So researchers in Sweden and Denmark have found some more evidence that there is a link between Crohn's and appendectomies. They can't decide of course, if it is the appendectomy that makes it more likely that you get Crohn's or whether the appendicitis is diagnosed when it is really Crohn's. The whole misdiagnosed appendicitis seems eerily apt in my case.
Right before my oldest child turned one, I became seriously ill within a few hours-incredible throwing up, diarrhea, fever, pain. We went to the emergency room, they diagnosed appendicitis and did an appendectomy. When they pulled the appendix though, the biopsies showed some inflammation and a "plug" and some other oddities...but the docs weren't really concerned. I recovered and went on to have some off and on stomach flu type things that no one else would get but unremarkable. Fast forward to the mystery bump and crohn's and all my colonoscopies...the parts of my intestine with the most marked crohn's: right there in appendix land. hmmmm. Yep, it could have been appendicitis. It could be a chicken or the egg...but an interesting connection.
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Better but Belly Button
I am nearly all recovered from surgery! Yay! No more aches and pains related to it, of course the crohns still has all its nice aches and pains. But...my belly button incision is increasingly not happy. It has gone from a nice mellow occassional ooze to a bright red yuckyness. No, nothing serious. Really it isn't, but you would think that since the other incisions are all but gone...this one could head that way too. Yuck.
On the plus side, the bathrooms at work upgraded the toilet paper and paper towels offered. The new TP dispenser is causing consternation among several women in our dept. (it rolls manically and by mid-day the tp is gone and we are left with a roll sitting on top of the dispenser.) No. I am not using all four rolls and covering it up with the new tp dispenser problem issue.
On the plus side, the bathrooms at work upgraded the toilet paper and paper towels offered. The new TP dispenser is causing consternation among several women in our dept. (it rolls manically and by mid-day the tp is gone and we are left with a roll sitting on top of the dispenser.) No. I am not using all four rolls and covering it up with the new tp dispenser problem issue.
Monday, September 11, 2006
After Surgery
I am home after surgery. I actually got home yesterday afternoon. The surgery went well. Gi doc was able to grab the mystery bump with the colonoscopy. Surgeon cleaned up scar tissue (from appendectomy 12 years ago? from Crohns? From some sort of girl part source? no idea) through the lap. They thought I would be able to go home the same day but it quickly became apparent this was not happening.
Pain control was a big issue as shaking everything up down there made the crohn's unhappy as well as all the jiggled parts screaming at everyone that they didn't deserve that sort of invasion, not to mention the parts that got sliced and diced. Oddly enough, you can't go home if you pass out from pain.
Then my blood pressure dropped way low. So, then I had to stay until it stabilized into something more normal but still lower than normal.
The mystery bump is still a mystery. G.I. Doc wouldn't say without pathology report coming back, which will be mid-week some time. So, for right now, it is a "cecal mass" still.
I haven't eaten yet really. Jello, broth, a graham cracker that made me most unhappy and a roll that mostly came up almost immediately. My hands and feet are swollen. My left hand is very swollen but looking better. The i.v. infiltrated. I told them to do something about it when it started to hurt, but they flushed it and claimed it was fine. Two hours later when it was all swollen and gross they acted like I had not ever mentioned this to them. Arg. It really just looks awful, not hurt, though typing is making it a bit owie in a stiff sort of way. Lovely bruises on my arms from failed iv attempts.
Biggest annoyance (other than never imagining this would hurt like the dickens) has been having trouble peeing. It is better now but at first, getting the muscles to work right to pee was not happening at all.
Biggest hospital annoyance: LOUD people. My roommates had loud visitors. The hallways were full of loud visitors. I was massively annoyed by the 12 or so yo boy hanging out in the hall when they wanted to transfer me from the gurney to the room. Uh...I know my butt is hanging out and I don't really want to flash that kid. He needs to go into a room or proceed quickly to a non patient part of the hospital.
Another annoyance: nurse arguing with us about my daily meds because they weren't on the order. I definitely need the imuran or I will be back here with more serious issues than this really soon. That nurse also had a hard time understanding what I was saying, a propensity for not answering questions about meds (sorry but I am going to ask what you are giving me and why) and 3 days into this fun still thought my partner was my mother.
What was interesting about the one roommate with the loud visitors was that she complained that she wasn't in a private room because I had to go to her side of the room to use the bathroom and the toilet flushing was loud.
The hospital kitchen is being remodeled so the meals seem to have taken a turn for the worse for visitors as well as patients. It was just as well that I couldn't eat because the boiled cauliflower and fried, mayonaise and gravy doused items that appeared on people's trays made my powdered broth look inviting. I don't know how they expect people to make healthy dietary choices when they can't offer them on a hospital tray.
Good things: nurse in surgery recovery was very good even though she had this thing for kissing my forehead. TLC in the hospital room. (even though I never stayed awake for a whole show and frequently had no idea at all about it) Finding out that the OR prep nurse had a colostomy and used to like ginger ale but gags when she sees it in the grocery store now too.
Below is the picture of the lap incisions. There are three. You can't actually see the one in my belly button. The small red line toward the middle at the top is the first. The third is the red line in the middle of the brownish (betadine) area at the bottom. They each were covered by a band-aid, with very little blood. (They traced the outline of the blood on the bandaid so they could tell if they were bleeding, and they definitely didn't bleed much.) The bottom bruise is pretty nasty but the incisions seem to be healing well.
Pain control was a big issue as shaking everything up down there made the crohn's unhappy as well as all the jiggled parts screaming at everyone that they didn't deserve that sort of invasion, not to mention the parts that got sliced and diced. Oddly enough, you can't go home if you pass out from pain.
Then my blood pressure dropped way low. So, then I had to stay until it stabilized into something more normal but still lower than normal.
The mystery bump is still a mystery. G.I. Doc wouldn't say without pathology report coming back, which will be mid-week some time. So, for right now, it is a "cecal mass" still.
I haven't eaten yet really. Jello, broth, a graham cracker that made me most unhappy and a roll that mostly came up almost immediately. My hands and feet are swollen. My left hand is very swollen but looking better. The i.v. infiltrated. I told them to do something about it when it started to hurt, but they flushed it and claimed it was fine. Two hours later when it was all swollen and gross they acted like I had not ever mentioned this to them. Arg. It really just looks awful, not hurt, though typing is making it a bit owie in a stiff sort of way. Lovely bruises on my arms from failed iv attempts.
Biggest annoyance (other than never imagining this would hurt like the dickens) has been having trouble peeing. It is better now but at first, getting the muscles to work right to pee was not happening at all.
Biggest hospital annoyance: LOUD people. My roommates had loud visitors. The hallways were full of loud visitors. I was massively annoyed by the 12 or so yo boy hanging out in the hall when they wanted to transfer me from the gurney to the room. Uh...I know my butt is hanging out and I don't really want to flash that kid. He needs to go into a room or proceed quickly to a non patient part of the hospital.
Another annoyance: nurse arguing with us about my daily meds because they weren't on the order. I definitely need the imuran or I will be back here with more serious issues than this really soon. That nurse also had a hard time understanding what I was saying, a propensity for not answering questions about meds (sorry but I am going to ask what you are giving me and why) and 3 days into this fun still thought my partner was my mother.
What was interesting about the one roommate with the loud visitors was that she complained that she wasn't in a private room because I had to go to her side of the room to use the bathroom and the toilet flushing was loud.
The hospital kitchen is being remodeled so the meals seem to have taken a turn for the worse for visitors as well as patients. It was just as well that I couldn't eat because the boiled cauliflower and fried, mayonaise and gravy doused items that appeared on people's trays made my powdered broth look inviting. I don't know how they expect people to make healthy dietary choices when they can't offer them on a hospital tray.
Good things: nurse in surgery recovery was very good even though she had this thing for kissing my forehead. TLC in the hospital room. (even though I never stayed awake for a whole show and frequently had no idea at all about it) Finding out that the OR prep nurse had a colostomy and used to like ginger ale but gags when she sees it in the grocery store now too.
Below is the picture of the lap incisions. There are three. You can't actually see the one in my belly button. The small red line toward the middle at the top is the first. The third is the red line in the middle of the brownish (betadine) area at the bottom. They each were covered by a band-aid, with very little blood. (They traced the outline of the blood on the bandaid so they could tell if they were bleeding, and they definitely didn't bleed much.) The bottom bruise is pretty nasty but the incisions seem to be healing well.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
What the Doctor Doesn't Tell You
about getting ready for a colonoscopy. Ok, about getting ready for bowel prep. About 18 hours before prep is to begin...depending on your appointment time and doc's rules...they leave out an important pre-prep step.
The doctor or actually the "scheduler" at your g.i. doc will probably give you a long list of do and do n't do instructions when you get your marching (to the bathroom) orders. These involve things like drinking lots of water, not eating red foods and not taking aspirin in the days leading up to your prep. Check your own instructions for your particular doctor's rules.
What they don't tell you to do is this: clean your bathroom. This may seem counterproductive, after all, you may get it a bit messy during prep. (especially if you vomit, some people do) However, cleaning the bathroom, the night before prep, is a very, very important step. You will spend a lot of time in there. You will feel wretched. When you feel wretched, bathroom crud will annoy. Important details: sit on the toilet and look around. Anything you actually see from the toilet should be wiped down or washed. This includes the wall, light switch, toilet paper roller thing, grout lines, door, etc. Nothing like focussing on odd dirt specks while hoping your guts settle down a bit. You will not feel like wiping them while in prep. You should do this important step yourself, do not foist it on some unsuspecting family member, friend, or cleaning lady. You do not want to growl about their housecleaning during prep or during those nice hours after anesthesia when you are not permitted to sign important documents. It isn't nice.
You may also wish to stock magazines for the bathroom at this time. Food magazines are not a good idea. Vegetarian Times=BAD colonoscopy/bowel surgery prep reading. Books likewise=bad colonoscopy prep reading, particularly if they are of the literary type or the sort you have to follow. I have heard that the Uncle John's Readers are good for colonoscopy prep, but have not tried this method. There are also some intriguing toilet seat shaped books at Barnes and Noble that I look at every so often that might be suited for prep. Magazines really do seem to work well for me. Reader's Digest, Entertainment, other sorts of light, non-food reading.
The up side to all of this is: prep is the worst part. Cleaning the bathroom means you will have a clean bathroom and a productive way to spend your time the night before you start prep!
The doctor or actually the "scheduler" at your g.i. doc will probably give you a long list of do and do n't do instructions when you get your marching (to the bathroom) orders. These involve things like drinking lots of water, not eating red foods and not taking aspirin in the days leading up to your prep. Check your own instructions for your particular doctor's rules.
What they don't tell you to do is this: clean your bathroom. This may seem counterproductive, after all, you may get it a bit messy during prep. (especially if you vomit, some people do) However, cleaning the bathroom, the night before prep, is a very, very important step. You will spend a lot of time in there. You will feel wretched. When you feel wretched, bathroom crud will annoy. Important details: sit on the toilet and look around. Anything you actually see from the toilet should be wiped down or washed. This includes the wall, light switch, toilet paper roller thing, grout lines, door, etc. Nothing like focussing on odd dirt specks while hoping your guts settle down a bit. You will not feel like wiping them while in prep. You should do this important step yourself, do not foist it on some unsuspecting family member, friend, or cleaning lady. You do not want to growl about their housecleaning during prep or during those nice hours after anesthesia when you are not permitted to sign important documents. It isn't nice.
You may also wish to stock magazines for the bathroom at this time. Food magazines are not a good idea. Vegetarian Times=BAD colonoscopy/bowel surgery prep reading. Books likewise=bad colonoscopy prep reading, particularly if they are of the literary type or the sort you have to follow. I have heard that the Uncle John's Readers are good for colonoscopy prep, but have not tried this method. There are also some intriguing toilet seat shaped books at Barnes and Noble that I look at every so often that might be suited for prep. Magazines really do seem to work well for me. Reader's Digest, Entertainment, other sorts of light, non-food reading.
The up side to all of this is: prep is the worst part. Cleaning the bathroom means you will have a clean bathroom and a productive way to spend your time the night before you start prep!
Look! The Future is Here
Look what I am doing tomorrow! Well, actually, the surgeon involved likes to start things off with a bang, so tonight (despite going to the bathroom 7 or 8 times today) I get to take two of the laxative tablets. Then tomorrow...more laxative tablets (generic Dulcolax) and the bottle of wal-phosphate (generic phospho-soda).
Then on Thursday, I get to bathe with special soap. (ok Dial, but they gave me my very own hotel sized bar this morning at pre-admission.) Then, go to the hospital by 8 am, where I will commence waiting for at least 2 hours. (Surgery isn't scheduled until 10). Then, colonoscopy, guided by laparascopy...culminating most likely in a bowel resection followed by a couple days in the hospital followed by two/two and a half weeks at home before returning to work if all goes well...which it may not because of course this is Crohn's and well, Crohn's and resections don't go smoothly a significant part of the time. (as he hastily reassures us that he hopes it will this time)
Sigh. I will be out of sick leave by Monday afternoon. Hopefully, the rest can be worked out with vacation time (not much more of that than sick leave) and a dispensation to work from home. (cross your fingers).
Meeting today with the surgeon was in his office...not in an exam room. That was made up for by a four room extravaganza in admitting at the hospital, complete with bright red hospital bracelet I was worried I would have to wear until surgery. (I don't, they made a second one) The blood draw was the easiest in YEARS. I asked her if she could do the i.v. on Thu. LOL.
Worst part will be missing open house. I never miss school stuff, ever.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
I wish I could think of something
other than yucky to describe this post. I missed 3 doses of my Imuran due to a dumb CVS store screw up. Yet another one. I never thought I would say I miss Eckerds BUT I DO. Unfortunately the mix up wasn't discovered until I was out of town for my lovely mommy weekend. The handful of scripts was grabbed. You would think they would have filled them right. Instead I had TWO bottles of promethezine (phenergan, the nausea stuff) and a bottle of medicine I am NO LONGER taking. No tramadol (for the owie tummy stuff) or IMURAN; which of course is the key component of the mix. Well, vacation usually does ok with me for a while, unless we are talking serious travel. So I was good for the weekend. Even ok Monday when I picked up the redone order...where we were walking out and discovered yes, the Imuran but YET ANOTHER BOTTLE OF the promethazine. So lets review here...3 bottles of nausea meds that I generally can get a few months out of ONE. No pain meds. Well, Monday was one of those days you just don't want to ever have outside of the pharmacy mix up and I didn't have energy to deal with them. (when we got there we had to wait in a long line, then wait LONGER while she couldn't find the second script bag.)
Anyhow, last night we left to go pick up the big girl. No problem. Car ride. I do good with that. No, by the time the 6 hours was up I was done. Lots of pain. No drugs. Today was worse because not being at work I actually ate breakfast and lunch. I don't eat at work because the bathroom trips and possible having to go home wreaks havoc on my work life. Lots of bathroom trips in the sketchiest of bathrooms. Always my favorite. I do have to say that the Target bathroom in Charleston was possibly the cleanest one I have ever been in inside a Target. (though I ditched the first stall because of "sprinkle when you tinkle" that hadn't been wiped up)
We are home now and I have a to do list twelve miles long; instead I am here griping and wishing instead of digging around for one of the last lortabs I have without dealing with the doc I could just have some sort of outpatient IV morphine or whatever it is they put in those things when I get stuck in the hospital.
How can missing 3 doses of a drug that took almost a year to kick in leave me in this kind of shape? Grrr. Yeah, I know, I have had some sketchy problems the past few months anyway but darn it, I HURT and that really sucks, really, really hard; especially since this is my kid weekend. Not to mention the fact that there seems to be a command performance at a work-related party on Friday. Anyone want to go in my place to a crab and shrimp boil, ham feast and grouper thing. (remembering that smelly food kills me and seafood is the worst AND I don't eat meat. I am also coming down with an ear infection/throat thing which will probably land me on antibiotics which always causes flaring.
Technorati Tags: colitis,
ulcerative colitis, tummy troubles, imuran,
azathioprine
Anyhow, last night we left to go pick up the big girl. No problem. Car ride. I do good with that. No, by the time the 6 hours was up I was done. Lots of pain. No drugs. Today was worse because not being at work I actually ate breakfast and lunch. I don't eat at work because the bathroom trips and possible having to go home wreaks havoc on my work life. Lots of bathroom trips in the sketchiest of bathrooms. Always my favorite. I do have to say that the Target bathroom in Charleston was possibly the cleanest one I have ever been in inside a Target. (though I ditched the first stall because of "sprinkle when you tinkle" that hadn't been wiped up)
We are home now and I have a to do list twelve miles long; instead I am here griping and wishing instead of digging around for one of the last lortabs I have without dealing with the doc I could just have some sort of outpatient IV morphine or whatever it is they put in those things when I get stuck in the hospital.
How can missing 3 doses of a drug that took almost a year to kick in leave me in this kind of shape? Grrr. Yeah, I know, I have had some sketchy problems the past few months anyway but darn it, I HURT and that really sucks, really, really hard; especially since this is my kid weekend. Not to mention the fact that there seems to be a command performance at a work-related party on Friday. Anyone want to go in my place to a crab and shrimp boil, ham feast and grouper thing. (remembering that smelly food kills me and seafood is the worst AND I don't eat meat. I am also coming down with an ear infection/throat thing which will probably land me on antibiotics which always causes flaring.
Technorati Tags: colitis,
ulcerative colitis, tummy troubles, imuran,
azathioprine
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