Medical Issues

I guess no one likes our new vehicles :(.

There is a poster that asked about my mobility issues since we were in Vegas and walking day and night. The reality is we did NOT walk day and night by any means what so ever and i have real medical issues that have been found in tests so i thought it would be good to write a post about my medical issues and travels in case anyone else has questions about that.

When we go away i have a whole bunch of stuff i need to do. My medical issues are as follows....I have severe stomach issues that prevent me from eating a lot of things. I used to throw up a few times a week but since my surgery i had a nissan fundoplication so i can no longer throw up. I had a hiatus hernia with over 40 ulcers (and there is a pic in my medical file). I also had GERD and it was really, really bad, so bad in fact that the flap between my wind pipe and esophagus disappeared from all the acid from getting sick. I would get sick many, many times a week and essentially have a minute to get to the toilet. I now have a fake valve to prevent the bad crap from going down my wind pipe (including food) but i no longer get sick. If i have the flu it is absolutely awful, i would rather get sick. I had this issue for 8 years. I can not eat many of the healthy foods including most vegetables. My body does not tolerate them well. This led to a crappy diet, in fact when i was pregnant with my son and trying to eat healthy my body reacted in such a way that i had to be hospitalized and put on a junk food diet by my doctor as he was worried for my baby. I threw up twice a day without fail during that pregnancy and when it was 5 times before noon i was hospitalized. My doctor told me enough was enough, that i needed to eat things i could keep down instead of trying to eat as healthy as possible. I could eat Doritos, not sure why, and McDonald's. I drank milk constantly as it soothed my throat and helped a tiny bit with the heartburn. I would go through a huge bottle of Rolaids in a week. It started when i was 16 and had my surgery when i was 24. I was great for a few years without issues but still had to watch the things my body could not tolerate. Now i have major issues again and am on pills for my acid content. They are thinking i have IBS now, i go back to my doctor on the 10th. I eat chicken fingers every where i go because i know that is something i can mostly tolerate. I drink mostly water and i have a glass of milk with my supper. I have to have a sip of water for every piece of food i eat. I can not have pop with a meal what so ever, it creates too much gas while eating, not like i drink much pop anyways. I can not eat pasta, it chokes me, as well as most things the consistent with yogurt texture, i can not swallow it. I can go on and on about this one. I do not complain, i just live, because that is all i can do. I have tried to accept this is my life and it could be worse. I cook everything plain in my house, but if my husband wants something else i will make it for him, as he doesn't have these problems to the same extent.

I also have sleep apnea. I was not as big as i am now when i went for the testing. I did not get it because of my weight (every new doctor i see suggests that is the problem for everything even though every issue i have i got when i was still skinny). I went for two tests, both doctors had a bit of an attitude. The first one told me (with my husband there) that he was sure i did not have it and it must be something else due to my weight (i was 180 at the time). I walked out of that consultation feeling pretty crappy about myself. When i went back to the city where i was going for the test i had to stay at the hospital overnight so i drove in myself. It sucked being hooked up to all the wires and i had a heck of a time sleeping. I was not monitored one on one but the respiratory therapist was in the hospital so if my monitors went off she would get the alarm and come fix whatever it was. I roll constantly so i would get tangled. The results from that were inconclusive, they said it sounded like i breath through a straw (not good) so i got recommended for the level 4 clinic where there is someone actually watching you all night.

I drove to another city for that one, again by myself. I was pretty nervous going to a hospital at 9 pm having never been to that one before and being a female walking alone (murder capital of Canada per capita). They hooked me up differently and this time i had a mask......over my nose.......i am a mouth breather. I guess i kept trying to breathe through my mouth because the nurse kept coming on the intercom. That was a bit freaky because the room was dark and all a sudden you would hear someone telling you something. I felt like i could not breathe, which is why i kept trying to breath through my mouth. When i got woken up in the morning i was told that i only slept about an hour and a half. I knew i did not sleep well on a regular basis but going through these tests made me learn a lot. I then had to go back in and see the doctor. She was a new one, my son came with me as it was after school. She tried to imply that it was due to my weight and i shut her down right there and said the weight gain was recent (it was) and that my problems were long before i gained weight. She was still a bit arrogant and told me i have restless leg syndrome (recommended a prescription but my doctor said the side affects were too many for him to give it to me). She also said it appeared i had mild sleep apnea and i would have to get the CPAP machine. That was a bit scary but i rolled with it.

I went back to the first city to meet with the respiratory company and to get the machine i would be tested on. I had to do testing for a month to see what my pressure levels were. It started at 4 and went all the way to 20. They would then take the data and get the average which would tell them what to set my permanent machine at. In Canada our basic health care is covered. Not all provinces cover CPAP machines but Manitoba is one that does (yay for me) so i did not have to pay for it which was good as they are very expensive and i would not have been able to afford it. I thought i would have been at an 8 which would be the "mild" apnea but to my surprise i came in at an 11 which is more the "medium" area. It bothered me a bit because that doc was so smug and i wanted to throw it back at her but of course i did not. A couple years ago i went back in and asked to get re-tested as i found i was having trouble breathing again. It turns out that i needed to get my pressures up. Again i was surprised, they came in at 16, which is "high" since the highest is 20. That scared me, it is very loud and i have to let my machine gradually get there (it takes 20 minutes) because the noise bothers me when i fall asleep. I took my machine to both Florida and Vegas.

Now onto the various documented mobility issues. After i recovered from my stomach surgery i went back to working. I was bedridden with that surgery for 3 weeks (cut stomach muscles) and had a 3 month recovery so i left my job and found a new one. I don't even remember what the job was at the time but i fell really hard one day, hard enough that i had to get some anti-inflammatory pills. I did not know it at the time but my back was actually going out. I had a few more incidents including one in a grocery store where i went down and i could not stand up straight. I was out of province so i could not go to the hospital. My mom had given me a rub for my back and my grandma put that one me 3-4 times a day. It burned bad, but we had a 7 hour drive home in 2 days (we were at my gramps funeral) so i needed to be able to sit in the car. That incident was the one that started all the testing. I was able to sit in the car, but it was not easy. It turns out i have a bulging disc in my back. I also have arthritis throughout my whole back and my lower back has inflammation around my sciatic nerve on my left side that puts pressure on it. The pressure comes and goes which is why i have these "episodes". my doc tried various meds and also did 3 shots of cortisone in my back over a 2 year period. Nothing worked, in fact the second shot hit a nerve i believe because i have nerve pains in my left leg ever since. There was one med that worked great for about 10 days and unfortunately that did not last. i went to a specialist but i felt he was a waste of time and money (an hour away each time) and in the 5 visits i had with him the only suggestion he had was to get a cortisone shot under xray. I looked it up and you are only supposed to have 3 shots in your lifetime. Needless to say i will not go down that route again.

I have gone for various tests over the years to try and figure out what else is going on because i can not walk any sort of distance at all. I have to go to the chiropractor and for massage therapy to get through some things. I had to do it for my wedding, honeymoon etc so i could get through the night. I also have a problem with my right leg, it appears to be a bone issue but we have not diagnosed it yet. When we went to Florida i went to the chiro and massage the day before we left to give me the best shot and also when we got back. I also got a 10 day prescription for the one pill that worked a little bit years before. I also take robaxicet (sp) when needed and Advil and Tylenol on a daily basis every night before bed and anytime i will be on my feet for long periods. I also take melatonin to sleep because the pain keeps me awake at night. My shoulders and legs ache every single night.........the doc has not done any tests so far for that even though i have mentioned it for about 7 years now.

When on long excursions i have to sit down often. I will feel the pinching in my back .In Florida we took long afternoon breaks every single day so i could rest. I also sat down on benches at least once an hour for as long as it took until i felt ok enough till i could keep going for a while. I also took 3 different pairs of good shoes/sandals and wore at least 2 different pairs each day so that my feet would not hurt terribly. I can not do heels what so ever, i immediately feel a pain in my back but i had 1 pair of runners and 2 pairs of sandals, one the croc kind and another sketchers. I am really glad i had the different footwear, i will do that every trip now.

This spring before we went to Vegas i went for chiropractic xrays. I felt like there was more than just the previous diagnosed problems because my hips constantly go out. My chiropractor had been putting them back in for the last 15 years. I went to a different one in the city who had the tests i needed. I went back for the results with my husband. He told me i have a problem with my neck, i forget what it is called and also twisted hips and that is what 1/2 my problem is (the other half the back problem) with walking. He also told my husband i can not sweep, vacuum, mop, anything that involves that kind of motion. He gave me the disc for any future doctors. He told me that i could fix it, but it would expensive and intense and that i would have to see a different kind of chiropractor because mine is not intense enough and recommended another one here. For now i have not gone to that one as the first visit will be about 150$. I cant do the therapy anyways at this time so no point going to that different chiro right now. This is why i am unable to do many physical jobs. I actually have a doctors note that says i can not lift, bend or stand for long periods. I can do it for short stretches if i am careful. My 2nd job now is as a cashier in a canteen. The shifts are not too long but my feet really hurt when i get home. I take pills before i start and keep some in my purse in case i need them as well.

When we went to Vegas i booked king size bed as queen is a bit tight for my restless legs. I can not do the long hallways either. That is no lie...........which is also 1/2 of the reason why i bought bus passes. We got an accessible room due to needing to be close to the elevators but don't get me wrong......it was not a handicapped room and i did not ask for it to be accessible. I worked in hotels and we never gave those rooms out unless that was the last room we had. I would never ever try to take advantage of a situation. I do qualify for the handicap sticker for my car but i will not get one.........because i could never take that spot away from someone with a wheelchair. At MB the rooms were all huge and would accommodate anyone in a wheelchair. I also try to push the boundaries as much as i can and will go until i fall. It pisses my husband off because it is very painful (i try not to complain). I actually LOVE walking and running. I was extremely active most of my life so this is difficult for me. While i like to push the boundaries; at the end of the day the long hallways would do me in after being on my feet so much. We only walked far a couple days. The first one where we couldn't catch the bus because of the accident being in the way then not having another stop due to construction. We walked some when downtown as well but i would go in the casinos and sit in an empty chair until i could move. The other time we walked much was around the Venetian waiting for the Tim & faith concert but again.....i took as many breaks as i needed. We really did not walk much most of the time at all, we took the bus even just for one stop to try and make it a bit easier on me.

So there ya have it, that is what i do. I take meds as needed and every night. I sit often and get that break. I try to walk as little as possible. I also will use a hot water bottle and this hot stuff on my back if it gets real bad. I change my shoes (everyone should) as my feet get quite sore too. We also had a full day break in the middle of the trip so that we could chill out for a bit. My husband tends to chaf so this time we actually bought him something from the drug store and it helped some. I also try to get in the pool and or hot tub as that helps loosen me up.

Any other questions? My health concerns are very real, well documented and backed up with tests. I have almost every print out of them as well including the pathology reports from my ovarian cyst surgeries which i did not write about as they do not apply to trips. I would never milk a situation, that is just not how i am. My pain is real.......and i hide it well. I don't dwell on my problems in real life, it won't get me anywhere and i do not need anyone's pity or sympathy. As i said....it could be worse. I have been through a lot in my 35 years. My medical file is huge. I saw a nurse once at a fetal assessment clinic when i was 19 and pregnant and she said most 40 year olds would not have been through what i have and i had 3 more surgeries since then and 6 different diagnosis's. Our medical charts are now fully on a computer system now too so i wonder what she would think seeing it now lol.