Reoccurring?? I hope not.

Hi again.  Well, ended up seeing the doctor early...Friday (Feb. 3rd), instead of the appointment that I was supposed to have today.  I learned a few things between the appointment and what I could find researching.  The bulge that popped out when I vomited is in the exact location of the sutures where the doctor closed up the hernia.  Although the doctor didn't really want to admit it, its a possibility I broke the stitches and mesh, and my stomach has returned to my diaphragm.  I'm scheduled for another Upper GI on the 13th and they'll know for sure, then he'll decide what they are going to do next.  The surgery for a para-esophageal hernia has a 35% failure rate and it appears it might have failed and they'll have to figure out how to get it to stay fixed.  The hardest part is they could not do a Nissen Fundoplication, because of my previous gastric bypass.  With this procedure they normally take a portion of the stomach and wrap it around the esophagus, therefore making the stomach stay in place and unable to move upward, like it did into my diaphragm.  Although I truly don't want to go through the surgery again, having it be a re-occurrence is better than it being something else, since then it means I am back to square one and they didn't fix it at all.   Not sure where I stand now, except in a lot of pain and back to no driving...even walking or standing for more than 10-15 minutes starts the pain up...fun, fun.  Anyways, will keep you all updated.

More worries

Well, let's see, since I posted last:  I had the surgery on the 28th of December and learned I had a para-esophageal hernia that none of the doctors had even guessed was there. They pulled my stomach and intestines back down to where they are supposed to be out of my diaphragm, and he used stitches and mesh to close up the huge hole that allowed it to go up there to begin with. Recovery was painful, especially since he had to straighten my esophagus back out where it had been pushed to the side by my stomach.  I saw the doctor for a follow up at 2 weeks after the surgery and was having a lot of problems swallowing.  Every time I would eat, it felt like the food was getting "stuck" half way down and actually made me feel like I couldn't breathe and was choking. This I learned was swelling and irritation of my esophagus, so he put me on a soft food diet (which truly sucks), but I was told would get better with time. I have followed every rule the doctor gave me:  soft-food diet, no lifting anything over 10 pounds, this even includes my hefty 20 pound cats.  The swallowing issue did get better, but I'm still not really sure why last Thursday (the 26th of January, 4+ weeks after surgery), I got sick for no reason at all eating lunch.  No nausea, no stuck feeling, it just came back up (fortunately I was at home, otherwise this could have been really embarrassing had I been in a restaurant) and then everything in my stomach came back up and I vomited really hard...this unfortunately caused some kind of problem.  The same spot as before bulged out and hurt really bad, forcing me to push on it until it went back in...I still don't know what this is. My old doctor thought this was an abdominal hernia, but my current doctor ruled that out during surgery.  Needless to say, I am back to all the same problems:  nausea and constant pain..only this time, that spot where it bulged feels like someone has a knife stuck in there and is sawing away. Its actually throbbing just like a cut on your finger does...man oh man does it hurt.  I don't know if I broke some of the stitches or if the whole repair failed and I'm back to square one or what it is. I'm scared I'll have to go through the whole surgery again.  I see the doctor again on the 7th of February and am stuck dealing with this until then, unless it gets really, really bad, then I am supposed to go to the emergency room, since my doctor won't be in his office until after Friday.  This is so frustrating. for a short time there, I had no problems at all and actually felt better than I did before my original gastric bypass surgery.  So, for now at least, I am back to where I was before....pain and more pain. I'll keep you all updated.  Take care and say some prayers for me please.

Home from the hospital

Hi everyone,  I am home from the hospital.  Had the surgery on Wednesday and they let me come home late Thursday morning, since they managed the whole surgery laproscopic. I am extremely sore and as of yet, can't seem to get comfortable, had to sleep in the recliner, since laying flat in bed just hurts too much.  As it turns out, although it never showed up on any of the tests the doctors did, I had a paraesophogeal hernia.  It was so big, my entire stomach had been pulled up into my diaphragm. Guess that explains why it always felt like the food was getting "stuck" every time I ate...it was. The doctors had to pull my stomach back down and put it back in its correct place, then they sutured the opening closed as much as they could, including putting in a mesh that will help it close the rest of the way over time. Obviously this is something that developed over time, since the hernia had been let go for so long. Fortunately for me, it never incarcerated or I most likely wouldn't be here to keep you all updated. I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks for another check up, so hopefully this will be all it takes and all of my symptoms will be gone.  I'll update again then.  Happy New Years.

One Week left..

One week from today--10:30am!!!!  I'm nervous and a little scared, but hopefully it will mean they'll fix this and I can go back to living my life.  These last 2+ years have been hell...I can't go out to a restaurant without fear I'll either have to run to the bathroom to throw up, or God forbid, don't make it to the bathroom.  I'm afraid to eat, since I know eating means pain, but how do you avoid it this time of year?  I have to truly plan my entire day, since once I take the pain medication, I can't drive (Not sure how safe that is since, its like being drunk on alcohol)...so something as simple as going to the grocery store has to be well planned out in advance....meaning I can't eat until I am done with whatever is planned, since once I do the pain meds are a necessity....no spontaneity for me these days. All I want for Christmas this year is to have this surgery work.  Unfortunately, there are no guarantees and the doctor isn't sure this will help...so please, say some prayers for me.

May you have a blessed and merry Christmas (or holiday season, if you believe something else).
I'll update after the New Year.

Surgery Scheduled

After waiting and waiting, I'm finally at the point I could either scream with frustration or bawl my eyes out.  I saw my doctor this morning and he doesn't have any answers.  The bravo test came back completely normal, which amazes me, considering the amount of heart burn I had to deal with during the test...but, normal is normal.  So, now what?  Although he isn't sure it is going to help and after all of this, I may still be at square one, he offered to schedule the surgery.

The surgery will be between Christmas and New Years, so, so much for my holiday and I'll be in the hospital when my family has its annual get together and my sister is in town from out of state.  The surgery will be laproscopic, unless he needs to convert to open.  He is planning to fix the hiatal hernia, fix the abdominal hernia (although he isn't convinced I have one...I'm still asking then what is it that keeps popping out when I sneeze or cough), he'll look for more adhesions, since I had them before and then look around for anything else that could possibly be going on. 

So, needless to say, there are a lot of IFs, but hopefully this will help and I can move on with my life, otherwise, I don't know what else I'm going to do.  Can you say FRUSTRATION.  Cross your fingers, say some prayers for me please.  I need some type of resolution. 

Happy Holidays,
I'll update again, when I can.

Getting somewhere...maybe?

Well, it appears I may be coming up to some type of resolution.  After my last upper GI on the 24th of October, the doctor seemed to be at a standstill, since it didn't show much.  The hiatal hernia appeared to be small and he still isn't sure this is the cause of all of my problems.  The pain is constant at this point, although still at its worst only after eating.  Which of course, leads me to not want to eat.  The nausea has seemed to calm down a bit over the last week, but its still there and I'm still vomiting an average of 1-2 times a day (mostly bile, since I haven't been eating a whole lot).  The worst part, at least to me, is that now every time I vomit, my abdominal hernia decides to pop out too.  There is nothing worse than throwing up, then having to lay on the bathroom tile and push it back in, only so I can throw up again.

As of yesterday, I am now scheduled for another EGD, only this time they are doing a bravo test to go with it.  A Bravo test, is basically a little capsule monitor that the doctor attaches to your esophagus during the EGD to monitor how much acid is coming up from the stomach. It transmits to a little receiver that I will have to carry around for 24 hours and then return.  Fortunately, the capsule just falls off and passes normally, so they don't have to remove it afterward..Once the doctor gets these results they will decide exactly what they are going to do next.  Looks as though they will be scheduling me for surgery at the beginning of December.  This kind of sucks in terms of the holidays, but maybe I'll actually be able to enjoy the food and festivities without the pain, if this works.  They are planning to fix both the hiatal and the abdominal hernias and depending on the results, might do something else too, but they said they would explain that once the results were back....so I'll keep you posted. 

Still waiting it out.

I'm still waiting to hear something. According to my doctor's PA (Physician Assistant), the upper GI only showed a small hiatal hernia, which he doesn't believe is causing my problems.  I am so frustrated and tired of this.  My patience is running thin, especially when I have nights like I did last night.  Eating dinner is actually scary these days. Seriously starting to consider going on a liquid diet, but not even sure that would help.

Last night we had pizza for dinner.  I ate one slice, that's it and ended up doubled over, threw up twice, with my incisional hernia deciding to pop out at the same time.  Its really sad when you have to lay on the bathroom floor to push a hernia back in, just so you can throw up again.  What will it take for the doctors to start treating me as a priority?