Go ahead, ask me about my night

I've talked in the past about my chest pains and lately I've begun to suspect Gallstones since it follows the typical symptoms: sudden pain in the evening/night that lasts from 30 minutes to a few hours, can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Pain" is too inadequate a word for what I felt last night.

We were on the way home from Tammy's birthday party when the first pangs started. "Oh boy, here we go again," I thought to myself. Sure enough the pain built from 9pm until 10 when it really started to hurt.

Let me describe how it feels. Imagine someone put a belt of metal around your chest right at the bottom of your sternum and tightened it so it is harder to breathe and you can feel your heart working harder. The pain starts in the middle of the chest and followed the band of metal around to the back and sides. In addition, the pain in the middle of the chest, right under the sternum, is like someone reached in with a clamp the size of a fist and is squeezing your insides, constantly, relentlessly, with no remorse. That's the worst part, nothing you do alleviates the pain.

I take two extra strength Tylenol but that doesn't even scratch the pain and usually that dose is enough to knock me out. Since the pain comes in the late evening I'm always tired and desperately in need of sleep but the pain allows no thought of rest. Sitting down or lying down makes me want to writhe in pain so I pace, eagerly awaiting for the release.

Last night was especially bad. The pain was extra fierce and I experienced nausea and vomiting for the first time with one of these attacks. By eleven the pain had been going for two hours with no sign of relenting so I decided to go to the hospital. The Carelton Place hospital came through for me quickly, agreeing with me that it was probably gallstones and giving me some intravenous Gravol for the vomiting and then two doses of morphine for the pain.

That's the first time I've had morphine and let me tell you, two thumbs up. It started working in seconds and I was finally able to sleep and by the time I woke up at 5 in the morning there was no sign of the pain at all.

I'm getting an ultrasound this afternoon to help diagnosis the problem and in my mind confirm the presence of gallstones. That means booking an appointment with my family doctor and the possibility of surgery to remove the gall bladder.

Sigh. Welcome to getting old.