Seeing as my one year anniversary from my long hospital stay was a few days ago I thought it would be proper to dedicate a blog post to my experience.
I might as well start at the beginning. Back in June of 2011 I went to a doctor at Virgina Mason and told them about my chronic Diarrhea. It was the first time that I had spoken about my issues to any doctor. I had finally rustled up the courage to face my fears and take control of my health. I also had health insurance for the first time since I was 21. The doctor referred me to a Gastroenterologist. He listened to all my symptoms and asked me some questions about my health and determined that he wanted to give me a sigmoidoscopy. For those that aren't familiar that is a scope that checks out the lower half of the colon. I was scheduled for the procedure and 2 weeks later came to the appointment with my mom. I was given an IV, which at that time I was scared of needles, and then wheeled into the room. They had me on oxygen and strapped heart monitors on me. I was given a sleepy drug and the next thing I knew I was back in post op room. I didn't feel anything! Thank goodness. The determination came about a week later and it came back normal. The lower half of my colon was free and clear of any issues. That was the end of the good news. The bad news was that I needed a Colonoscopy next.
Before the doctor scheduled that he put me on a prescription to test for a month long period what the effects of the drug were. It was like I was normal again. I stopped having diarrhea and I wasn't having the pains from eating that I was so use to. I was amazing and after I told my doctor the news that this stuff was working for me He wanted me to call to schedule the colonoscopy asap. Later I found out that the drug was a steroid which is often used in treatment Crohn's for a periods of time. My small problem with getting a colonoscopy was that I had just been billed 700 plus dollars for the Sigmoid and I didn't have the funds to pay whatever portion that would be billed to me for the Colonoscopy. So I decided not to get one. Bad choice.
By this time it was coming to the end of September and I started having a very persistent UTI. I was having all the symptoms burning urination and constant feeling to pee. I saw my doctor 3 times for this problem. I was on antibiotics and it never went away for about 3 months. Finally my doctor orders my a CAT Scan. I was completely nervous because I had never had one and I didn't know what was wrong. It was a very strange experience the first time around. Getting into scrubs feeling like a hospital patient. I get into this room with this giant donut looking thing that is making loud noises. The technician was not very handy with a needle and caused a lot of awkward moments and pain. I went through the process feeling very high anxiety and was sent to wait in the waiting room for my results. I waited for what felt like forever and I did. I was waiting for close to an hour. The Technician finally came out and said that they were trying to reach my doctor to discuss the results. While I am waiting to get the go a head to leave the technician comes into the waiting room with a phone. Tells me to call my doctor and speak to him about my results. After 15 minutes of trying to find my doctor they end up telling me that they will leave a message. I was allowed to leave. At this time I was attending night school at Pima. Sitting outside of the building I finally got the call from my doctors partner because she was not in that day. I remember so vividly the moment that he told me what they found on the scan. He said we see something but we can't determine what it is at this time. My recommendation is that you admit yourself to the hospital immediately. BOOM! Shock and terror fill me as I am not ready for this answer.
I went to class that night and admitted myself to the Hospital at 10 pm. That day was November 23rd 2011. I waited the the emergency waiting room of Valley Medical for a couple hours before I was admitted. It was about 2 AM before I got a room in the Hospital. The emergency room folks are always really nice which is surprising because of what they have to deal with on a daily basis. I waited for hours in the emergency room with Robert my now fiance and my mom. I had the nicest doctor that sat down and talked to me about what was going on. At that time all I thought we were there for was a crazy bladder infection. When the conversation turned to symptoms they dug into by other current GI issues. They determined that I would need to get a second CAT Scan. The images that had been sent to the Hospital from the outside Imaging Clinic showed an area of my intestine that was not happy we will say. After looking at my images and reviewing my symptoms with the on call GI doctor they decided that I would need to get a colonoscopy to see what was really going on. I was scheduled for a Colonoscopy that Saturday. While I was in the hospital I had my fiance by my side every night and my mom as well. I had friends visit me and it was a very nice private room. I had to miss Thanksgiving. I was super bummed and I ended up being alone on Thanksgiving and wasn't allowed to EAT!! That was a really tough day. :'( I didn't have a terrible time there until I had to prepare for the
Colonoscopy. Not only was I not allowed to eat from the very minute I
get there but I had to drink this lemony metallic water that was suppose
to clear me out so that the doctor could get a clear view of my colon.
Boy was that the worst 4 hours ever! Plus I was getting up to use the
bathroom every 15 minutes and with an iv machine attached to me it was a pain.
The colonoscopy was no big deal. I was asleep and don't remember a thing after they got me all set up in the room. I actually don't remember a whole lot after either. I was pretty doped up on IV Dilaudid from the pain I was having from the air they blew up my ... well yeah. I had to wait till the next day for my diagnosis. The doctor made his way over to my room in the afternoon and announced to me and my anxious family that I indeed had Crohn's. It wasn't the news I wanted but it also wasn't that shocking. I had been investigating enough in the past to know what the options were. I wasn't happy by any means for this news either. Who wants to hear that they have a life long condition? I was feeling pretty hopeless. As it turned out the UTI wasn't even a UTI at all. It was the inflammation from my intestine irritating my bladder. That is why the pain and irritation never went away with antibiotic treatment.
I began to see my GI doctor every couple weeks and he had me on 5 different prescriptions for my inflammation. Mine was pretty bad. They said the scope would fit through the stricture. That means that my inflammation was so bad that there scope would fit through the tiny space that my intestine had now. I had some bad reactions to some meds ended up in urgent care as well as some side effects that I didn't like. For 3 months I was out of the hospital and seeming to be on my way to a drug therapy called Humira. But things started to change and that is how I ended up in the hospital again.
Thanks for reading and I will have to continue the rest another time. To give myself and your eyes a rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment