Just Call Me Queen Antacid.

Gyno:

I am now the proud owner of a shiny new, installed merena IUD.  The installation SUCKED.  it was almost as bad as the uterine biopsy.  First she had to "measure my uterus"  It was exactly as painful as a half-time biopsy.  After I finished yelping and the assistant instructed me to take cleaning (labor anyone?) breaths.  She said "ok now that is the worst of it'  followed by "except for just this" as she poked me up in a way that felt like pin the tail on the ovary.  I yelped a gian F**ck while laying on her exam table and viola…The sucker was installed.  Menopause junk hopefully solved.

Upper Endoscopy:

Two days later I went in for an upper endoscopy to check out the status of my band, esophagus and stomach.  The doctor who performed the exam, unlike the gyno. was very interested in the fact that I was retaining water like no tomorrow.  He poked and prodded my left ankle and said..yes, if you are having edema like this in your legs all of your internal organs are bloated up too.  I was out in seconds after he said it and woke up goodness knows how long later back in the prep room.  I was a tad miffed that he told all of what he saw to my husband and didn't even wait long enough to at least have me listen in a woozy state.  He said to my husband that: yes my esophagus and stomach were 'inflamed'.  He said that he took a biopsy and he said if it keeps up they will  probably need to pull the band (my knight in shining armor of a husband said--I don't see how inflamed automatically means she will not be able to lose the band.  why so?  and he said it put the doctor off and he back pedaled.

Lame Fill:

I immediately went to my next appointment-band fill.  We discussed the Upper endoscopy but she had no results.  She said they would be done in a week (it has now been 9 days and no results).  She then said that my new meanie surgeon would only allow me to have one cc of fluid into my band per month.  It is going to be almost a full year!!!  She gave me my measly 1cc and sent me on my way.

The result:

The merena IUD is pretty awesome.  It kicked in about 2 days ago.  I had a single moment where I got a little misty for  no reason whatsoever but that was really it.  The water has been shedding.  I can get my wedding rings back on.  No bleeding thus far.  On the down side I am having 3 hot flashes a night. Like clockwork-3 am, 5 am and 8am.  it is the really hardcore kind too..wakes me up all of the way when I am scrambling to get every inch of blanket off pronto.

The fill has had brief moments of a little bit of change-like I needed to slow down a little and chew more but..no restriction really.  I am happy I can feel anything but I have a long way to go..My weight topped at 202 when I got my fill.  I have not gained any more but I have no lost anything either.  I do think the end of water retention has helped with the stomach pain and shoulder pain a lot.

I have also been religiously taking a prilosec in the morning and two tums before bed at night.  Who knows what the magic is but for now..I am hedging all of my methods.  I do not want to lose this band.

so..mixed results but a bit of promise I hope.

Such a Frustrating Month

This whole illness thing is SOOO old now.  I really don't have anwers to anything more than I did before.  I am frustrated by the fact that I have two specialists who are only looking at their specialty and not looking at the big picture..which I suspect is probably more the problem.

Next week I am being fitted with a Morena.  Although the bleeding has stopped the OBGYN thinks it will solve things in a more permanent way.  I am game as I also suspect the stomach issues I am having are related.

At one point I thought the side pain might be a hernia..i called my lapband doctor had me go for a CAT scan.  They found nothing.  Of course the position they put me in guaranteed that any hernia I had in that region would not be protruding as I use that same position to get rid of the pain..lay down tip on my right hip and lift my arm above my head..exactly.

It took a full week for the lapband doctor to get back to me.  At the time I had a colonoscopy and an ugi  (I think that is what they call it anyway) scheduled.  They didnt get back to me and I had a conflicting thing at work.  I called and cancelled the appointment until I heard from them.  Well apparently my lapband doctor (although she didnt call me for a flipping week with the results) was unhappy with that action and she with no warning cancelled my fill appointment.  I found out on my online record notification!  I figure the least she could have done is get me in and turn me down.

In the mean time I called them back after I had my CAT scan results and rescheduled the UGI appointment (I am just so sick of the poking and prodding I am going to hold off on the colonoscopy until spring).  That appointment is set for the same day as my fill would have been.  Of course now too late they cancelled it..I was rather miffed at that.

Now yesterday and today..for some Unknown reason my completely empty lapband has all of a sudden found some restriction.  Who the heck knows how or why.  I am in the middle of trying to transition to a low carb diet (I have to do something!!) and last evening I ate a few mixed nuts.  I felt full for the first time since she pulled my fill.  Later in the evening I had a drink and voila..PB (first one in AGES).  Tonight my husband and I came out to the bar (while daughter was in a movie) and I had one mixed drink (low sugar) and some chicken.  I ate and drank but that has not posed a problem before now..and voila..I now have restriction and am running to the bathroom (not sure if I am stuck or pbing yet..but it is not pretty).  Thsi definitely reminds me of the old days when I was learning to navigate this thing. By the way.  I am typing this mid..whatever this thing is.

I am not sure how I feel about it..I am happy to have some restriction back but..PB and stuck?  Have I learned nothing in 5 years??

Finally a Little Breakthrough

We finished up our vacation and came home.  I had a very traumatic failed appointment at the gynecologists office but frankly I don't really care any more.  The bleeding has stopped and although I am retaining water like crazy I am no longer afraid I am going to keel over with a lack of Iron or anything.  The gyno thing is not longer top priority.

The abdominal pain continues to be really bad.  If I eat solids  like clockwork in 1-2 hours I experience some pretty high levels of pain.  On Saturday I (along with 8 other people) helped my oldest daughter move.  I didn't carry anything too heavy but hauled boxes and such up 9 stairs and down a sidewalk to her town home.  About 15 minutes after we finished the pain appeared on my left side as usual.  We left pretty quickly after the stuff was into her place and it hurt so bad on the drive home I had to recline my seat back and push on my side…well while pushing I found what I am pretty sure is the hernia.

My highly efficient and WONDERFUL digestive health nurse practitioner had her aide call me and we talked about what was going on and she in under 24 hours managed to get me in for a CT scan to have a look.  NOT ONLY did they treat me with respect and check up on me they listened to my suspicions and acted on it.  They are now the BEST people in the world to me!!

Tomorrow morning I have a CT scan, tomorrow afternoon the gyno visit is happening (hopefully for real this time and some sort of solution or plan).

I have a endoscope and colonoscopy scheduled for next week.  If this hernia thing pans out I am so going to cancel it and take a break before rescheduling in 6 months or so.  I have taken enough working days off to visit doctors.  The surgery will mean at least another couple.

These weeks without restrictions has prompted me to think about some things:

• The first week the re-found freedom to eat was really fun.
• Fruit and Salads are really tasty after so long with restriction.  I had all but given up more than a bitr of them as they were difficult for me to eat.
• The 'hernia' thing did give me pause but at first it didn't really cause me to eat less.  I found this curious.  Why does throwing up after eating too much have such a quick impact on my eating habits but pain doesn't really have the same impact?
• The eating is so not worth the weight gain and I am ready to start getting my restriction back.
• I can already feel my good habits slipping.  While I am eating I know I can drink and I think about it but I drink.  Chewing has slipped.
• I have given up coffee Not a single frapp. in days.  I had one hot mocha and it was a disaster (pain). I switched to a much lower calorie Peach Green Tea Lemonade.  I am so thirsty that this has not been a problem at all.  I always chase each one with a refill of water the same size.