Alot of things had happened in the late august/early september. Geez… I am not sure where to start BUT i’ll just blog about the nasty things first.
*Caution: READ with an open and sympathic heart*
Story 1:
I consider myself a healthy person. I mean.. I had been taking care of myself (+ BH) to make sure that our clothes are clean, food is nutritious.. However, right after my period last month, I noticed a lump at my pubic area. I mean.. I was horrified. BH is the ONLY man I get intimate with so I’m not promiscuous in anyway. I got BH to take a peek (can’t see clearly myself) – he brushed it off as “It’s probably just a pimple.. put pimple cream there lor.. hahaha” WTF, he avoided being close to me as though I was a plague after that… and we sleep with a bloster (aka barrier) in between us.. until now 🙁 I can totally understand why
The ‘pimple’ got worst as the days went by. It looked like a ulcer and it got bigger and looks disgusting!!! I was just so embarassed this time round. I searched online and some forums were saying ‘burst and squeeze the pus out ‘ and ‘use sharp object to burst…’ OMG! You know, the skin there is thin and delicate. It hurts so badly each time I touch it. Furthermore, it starts to hurt very badly that I can’t even walk properly. And still, I didn’t dare to go to a doctor because I was too embarassed to show anyone my pubic area. Gosh..Knowing that our NYC trip is just a few days away, I took out all my courage and ‘poke’ the lump with a safety pin. It hurts so badly and it didn’t help!!! Things were just going downhill after I TRIED to be MY OWN doctor.
I decided that I needed to go to a REAL doctor. The thing in US is… going to the doctor is not as easy as ‘Go downstairs and Q up’ You need to search in the directory for the doctor you want to see for the specific problem, then mk an apptment. After a long search for FEMALE doctors online, I found out that I needed to go to Primary Care Unit to be treated. Found a doctor near us but was turned down by BH. In the end, BH recalled that his pregnant collegue went to Swedish Medical ( supposed to be the better one among all the hospital/clinics) Made an apptment with Dr Le and was feeling v anxious about seeing her about my situation.
If you are like my mum.. and wondered if I shave down there… haha.. usually, I do. However, this time round, the pain was killing me and I can’t care much, so I merely just took a scissors and trim the hair there. Geez… I was hoping that Dr Le don’t think that I’m such a unkempt girl.
On Friday morning (2 sept) , it marks the FIRST time anyone ( other than BH or my parents) seen me down there. OMG.. I am not sure if it’s better to die of pain or embarrassment. Obviously, I choose the later and I’m glad I did.
We reached the hospital early in the morning, true to its name, the interior and exterior is very swedish. In fact, this branch looks extremely new and clean ( erm.. probably v expensive too… luckily insurance cover) haha… we were greeted by a very friendly guy who showed us around and bought me to Dr Le’s office. I filled out some forms and waited anxiously..
A MALE assistant (v cute) led me into the room and started to take my ht and weight, asking me more qns about the lump down there. I was soooooooo embarassed that I think I wish I could be a chameleon and camoflauge into the chair. BTW, Bh went into the room with me. I don’t want him to know/see the ‘lump’ fearing that he will find me even more unattractive. Anyhow, I felt so uncomfortable and asked the male assistant directly “You are not looking at me down there right?” phew.. he explained that Dr Le is coming in later.
He gave me a gown to get changed in ( my first time by the way) then I waited anxiously for the doctor to come. She was very young but professional. It was very awkward to have someone look at you there. haha.. but i rather be healed you know. As expected, it was an infection BUT she have no idea what infection that was. She needed to get a sample to send it for testing. Here’s the scary part, she used a tool to ‘scrape’ that part… IT HURTS TO BADLY!!! I was practically holding onto her arm and getting her to be gentle. It was only like 15 secs and it felt like an eternity.
As a long weekend was around the corner and we will be heading to NYC, Dr Le suggested that I should let her ‘burst’ the lump. This means that she will need to inject to the ‘eye of the storm’ and drain the abscess. I kind of know she will suggest that BUT that’s the best way to go. I reluctantly agreed.
I was bought to another room where the ‘torture’ begins. This time BH sat outside and wait, I didn’t want to disgust him with my issue. Because I was uncomfy with her male assistant looking at me, she respect my decison and did the procedure herself. For that, I greatly appreciate! Anyway, she injected me at that ‘spot’ to numb that area, which didn’t help. So she used another needle to inject more into the spot. She definitely injected in that area more than once! OMG!!! It hurts really badly… I was trying very hard not to scream – I was ‘ouching’ all the way. Finally, it was numb. She used another needle to drain the pus and then a sugerical ‘penknife’ to cut an incision to extract the remaining pus. The whole procedure took like 45mins and ended with alot of blood (like a murder scene). At the end, she was pretty sure nothing was there anymore. It was sore, raw and had a hole. yucks! She put plaster on it and taught me how to care for my wound.
It was definitely the MOST painful trip to the doctor ever!
At the end of the consultation, I was sharing with her how upset I was because it’s BH and my wedding anniversay and this had to happen. She also told me that her husband and her celebrated 3yrs wedding anniversary a few days ago! haha… i think she’s of the same age as me. BH and I had been toying with the thought of BCP, so I causally told her that we might see her again (It’s her area of expertise!)
After seeing Dr Le, we were both super glad that at least we have a doctor to see if anything goes wrong. The best part, we didn’t pay a single cent.
In the US, you need to go to a pharmacy for medications. You don’t get the medicine at the doctor’s office itself. We head to the nearest Pharmacy Target for meds. She gave me 2 super strong antibotics and 1 cream. The antibotics made me feeling like vomiting after consumption. I was like crap for the 1st day. After which, I was very happy that things start to look up. The wound seemed to had healed, more pus came out….BUT the lump is still there 🙁
BH and I left for NYC and I felt totally fine.. until the last night at NYC. we were happily enjoying our meal at Serendipity3 when the nurse called me. She informed me that the lab results are out and the Doctor wished to see me in the coming week (which I am going for Wisdom Tooth extraction). In the end, I am scheduled for next week Damn sianz… The infection I have is called MRSA which I have no idea how I got it 🙁 Really hope things will be alright then.
To people who are reading this, PLEASE see a doctor if you notice anything weird on your body – IF I went to the doctor early, I won’t have to go thru’ so much pain. Health is indeed wealth!
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Story 2:
After many years of consideration, though my Wisdom Tooth is not bothering me. I have decided to go extraction just because IT IS CHEAPER IN THE US because of insurance coverage.
So I extracted 2 tooth today. I was afraid that it will hurt like siao.. but it’s bearable. Just that I can’t eat? Bright and early, BH bought me to the clinic, I was petrified BUT I know that since I got past the injection incident above i will survive this.
The thing about wisdom tooth extraction here is I can choose to be completely sedated. haha.. i went for that of course.. it’s $500 more BUT insurance pay. This marks the first time I inhaled Laughing gas ( it didn’t mk me laugh) , had wires on my body and connected to a drip. OMG!! My oral surgeon ( different from dentist) was a cool russian(i think) lady, Dr Leonard She came in checked that everything is ok, pulled out the X-ray then injected me with the general anesthesia and I drifted to sleep pretty quickly
Then….. I don’t know what happened after that… hahaha…
When i woke up, the nurse told me I did well! haha.. I asked her where’s the tooth, she said that they disposed it already. The area was very clean, no blood, no tools. Shortly after, BH was in the room with me. She explained to us what’s in the ‘care pack’ – a ice bag, gauze, a post card of suggestions to what to eat. Next, she held my hand and led me to the car. Bh drove us to the pharmacy to collect meds
Total damage: US$263 (Insurance covered $1300)
I was very numb in my mouth, can’t feel any pain but I still can talk cock . haha…We collected the painkillers then BH bought me a milkshake and I went home to rest. Yes, I did shed alot of blood BUT not as much as the 1st incident. Yes, it hurts, not as bad as the first incident.
The point is I Survived! Thank God! I hope everything looks up from here!