ps, I hate going to the doctor, I only do it if something seems really bad/off/broken, but it seems they don't do much when I finally get there anyway so what's the point in going, really? I'm the "lets wrap it up and self-heal" type of gal because of this. It would be nice to know what it is though, but see the doctor didn't know.

Dabitch, please find another doctor who can do an X-ray, or whatever else might be able to image that area. If they are broken, and "moving", I assume it could be dangerous, since I imagine you could get a punctured lung or something.

I've also heard of "dislocated ribs" - but know absolutely nothing about that.

I really think you need to go ahead and find some help.

I also have to say there's a great chance this is "mother-related" - as I imagine lifting and picking up baby multiple times a day, every day, could cause certain strains and injuries... So you could also call your OB/GYN just in case he/she has experience with this...

Go to the ER.

Yeah, well... The place I was last night was "the ER" or at least the one you are sent to when you can still walk, the other ER is reserved for car-accident victims, heartattacks and other drama. I called the nurse hotline again this morning and she said that I should wait until Monday to book an appointment with my "family doctor", the non-specialist type who don't have appointments until three weeks later and can't do stuff like x-rays. On Monday I'll check for a private doctor to see if I can get a quicker appointment with one of them.

Meanwhile, just call me pokey-chest.

aaargh. That sucks so hard.

I miss the days of old, big families, where everyone had a sibling or cousin who was: a doctor; a lawyer; a banker, a judge; a plumber, a travel agent. Okay, just kidding about the last one, but hell - old skool knew that if you needed professional help, and weren't rich, you better grow your own.

Eeeee dabitch! Is there an ER in another part of town or is this it?

Holy cow. That's upsetting, to say the least.

Gah!

I hate going to the doctor, too. HATE IT. But lately I've realized that, for me, that manifests in part by me understating my symptoms.

In the last few years, I've learned that describing my complaint in calm but unflinching terms to the appointment center/ admin assistant/ receptionist often gets me an appointment quicker than I would by being cool about it.

Dunno if that's useful to you. In any case, I'm wishing you the best, because GAH!

As freaky as it is, my wife had a dislocated sternum (breast bone) for about 6 months after our first was born- she could feel it wasn't right while pregnant, gave it a little time to heal, then complained to the doc. The doc popped it back in. Yeah, your rib is alarming and should be taken care of, but Mrs. Doohickie's was messed up for 6 months. My guess is a different doctor may be able to pop it back into place. (The first one being useless.)

2nd opinion = good. Pokey chest = bad. Speedy non pokey chest wishes.

OOh Doohickey, I'm hoping that I got what your wife had and it can be pushed back because right now it looks FREAKY, and that sounds uhm... 'easy' to fix. :)

So here's an update on my ER adventures.

Saturday I returned to that emergency-doc center with additional complaint: numb right shoulder. This time I was sent to the hospital for X-ray, because the doc who saw me now was genuinly curious as to how the hell a ribcage could look like mine. I walk to the hospital across the street.

Bone doc checks me out there, ain't seen nothing like it. Makes me lift arms and grab hands and tests reflexes and so on. He literally scratches his head. Blood is taken. Sends me to the X-ray. Takes a few hours to wait and so on.

X-rays return showing nothing, bone-doc passes me to medicine-doc because there must be something going on everyone can clearly see it, and I hear them talking about me in the hall. I'm the mystery case of the night. Blood is taken.

Medicine-doc sends me to one of those magnet X-rays where you see the stuff inside rather than bone. Glow-in-the-xray-dark stuff is pushed through my veins and my whole chest and stomach is x-rayed in one of those fun tunnels. That stuff they put in you makes your throat warm and it feels like you're wetting your pants. Fun.

More wait. I fall asleep. Pictures come back to medicine, who finds tumors on the liver and something on the goal bladder ("I don't want to make you concerned because we don't know what it is so please don't worry" she says) that might indicate goal stone - which I have no reason to have - and she scratches her head because a numb shoulder is an extremely rare symptom of liver-problems and it still doesn't explain the ribcage poking up. She wasn't to send me to surgery and have them look, so an ultrasound is in order.

By this time is two in the morning and Perle does not sleep without me, I'm sent home instead of checked in overnight after explaining this, and will return today at three for ultrasound. No food or drink first, which I didn't have yesterday after two o'clock either so whatever comes from this I've crash-dieted all weekend.

Talk about mystery ribcage and hella slow processing at the ER. I began the journey from regular doc to bone-doc, to medicine-doc and now returning to surgery-doc, at two in the afternoon!

I'm sure whatever it is I'm ok, tumors on liver just sound scary, don't forget that the liver can be cut in half and grow back.

(still would love to know why my ribs are poking out though, and they still can't figure that one out.)

Oh, man! Please keep us updated! I've got you in my lovescope, dabs.

Will do. And MAN am I ever HUNGRY.. Argh.

What the hell--
that's a lot to take in and just the poky thing would make me nutty.

No matter what you must eat much fruit and ice cream.
And chocolate.

I would kill for fruit right about now.

The most annoying thing is that I got this tremendously boring job last week, they told me on Friday to come in on Monday and that weekend was spent with the stomach flu (thanks Perle, for bringing home fun germs from pre-school). Then I started work on Monday, was sent to a two day briefing tues-wed, and my boss was away thu-fri, so no contract has been signed yet. ARGH! Not a good time to become sick! If my contract was signed I'd be insured and could relax a little! SO, if no surgery I'm going to work tomorrow totally unrested and probably still hungry.. If there is some surgery well, thems the breaks I guess.

Swedish medcare is free, it's if I have to be away from work where I need to be insured in order to get paid. Would be no fun trying to get better while worrying about bills.

Ugh, dabitch, that sounds so frustrating and awful!!!

I hope whatever's wrong is easily fixed. I'm thinking good thoughts for you.

WOW. I'm so glad you went back and are undergoing testing. You sound remarkably calm about it all. Please keep us posted. I'm thinking of you!

I hope it all works out well, with both health and insurance.

Wow, this has become scary. I hope it all turns out well and soon.

*Sends healing thoughts*

Hey all! Thanks for the whuffles, positive thoughts and hugs. Let me start by saying: I'm OK! I'm OK!!. Yeay!

Ok, so this morning the nurse told me to fast and get to the ultrasound by three, right?
So I fasted and since I hadn't eaten since two in the afternoon the previous day, I was pretty dang hungry all day. I was being calm and collected for most of it but by two-thirty I'm passed light headed and straight on to being the cranky paranoid "oh no I'm gonna die" stressed out hungry person from hell. I walk to the hospital and at the X-ray building the nurse happily greets me by my first name and swishes me in to the ultrasound pronto. Great!
Fifteen minutes agonizing wait with my belly exposed and the machine ready later the happy Doctor comes in and checks everything up, down, around the sides and back, twice.
She finds nothing wrong with my liver or goal bladder or in fact anything in there which she happily announces. Then she goes in another room to check yesterdays X-rays to see what the fuss is about. She tells me that on those can clearly see the pokey rib thing going on and an enlarged muscle under that - but has no medical reason for the sudden enlargement of said muscle.
So, that's good news right? I ca go eat now, right?
Well..She then sends me to surgery because now that I'm their case, they have to sign me out. So I stroll back to inner hallway of ER again where only signed in patients can go. Nurse there claims I'm not signed in and must sign in again, I'm too hungry to argue with her and go out to take a seat in the waiting room, take a number and watch a cooking show while I wait. New nurse in the waiting room discovers that I was indeed still signed in since I left after midnight last night (at two in the morning) but I still have to wait a little while longer. I ask "in here in front of the telly?" she says yes, and some sadist god makes sure that another cooking show airs, this one is all about grilling with curry. Aaaarggghhh/droool/aargh.

Finally some nurse from ER picks me up and brings me inside to another patient room in which I wait for a full hour and twenty minutes for a doctor. At this point I'm hoping that my insane stomach growls might get someones attention. Doesn't seem to work, and I walk out in the hall a few times, on the one hand not wanting to bug people who are probably dealing with life-and-death situations left-and-right and on the other hand I'm so hungry I could club someone and eat them at this point. I finally pipe up and ask if I can please eat something, explaining that my fast has really been since two yesterday afternoon, and I'm getting beyond cranky and besides I'm OK so can't I just please go get a hamburger? Right at that moment statuesque Greek-looking doctor with gold chain appears shakes hands and says his name which I promptly forget and then he goes through the whole thing with me again. And he checks the ribs, my arms, my grasp, my fingers and just like all doctors before him, he scratches his head and can not explain the sudden and very clear enlargement of my (Latin name for muscle promptly evaporated from my brain due to hunger) on the right hand side. It's clearly twice as large as the other half and is literally pushing my ribs out - but there seems to be no reason for it.

So, he sends me home, I'll do a follow-up at my doc in six weeks and on the very bright side I've been thoroughly, very very thoroughly checked out and am apparently, healthy as a horse. Well, apart from being lopsided.

On the way home I inhale crappy fast food like a stoned Spurlock and then run home to hug baby, cat and man, loads.

And now I'm hugging y'all. (((((((HUGS))))))

I am so glad it's not serious, although the muscle thing is odd. For some reason they always seem to have cooking shows on TV when I'm either in hospital or at the gym. Last time I was at the gym it was "Sweet Baby James" with James Martin making dessert after delicious dessert. Bastard.

Torture!

Oh, great!!!!! So glad to hear this. :)

Wow! Glad for the good news at last, but what a story!