Sadly i have to preface this. I don't think it should be necessary but it is. I know other people are worse off than me. I understand that many people face challenges much more daunting than i am facing. That doesn't mean that what i am going through is any less scary, any less important TO ME. I see all the time people telling someone to "get over it" because it could be worse, or someone else has it worse. How rude. **luckily no one has said that to my face, not sure they would dare, but online there are many warriors**.
Anyways. I can't tell you a time since i was a child when i wasn't sick with something. First it was my stomach which took 8 years to fix. I had chronic bronchitis, major back problems, sinus problems and uterine problems. I remember going to the doctor as just a normal part of my life. I wasn't a hypochondriac either. I had actual tests that backed up what i was feeling EXCEPT with my stomach (till i got the right doctor who found the huge problem in 3 months). With this medical care i have come to know my body in great detail. I know what feels right and what doesn't. Most times i self diagnose before ever going to the doctor, then i go just to get the actual proof. With our system now being computerized i also get a printout of my results so that i can look at them later and also so that when i am explaining things i am not missing anything or misunderstanding anything.
In 2003 i had my first surgery. It was a fairly major one but done by laparoscopy (sp) which was fairly new at the time. It went well but due to the scope and severity of my problem i had to have a nissan fundoplication done and a full one at that. What that means is that my upper stomach is wrapped around the esophogus so that i won't get GERD anymore. I also can not throw up, it is impossible. What that also means though is that i can choke very easy and have to watch what i eat still. The flap of skin protecting your windpipe from dirt/debris was also deteriorated due to my constantly getting sick that they had to make a fake valve for me. It took a few months but eventually i recovered (could not eat for 3 weeks, ouch).
In 2005 i missed a period so i thought maybe i was pregnant. A week after no period i went to the doctor and it came back negative.We were moving from the city back to this small city the following week so i just shrugged it off. Then i started heavily bleeding so i thought maybe a miscarriage. The pain was becoming unbearable........i couldn't lift anything to move. I was in so much pain i could barely stand. Every day i was getting worse. My dad came to help us move. As soon as we got here i told him i needed to go to the doc, i could barely walk. That doc gave me some medicine to help the bleeding and said i was probably just having a miscarriage and sent me for an ultrasound.
A week later (and i remember all this vividly) i couldn't walk anymore. I couldn't even stand up without being bunched right over so i called my dad and asked him to take me to the walk in again. At the walk in i told the doc about being there the previous week (no computers system then) and he sent me over to the clinic for an exam. They put me in before the ones with an appointment because this was pretty severe. He then told me he could feel my falopian tubes so he was admitting me to hospital right away. They put me on strong meds to help with the pain. The next day my ultrasound results came back in from the previous week. I was going outside for a smoke when i ran into my family doctor. He said he was sending the surgeon into see me in the morning but wouldn't say why.
My ultrasound showed a cyst that needed to be removed on my ovary. They did a pregnancy test with my pre op stuff. I ate breakfast so i couldn't have surgery that morning but i was to have emergency surgery that night as my white blood cell count was through the roof. I still remember fighting over the cathader, i HATED it. It was soooo uncomfortable. Anyways finally at 5:30 they come to get me (my hospital only does surgeries in the morning usually). I was laying on the operating table getting prepped and the doc comes to tell me that the pregnancy test was positive but it didn't show on my ultrasound so i must have had a tubal. That was fairly harsh to hear when on the table about to go under and no one around me to comfort me.
The pathology report showed a big cyst, but also that my tube had burst which was what was causing all my pain. After a week i was released. I then had to have 3 clean ultrasounds in a row. 6 months later i showed i had another large cyst and surgery again was recommended. It was supposed to be a day surgery but there were complications. One was that they could not get through the scar tissue so had to re-cut where they previously cut and the other was that they burnt my bowel with the cotarizer (sp). Now i could have been mad at the doctor, but mistakes happen, even costly ones by people who shouldn't be making mistakes. Due to that mistake i ended up in the hospital over all almost 2 weeks. Luckily i did not have any lasting bowel issues from it. I couldn't eat and had to be in a room with someone that could so that sucked. I was sicker than i had ever been with my 8 years of GERD and hiatus hernia so that says a lot. I was crapping water you guys that's how bad this was. I couldn't even drink anything for that whole time and they gave me no nutrition through my IV (because i couldn't have ANYTHING going into my stomach as it rests right on the bowel).
That hospital stay has resulted in my veins collapsing. I had to have potassium bags every 2nd bag (cause every bag is too much) but it is hard on the veins. My arms were black and blue. They are no longer able to get an IV in me easily. I wish cameras were big back then (selfies like now) because you would have been shocked at how i looked. Feeling that way was even worse. Now, due to this they have a very hard time drawing blood as well. In fact they have to use baby needles and pull it into a syringe. Fun.
So there is some back story, i may have written about it before but i am not too sure. I will continue this in part 2.
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