7.13.2011

Stomach pain and not-so-brilliant doctors

It started Tuesday morning...I had this weird pain in my belly button. "That's odd," I thought and tried to ignore it. Throughout the day the pain would come and go and I just figured it would go away.

My mom said she had pain in the same area last winter and it eventually went away, so I didn't think much of it. I went to bed Tuesday night and it seemed to hurt less.When I woke up this morning I thought "Oh good! The pain is gone."

And then I stood up.
The pain was still there, but it had moved a bit...slightly to the left of my belly button.

Now, when one Googles "belly button pain" you see words like "ulcer," "appendicitis," and "urinary tract infection." None of these are good.

I went to work like a good little worker bee and tried to ignore the dull achy pain in my abdomen. That worked until about 9:30 a.m. And so I called my doctor. Who, of course, doesn't work on Wednesdays. The front desk clerk took my information and said she'd call the doctor and call me back.

I made sure to say "call my cell phone, do NOT call me at home because I'm not home." An hour and a half later (good thing it wasn't a medical emergency) I call the doctor's office again. I tell front desk girl who I am and why I'm calling and she says "Uh huh. And who are you again?" I repeat my name and she proceeds to tell me that she DID call me AT HOME and left a message because I GAVE HER THE WRONG CELL NUMBER. No, you moron...you called the wrong number.

After a bit of back and forth she says she'll call the doctor with my answers to her questions and get back with me. Shockingly, this time my cell number works and she says the doctor thinks I have a stomach virus. "I'm not 'sick'," I say. "Oh it's a virus that doesn't cause vomiting or anything. Just pain. Eat bland food for two days and call us if you aren't better."

WTH?
A stomach virus that ONLY causes pain?
Where did you get your medical degree?
That is a "it's my day off, just tell the patient something to make them go away" kind of diagnosis.

So, it's now 10:50 p.m. and I'm still in pain. And I'm hungry. Which leads me to believe it isn't really a virus. Yes, I did come home from work and sleep for THREE HOURS this afternoon, but I think I was just tired. My own "medical" opinion is that this pain is somehow related to the stress I'm under at The Job.

Which means my job is making me sick.
And I'm not OK with that.

If I'm still in pain tomorrow morning I am calling the doctor and getting an appointment.
Maybe I'll get a doctor's note to quit The Job because it's detrimental to my health and well-being.

4 comments:

  1. I hope you start to feel better! I get random sharp pains in my belly button ever since having kids. It typically goes away in a day. I've never asked a Dr. about it, so I'm interested to see what they say.

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  2. Is anything bulging near your belly button at all? Does it seem shallower than usual? Belly buttons can be common hernia sites, and sometimes it doesn't really take much to cause it. It's just a natural weak spot in the body. Get yourself to the doctor, and tell her that you do NOT have a virus.

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  3. thanks ladies! :)

    I feel a bit better today - the pain is not as bad. It's not as sharp as yesterday.

    Kristen...nope, no bulging.

    I'm going to see how I feel this morning and if it gets bad again I'll call the doctor.

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  4. Hope you feel better. Your job is making you sick!

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