So my Doctor told me that I was crazy for going to 4 different doctors. Our plan of action is to stop all medication that has been prescribed to me over the past two weeks. He gave me Percocet to take over the next several days for the pain until we can give the antibiotics enough time to work their way out of my system. (Percocet is what I took in the hospital after I had Emma and the 3rd degree episiotomy.) This will also give him time to get all of my charts from the other doctor's offices so he can look those over. Then we will talk on the phone Wednesday so we can set up a plan of action of where to start.
I am so scared about this process but really feel that this needs to be done. The pain gets so bad at times that I just can't stand it. So from here until Wednesday I'll be checking out of here and checking into la la land. I will not be held accountable for anything I write on here in the meantime. :)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Unlikely Ovulation
So along with my bloodwork that I had done last Monday they also did an ultrasound on my ovaries to see if maybe I had a cyst that ruptured and that would be the reason for all the pain I've been having. But that was ruled out when they didn't find any fluid in my abdomen and they think that since they didn't see a cyst of 1.8cm in size that maybe it was shrinking with the slight possibility of ovulation.
So I'm back to diagnosis #1 being that maybe I have a kidney or colon infection.
We decided on Wednesday at the very last minute that we were going to pack up and head down to Florida to visit Phillip's family. About 2 hours down the road my back started aching but we decided to press on. 4 hours down the road I was in complete meltdown and almost in tears from the pain. Luckily Phillip's brother was very generous and hooked us up with a hotel room for the night. There I was able to lay in the bed with my heating pain, start taking my antibiotic that the ER Doctor told me to stop and then loaded up with my pain medicine and tried to sleep the night away.
The next day I felt much better but called and talked to a nurse at my primary physician's office and she advised me to continue taking my antibiotic and to call them when we got home if I still felt bad. The rest of the day I felt pretty good but still used the heating pad at night when I slept. The next day I didn't feel stellar but didn't feel horrible so we went about our day at his Mom's house. Thursday night we headed down to his brother's house where I didn't have a good night. So Friday Phillip took me to Doctor #3, another Doc-in-the-box and she was just a moron. I think she just wanted to get me out of her office so she wrote me a prescription for a muscle relaxer (to relax my stomach and hopefully stop it from hurting) and another antibiotic for a possible urinary tract infection.
So we are home now and it's Monday. Last night I hardly slept because I was in pain again. My stomach, left lower abdomen and back were on fire and aching something fierce. So when my primary physician's office opened I was first in line to make an appointment. I go at 4:20 hoping and praying that they will figure out what the heck is wrong with me. I can't take much more and I'm in dire need of a good night's sleep.
So I'm back to diagnosis #1 being that maybe I have a kidney or colon infection.
We decided on Wednesday at the very last minute that we were going to pack up and head down to Florida to visit Phillip's family. About 2 hours down the road my back started aching but we decided to press on. 4 hours down the road I was in complete meltdown and almost in tears from the pain. Luckily Phillip's brother was very generous and hooked us up with a hotel room for the night. There I was able to lay in the bed with my heating pain, start taking my antibiotic that the ER Doctor told me to stop and then loaded up with my pain medicine and tried to sleep the night away.
The next day I felt much better but called and talked to a nurse at my primary physician's office and she advised me to continue taking my antibiotic and to call them when we got home if I still felt bad. The rest of the day I felt pretty good but still used the heating pad at night when I slept. The next day I didn't feel stellar but didn't feel horrible so we went about our day at his Mom's house. Thursday night we headed down to his brother's house where I didn't have a good night. So Friday Phillip took me to Doctor #3, another Doc-in-the-box and she was just a moron. I think she just wanted to get me out of her office so she wrote me a prescription for a muscle relaxer (to relax my stomach and hopefully stop it from hurting) and another antibiotic for a possible urinary tract infection.
So we are home now and it's Monday. Last night I hardly slept because I was in pain again. My stomach, left lower abdomen and back were on fire and aching something fierce. So when my primary physician's office opened I was first in line to make an appointment. I go at 4:20 hoping and praying that they will figure out what the heck is wrong with me. I can't take much more and I'm in dire need of a good night's sleep.
6 week update
Last Monday I went in to get my bloodwork redone after my 6 weeks of low carbs and exercise program. That afternoon the nurse called and said that they already received my bloodwork results back and to come in tomorrow to get the results.
All my hardwork has paid off! My liver enzymes came down from 116 to 49! The really want it to be lower than 44 but Dr. Lucas was very impressed at my drastic improvement! I'm so super excited. My testosterone came back high so they are going to start me on my old protocol when I got pregnant with Emma. I'll start taking 2.5mg of Prednizone for 4 weeks and then go back in and repeat the bloodwork to see if we got that down as well. Then if that works we will go back to the shots and try again!
I'm still on my diet or should I call it "lifestlye change" and exercise program but it's much better than having to take more pills. :)
All my hardwork has paid off! My liver enzymes came down from 116 to 49! The really want it to be lower than 44 but Dr. Lucas was very impressed at my drastic improvement! I'm so super excited. My testosterone came back high so they are going to start me on my old protocol when I got pregnant with Emma. I'll start taking 2.5mg of Prednizone for 4 weeks and then go back in and repeat the bloodwork to see if we got that down as well. Then if that works we will go back to the shots and try again!
I'm still on my diet or should I call it "lifestlye change" and exercise program but it's much better than having to take more pills. :)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Diagnosis #3
I called my sweet friend last night because she's gone through this cyst thing before and I knew she'd have some words of wisdom for me. She recommended that I call my oncall fertility Dr. to let them know that I had been in the ER and that they said I had a cyst. So I did just that.
Five minutes later, ring, ring. It's the oncall Dr. McKinney. She talks me through the scenarios and we come up with maybe the cyst was larger than 1.8 and that it had ruptured causing me the extreme pain. Ok. I bought into that. The ironic thing is that I had a scheduled bloodwork appointment with them for my 6 week follow-up on Monday the 18th. She agreed that they would do an ultrasound on me in the morning to see if the cyst had indeed ruptured. If it had then they would be able to see fluid in my abdomen. I was happy that I had another diagnosis that made a little sense. I took a pain pill and headed off to bed.
Phillip woke me up from a zombie-like sleep this morning so I could get ready and head to the Dr's office. We got there at 8:45 and they did my ultrasound first. Scan, scan, scan, hmmm. "What side were you having pain on?" asks the ultrasound tech. "The left side." Scan some more. "Hmmm. I don't see a 1.8cm cyst on your left ovary anymore" she says. AAAAAAHHHHHH! (This is me screaming and everyone in the whole hospital can here me. Are you kidding me? Not 24 hours ago I had something supposedly sitting on my ovary causing me severe pain and your telling me you can't find it? Was the ER Dr. just trying to get me out of his curtain room? Then she says, "I think you could have ovulated and that's why it's not showing on there anymore." Me? Ovulate? Cool! Then I think to myself, "If that's what ovulation feels like once a month then I don't want to have anything to do with that!" I then ask her if I did ovulate could I have gotten pregnant? Sure! Pregnant without taking medicine. Hmmm. Interesting concept. I'm not familiar with that one. I guess I'll know better next time that I should be doing something better other than going to the Emergency Room!
Diagnosis #3: Ovulation
Five minutes later, ring, ring. It's the oncall Dr. McKinney. She talks me through the scenarios and we come up with maybe the cyst was larger than 1.8 and that it had ruptured causing me the extreme pain. Ok. I bought into that. The ironic thing is that I had a scheduled bloodwork appointment with them for my 6 week follow-up on Monday the 18th. She agreed that they would do an ultrasound on me in the morning to see if the cyst had indeed ruptured. If it had then they would be able to see fluid in my abdomen. I was happy that I had another diagnosis that made a little sense. I took a pain pill and headed off to bed.
Phillip woke me up from a zombie-like sleep this morning so I could get ready and head to the Dr's office. We got there at 8:45 and they did my ultrasound first. Scan, scan, scan, hmmm. "What side were you having pain on?" asks the ultrasound tech. "The left side." Scan some more. "Hmmm. I don't see a 1.8cm cyst on your left ovary anymore" she says. AAAAAAHHHHHH! (This is me screaming and everyone in the whole hospital can here me. Are you kidding me? Not 24 hours ago I had something supposedly sitting on my ovary causing me severe pain and your telling me you can't find it? Was the ER Dr. just trying to get me out of his curtain room? Then she says, "I think you could have ovulated and that's why it's not showing on there anymore." Me? Ovulate? Cool! Then I think to myself, "If that's what ovulation feels like once a month then I don't want to have anything to do with that!" I then ask her if I did ovulate could I have gotten pregnant? Sure! Pregnant without taking medicine. Hmmm. Interesting concept. I'm not familiar with that one. I guess I'll know better next time that I should be doing something better other than going to the Emergency Room!
Diagnosis #3: Ovulation
Party in the ER
Since leaving the Doc-in-Box that afternoon my side still has not let up on the pain. Phillip and I went out for a planned date at the Stardome comedy club and we went to dinner. I have never laughed so hard and it was such a nice relief to go, relax and laugh for a couple of hours. We got home and headed off to bed. An hour later I woke up with even worse pains in my left side. I thought to myself, "This is just not right." I moaned and groaned, paced around the house, took a bath, sat on the couch and rocked back and forth praying for some relief. I tried to lay back in bed and finally I hopped up, grabbed some clothes from the closet slid on my shoes but did not lace, poked Phillip until he woke up, told him I'm headed to the emergency room, kissed him goodbye and drove as fast as I could to the hospital.
When I got to the emergency room which is only about 10-15 minutes from the house I couldn't find a parking spot it was so packed! Great! I'm going to die right there on the floor of the emergency room. That's not the way I pictured going out. I ran in, grabbed my paper work, tripping over my still unlaced shoes and got to work. I still don't know how the nurse read my handwriting because I'm sure it was unledgeable. So I sat and sat and sat and then sat some more. Then I rocked back and forth and cried and tried to fit in like the other crazies that I was sitting around. If I'm not sick now you better believe I'm leaving here tonight with something much better than I walked in with. As I was sitting there in my chair trying to find some peace I heard this lady yelling, "Sir. Sir? SIR? Can you hear me sir? Wake up! Wake up sir! I turned around and there was a man on the floor passed out. Great! The nurse kept yelling at him and hitting his back. What kind of hospital am I at? You'd think if the man was passed out that she may try and get the 100's of doctor's that are here in a hospital where we are all coming to get help from. Finally the guy started swatting at the lady. He's drunk! Passed out! Great! This stupid guy that had to much to drink is going to get seen before me. This is going to take forever. Atleast he wasn't dying on the floor like I thought he was orginally.
So 3 1/2 hours later I get into a room. They ask me for the 3rd time today if I was pregnant. No. Just a little FYI Doc, just before a girl in their child bearing age shows up at the ER with lower abdomen pain doesn't mean she's pregnant. After telling him NO for the 3rd time he proceeds to tell me that they are going to do a pregnancy test. Whatever dude. If you find amusement in that then so be it. They do a urine sample and hook me up to an IV so get some fluids in me. The nurse first tries to put the IV in my hand and after poking and prodding my vein turns and she can't get it in. Next, my arm. That one wasn't easy either but she got it to stick. Then the X-ray tech comes in and gives me this drink so that she can do a Cat-scan on my abdomen. It was this bitter lemon-lime concoction that I had to choke down so that they can scan me. Little did I know I had to wait 2 hours for this stuff to get in my system. Meanwhile this is like 4:30 in the morning, I haven't slept and I'm clutching my purse because I'm scared that if I do fall asleep someone will steal my purse. Am I crazy or what? Finally at 6:30 am they come to get me for my CAT-scan.
Dr. Tubbs, yes that was the ER doctor's name, walked into my room, looked at me and said, "your fine you can go home." EXCUSE ME? I am not fine. Come again. "You have a 1.8 cm cyst on your ovary. I'll get your papers to discharge you and you can go home. Follow up with your OB/GYN." He walked out of the curtain and I yelled for him to come back. "Are you going to give me some pain medicine?" There's no way I'm leaving this place empty handed, without something good to ease the pain. "Yeah there'll be two prescriptions for you." Not very good bed-side manners sir. The nurse comes back in to remove my IV and send me on my way. On the way out I have to pay my $150 copay and hope that they won't see me back here any time soon.
What I find funny about this diagnosis is that back in November I had a 4.0cm cyst with absolutely no pain. So why would this 1.8cm cyst cause me so much pain? When we do our fertility treatment the optimum follicle size they want to trigger ovulation is between 1.6cm and 1.8cm. This 1.8cm cyst that I have on my ovary would be perfect if I could just ovulate it. Then I could get pregnant on my own and life would be glorious! If only life worked out the way we want it too.
Diagnosis: Ovarian Cyst
When I got to the emergency room which is only about 10-15 minutes from the house I couldn't find a parking spot it was so packed! Great! I'm going to die right there on the floor of the emergency room. That's not the way I pictured going out. I ran in, grabbed my paper work, tripping over my still unlaced shoes and got to work. I still don't know how the nurse read my handwriting because I'm sure it was unledgeable. So I sat and sat and sat and then sat some more. Then I rocked back and forth and cried and tried to fit in like the other crazies that I was sitting around. If I'm not sick now you better believe I'm leaving here tonight with something much better than I walked in with. As I was sitting there in my chair trying to find some peace I heard this lady yelling, "Sir. Sir? SIR? Can you hear me sir? Wake up! Wake up sir! I turned around and there was a man on the floor passed out. Great! The nurse kept yelling at him and hitting his back. What kind of hospital am I at? You'd think if the man was passed out that she may try and get the 100's of doctor's that are here in a hospital where we are all coming to get help from. Finally the guy started swatting at the lady. He's drunk! Passed out! Great! This stupid guy that had to much to drink is going to get seen before me. This is going to take forever. Atleast he wasn't dying on the floor like I thought he was orginally.
So 3 1/2 hours later I get into a room. They ask me for the 3rd time today if I was pregnant. No. Just a little FYI Doc, just before a girl in their child bearing age shows up at the ER with lower abdomen pain doesn't mean she's pregnant. After telling him NO for the 3rd time he proceeds to tell me that they are going to do a pregnancy test. Whatever dude. If you find amusement in that then so be it. They do a urine sample and hook me up to an IV so get some fluids in me. The nurse first tries to put the IV in my hand and after poking and prodding my vein turns and she can't get it in. Next, my arm. That one wasn't easy either but she got it to stick. Then the X-ray tech comes in and gives me this drink so that she can do a Cat-scan on my abdomen. It was this bitter lemon-lime concoction that I had to choke down so that they can scan me. Little did I know I had to wait 2 hours for this stuff to get in my system. Meanwhile this is like 4:30 in the morning, I haven't slept and I'm clutching my purse because I'm scared that if I do fall asleep someone will steal my purse. Am I crazy or what? Finally at 6:30 am they come to get me for my CAT-scan.
Dr. Tubbs, yes that was the ER doctor's name, walked into my room, looked at me and said, "your fine you can go home." EXCUSE ME? I am not fine. Come again. "You have a 1.8 cm cyst on your ovary. I'll get your papers to discharge you and you can go home. Follow up with your OB/GYN." He walked out of the curtain and I yelled for him to come back. "Are you going to give me some pain medicine?" There's no way I'm leaving this place empty handed, without something good to ease the pain. "Yeah there'll be two prescriptions for you." Not very good bed-side manners sir. The nurse comes back in to remove my IV and send me on my way. On the way out I have to pay my $150 copay and hope that they won't see me back here any time soon.
What I find funny about this diagnosis is that back in November I had a 4.0cm cyst with absolutely no pain. So why would this 1.8cm cyst cause me so much pain? When we do our fertility treatment the optimum follicle size they want to trigger ovulation is between 1.6cm and 1.8cm. This 1.8cm cyst that I have on my ovary would be perfect if I could just ovulate it. Then I could get pregnant on my own and life would be glorious! If only life worked out the way we want it too.
Diagnosis: Ovarian Cyst
It's all poo poo
Well I obviously didn't have food poisening from Taco Bell because that wasn't the last night of terrible pains in my side. The following Sunday night and about every other night after I was up half of the night doubling over in pain. If I made it through the night I vowed that I would go to the Doctor as soon as a I woke up. Once I got to the Doc in the box at 10am, the waiting room was packed out with hackers, fevers, broken bones and the flu. I finally got back into a room at 1 1/2 hours later and waited and waited and waited some more. I got blood drawn, pee'd in a cup, and had a couple of x-ray's done.
Diagnoses: Diverticulitis
What are diverticulosis and diverticulitis?
Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots, like an inner tube that pokes through weak places in a tire. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Pouches (plural) are called diverticula. The condition of having diverticula is called diverticulosis. About 10 percent of Americans over the age of 40 have diverticulosis. The condition becomes more common as people age. About half of all people over the age of 60 have diverticulosis.
When the pouches become infected or inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. This happens in 10 to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis. Diverticulosis and diverticulitis are also called diverticular disease.
What are the symptoms?
Diverticulitis
The most common symptom of diverticulitis is abdominal pain. The most common sign is tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. If infection is the cause, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation may occur as well. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the infection and complications.
What are the complications?
Diverticulitis can lead to bleeding, infections, perforations or tears, or blockages. These complications always require treatment to prevent them from progressing and causing serious illness.
Bleeding
Bleeding from diverticula is a rare complication. When diverticula bleed, blood may appear in the toilet or in your stool. Bleeding can be severe, but it may stop by itself and not require treatment. Doctors believe bleeding diverticula are caused by a small blood vessel in a diverticulum that weakens and finally bursts. If you have bleeding from the rectum, you should see your doctor. If the bleeding does not stop, surgery may be necessary.
Abscess, Perforation, and Peritonitis
The infection causing diverticulitis often clears up after a few days of treatment with antibiotics. If the condition gets worse, an abscess may form in the colon.
An abscess is an infected area with pus that may cause swelling and destroy tissue. Sometimes the infected diverticula may develop small holes, called perforations. These perforations allow pus to leak out of the colon into the abdominal area. If the abscess is small and remains in the colon, it may clear up after treatment with antibiotics. If the abscess does not clear up with antibiotics, the doctor may need to drain it.
To drain the abscess, the doctor uses a needle and a small tube called a catheter. The doctor inserts the needle through the skin and drains the fluid through the catheter. This procedure is called percutaneous catheter drainage. Sometimes surgery is needed to clean the abscess and, if necessary, remove part of the colon.
A large abscess can become a serious problem if the infection leaks out and contaminates areas outside the colon. Infection that spreads into the abdominal cavity is called peritonitis. Peritonitis requires immediate surgery to clean the abdominal cavity and remove the damaged part of the colon. Without surgery, peritonitis can be fatal.
Fistula
A fistula is an abnormal connection of tissue between two organs or between an organ and the skin. When damaged tissues come into contact with each other during infection, they sometimes stick together. If they heal that way, a fistula forms. When diverticulitis-related infection spreads outside the colon, the colon's tissue may stick to nearby tissues. The organs usually involved are the bladder, small intestine, and skin.
The most common type of fistula occurs between the bladder and the colon. It affects men more than women. This type of fistula can result in a severe, long-lasting infection of the urinary tract. The problem can be corrected with surgery to remove the fistula and the affected part of the colon.
Intestinal Obstruction
The scarring caused by infection may cause partial or total blockage of the large intestine. When this happens, the colon is unable to move bowel contents normally. When the obstruction totally blocks the intestine, emergency surgery is necessary. Partial blockage is not an emergency, so the surgery to correct it can be planned.
The Doctor sent me away with 2 perscriptions and the promise that if I got worse then I would go to the emergency room.
Off to the pharmacy I go to pick up my two prescriptions totaling $175.00. The nurse also recommended I pick up some Miralax to deal with the constipation I supposedly have. I add these to my ever increasing Medicine cabinet already filled with Gas-X, Dulcolax, Malox, Tums and now Miralax. Maybe I should look into starting my own pharmacy and call it "Martin's" instead of "Walgreen's".
Diagnoses: Diverticulitis
What are diverticulosis and diverticulitis?
Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots, like an inner tube that pokes through weak places in a tire. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Pouches (plural) are called diverticula. The condition of having diverticula is called diverticulosis. About 10 percent of Americans over the age of 40 have diverticulosis. The condition becomes more common as people age. About half of all people over the age of 60 have diverticulosis.
When the pouches become infected or inflamed, the condition is called diverticulitis. This happens in 10 to 25 percent of people with diverticulosis. Diverticulosis and diverticulitis are also called diverticular disease.
What are the symptoms?
Diverticulitis
The most common symptom of diverticulitis is abdominal pain. The most common sign is tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen. If infection is the cause, fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation may occur as well. The severity of symptoms depends on the extent of the infection and complications.
What are the complications?
Diverticulitis can lead to bleeding, infections, perforations or tears, or blockages. These complications always require treatment to prevent them from progressing and causing serious illness.
Bleeding
Bleeding from diverticula is a rare complication. When diverticula bleed, blood may appear in the toilet or in your stool. Bleeding can be severe, but it may stop by itself and not require treatment. Doctors believe bleeding diverticula are caused by a small blood vessel in a diverticulum that weakens and finally bursts. If you have bleeding from the rectum, you should see your doctor. If the bleeding does not stop, surgery may be necessary.
Abscess, Perforation, and Peritonitis
The infection causing diverticulitis often clears up after a few days of treatment with antibiotics. If the condition gets worse, an abscess may form in the colon.
An abscess is an infected area with pus that may cause swelling and destroy tissue. Sometimes the infected diverticula may develop small holes, called perforations. These perforations allow pus to leak out of the colon into the abdominal area. If the abscess is small and remains in the colon, it may clear up after treatment with antibiotics. If the abscess does not clear up with antibiotics, the doctor may need to drain it.
To drain the abscess, the doctor uses a needle and a small tube called a catheter. The doctor inserts the needle through the skin and drains the fluid through the catheter. This procedure is called percutaneous catheter drainage. Sometimes surgery is needed to clean the abscess and, if necessary, remove part of the colon.
A large abscess can become a serious problem if the infection leaks out and contaminates areas outside the colon. Infection that spreads into the abdominal cavity is called peritonitis. Peritonitis requires immediate surgery to clean the abdominal cavity and remove the damaged part of the colon. Without surgery, peritonitis can be fatal.
Fistula
A fistula is an abnormal connection of tissue between two organs or between an organ and the skin. When damaged tissues come into contact with each other during infection, they sometimes stick together. If they heal that way, a fistula forms. When diverticulitis-related infection spreads outside the colon, the colon's tissue may stick to nearby tissues. The organs usually involved are the bladder, small intestine, and skin.
The most common type of fistula occurs between the bladder and the colon. It affects men more than women. This type of fistula can result in a severe, long-lasting infection of the urinary tract. The problem can be corrected with surgery to remove the fistula and the affected part of the colon.
Intestinal Obstruction
The scarring caused by infection may cause partial or total blockage of the large intestine. When this happens, the colon is unable to move bowel contents normally. When the obstruction totally blocks the intestine, emergency surgery is necessary. Partial blockage is not an emergency, so the surgery to correct it can be planned.
The Doctor sent me away with 2 perscriptions and the promise that if I got worse then I would go to the emergency room.
Off to the pharmacy I go to pick up my two prescriptions totaling $175.00. The nurse also recommended I pick up some Miralax to deal with the constipation I supposedly have. I add these to my ever increasing Medicine cabinet already filled with Gas-X, Dulcolax, Malox, Tums and now Miralax. Maybe I should look into starting my own pharmacy and call it "Martin's" instead of "Walgreen's".
Taco Bell Hell
Wednesday night (February 6th) after church we were hungry and decided to stop and grab something to go. Phillip wanted Taco Bell and I went along with it and tried their encharito. (The last time I had Taco Bell it had to have been back in high school and it was not good at all. That was the first and last time I said I'd eat there.) As we ate we made a few jokes about Mexican food and how it makes you poot and how we felt sorry for Miss Carol having to ride in the car with me for hours the next day.
That night I awoke with pretty bad stomach pain. I cursed myself the night before talking bad about my Taco Bell. Could this be gas pains? Food poisening? I contemplated all this while sitting on the pot for hours that night. Finally! I threw up. All was better in my world. Nighty night time.
That night I awoke with pretty bad stomach pain. I cursed myself the night before talking bad about my Taco Bell. Could this be gas pains? Food poisening? I contemplated all this while sitting on the pot for hours that night. Finally! I threw up. All was better in my world. Nighty night time.
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