Actually, that was yesterday, but I was in no shape to post then. Recovery from the UTI has been very gradual, keeping me from doing much through Monday. Yesterday (Tuesday) was lab day, and I got ready to go into the office for a while afterward.
However, before I could get out of the door, I got hit with sharp, localized pain in my right upper abdomen. I ended up lying back down, but it continued to get worse. After consulting with my transplant coordinator, we decided to go to the emergency room.
Lab tests and an abdominal CT scan showed that everything was normal, which was good news. The bad news was that I was still in pain, even after two doses of morphine. We eventually went home, hoping it would get better. I managed to get some sleep, but the pain continued through the night.
This morning we made an appointment with my internist for this afternoon. As the morning went on, the pain finally began to abate. By the time I saw the doctor, it was all but gone. After reviewing the ER reports and doing an examination, the doctor couldn't find anything definitive; however, he had a likely culprit.
My underlying condition, polycystic kidney disease, causes cysts on the kidneys and often the liver. I have had many episodes where a kidney cyst would fill with blood and then rupture, usually creating a lot of pain.
I do have cysts on my liver as well, but I've never been aware of a ruptured one. Given all the evidence, my doctor thinks it likely that my pain was caused by such a cyst on my liver, which makes sense. So the good news there is that we have a likely reason for the pain, and that the pain has subsided. The bad news is that this could happen again, and there's not much that can be done about it.
Then again, the really good news is that my new kidney and the rest of my organs are doing fine.
However, before I could get out of the door, I got hit with sharp, localized pain in my right upper abdomen. I ended up lying back down, but it continued to get worse. After consulting with my transplant coordinator, we decided to go to the emergency room.
Lab tests and an abdominal CT scan showed that everything was normal, which was good news. The bad news was that I was still in pain, even after two doses of morphine. We eventually went home, hoping it would get better. I managed to get some sleep, but the pain continued through the night.
This morning we made an appointment with my internist for this afternoon. As the morning went on, the pain finally began to abate. By the time I saw the doctor, it was all but gone. After reviewing the ER reports and doing an examination, the doctor couldn't find anything definitive; however, he had a likely culprit.
My underlying condition, polycystic kidney disease, causes cysts on the kidneys and often the liver. I have had many episodes where a kidney cyst would fill with blood and then rupture, usually creating a lot of pain.
I do have cysts on my liver as well, but I've never been aware of a ruptured one. Given all the evidence, my doctor thinks it likely that my pain was caused by such a cyst on my liver, which makes sense. So the good news there is that we have a likely reason for the pain, and that the pain has subsided. The bad news is that this could happen again, and there's not much that can be done about it.
Then again, the really good news is that my new kidney and the rest of my organs are doing fine.
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