I feel like I haven't really given you an update on how things are going with me health wise. It isn't terribly exciting, but I am still plugging along. It's really interesting because life post AFE has been really challenging and I don't think anyone thought this is what my life would be like when they saved me, but here we are. I think a hard thing for me is that there isn't a blueprint to follow for this, it's really dealing with one thing after another as it pops up. Some of us have similar issues, some of us have different issues, some of us have no issues. It's just really frustrating because there isn't one person in the whole world who has the same bag of issues and sometimes I feel really alone. It's hard to not have anyone to compare things with and talk to about it, and maybe get advice or suggestions from them.
Anyways.
Some of the things I've been handling are the same as other people so that's been helpful. I had to have my follow up endoscopy and a colonoscopy recently. I don't know if I blogged about it last year and I can't find it if I did, but last year I had a panic attack during an endoscopy. It wasn't the procedure itself, it was laying on a table for twenty minutes waiting for anesthesia, and it just reminded me of dying on the table during my AFE and Lucy's birth, and I couldn't handle it well.
So this year I was a little anxious about it and I wanted to just get through it. But it turns out that was nothing compared to colonoscopy prep. I knew going into it it was going to be horrible but man.
They aren't joking when they tell you that.
I barely got through it. I threw up more than I ever have in my entire life. It was horrible. It was 4 liters of drink and I only made it through just shy of 3 liters, I took 3 laxatives, a Linzess, and took some Miralax and I swear- I pooped once. Literally. Almost nothing came out so I was so worried I wouldn't be able to do the procedure and god----I couldn't even do the drink again. I couldn't.
So the day of, I was so anxious and I just wanted to be done. I got prepped, all of my questions answered, they take my blood to check my potassium and blood sugar levels (because of my diabetes insipidus) and we enjoyed the fact they just kind of left it there. It was "extra" and I don't know why but I kept laughing and laughing at that.
My doctor had an emergency so my procedure ended up being delayed almost three hours, so we got to watch cable TV which is basically making this feel like a damn spa.
Overall, the procedure went OK. Despite my worries, apparently my colon and intestines were empty so where the hell it all went, I'll never know, because it didn't come out of me. Which really, that makes me a little angry because I drank all of that for nothing. Gross.
The purpose of my procedures was to follow up from last year's endoscopy to check any changes with my Barrett's Esophagus. As it turns out, it looks like a little different so they took biopsies of that. I have gastritis and they took biopsies of that area as well. I was having trouble swallowing as of late so he ended up stretching my esophagus and so far, that's really been helpful. The colonoscopy resulted in finding polyps so those were taken out and a few areas biopsied so now I wait. I go into the office in a couple of weeks so I'm hoping those all come out OK.
The cool thing though is the lead anesthesiologist came in to introduce herself and tell me how the procedure was going to go. But she mentioned that she didn't know my name or face, but she knew my case and my medical history, and wanted me to know that my AFE event spurred a lot of education, learning new procedures, and new protocols. I thought it was cool, but Matt said, "Some people hope to do something big in their life, and you did. You alone made a big change that matters to thousands of people." and that was kind of sobering because he was right, but also because that was the most profound thing I've ever heard from him and about me, no less.
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Other than that, I officially have osteoarthritis which is super excited. She pushed on something by my shoulder and I damn near fell off the chair. So that kind of sucks. BUT! My rheumatoid arthritis seems to not be in a flare right now so I'm happy about that.
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I continue in therapy. I really look forward to it but I'm realizing I need a LOT more help in other areas. The good part is that I can sometimes recognize things and think of what my therapist would tell me about it. I can sometimes recognize a situation and know that it is bad for me. So I keep trying and I keep plugging along.
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Weird thing is that when we were in Florida a few years ago I got sick after being in the sun after just a half hour, I thought it was strictly the heat that did it. Turns out, I think it's the actual sun. The other day I sat out in the sun for about 20 minutes and all of a sudden I got really sick, really dizzy, and all of a sudden incredibly tired. I had to go back into the house, get an ice pack, and lay down. I didn't feel "right" the rest of the night and that was awful. So now I'm starting to wonder if there's a reason for this and which doctor I even tell this to. But that's the other annoying part- having doctors in different specialties is really helpful but also I never know who to tell what.
So that's the scoop. Cross your fingers that my biopsies come back boring and normal. I have zero time for a bigger issue, I'm just trying to handle what I have already.
5 comments:
Glad the colonoscopy went well even if the prep was so horrible. I turned 50 last year so I’ll need to get my first one scheduled soon. Not looking forward to that at all. So interesting what the anesthesiologist shared with you. And I’m glad the therapy is helping. {hugs}
That IS really interesting what the anesthesiologist said. I'm sure it really has made a big medical difference, and look at Matt being all wise. He's right though! I'm glad that therapy is going well, and I hope that all of your biopsies are normal and boring. That's so weird about the sun! I don't know what doctor you would tell that to either...I have a lot of different doctors as well but luckily for me they are pretty much all in the same network so they can see each other are doing, so it's easier to explain things from one to the next.
-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
I dread the day I have to prepare for a colonoscopy. Ugh. I'm sorry you went through all that but glad you got it over with. And that's super profound what Matt said and hopefully that's something that will help you in the dark times.
You are such a warrior goddess and I love what your doctor said about helping so many (1000s!) of people! That’s incredible/ I’m sure it’s so frustrating to not know or understand what is happening to your body but you are actively going to get help and that matters. Sending all my love your way for boring biopsy results. ❤️
I'm sorry you are going through all this but how cool to know that your case is making an impact.
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