Frequent doctor visits and frustrations

The next morning, Mum called the doctors and managed to get an early appointment. The doctor sent her for a few blood tests at our nearest hospital and to wait a few days for the results . Then a few days later, she got a call from the doctor saying the tests had come back normal but if anything changes or still experiencing pain, to come back and book an ultrasound. ‘What is going on Mum?’ I asked. She shook her head with confusion. ‘ I don’t know, they can’t seem to find anything in the blood tests…maybe it’s a trapped nerve’.

I went to look online for possible explanations. The list was endless and all symptoms didn’t link to the same condition. It could affect people different ways. Gallstones, H pylori, irritable bowel syndrome and so on.. Well, the tests didn’t show any allergies so I thought that it would lean more towards gallstones.

I took a break and went to see what mum was up to. I spotted her lying down on the sofa in the living room clutching her stomach. ‘ Are you OK?’ I asked gently. ‘My stomach feels really bloated and uncomfortable. I can’t stop burping, Kate. It’s making me giggle, it’s embarrassing’, she started grinning. I started to chuckle. ‘Yeah but it’s weird..doesn’t explain anything why you’re getting these sudden pains and discomfort. I think you should go back to the doctors and maybe book an ultrasound’.

So over the last few weeks back and forth to the doctors, they have come back with all sorts of reasons. First was suspected IBS and mum was given a course of painkillers and Omeprazole to coat the stomach lining. The pain settled until she said she was having trouble sleeping on her left side.

We were eating dinner when I noticed she couldn’t finish it. There was still a lot left over on her plate. ‘Mum, you’re not gonna finish it?’ Max asked. ‘I can’t..I feel a bit sick’. I looked at her and started to feel concerned. She rushed to the toilet and came back out some minutes later. ‘Much better’, she said with relief. ‘I think that dinner was a bit too heavy for me’. ‘Mum, that can’t be right, it’s braising beef which is what you normally cook anyway. There’s nothing heavy in there too’.

I insisted she’d take another doctor visit because this just didn’t make any sense. I didn’t want to worry myself too much as it could be just a simple explanation.

‘Let’s see what will show up on the ultrasound‘, I wondered to myself.