Finally getting better.

I have been sick, like I felt like I was dying sick. I got a double whammy in that salad Norovirus (Which is bad enough by itself) and when I should have been getting better, I just kept getting worse. I have a great regular doctor, but unfortunately because he is great ........ it takes about 2-3 weeks to get an appointment. In the three weeks before getting in to see him, I ended up in the hospital twice over night with IVs because I was beyond dehydrated, the last trip in they had to put me in a wheel chair since I passed out cold between the truck and ER doors. The entire time feeling like my guts were getting clawed out, tied in knots and then kicked back in. The various prompt care and ER doctors....... most of whom barely spoke english kept chanting the mantra it is a virus and it will pass, as I kept getting sicker and sicker.

Finally last week my appointment with my regular doctor arrives and he looks at my blood work and said "Why in the hell have they been treating you for a virus, when your elevated white blood cell and blah blah blah are all out of whack............ it is a bacteria!" So he puts me in the hospital over night on a IV full spectrum antibiotic and gets more blood work done to find out exactly which bacteria it is....... And we learn it is E. Coli O157:H7 . At Week four today I have lost 48 pounds in 4 weeks, my stomach muscles are so sore that a house fly landing on my belly makes me cringe......... But the bacteria is mostly dead, the stomach cramping has finally stopped and I am not spending hours each day dry heaving what is not there to eject. Doc told me to not wait 3 weeks to see him in the future, and to tell the receptionist that it is an emergency and he will personally get me in that day. LOL he says I am not one who gets the common cold and demands he fix it ASAP.......... and he would prefer that I not be on the verge of death again before he see's me.

It seems my bout with sepsis (Septic Shock) a couple of years ago did ample damage to many of my organs to put me in the high risk category for things like E coli and other nasty bacterias that prior I would have been over with on my own in a few days to a week. Getting older with a body that was used and abused way too much kind of sucks

On the bright side I had a Goal of losing 70 pounds between April and November I had already lost 27 the right way and deduct another 48 from crapping like and goose and puking like a kid after the first bottle of cheap whiskey.............. I am down 75 pounds at a lean 250. Doctor says I will probably drop another 10 pounds over the next 2-3 weeks before my digestive system learns how to work again.

Anyway over the last week I have had to go to the local hospital in the morning and in the evening for a IV fluid bag. And two days ago started taking anti puke pills and eating oatmeal and drinking gatorade. LOL today I graduated to toast and bit of sugar on the oatmeal. We did learn this morning that sausage is off the list for a while longer I am hoping to be functional enough to get back to my own work on Friday even with just one grill and the super small set up. Yesterdays blood work came back that I am E Coli free. And that is why I have been very quiet and not done or said much here of late. LOL I have either been sleeping (Nice side effect of the drugs) or in town getting stuck with a IV needle. But fear not if I had died SM is one of the places where my wife will get on and let ya'll know I croaked

My big question is where do they find these foreign dokters that have a total I would rather be burning in hell than treating this patient attitude? I realize in Rural Southern IL. it is not the ideal location for the good aspiring doctors and we have a serious shortage of Doctors..... not to be confused with the majority of DoKtErS. How do they get the Norovirus right and totally miss the E Coli? One of these jokers was going to send me in for a Emrgency gall bladder removal telling me mine had obviously burst........... Him I gave the finger and discharged myself AMA........ My Doctor said that was a very good call on my part! But I am alive mostly intact and getting better by the day now. Just been a very painful and wild ride the last month or so.

 

Well , I'm glad to hear , that we're not hearing from your wife. And glad to hear you're on the mend. Take it slow and easy , no sense in rushing into anything and overdoing it and suffer a relapse. Thanks , and congrats on the good news of getting better .

 

Prayers out for your continued recovery.

My cardiologist is a middle aged guy from India. He's on point.

Lots of rural docs are in small towns because they don't make the cut for big money hospital or large practice jobs in the big city.

The rural docs aren't making less money out of a sense of charity.

 

Well it's two things.
Up and coming Docs have no desire to work in the Rural Setting.
ER docs are contract rent a docs and work cheaper.

Stay well and Kick Butt when you are in better shape.

 

No doctor myself but those bozos should have been checking CBC - that's pretty much routine for someone who is sick. A high white cell count should have pointed their attention away from a virus.

 

That diet in transition might get you kicked off a moving airplane. You just need pickled eggs to create perfection.

 

Damn, that was a bigger, glad to see you on the mend! Take it easy brother, no sense rushing things! Ease back into it slowly and watch a bunch of Netflix or something!
The doctor problems are a lot more complex then folks realise, fewer and fewer Americans are able/willing/can afford 8 years of school, so we are seeing other countries sending their doctors here to learn while earning It! Many are very good, and many suck at it! Unfortunately, this is only going to get worse as the residuals of Obummer care fade, the cost of big pharma keeps going up, and the doctors are more likely to prescribe a pill instead of treat!
My wife was able to pretty much write her own ticket to any medical center she wanted because of this! It's really helped us out being able to find a job any where we end up! Sadly, there are fewer and fewer young getting into this work, and those that do tend to shy away from the serious grind of the big hospitals!

 

Sending Good mojo.... Hope you feel better... I've added some acupuncture as well as some new drug therapy...



And My Nurse will be available to assist you in any way...



Don't worry Medicare will pay most of the bill...

 

The thought of most of that list makes the guts grind.............. but the JELL-O............. Oh yes there shall be BLUE Jell-O for dinner tonight!!!

 

I am being very serious that second picture looks very much like the last Nigerian ER DoKtEr

 

Well the Nurse has a brother that used to be a Doctor... But that was in Nigeria... could be related?

 

Sounds like you've made it past the worst, Get better and stay away from where ever you contracted this bug at!!!

 

Good news, indeed!

 

I am so glad you are felling better. What a story. You have been ill for weeks & weeks. Good that you reached lost some weight that you wanted to but illness is the hard way. Stay strong and savor eating again.

 

That's a hell of a way to loose weight, Bro!
Best wishes....

 

Keep getting well! Thank you for sharing that tough medical experience. If one can learn from the experiences of others, then it is less traumatic when something similar happens to him or her. In that way you have helped any of us who have read your recap of losing weight the hard way!

 

@Thunder5Ranch, continued thoughts and prayers headed your way, man.

Always remember, it could be worse. You could have been admitted to a Cambodian hospital. Trust me, by doing so, you would put your very life in your own hands. You would have a better chance coming out dead from one of the medical facilities here, than healthy or even just alive.