Annoyed but healthy

So don't freak out - yes, that means you, Mom, Dad, Grandma =) hehe LOVE YOU

Tonight I had to leave work early and a friend drove me to the ER. It turned out to be nothing. But I'm annoyed by it so I'm writing a blog to tell the tale...

If you don't know, while in school to get my Associates in photography, I am a server at Cheddars. Just started 2.5 weeks ago - 1.5 weeks after surgery. I have had no problems whatsoever and the additional daily calories burned is so amazing. I'm on my 3rd pair of black pants already!!

Tonight, 3 girlfriends from my old job came to have dinner and visit with me. As they were finishing, I was given a party of 17 at my other (and 3 additional) table. I love big-tops. It's chaotic and yet organized. They were a great group, didn't ask for a lot of extras, ordered, ate, and left. The best kind!! Well, as you can imagine, serving 17 people at one time is a little exhausting. When they got their food and I was assured they were satisfied and did not need anything, I took a small breather and drank some water.

A lot of water. I was very thirsty and felt dehydrated. I had a 1Liter bottle with me and drank about half of it. I did not feel I was drinking too fast and was very careful not to swallow any air or take any big gulps. HOWEVER - about 5 minutes later, I had very bad discomfort and pain in my upper stomach, where the band is located. This continued for about 10min. At that point, I asked my girlfriends (who were conveniently still visiting at their table) to not leave. I called my husband and we decided to "watch and see" for a little longer to see if it subsided. This was about 8:30pm. I also called the clinic and left a message for the surgeon to call me back (he uses an answering service that allows patients to reach him if they need him).

The pain and discomfort did not lessen. I think, in part, b/c I was freaking out and my adrenalin was elevated from dealing with it while at work. The large party left, I cleaned my tables, did a little back-of-house work, and got out of there as fast as I could. By the time I reached my car, I was having the beginnings of a panic attack - breathe, breathe, breathe!! After talking with my friend's husband, a paramedic, over the phone, we all decided it was best for me to go to the ER to be checked out.

One of the girls drove me and my husband met us there - 9:45. The triage doctor ordered XRays and bloodwork first, if something looked off, then recommended CATScan. By 10:45ish, I felt A LOT better, and nothing weird came back from the tests. Said to check in w/ surgeon tomorrow. Released by 11:30.

I'm home now. Crazy thirsty and dry mouth. Afraid to drink anything. Headed to bed. Going to call the clinic in the morning to report. Appointment scheduled for Wednesday.

Oh, and the surgeon did call back while we were in the ER. There's just no signal in there, so I didn't get his message until we'd left.

The "annoyed but healthy" title - I hate going to the doctor (ER or primary) with a lot of issues and be completely fine before even getting fully checked out. I know it's good to be better. And "better safe than sorry" or whatever. But it's still annoying.