6 Hours in the ER

Well, after 6 hours in the ER tonight, I learned that I have an unremarkable bum and am only slightly full of crap.

Seriously though, Mom & I arrived at the ER at 8pm. By 10pm still hadn't met the doctor, but as all 30 beds were full, that was rather understandable.

However, in that time I did have blood & urine tests done and was in the queue for a CAT scan. When the doctor arrived, I was sad to learn that he was extremely hot--not what you want when you are being asked to provide a stool sample, if possible, and are going to talk about your bowel habits, etc.

Based on my recent history (including the issues that lead me to see a new GI who then sought an ultrasound of my gall bladder which then lead to me having surgery last week), the possibilities of what was wrong with me included (going down the line from most to least likely): an obstructed bowel (as in obstructed with p-o-o-p), a tear or rip in my bowel somewhere (thus all the blood earlier), a twisted bowel, simple bleeding hemroids, complications from the gallbladder surgery, or some unknown quantity.

In the meantime, I continued to remain parched as a wanderer in the desert ("take nothing by mouth") and nauseated until they gave me IV pain and anti-nausea meds (yay!). Then I was only parched.

Doctor Hottie spoke to the surgeon on-call from my surgeon's office, ran the aforementioned tests, and finally did a rectal exam (which he referred to as an exam of my bottom--as though I were a child or something; endearing rather than annoying, probably because he's cute!).

Findings were:

Because the CAT scan showed no gall bladder stones or problems w/the incisions, no need to worry about that any more.
Because there were no tears, or rips or twists in my bowels, no surgery needed--YAY!!!
Because there was no solid or complete obstruction (yes, there was "stuff" in there and air bubbles) I didn't need to have a tube put down my throat and have my bowels vacuumed out--double YAY!!!
Because there was no blood in my stools and the hemroids he did see were external and not bleeding, I can see my GI and have him run the colonoscopy as planned in June.

Results were as I stated in my first sentence, I have an unremarkable ass and am only partially full of shit, which I said all my friends knew anyway!

But what this means is, the spasms, and attacks of pain, and blood were most likely caused by the constipation issues I've been having and these are most likely medication related. So I am to touch base with Dr Arjul (my GI) next week to bring him up to speed and see if he needs to see me sooner than my already scheduled appointment in June.

I am to drink plenty of water (which I do anyway), consume lots of fiber (which I thought we did), exercise (he suggested just walking for now because of the surgery--I'll give him that one, 'cause I've lacked in this area), and try not to strain or push when having a BM. LOL

If I have the bleeding issue again, back to the ER I go. In the meantime, they handed me a much coveted cup of ice water and my marching papers and sent me home, where I sat down with a huge glass of water, a slice of home-made bread (thanks Mama!) and typed this a 3 in the morning prior to going to bed.

I plan on sleeping til noon at the earliest!

Thanks for all your prayers, thoughts, concern, and love!!!!

WTH?!?!?

So, I had just watched I'll Have Another take first in the Preakness in before collapsing in pain. Ambulance just left. Not sure what happened-it's all just a blur of pain nausea sweat shakes.Of begging for mom to call 911. Now on couch on other side of tunnel of pain wondering what the hell just happened?!?

Apparently I had been sheet white. Slick w/sweat. Diarrhea. Nausea. Terrified I was going to throw up and screw up interior stitch-work. Black hole of darkness was trying to claim me. 

About an hour or two before, I'd had a "BM" that was mostly blood--not good! We'd called the on-call surgeon who said it had nothing to do with the surgery--suggested perhaps a hemroid? Seriously?!? She said if it happened again, to go to the ER as people have actually needed blood transfusions from bleeding hemroids. (Seriously?!?! OMG!!!!)

So, Mom stood over me with a cool damp cloth, looking into the toilet, seeing no blood, but then just called 9-1-1 when I was unable to answer, except for groaning in pain.

So glad she did! I was too out of it to make any decisions or to even know what was going on. I was just aware of being fairly certain that my death was imminent.

The surgeon had mentioned that I had a ton of gallstones and hethought they got all of them, but that there was always the possibility they'd missed one it could have escaped and get lodged in pancreas--but he didn't describe what that would be like.

But emergency responders said if that had happened, I would have been running a high fever and would not have been able to bend at the waist and the pain would have been even more excruciating than what I was currently experiencing...which I couldn't imagine at the time: and I have a high pain tolerance!!! 

Anyway, they got me stabilized and got on my case for not taking the oxy the dr had prescribed after the surgery-opting for the vicodin I keep on hand for when my fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain gets to be too much. 

They couldn't understand why I hadn't taken it and laughed when I said I was afraid of becoming addicted. They handed me 2 and a glass of water and here I am an hour later looking back wondering what on earth that whole thing was about.

Maybe it's just that now that the neck and shoulder pain is gone, my body is finally aware of the internal pain of having had an organ removed!!!

So what the hell happened....quite simply: I don't know. But I'm feeling much better now. 

Time to Get Personal--Again

Hello All,

This will be a very personal posting in regards to my health. I didn't know whether to call this post "Letting it All Hang Out" or "Feeling Fragile." As you can see, I went with neither one even though when I first started on this little venture I'm going to recount, I felt more of the latter. (See my posting on fibromyalgia for more on why that happens if you want to.)

I've shared with a couple people that about a month ago I became severely constipated (told you it would be personal!!!)--as in concrete. I won't go into details as they weren't pretty and I didn't like living it the first time and sure as heck don't want to relive it but let's just say I never understood the word "constipation" prior to this and that I also have even more respect for anyone that have given birth.

Shortly after that, as in within days, I began to have these horrible spasms that would literally take me to the ground writhing in pain. It felt as though it were from right behind my breastbone going down through my intestines and up through my esophagus. This was happening every couple of days and there were a couple times I nearly went to the ER. 

However, given that it came right on the heels of the whole bowel issue, my mom and I thought I might have caused a hiatal hernia. I tried time and again to get a hold of my gastroenterologist but could only get an answering machine and no one called me back. Sooooo, I called around and got around and ended up getting an appointment with a doctor at Eastside Gastroenterology near Evergreen Hospital. 

In the meantime, I tried to see my primary care physician who, of course, happened to be on vacation. So I saw another doctor who thought that perhaps it was simply an esophogeal spasm caused by the trauma of the severe constipation. 

However, I part of the reason I thought it was a hiatal hernia was that I had also discovered a large (1 1/2 inch)  lump in my lower right breast but I thought maybe it was a lump from the hernia pushed up so that I could also feel it in my breast. I do self exams every month or so and have no idea where this freaking big lump came from!

The doctor I saw did a breast exam and said he didn't think I should worry about the big "C" word. 

But I was a smart girl and kept the appointment with the GI doc on April 30th. He was awesome!!! I really, really liked him. He impressed me at the appointment and then impressed me some more by actually calling me at home later that evening to double check a few things!!! So if anyone needs a good gastroenterologist, Dr. Arjul at Eastside Gastroenterology near Evergreen! 

After talking with him and being examined by him, I learned I needed to: 

1) Have an ultrasound of my gallbladder to rule out any issues with it {had this done Monday, May 7th}

2) Have a colonoscopy to check for pulyps in my colon and to confirm Irritable Bowel Syndrome (as I've had symptoms since childhood but never been officially diagnosed) {scheduled for June 28th at Evergreen Hospital as I will be under full anesthesia}

3) See my PCP to have my thyroid tested as constipation can be a sign of a thyroid problem (as well as get a referral for a mammogram) {did this Thurs, May 10th. Side note: she thinks lump in breast is caused by an underwire bra}

In the meantime, I had a couple nights of having nightmares over and over again that my body was riddled with cancer and that I was going to have to have my friend Donna shave my head and have a wig made for me for when I underwent treatments! Or that I died and my precious niece and nephew would never remember me. So, yeah, I was feeling a bit fragile

By May 9th I learned that I needed to:

1) See a surgeon ASAP to have my gallbladder removed ASAP as it is full of stones and contracted and diseased

2) Have the colonoscopy  as scheduled, after recovering from surgery

3) Have a mammogram done as soon as I can  after surgery despite the fact that 2 doctors don't believe the lump is anything to worry about.

Oh goody!!!! 

 By May 11, I'd met the surgeon and scheduled my gallbladder removal surgery for Tuesday, May 15th.

Should all go as planned, it should a be a laparoscopic, and be over in a couple  hours. And I should be able to go home that very day, unless they have to do full blown surgery.

They will only have to open me up if one of the following has occurred:

-Gall-stones have moved towards my pancreas and become stuck there

-Scar-tissue from one of my prior surgeries have adhered to any of the areas they need to reach 

-Some other weird, unforeseen event occurs ;-)

As we discovered via my hysterectomy that I am allergic to the adhesive bandages they typically use after surgeries, my surgeon is going to use superglue.

So there we have it in a nutshell...a really big nutshell.

As if all this weren't enough, I'm supposed to see a new rheumatologist May 30, revisit that neurologist on June 18th so I can tell him off regarding the medications he put me on that he knew I was allergic to, and meet with my sleep specialist on July 9th. Shaping up to be a great summer!

So if you remember, could you pray for me? Probably mostly for my emotions!!! But also for the surgeon. LOL 

Love you!

xo~Mary

Fibromyalgia Awareness Month

Fibromyalgia Syndrome has been called the “aching-all-over disease,” but that epithet falls short of conveying the true wretchedness of the debilitating illness. An often agonizing muscle disorder in which the thin film or tissue holding muscle together becomes thickened or tightened, Fibromyalgia (or FM or FMS) is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aches, pains and stiffness, soft tissue tenderness, mild to incapacitating fatigue, and disturbed sleep.

The pain of Fibromyalgia is typically felt in the neck, back, shoulders and hands, but it is not exclusive to those areas. Based on criteria set in 1990 by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia requires a patient to have experienced widespread pain for a minimum of three months in 11 of 18 tender muscle sites. Among those 18 sites are the hips, knees and rib cage.

Other symptoms of, or conditions that are linked with, Fibromyalgia include (but are not limited to): allergies, anxiety, carpal tunnel syndrome, celiac disease (gluten intolerance), chronic fatigue, depression, dizziness, headaches, irritable bowel symptoms, numbness, and tender skin.

A major symptom of Fibromyalgia is sensory sensitivity. Not only touch, but sound, sight, smell, taste and emotions, at times, can all become extremely (overly) sensitive. This is a real symptom, but is often discounted.

For instance, when a friend says something inoffensive in a (perceived) short tone a Fibromyalgia sufferer may burst into tears, even though she knows (logically) that she shouldn’t be offended—it is simply whatever it is that Fibromyalgia does neurologically to exacerbate sensitivity. The same can be said of five people talking to or around a FM sufferer at once making her unable to listen to any conversation at all, or music she doesn’t like playing way “too loud,” or the lights in the room that are suddenly glaringly bright, or the “fact” that her clothes have suddenly turned into sandpaper making her skin feeling raw against their roughness, or how she finds it an immediate necessity to remove her bra that she is certain is cutting and burning into her flesh. Sensory overload!

You can see why the butterfly is embraced as a symbol of Fibromyalgia awareness. Soft as breath, nearly weightless, it is an excellent allegory to the impact even the lightest touch has on a Fibromyalgia patient.

The ACR estimates that Fibromyalgia affects as many as 6 million Americans. Most sufferers of FM are women (often who are first diagnosed when they are of childbearing age), but it has also been known to strike men, children, and the elderly.

There is no cure for this condition. Patients’ pain is treated mainly through pharmaceuticals, but also through acupuncture, acupressure, massage, infrared saunas, other homeopathic methods, sleep therapy (and often use of a CPAP machine at night), water and land yoga and any other way a patient can come up with to stay relatively pain-free and able to live a relatively normal life.

In case you were unaware: I suffer from Fibromyalgia. Some days are good, some are great, some are down-right awful! I am typically in some level of pain every day and every night. Sometimes I need help just to get out of bed in the morning.

But I do it, each and every day—because while I may have Fibromyalgia, it doesn’t have me!

Q: What do Neti Pots and CPAP Machines have in Common?

A: You should always use distilled water when using these products. Never use tap water!

Those suffering from sinusitis, allergies, and colds might turn to their trusty neti pot or squeeze bottle to flush their nasal passages and relieve their chronic symptoms. Although the practice of nasal cleansing has been around for centuries, these modern-day products are not free from dangers and negative side effects.


In 2011, two people died from encephalitis caused by an infection with brain-eating amoebas after using neti pots that contained contaminated tap water. (By the way, for my dear friends from Louisian, both these people were from good ol' LA!)
The microbe, Naegleria fowleri, is common in lakes, rivers, and hot springs, and may also be found in drinking water. It's now strongly advised that people use distilled or filtered water for their nasal irrigation device and clean them thoroughly to kill potential amoebas.

While the directions that came with my CPAP machine did say to only use distilled bottled water in the humidifier devise, I do not recall my neti pot (that I purchased about 5 years ago) coming with such a warning--or at least I don't remember one. In fact, I only recall, it simply saying to use warm water.


But my memory isn't what it used to be. All I know is that all I've ever used in my neti pot was tap water! Yikes!

Frankly, I thought that the CPAP machine wanted you to use bottled water in order to avoid hard water, like we have in SoCal--that stuff could destroy the machine in no time flat. So I have faithfully used distilled water in my precious CPAP machine; even more faithfully after reading about these amoeba-related deaths!!


Because, logically speaking, if warnings are now going out about only using distilled water in one's neti pot to avoid brain-eating amoebas it only makes sense that one use distilled water in one's CPAP machine for the same reason.

As a side note, our stomachs can handled them, because of the acid, but when they are forced directly into the nasal passages, they head straight for the brain, which doesn't have all that protective acid.


Anyway, I've been meaning to pass on this information for months now (since I first heard about it in December or January), but this week's episode of House reminded me that I never did. It's either really amazing or really sad how many weird things on House that I can relate to in my real life in one way or another!


By the way, distilled water: by definition, involves boiling the water and then condensing the steam into a clean container. It's a slow process, but it not only kills any micro-organisms much like simple boiling does, but also removes any inorganic "impurities" that may be harmful like mercury as well as beneficial minerals including calcium, magnesium, and sodium. Distillation does not discriminate.

Because few people have homes where they can have a distillery set up, it is easier to buy distilled bottled water. My grandparents, however, had a home water distillery for as long as I can remember and my grandmother would only ever drink the water they carried with them where ever they went!

In case you need more proof or want to read the gruesome details for your self, visit these sites:
-NPR's Health Blog: Second Neti-Pot Death from Amoeba Prompts Tap-Water Warning

-ABC News: Louisiana Issues Neti Pot Warning After Two Fatal Infections (fun video with this one!)

-Medical News Today: Brain-Eating Amoeba Kills Two People After Using Neti Pots (doesn't this headline sound like the amoebas were using the neti pots before they then headed out and killed people???)

-Fauquier Ears Nose Throat Consultants Blog: Amoeba Deaths from Neti-Pot Use and How to Minimize Risk

Want more: there are a truckload of news and blog articles listed on Google.

If you are wondering why on earth I posted this, it's because I wrote it for my fibromyalgia support group, but some other people expressed interest as to why I was reading articles about brain-eating amoebas...and "just for fun" wouldn't satisfy them! ;-)

Disgusting!!

I recently read an article written by Heather Spohr, whose blog I follow, on how some doctors are now helping brides-to-be quickly lose weight by inserting a nasogastric tube (a feeding tube that goes through the nose into the stomach) that provides the bride a liquid diet of only 800 carb-free calories.

Please read the article! It will blow you away!!!!  Why the Feeding Tube Diet Disgusts Me!

This truly sickens me! These doctors should be brought up before the AMA and reprimanded--they shouldn't be having flattering articles written about them nor be proud of what they are doing.

The women and brides doing this shouldn't be going to to these doctors but to a psychiatrist as they have severe body issues. They should tour NICU and PICU facilities and see the children fighting for their lives who are on gastrotube diets.
There is something wrong with any woman or man or doctor who thinks that this "diet" is a reasonable weight-loss remedy! I would rather be a fat, over-weight bride (or woman~no need to be a bride, I suppose to find some doctor who will put you on this "diet") than do this!

Also, I loved in particular what Heather says of brides-to-be: "Women need to remember why they are getting married – not to have everyone tell her she is a beautiful bride (which she would be anyway), but because it is a beautiful, sacred event in one’s life. A union between two people, who vow to love and respect each other forever."

Thank you to Heather for reliving what she went through with her precious daughter, Maddie, in order to bring this to a wider audience!

Kony 2012 -- Updated

Please do me a favor right now.

Take 27 minutes out of your day to watch this video that can change your life and the lives of many people around the world.

Why does this video matter? Why should you care? Can your voice really make a difference? I believe it can!

For about 5 years I've privately cried and prayed over the situation of child-soldiering not knowing there was a community like this doing something world-wide about it.

Thank you to a dear friend  for opening my eyes to this community and for sharing this video...and for motivating me to action!

(On a side note, I'm proud to have known you as a child and proud to

know you as the lovely young lady you've become!)

Couldn't watch the whole video? Didn't have those spare 27 minutes? Below is a brief summary of what you would learn.

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan guerrilla group leader, head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government throughout Uganda. The LRA say that God has sent spirits to communicate this mission directly to Kony. His "war" is for no other reason but to maintain his control--it is, in short, a power trip.

Directed by Kony, the LRA has earned a reputation for its actions against the people of several countries, including northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. It has abducted and forced an estimated 66,000 children to fight for them, and has also forced the internal displacement of over 2,000,000 people since its rebellion began in 1986. (according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony)

These child-soldiers are often forced to kill their own families. They are forced to kill and mutilate their own countrymen.

As a result of his actions, in 2005 Kony was indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, and tops their list as Most Wanted, but has succeeded in evading capture since.

 
This video was produced by Invisible Children Organization, a community that endorses, supports, and will continue to spread the word until justice is served: that is when Joseph Kony is arrested for his many crimes in Africa. Their goal is to keep his face, his crimes in the forefront of the media & politic worldwide this year with the hopes that by Dec 31, 2012, he will have been found and arrested for his crimes against humanity.

No child should ever be abducted and forced to fight in Kony's violent campaigns....KONY 2012!!!

Now—will YOU allow this  knowledge to change & motivate you to make a real difference in the world?

*The KONY 2012 campaign employs film, social media, street art, and

face-to-face interaction to make the case that

the arrest of Joseph Kony this year

is one thing we can all agree on.*

**A reminder that people should research any and all groups prior to giving money to them.**

UPDATE:

In full disclosure I wanted to say that I have no personal knowledge of Invisible Children or their fund-raising/finances. And there have been question about Invisible Children.

In fact, there are those who question the ethics the Invisible Children organization. For instance, this has been posted about them. But I don't know any more about the person writing that article than I do the IC organization. And the Huffington Post says this. In response, Invisible Children has posted this on their website.

But as I said above, 5 years ago, my eyes were opened more the horrors of child soldiering in Africa (in part because of the movie Blood Diamond). I read books written by actual former child soldiers from Sierra Leone and Uganda. I read books by people leaving these nations and Somalia. And I cried in private and I prayed.

So perhaps Invisible Children has its own issues. I don't know: I need to do my own research.

However, if Invisible Children can actually motivate people around the world in such a way that Kony arrested and tried for his crimes, more power to them! If people are motivated to learn about the injustices in Africa, and then are motivated to do something about the situations...whether through IC or through World Vision or through Voice of the Martyrs or another organization....I don't know Amnesty International or the Peace Corps. Something. Anything. This just has to stop.


Yet Another Update:
Another interesting topic has come up in regards to this movie/movement and that is the voices of the people saying, "What about the heinous crimes going on in our own cities & nation? We should be just as passionate about what is going on in our communities and country." and  "We need to start by taking care of our backyard before we can take care of the world. We need to focus on the 2012 elections here and bring about change here." or "We need to be praying for the sins of our own nations." etc, etc.

My response?

I agree that we need to be passionate about and be motivated to pray and act on behalf of our own country, however, I do believe that things like the IC/Kony video going viral are also important. We need to look both to our neighbors and our global community.

The world is not as large as many people think. The internet and things like Facebook have shrunk it further. If we do not educate ourselves about what is going on around us globally, if we close our eyes to the pain and suffering of our neighbors both near and far, we will be destined to repeat the past: a past that includes child-soldiering, Rwanda, the Holocaust, and many other atrocities.

Sometimes we forget that when Cain flippantly answered to God "Am I my brother's keeper?" that indeed God found that he was. We need to think, pray, act, and give locally and globally. Also remember that God calls different people to focus more fully on different areas; for some it may be social issues abroad; for others, social issues here at home; for others, it may not involve social issues at all. Alone we cannot accomplish much. Together we can. At home, across our individual cities, towns, countries, and globally.
                                                                           
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What I find most interesting is the conversations that this is generating. I hope that it moves beyond conversation into real action~both here and abroad. That hearts will be changed and people will be galvanized into not standing by while atrocities are commited in our own backyard. Because, whether we live in Africa or America, or Antarctica, these things are happening in our backyard. When it comes down to it, this man, Joseph Kony is no different than Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin,  Nocolae Ceauşescu, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Jean Kambanda, Saddam Hussein, or Muammar Gaddafi. The people Kony leads are no different than Hitler's Nazis or the Rwandan militia who followed those in leadership at the time of genocide, nor those who carried out Khomeini's jihad against their own countrymen who did not want to follow him.

The question is, will we be different? Will we stand quietly by and watch these heinous crimes continue to take place? Will we let evil men continue to rule? Or will we stand up and raise our voices against these crimes and these perpetrators? Will we comfort those who are hurting, the down-trodden, the suffering? Will we ease their pain and hold accountable those who caused it? Will we pray, give, speak out, reach out, act out? What will we do?

Happy Birthday to Me

Right~so I turned 41 a couple weeks ago...

Last year, right before my birthday I totally thought I had a heart-attack. It scared the crap outta me and I had my mom drive me to the ER.

It instead turned out to have been a pill that got stuck in my esophagus...but it had all the symptoms of a heart-attck. After drinking this really nasty concoction that numbed my mouth, esophagus, and stomach I felt much better. And in the following days all sorts of precautionary follow-up tests were run, which revealed that I was graced with completely healthy heart and lungs~so not such a bad birthday health scare after all.

This year for my birthday, I got shingles. Oh goody. Not familiar with shingles? Well I'm here to tell you they are HELL!!!!

Here's a quick synopsis of shingles, garnered from various websites:

Shingles:(herpes zoster) is a painful, blistering skin rash due to the varicella-zoster virus, the virus that causes chickenpox.


Causes, incidence, and risk factors

After you get chickenpox, the virus remains inactive (becomes dormant) in certain nerves in the body. Shingles occurs after the virus becomes active again in these nerves years later. The reason the virus suddenly become active again is not clear. Often only one attack occurs.

{Note this means anyone who has ever had chicken pox or been immunized for chicken pox can develop shingles later. That's like 100% of the population!!!}

Shingles may develop in any age group, but you are more likely to develop the condition if:
~You are older than 60
~You had chickenpox before age 1
~Your immune system is weakened by medications or disease {Hey, that's me!!}
~You have weak immune systems because of stress, injury, or other reasons.


If an adult or child has direct contact with the shingles rash on someone and has not had chickenpox as a child or a chickenpox vaccine, they can develop chickenpox, rather than shingles.  {This means I potentially infected my nieces &  nephews and all the little kids at my sister-in-law Jill's 2 year old's birthday party!}

Symptoms

The first symptom is usually one-sided pain, tingling, or burning. The pain and burning may be severe and is usually present before any rash appears.

Red patches on the skin, followed by small blisters, form in most people. The blisters break, forming small ulcers that begin to dry and form crusts. The crusts fall off in 2 to 3 weeks. Scarring is rare. The rash usually involves a narrow area from the spine around to the front of the belly area or chest. The rash may involve face, eyes, mouth, and ears. In rare cases, no rash appears.

Additional symptoms may include:
Abdominal pain
Chills
Difficulty moving some of the muscles in the face
Fever and chills
General ill-feeling
Headache
Hearing loss
Joint pain
Loss of eye motion
Swollen glands (lymph nodes)
Taste problems
Vision problems

Expectations (prognosis)
Herpes zoster usually clears in 2 to 3 weeks and rarely recurs. If the virus affects the nerves that control movement (the motor nerves), you may have temporary or permanent weakness or paralysis.


Sometimes, the pain in the area where the shingles occurred may last from months to years. {Ah crap!!! Are they serious?!?}

How is shingles treated?


There is no cure for shingles, but treatment may help you get well sooner and prevent other problems. Call your doctor as soon as you think you may have shingles. The sooner you start treatment, the better it works.

Treatment may include:

~Antiviral medicines to help you get well sooner and feel less pain.
~ In addition to antiviral medications, pain medications may be needed for symptom control. Both nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications and narcotic pain-control medications may be used for pain management in shingles
~Medicines to help long-term pain. These include antidepressants, pain medicines, and skin creams.

By the way, anyone who has had shingles may develop Postherpetic Neuralgia.
 
What Is Postherpetic Neuralgia?


Neuralgia is nerve pain that occurs when a nerve is irritated or inflamed. The pain spreads along neural pathways, may be brief or chronic, and can range from mild to outright unbearable.

A relatively common type of neuralgia is postherpetic neuralgia, which strikes after the infection known as shingles (herpes zoster). Typically, people with this form of neuralgia experience a continuous burning sensation. Pain may be very severe and long lasting. Any pain that persists for more than a month after resolution of the herpes zoster rash is called postherpetic neuralgia.

 

 
So, being me, I of course can't even get a fairly common illness in a normal way...I had nearly all the symptoms listed above but I never got the rash!!!! Makes the illness a little harder to diagnos...especially in someone who already has nerve damage!!! But the doctor finally determined that it was indeed shingles and I concur as aside from getting the rash, my body pretty much did as expected.
 
On the bright side, not getting the rash means that I was never contagious {phew!}, so I no longer had to stress about having potentially infected a bunch of kids with chicken pox.
 

On the not-so-bright side: The pain was horrendous!! Pretty damn close to being unbearalbe. And this is coming from someone pretty familiar with severe nerve pain!

 

I couldn't bear to wear anything except silk, fleece, or very soft cotton...and frankly nothing was better than anything. I couldn't bear to move....I could barely bear to breathe! I slept as much as possible because then I didn't notice the pain as much. It was so bad one night that I almost had my mom take me to the ER for a morphine drip!!! I lived on vicodin (in addition to my normal allotment on meds) and took these horse-pill-sized antiviral meds.

 

But now it has been about 3 weeks and the pain is fading, though I am still exhausted. I can move more easily. I can wear clothes (though I admit to still being afraid of wearing a bra!).

 

My only fear is that, since I am so abnormal, I'll get shingles again. After all, I had chicken pox twice as a child; why shouldn't I get shingles again.

But I am not going to stress over that, 'cause, as I noted above, stress can trigure shingles outbreaks!

Instead I'm going to focus on happy things...think happy thoughts...I can do it!

Ma Compagne Ininterrompu...

...Douleur.

Ma Compagne Ininterrompu...Douleur

Doesn't that sound so much nicer than "My constant companion...pain." Makes being in pain at least sound more glamorous.

Sadly, I don't really speak French...I'd had plans/dreams once of going to the Loire region in France to study it for a year or so. But those have gone on hold (probably permanently) because of ma maladie (my illnesses), so I dont even know if this (Ma Compagne Ininterrompu: Douleur) is even correct.

Regardless, the statement itself is true. And the past three days have been filled with more pain than usual. I had a fibro flare-up on Monday, probably caused by the inconvenience of one of my teeth breaking, falling out, disappearing last Tuesday. And then needing to wait for a custom crown to be made, during which time, the temporary cap fell out (on Sat). And then my dentist was out of town & his fill-in had the flu...so I had to fix it myself.

That pain probably triggered the fibro/neuropathy flare up on Monday which then cause excruciating mouth pain on Tuesday when my freakin' cap fell out (again). The pain radiated up into my sinuses, my ears, my neck. I wanted to blow my head off, thinking that wouldn't hurt as much (yes, I know that's illogical). I practically ODed on pain killers trying to keep the pain in check (which obviously it didn't).

But now my mouth is nicely numb again with a new temp cap in it while we wait to see if I can have the crown put in or if I'll have to have a root canal first.

Sadly, the intense pain I was in yesterday was most likely exacerbated by my constant "maladies": my hypersensitive nerves that send pain signals out with great gusto.

Because I find complaining about being in some form of constant pain boring/irritating (both for me and the listener), I really try not to complain too much. I actually try not to even think about it too much. Yesterday, however, it took every bit of conscious energy to not cry out in pain, vomit from pain, or become a total freakin' bitch to my mom who (being a saint) took even more special care of me than she already does on a regular basis.

Side-note: Seriously, my mom is awesome: she totally supports me emotionally, financially, and in every other way: cooking, cleaning, helping me with paperwork (which I have trouble with since suffering from not-so-temporary temporary encephalopathy-which is a nice word for brain damage) and on and on and on.

Anyway: this posting is one big complaint: I hate being in constant pain. I hate having dreams dashed. I hate living a limited lifestyle.

And then I remind myself that
a) my physical pain isn't as bad as other peoples'
b) physical pain is easier to deal with than emotional pain~especially grief
...So I should just suck it up and deal with it.

And I will.

Tomorrow.

I found this on Google Images. It's pretty good illustration of my life...I added the items in pale green (smaller font).

Magic Ointment & Creepy Stuff

Got all my labs back~all clear there: no cancers or weird stuff. And saw Dr Freedom yesterday: incisions healing nicely. He was amazed at how good I looked just one week after surgery. (So am I.)

Funny thing is, I felt best last Wed-Sat morning...after that I must have done too much & slipped into a cotton-candy-brain-fog, exhaustion, and minor pain. But today I feel like I'm coming out the other side.

While my incisions looked good yesterday, those freakin blisters from the bandages didn't,  so my dr gave me a prescription that the hospital makes up special...it's an antibiotic/antifungal/cortizone ointment (they figure cover everything with one topical cream!).

Creepily, it's called Nipple Ointment and I'm putting it on my stomach.

I was a little afraid I'd wake up this morning to find 5 new nipples on my tum (1 per incision). Now wouldn't that be creepy?! Ugh!!! I want a reduction on the boobs I already have: I certainly don't need additional ones!!

Instead I woke up to find my incisions had gone from looking "good" to looking "pretty damn great"! (Those are medical terms, right?)

I mean this stuff is seriously great~it's like a magic serum!!! And (since I'm on the dole from the government) instead of costing me $65 for a mini tub of this stuff, I only paid $1.10! Nice!

Yesterday

(No comments on my ripples & bulges!)

Notice the blisters are bigger than the surgical incisions!

Today

(Ok~after looking at these maybe they don't look that much better.

BUT they feel wonderful!!!)

Anyway, I'm feeling sooo much better. Better than before the surgery, that's for sure. That freakin' endometriosis was basically like a spider spinning its creepy little web throughout my insides, attaching the web to all sorts of sundry internal organs...which  would explain why it hurt to even walk. (Like my analogy? Creepy, huh???)

Doesn't this picture make the endometriosis look like a spider web?

In case you were wondering, Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissue that behaves like the cells lining the uterus (endometrium) grows in other areas of the body, causing pain, irregular bleeding, and possible infertility.The tissue growth typically occurs in the pelvic area, outside of the uterus, on the ovaries, bowel, rectum, bladder, and the delicate lining of the pelvis. However, the implants can occur in other areas of the body, too. (I've heard of it showing up in women's lungs & spines!!! Yikes!!! Creepy!!!!)

Anyhoo...there you have it: my musings for the day. Guess my word for the day is "creepy." Does that make me creepy too??

Don't You Just Love it When...

...you find out your skin has changed & is now SUPER sensitive to plastic bandages?? To the point that your skin forms nasty blisters & welts that burn & bleed when you are frantically (yet carefully) tearing off the bandages surrounding your recent surgery incisions.

I do.

 Fair warning (Ash!) the pictures are gross!!!!

Gag!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Post-Op

I am home from the hospital. Feeling pretty good. Have 5 small-ish incisions across my abdomin. Only had 3 pain med injections over night~and am now just on oral pain meds that are fairly mild. Still pretty tired from yesterday but feeling better overall.

The doctor discovered major endometriosis that wrapped around my uretter tubes between kidney & bladder~not a good situation: caused a lot of pain, but now I'm free of that!!

Thanks for all your kind thoughts & prayers!

Pre-Op

 Post -Op

My caretakers...

The incisions....

Gross: I know!!

It's Official...

I'm really truly having surgery on Monday, March 22nd! Probably around 10am.

Now that it is for real happening, I'm a little nervous! But the idea of never having another period ever again is thrilling! And no more crazy hormones or cysts or tumors. Ah~now that's a lovely thought!!!

My new Medicare PPO insurance came through big-time: that's right, I even get the robotic surgery described here rather than the old-fashioned "open surgery" hysterectomy.

It's only supposed to be a 3 hr surgery (max) and hopefully only 24 hours in the hospital recovering. Now we just have pray the surgery doesn't trigger to horrible of a pain flare-up with my other conditions.

A daVinci Moment

So! Yesterday I met with my new gynecologist. Please notice, I have dropped the OB & just kept the GYN part of my "female parts" health care provider.

When I moved to WA, some of the hardest people to leave behind were my doctors. They, of course came after family & friends...but family & friends can come visit; most doctors will not make housecalls from SoCal to the Pacific Northwest! I find this odd, but...whatever...

I LOVED my OBGYN in SoCal~this is no exaggeration: he was an awesome doctor. (For those of you whose mind went straight to the gutter when I said I loved my male OBGYN, pick it up outta there & try to stay focused!)

However, I thought I had a ready made replacement, with my sister's OBGYN. Au contraire mon frere. While she was great for my sis, she & I are not a match. However, someone in her office recommended my new doctor & I liked him instantly. Unlike many women, I do not mind having a male "female doctor." In fact, in my nearly 40 years of life and 20+ years of gynecological care, I can honestly say that I've only had 2 really great OBGYNs and each of them was male. Any female doctor I've had (however briefly) in this field, have all pretty much sucked, been insensitive or just down right mean.

And now I think I've found the 3rd great doc for my list. He listened to me; he looked at my health as a whole (not just focusing on his field of expertise); he respected what my neurologist advised; and--did I mention??--he listened to me.

So after a review of my complete medical history (he said I am only the 3rd patient in his 30 years of practice that has vitamin B12 deficiency caused by some unknown factor [not alcoholism, for which it is more common]), he agrees with my neurologist and me and in his own professional findings.

I'm getting a hysterctomy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Wahooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I mean a full, radical, take it all out, hysterectomy: uterus, ovaries, tubes, cervix all gone!

Of course, this isn't just some spur of the moment idea & he did talk to me about the grief & loss many women associate with this procedure: the idea that you can never have the option of pregnancy again. However, I have gone through this many times in the past couple years with my counselor, after finding out that getting pregnant would not be good for my brain & could, in fact, kill me~to quote my neurologist. These feelings of grief & loss have been explored at length and these feelings came up once again with my nephew's death~another form of loss.

However, I am at peace with the idea that the dream I've had since I was about 15: to carry a child within me, to give birth to life, will not be. And neither can I adopt. My physcial state simply will not allow me to care for a child as they ought to be from infancy to adulthood. That's why being an aunt has taken on an even greater significance. And it's a role I adore!

So, that out of the way, we are looking at having the surgery (possibly) as early as March 22nd. This, sadly, depends on my new insurance: I could no longer afford to carry my COBRA coverage & since I now qualify for medicare (ugh!) I switched to a medicare PPO. So we may have to go to battle first, but he thinks that I'll have been cleaned out (so to speak) by the end of April at the latest!

Because of my medical history, my new doc...let's call him Doctor Freedom, prefers to not do the old-fashioned, open surgery, as this has a longer recovery time & more pain, which of course will trigger my fibromyalgia & neuropathy pain. So instead, Dr Freedom wants to do a less invasive form of surgery...and not just a laproscopic surgery but a new fangled daVinci Robotic Assisted Surgery.

What does this entail??? I'm not totally sure as I haven't had time to watch the DVD he gave me on the procedure. My mom pictures him sitting at home in an easy chair using a gaming console to remotely direct a robot to slice into me.

I did take the time to find pictures of this thing on Google & am beginning to think my mom's idea may be close to the real thing!

No! This is not my real doctor. Bummer, huh?!

Guessing this is Leo...

Anyone else freaked out by that massive needle thing the nurse is holding????

Hello, gaming console!!!

And there I am lying peacefully unaware that my doctor is no where near me but, rather, has his head stuck in a gaming console!

Right~so should I be worried? I don't know; probably not....I mean, it's the cutting edge in surgeries...pun totally intended!

Yeah, so, wish me luck!! I'll keep you posted from here.....

For those geeks who want to know more about the daVinci surgical process, keep reading. Otherwise, ta!


ROBOTIC SURGERY IN GYNECOLOGY
The daVinci robotic system being used in gynecologic surgery gynecologists to perform advanced laparoscopic surgeries using a surgeon's console connected to three robotic arms.

The daVinci system, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for gynecologic surgery in 2005, is one of the newest technologies available for the treatment of gynecologic cancer and other conditions.

The robotic system is used to assist with a variety of complex, minimally-invasive laparoscopic operations for benign and malignant female pelvic conditions, such as cancer of the uterus and cervix. "Robotic surgery is especially useful in the performance of hysterectomies, removal of fibroids while preserving the uterus, correction of vaginal prolapse, and for the treatment of gynecologic cancers," says Javier Magrina, M.D., Mayo Clinic gynecologist and surgeon in Arizona.

The daVinci system offers all the benefits of laparoscopic surgery along with increased precision and effectiveness. Patients undergoing laproscopic procedures typically experience less pain, have fewer instances of infection and recover more quickly than those undergoing open surgery.

"Robotic surgery is an upgraded form of minimally invasive surgery and is associated with major patient benefits. The robotic operation is more precise than conventional surgery and it allows a patient to return to normal activities much more quickly. We have also noted a reduced use of pain medications after robotic surgery, indicating less tissue trauma," says Magrina.

Many difficult laparoscopic procedures, such as laparoscopic suturing, are made easier by the robot through the use of the 3-D visualization and increased instrument maneuverability.

How the robotic system works
The robotic system consists of two interactive mechanical arms, a camera arm, a three-dimensional (3D) image processing system and a remote control unit. The unit is located in the same operating room as the patient.
As the surgeon manipulates the remote control unit, the motions of the surgeon are translated to the robotic arms. Each robotic arm consists of multiple appendages connected by joints. The "hand" of the robot holds interchangeable surgical instruments that can be moved in a manner similar to a human wrist. At all times, a second surgeon is positioned at the operating table to assist with exchanging the instruments on the robotic arms.
Benefits of Robotic-Assisted General Surgery
For most patients, advantages may include:

• shorter hospital stays

• less blood loss

• less scarring

• less post-operative pain

• fewer complications

• faster recovery & return to normal activities