On Super Bowl Sunday, just two days after my ileoscopy I got incredibly sick. I was on my way to see my parents when the awful abdominal pain and nausea started to kick in. Over the next few hours, things got worse and I had no choice but to go to the emergency room at 11:30 at night.

While I was there, my temperature never got above 92, my heart rate was very high, my lactic acid and my white count were also incredibly elevated. I would feel like my body was on fire, then it would cool down a bit once I threw up, which I don’t fully understand.

I explained to the ER doctor how things have been progressing with me. This has been the case three times so far and I still can’t figure out the root cause. But regardless, I didn’t want anymore of the same tests – obstruction series and cat scan, because they never show anything. I was lucky that the doctor treating me listened. He diagnosed me as septic, drowned me in IV antibiotics, fluids, and re-checked my lactic acid level to make sure it had gone down. He then said if I lived in the area, he would admit me but since my doctors were all about four hours away, he left it up to me once I became more stable.

I left… since as some of you know, I have severe post traumatic stress disorder related to hospitals.

The ER doctor left a message for my gastrointerologist who I spoke with the following afternoon. He wanted me to come to the emergency room where he was and be admitted.

Because of the impending storm, the fact that it was my dad’s birthday, and a couple of other reasons, I waited a few days. I was taking two antibiotics orally and felt a lot better, which has been the pattern. When I got to the emergency room, I wasn’t in bad shape and my blood work indicated that.

They did an ultrasound to rule out any issues with my pancreas, liver and gallbladder. I did have a test that the radiologist told me they had only been doing over the past two years which is a CT enterography. With this test, I had to drink three entire bottles of contrast, two cups of water, and not pee. It was all timed as well. I had a half an hour to drink the first one, then 15 minutes for the next two. During the scan, they injected a substance that stops your bowels from moving for about 45 seconds to ensure as accurate a picture as possible. I also received IV contrast towards the end of the test.

The test didn’t show anything which honestly bothered me. It is one thing to have these types of tests in a follow up capacity but when you haven’t been feeling well for a long time, you just want answers. Answers so that a treatment plan can be put in place.

Where do I stand now? I have a two week course of antibiotics which tend to keep me feeling okay, and then the next time these symptoms come back, I have to go to the emergency room where my GI is. As most of you know, it is so difficult to be in the car for a long time when you are so violently ill. But I do know that I won’t get any results if I keep relying on places locally.

…and I NEED to figure this out!