Minor Setback

There's been a minor setback in my bid to lose 50 pounds.  No, I haven't gained weight.  And, no, I didn't eat a whole tub of ice cream.

Let me tell you the quick version of the story.

Yesterday morning I went to work for 0745, one of my few day shifts and worked till break time.  During my break I wandered over to the Emergency Department (ED) and registered myself as a patient.  I'd been having an unusually heavy menstrual cycle for 7-9 days and thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get it checked out.  If nothing else, they could simply tell me to stop worrying and go see my family doctor in a week if it didn't stop.

That was not the case.  Before I knew it, they had drawn blood, done a pelvic exam and had called my unit to tell them I would not be returning to work that day.

It turns out that I had already lost a substantial amount of blood and should be feeling much more tired and lightheaded than I was feeling.  After all, I had just gone for a four-mile walk the previous morning so I couldn't have been that tired.

I was poked, prodded, and felt violated by the time I left the ED for home.  If you're a woman, and you've ever had a uterine biopsy done while you're conscious, you will understand when I tell you that its quite painful and invasive.  

The bleeding needed to be stopped; the choices were estrogen through an IV or a D & C.  I opted for the estrogen, leaving the D & C as a backup  if the estrogen failed to stop the bleeding.  That required 2 1-hour doses of estrogen; after the first dose I already noticed the bleeding had almost completely stopped.  That was a huge relief for me and the staff.  Remember, I'm a patient in the ED of a rural hospital; an ED that I have worked in as a nurse.

The cause of the excessive bleeding remains a mystery at this point; two ultrasounds were done this morning, one internal and one external.  The doctors involved in my care yesterday expect to find fibroids in my uterus as my uterus is "generous" in size.  It is unsure at this point whether I will have a D & C, no treatment, or a hysterectomy.

In the meantime, I am continuing to eat a low calorie diet, but not exercising vigorously as I fatigue easily.

No food diary from yesterday as I ate very little and spent the majority of my waking hours on a stretcher. 

Hopefully things return to normal quickly as I do not have any time to be sick, nor can I afford to be sick.