Hi all, yes it is about time I updated my blog.
I wish I could say it has all be plain sailing in the last few months, but alas I couldn't be that lucky! I have had a continual cycle of uncomfort and vomiting - which hasn't been fun!
However last week it turned completely to crap! I had a sodding head cold which moved very quickly to my chest and with continual coughing I started vomiting simultaneously from my mouth and nose....yes most attractive I know! So Saturday and Sunday I felt like death warmed up but the coughing at least subsided during the day and I managed to get to work for the beginning of the week, the assistance of cough medicine, panadol, anticol, ventolin and nasal spray I started to come good being able to still hold down fluids and a very minimal amount of food. However come Wednesday night the vomiting started to contain blood and a considerable amount of discomfort, I was unable to hold down any fluids or solids at all. Little did I realize but the vomiting and nasal discharge all became black with I now realize was all garol blood, it actaully reminds me of a few Supernatural episodes :-)....
After much tossing and turning I waited for the GP's office to open, I managed to get an appointment with Dr Partnen and she was quite through. Dr Partnen did ring Dr De lacy's rooms but he was on holidays and so was the other gastro surgeon that they recommended! After throwing up in the surgery I left her office with a pathology form and a referral to Dr Popovic (a laproscopic surgeon) for two hours time. So at Dr Partnen's instructions I went and had the blood tests and wandered home to pack a bag for the hospital. So while I was packing my bag for the hospital and a few phone calls later to Linda and Jaz, mum arrived on the door step and took me to my appointment with Dr Popovic. Within in ten mins of being in his rooms I again threw up and left mum to fill in my paperwork.
We waited about 40 mins to see him and he had already made an appointment for me to have a barium swallow at Southern X Ray and they had also already arranged for me to be admitted directly into St Stephens to be placed on a drip as I was severly dehydrated.
The barium swallow revealed that the gastric band had completely slipped and now I have almost all of my stomach above the gastric band, and there was very little passing through the band at all. We aren't sure when the band slipped but I was able to eat but come time for the digestion to start it was going nowhere and hence the throwing up. Then due to the coughing inducing the vomiting everything was inflamed and bleeding!!!!!!
So at about 3pm on Thursday afternoon I was settling into my room at St Stephens after my barium swallow. Anybody who knows about or has had a barium swallow will understand the liquid they make you drink is like drinking a box of ground white teachers chalk and is the heaviness of 2 day old porridge. So just after settling into my room I again threw up so as you can imagine the chalk combined with black stomach contents.....what a lovely shade of grey that was! Sorry - but you were warned!!!! If it is making you sick...imagine how I feel!!!!
Dr Popovic came a little after 5.30pm and confirmed the results of the scans, and he was also concerned that my white blood count was quite high and seeing though he was on call at Hervey Bay he wanted me transferred down there to keep an eye on me....however there ended up being no beds available so I stayed put. Now resting quitely with mum close by I settled in for a quiet night. I was offered maxalon for the queziness in my stomach but it was bearable and because I hadn't had anything but ice chips I was ok (although I did throw up again after the first cup of ice chips....over doing it again!!!). Mum left about 8.30pm and I managed to doze on and off until midnight, and then slept right through until about 4.30am which my drip started playing up!
Linda and the kids dropped in for a visit early after I had had a shower and felt almost human again! Dr Popovic came and told me he would be taking me to theatre after his morning session around 11am to remove the fluid from the band and possibly perform a gastroscopy. I didn't get taken down to theatre until approx 1230 and I was gone for over 2 hours. In theatre I had a full compliment of theatre staff, ultrasound, xray, local anestetic at the gastric band port site and also some sort of "twilight" epidural. And all they did was remove the fluid from the band (which by the way is no different to any other adjusment in the clinic by the nurses every month and takes ten mins!!!).
Dr Popovic said whilst I was "technically" in recovery that if I was feeling well enough I could go home in an hour or so...at that point I laughed, because I felt like crap! However although I was feeling queezy I had had enough and wanted to go home - so like a good girl I sipped a full glass of water and made my way through a glass of apple juice, paper work was done, mum collected some tablets from Dr Popvic's rooms and I was going home!!!!!! Although I was under strict instructions to remain on clear fluids for 24 hours and take it very easy.
Mum made sure I had consumed a cup of tea and some broth and was holding it down before she went back to Bundy (because she had to work at an election booth on Saturday) at about 8pm, but I was already in bed and dozing by the time she got home.
I spent the weekend (including Monday) being very quiet and getting lots of sleep with a few visitors dropping around to rouse and check on me. I did over do it a little on Sunday because I was feeling a little better - I vaccumed and did some washing and all of my stomach muscles were in spasm. So I paid for it!
Eating wise I am taking it very easy and eating very small amounts of soft foods and I am starting to feel a lot better and there have been no incidents! However one of the biggest downsides of starting to eat again I stink!!!! Might I say I could and have cleared out a room with one fart! Man.....they have been putrid - they even beat Tony's!!!!
I went back to work today - and although I was super exhausted....I came home and had a couple of hours sleep - I made it through the day! Tomorrow (Wednesday) I have a follow up appointment with Dr Popovic and also I have an appointment with Dr De lacy on Tuesday to see where to from now! But I will keep you posted!!!!!
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