctor gives DX of muscle spasms and sends me home on (get this) Valium! UGH This is after a GIANT conversation about how I am allergic to codeine, percocet, vicodin, etc...He originally sent in a prescription for percocet, and I was like WTF????, so the nurse went and had it fixed.

The pain gets worse over the course of the next 12 hours. After talking to some people and laying in bed crying and writhing around for hours, I end up at our local clinic (with my sister and Raven at my side)! They REFUSE to see me sighting that they feel it's a blood clot and that there is no way this blood test showed if there was a blot clot or not. They also tell me that they are not allowed to treat someone who is in as much pain as I am (I am taking them more information on the D-dimer test so the idiots can learn what it really is!) So, in tears and major pain, they send me back to the ER...leaving the clinic at like 5ish.

The ER responded much faster this time and I managed to get in and have the doppler* done BEFORE the woman left at 7pm. The woman showed me what my veins looked like and In fact, the girl said I have beautiful veins in my legs, LoL...that was a new line for me...giggles

Now, I made sure the triage and regular nurse was aware that I have that damned tumor in my abdominal wall / uterus as well as the one in my knee, and I asked if it could be related to either of those. This ER doctor decided that somehow, the muscle cramps I experienced on Tuesday (one on each leg) caused torn muscles on each leg. Now, the pain is in the same spot on each side, so it would have to have been the SAME muscle that tore on different legs. WTF???!!! Can you say 'racticing' medicine...he did finally say that it could be a pinched nerve, though he was hesitant to say that. So, I left there VERY pissed off! With prescriptions for Tramadol and Steroids. I was also told to continue taking the valium. But, Raven and her youngest stayed there with me even after Marc got there and they held my hand through it all!

So, we go to the pharmacy, at which point in time, the pharmacist is like....ummm she should take the tramadol because is has CODEINE in it! HELLOOOOOO????? What the hell is wrong with these doctors that they want everyone to take codeine?!!! So, I take it anyways, and it was not nice. So, now I'm taking 2-3 benadryl every 4 hours to counter balance the allergic reaction. I cannot afford to go back to the doctor. I have no health insurance and this whole freaking ordeal, for them to give me wrong meds and still not know for sure what the problem is. The first cost us $420 up front, with more bills to come. And I have NO clue about the second day.

But, I am alive and kicking and thankful that I am not in jail for killing any of the idiots at the clinic or the urgent care, or the hospital.

I hope y'all had a better few days than I did!

Love ya,
Pauline



* the d-Dimer test is a blood test used to rule out active blood clot formation. If you have a negative (normal) d-Dimer result, that nearly rules out the possibility that you have a blood clot actively forming. If you have an elevated d-Dimer test result, that does not mean that you have a blood clot; rather an elevated d-Dimer result means that additional testing may be needed to see if a blood clot exists. ([link])

* Doppler ultrasound test uses reflected sound waves to evaluate blood as it flows through a blood vessel. It helps doctors evaluate blood flow through the major arteries and veins of the arms, legs, and neck. It can show blocked or reduced blood flow through narrowing in the major arteries of the neck that could cause a stroke. It also can reveal blood clots in leg veins (deep vein thrombosis, or DVT) that could break loose and block blood flow to the lungs (pulmonary embolism).