Tarzan has been hurting… and it’s all starting to make sense now. A while back I wrote a post about how I was awoken early one morning with severe chest pain.
It was scary stuff but thanks to some good ole GasX the pain went away after awhile. The weeks leading up to that point and shortly after were some of the most stressful I have ever been though with everything going on financially and a baby on the way.
The same pain came back a few times which felt like a weird air bubble or something mid to right side of my chest/back. And lately it’s just pretty much been an ongoing thing most of the day – and especially at night after a meal.
So, as much as I REALLY dislike going to the doctor for anything, I went again today to see what in the heck is going on here.
Of course, searching around on Google to try to figure out what was going on with me, only led me to believe that I had some rare disease that only red frogs in the Amazon jungle get, like Jane recently talked about in her last post. (See # 18 in her 35 shocking pregnancy facts blog post.)
The doc asked me to make an appointment at the hospital to do some other testing, but he said that this all sounds more like a gallbladder deal. I went in there thinking I had an ulcer because of the couple of months of extreme stress. But it’s all starting to make sense.
I’m not sure if the stress from everything going on financially, Jane being pregnant, etc. that made my gallbladder get all jiggy, but so far all signs point that way. While doing some searching around on Google a little while ago and reading about signs, there may be a gallstone or other things going on with my gallbladder leading to a possibility of having to get it taken out… at least that’s what it seems has been going on here.
The pains, symptoms, etc. all match gallbladder stuff and/or a stone. Heck sometimes it feels like a boulder may be in there!
Tests are this weekend and on Monday I’ll find out what the deal is. Maybe all I’ll need to do is take some meds. Or maybe I’ll need to get my gallbladder chopped off. If that’s the case, that’s fine. I guess you don’t need one anyway. And if it’s just taking up space anyway, I might as well get rid of the darn thing.
Now if by some chance this is somehow stress-related, this is a catch-22 deal. Of course doctors appointments cost a little money (I do have good insurance for a self-employed business owner and the co-pay is $30) but the tests this weekend will cost a chunk since I have to meet a deductible.
That of course could cause more stress! Especially since Jane has another doctor appointment next week, and there goes another $528 which keeps adding to how much it costs to have a baby without maternity insurance.
So this weekend and next week I’ll need to do something to keep my stress levels down: long walks, reading, relaxing, sex (wishful thinking – but you never know!), and whatever else I can do. If my gallbladder needs to be chopped off, I guess that would mean an overnight stay at the hospital. My first surgery. How fun. Any gallbladder advice anyone?
And speaking of stress…
Our house will be going up for sale in a few days. If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know that we just bought our house a year ago, but because of slow business, the economy, and a baby on the way with no maternity insurance, we have to sell our house in order to pay the bills. F’ing sucks for many reasons.
I’ve actually written three blog posts about this subject over the last few days… not one of them were published. I find this is the toughest subject for me to write about. It brings everything to the surface. Writing about this stuff is tough.
So why do I do it? Because this is part of our journey after the plus sign. These are the bumps in the road that many people are going through… especially in this economy.
It was close. I almost did it. I worked my ass off for the last few weeks trying to make magic happen. I was just 3 inches away of making some big stuff happen that would have allowed us to keep our house, pay all the bills, and get rid of this damn credit card debt that keeps racking up every month. That right there drives me crazy.
We were sooo close. But, the deals I was trying to put together didn’t go through and I’ve dragged my feet long enough. Time to put the house on the market and do whatever we can to sell it within one to two months… hopefully sooner. The average time a house is on the market is 4-5 months now-a-days. We cannot wait that long. We must sell fast.
From there, we go from owning a new, nice, and big beautiful house, to renting a small, little-bit-older house. Tough on the ego. Tough mentally. Tough all around. Tough on my pregnant wife. Tough tough tough.
But, it’ll be a step down and we’ll be working hard the rest of this year to take two big steps forward. Besides, cutting bills by more than 1/2 will be a big help, that’s for sure. Having less stress over financial things is something that I welcome with open arms. I’m actually getting really excited about that.
Less stress will allow us to work our tails off this year to make big things happen and get back on track. Then the plan would be to buy a new house by the end of the year and make a nice home for ourselves and our son.
It’s crazy to think about where we were a couple of years ago to where we are now. Like everyone else, we didn’t see this crazy down market and economy coming. We thought things were going to continue to go up and up with our businesses. Many lessons learned there. And I think we’ve all learned some lessons during this downward spiral economy of ours.
This is all some tough and heavy stuff for a father-to-be. I have a family. I need to provide for them. I need to make sure they are safe, healthy, happy, and have a great place to live. You’re not supposed to be moving backwards, you know? You’re supposed to be moving forward. But indeed, we will.
I’m highly motivated to make big things happen for us and I have no shortage of ideas, that’s for sure. We *should* be able to get at least what we put down on this house back. I hope. And some of that will go to a couple of new businesses that I want to start that I feel have the best chances of making it in this economy and allow us to get back on track.
Thank God I have a very supportive wife who trusts my judgement. I know she obviously would much rather stay here than pack up the house, move 1/2 of it to storage and the other 1/2 into a small place we’re renting. But, she knows my mind and heart is in the right place and if I feel it’s the best thing for us to do, then she’s up for it.
I gotta say, I’m lucky to have a wife like Pregnant Jane. Things like this have been known to ruin relationships. Money-related fights often lead to separations; even divorces. It feels good that I have someone who truly believes in me… in us. Man I love that girl. :) She’s the best.
So yeah, we’ve got a LOT on our plates right now. But who doesn’t now-a-days? We all do.
It’s going to be an interesting time while we wait for our house to sell. It’s not like I can try and start a big project right now due to lack of financial resources to invest (unless we stopped working and went on medicaid). Besides that, we’ve been though several moves before. A move usually takes about a week our of your lives, at the very least.
We’re not ones to move into a place little by little and unpack little by little. We like to get everything finished as fast as possible. And having a pregnant wife who cannot help much will add some time, that’s for sure.
So son, more than likely, when we bring you ‘home’ for the first time, it’s not really going to be our home. We’ll move into our new home shortly after you are born. You’ll have a nice backyard to play in, a swing set, and if your mommy gets her way, even a pool (which I’m still not a fan of!).
You happen to be born during an interesting time in our lives and in our history. The worst financial time period in the US (and the world in most cases) in 70+ years is upon us. How long it’ll last is anyones guess.
But honestly, it’s not a bad thing. Sure, it’s tough now, but it’ll get better. And best of all for you, this crazy financial time we’re all going through right now will actually help you in the long run I believe. Governments/people won’t make these same mistakes again (hopefully) and you’ll never have to go through something like this in your lifetime.
And if I have anything to say about it, you and your mom won’t have to worry about this crazy stuff again after this year. One way or another I’ll make some big things happen for us. I have to. I want to. I will.
You might also want to read:
- Pregnancy week 19 brings many happenings from listing our house due to no maternity insurance to the mysterious gallbladder.
- Father-to-be woken up at 5 AM with severe chest pain… Pregnancy stress?
- Pregnancy Week Sweet 16? Jane celebrates by throwing up several times. I celebrate by cleaning up.
- Unbelievable! We did it! We’re able to pay all pregnancy and baby doctor bills… and we saved our house!
- Whew! What a long day! We’re finally back home from the BIG Ultrasound with the BIG news!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Gallbladder attacks are more painful than childbirth and yes, I gave birth naturally with no pain killers. About 8 months after Adia was born, I ended up in the ER with severe stomach pains. I had already guessed I had gallstones and was just trying to wait until my yearly exam to bring it up (3 weeks later). The attack lasted over 5 hours by the point I let my hubby take me to the ER. I had to nearly force the ER doctor to order an ultrasound and yep, full of stones. I scheduled my surgery for the next month, with my mom would be on Christmas break so she could watch Adia. I made it 6 days. I was back in the ER after Thanksgiving and had emergency gallbladder surgery. It wasn’t bad at all. I was back to being a full time mommy in a few days, but it took a week before I could pick Adia up again.
Losing a lot of weight and stress can both cause gallstones. So can pregnancy, but that’s hormone related. If your tests do show gallstones, make sure you get a good surgeon who does the surgery laparoscopically. Very quick recovery. Funny thing is my mom had to have hers removed less than 6 months later after being hospitalized thinking she had a heart attack.
Another thing you might consider for the Gallbladder issue. It’s a little out in left field but I personally swear by it. My mom is a doctor, an OB/GYN ironically enough. She employs a Chinese Herbaist/Acupuncturist. When we thought I had gallbladder problems myself last year I was talking to him and he apparently has had a lot of success dissolving gallstones, naturally….without surgery! Unfortunatly a large number of insurances won’t pay for him, though some have.
I used to be a big skeptic of chinese medicine. But then I saw this guy work wonders on my dad. My dad has asthma, pretty bad too, he was using his inhaler 4-5 times a day a few years ago. I think hes used it all of twice in the last 8 months. I would look at ALL the possible options before settling on surgery. But thats comming from a girl who has had 5 major surgerys in her life. The first at 11, the most recent just last May.
@NeedsAStickyBaby… Congrats on our hubby getting a new job! That is awesome! Keep us posted on everything – I’m sure your hubby’s new job is a HUGE stress relief for you guys.
@Amanda… Vitamin C, huh? Will have to try that. Actually as soon as I finish this post I’m going to chomp down some chewable vitamin C we have. Appointment is tomorrow so I’ll find out the deal on Monday or Tuesday I guess. Never had gallbladder issues before – can be pretty painful at times, that’s for sure!
And yes, Jane and I are keeping our heads up high. We drove around and looked at some houses today after running some errands. Houses WAY our of out range right now, but we both love to dream big and seeing houses like we saw today keeps us motivated and pushing forward.
Over the past year I’ve had severe gallbladder pains too. Like you, I research EVERYTHING on the web! I found some advice that said taking 1000mg vitamin c can help. Something about the acid in the vitamin c helps to break down or dissolve the stones. Man I was scared too when it first started, that stuff hurts like heck! It hurts to even take a breath. Anyways, I started taking vit. c everday and it seems to have helped. Once in a blue moon, if I have something really greasy, i get a little pain but nothing like before. Maybe give that a try.
I’m sorry to hear about your home situation. That’s got to be tough on both of you. Keep your head up, this will only make you and your bond together stronger. Hope you feel better soon!
Sorry to hear that your deals fell through. Hubby and I got one of our good things this week. Hubby found a job! It’s a much better paying job than the one he left in January. Cost of living here is insane and we were considering moving to Phoenix at one time, despite the 120 degree summer days. We were paying $965 a month for a 2 bed, 2 bath 950sq ft apartment. Water, trash and cable included. Can’t even get a studio here for under $500.
No word yet on baby. Maybe we’ll get another miracle. But for now, I get to pick out paint colors!