Sunday I was home and I spoke to my husband about this pain I had had in my lower right side that hadn't gone away since Tuesday. He said that it was orobably nothing and I debated with myself whether or not to listen to him or to actually do something about the problem. I am not one to automatically rush myself to ER, but today was different.
My mother is a nurse so I called her to ask what her thoughts were regarding this odd pain. She asked me if I had any pain urinating to which I said no. At this point I had no issues with my bladder or abdomen. Well, about 10 minutes after I got off the phone, I went to the bathroom and lo and behold I started to feel a lot of pressure and pain in that very area. Jumping onto the internet, I researched kidney problems and read that if one experiences any back and abdominal pain that there could be internal inflammation or an infection which could be life threatening.
My husband was not home at the time so I called him to tell him that I wanted to go to the ER to have these pains looked at. He agreed. So off we went to the ER in town. When I got there they did extensive testing on my back and abdominal areas. Everything was coming back normal except for the fact that I had a kidney stone and my appendix was enlarged, though they weren't sure if it was made large or if there was something causing it to become large. They wanted to keep my overnight to monitor my body's reaction and make sure I did not end up with appendicitis.
I spent the night with an elderly lady of 92. She was quiet the first night, thank God, but I had the nurses coming in and out for blood pressure tests, temp tests, blood tests, etc. That morning I was not able to eat or drink anything since they didn't want me to have anything in my stomach should I need emergency surgery. I knew that I most likely wouldn't, but they didn't want to take any chances. So here I was starving with nothing to do but wait, while no one was telling me anything about what was going on.
I got so upset with the situation that I called the nurse and complained. I invoked the patient advocate thanks to my father to get the ball rolling and to finally get some answers and a drink at the very least! Finally., the docs came to me and apologized for the delay, but said that they were not sure what was wrong with me and wanted to keep my free of anything that would delay a last minute operation. OK, but it was 36 hours and I hadn't had a thing to eat and was getting nauseous so even though they kept asking me how I was feeling, I had to tell them I was feeling sick, not because of my appendix, but because I was so hungry. Anyhow., it was a mess and I did end up eating with my husband that night without the docs permission -hehe. No I didn't tell them either but it didn't matter since they were just being careful that my body would handle liquids first, but I couldn't convince them that I really was fine to eat, so I just ate a great big cheese burger and cheese fries :-) It was so nice.
I stayed another night as they wanted to monitor me yet another night and see how I was in the morning. They said I would likely be able to go home that next day if the pain was manageable. Well, the next morning, Tuesday, the pain was the same and they said that they would look at my white blood count to see if there was an infection forming. After hours of waiting, the tests showed I wasn't, but still the surgeon did not feel comfortable with me going home not knowing what was wrong so she advised having laproscopic surgery to see what was going on inside me and to take out my appendix just to be on the safe side.
Here I was all ready to pack my bags and go home, only to now to be told that I was needing surgery. This was not what I wanted to hear, but I thought it might be a good idea since an appendix is not something you need to keep to be healthy.
I texted my priest friends and family friends and asked for prayers. Thank God for friends who pray. They give me so much peace of mind just knowing they are asking God to watch over me, because it is not easy to do that for myself when I am so tired and worried and pretty out of it. I also had a recently ordained friend come by and give me the sacrament of the sick. He came in the nick of time, as they were getting the stretcher ready for me when I finished anointing my head and hands. It was something I really needed not knowing what was going to happen to me. This was the first time I would be getting general anesthesia and had a hunch that I would not respond well to it.
Also, Tom had a nice surprise for me and came out with the kids and we all went to Schenley Park for the evening. I hadn't seen my darling since Sunday and it seemed like forever. They had a great time running around and playing on the swings and going about with the other kids in the park. It was so nice running with them. In fact, this was the park that my husband and I had one of our first dates at. We carved out names in a tree nearby. While we didn't get to go see it, it was very nostalgic and I had a wonderful time with them.
So Wed morning I went in for surgery and they put the mask over my face and I started counting from 100 backwards. I think I got to 98 and was out cold.
The next thing I remember I was back in the recovery room and everything was spinning. Apparently the anesthesia does like like me and I get bad reactions from it. The dizziness was hard, but I didn't get sick from it. After I went back to my room to rest, I took a couple sips of water and that set me off.. I started throwing up immediately and whatever I took in came up. To make matters worse, I did not have any of my usual nurses who I like, but got a new nurse who spoke Indian and I couldn't understand her. It was not ideal.
This morning, Thursday, I am doing ok. Sleep was broken, but that's the way it's been since I've been here so I'm sort of used it by now. I've been given clearance to be discharged today and that is GREAT! I can't wait to get out of here and be back in my own bed with my own clothes and darling children. My mother comes tomorrow to help me and to celebrate my birthday this Sunday.. She will stay through next Tuesday and then my dad will be here to help out. The doctors don't want me to lift or drive for two weeks, which is going to make life challenging, but there is nothing I can do about it. I told my husband, it's like having a baby without a baby all over again.
So that's the story of this past week. Never did I expect I'd be having surgery last Sunday. The gospel passage was about Christ walking on water and St. Peter coming out of the boat to be with Him. It was a mircale that he too was able to walk on water so long as he kept his eyes on Christ, but once they lost their site of Him, he started to sink. I think that's the message I've needed to keep in mind throughout this whole saga. I'll be able to get through this so long as I keep my focus on Him. Thank you Lord for all your love and help throughout all of this. I've seen some incredibly horrible things in here, and thank You for sparing me from those crosses which I do not have to carry..
Well, time to sign off. I'll hopefully be getting better from here on out- I'll be keeping up with my symptoms so that I can remember it all once I go for my followup in two weeks.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Don't know what to think anymore
Alright, so I've been on this super strict diet after having talked to Dr. Erickson whch has taken away most everything but meats, veggies, eggs, almond /coconut milk and green apples. I've been taking an adrenal chelation supplement as well as a candida super yeast defenders pill two, twice daily. He also advised I drink this oxygenated liquid with oil of oregano that that would help kick the fungus in my gut. Well, having followed this plan since last Monday and today I am contemplating going to the ER.
Last Tuesday I started to get this pain in my middle lower back on the right side of my spine. It hurt whenever I moved and wasn't going away so I called Dr. E and told him about it. He said it was a radiating pain from my adrenals and was a good sign. Well, the pain has only gotten worse and it's starting to really concern me since I fear it might be my kidneys. The pain is nowhere near where my adrenals are located and it is near my kidneys so with this super high protein diet and no fiber or natural nourishment I'm wondering if my body isn't starting to create more serious problems due to these strange regimens I've been following. My husband is so sick of all this and so am I. His frustration has been coming out toward me, which hasn't helped at all, but he is very skeptical of anything "natural" or alternative and so am I. Who in the world do I trust with all of this? I just don't know.
I have decided to not take anything today and give my body a break from everything it's been dealing with. My heart is so discouraged. I go back to Dr. E tomorrow and will tell him everything and ask him to do a thorough blood workup on me and also to check my kidneys.
Also, I ordered a saliva test to check out my adrenals glands and see what exactly is going on there. Tingling in my feet continues. Waiting to see if I'm pregnant this week as well.
Last Tuesday I started to get this pain in my middle lower back on the right side of my spine. It hurt whenever I moved and wasn't going away so I called Dr. E and told him about it. He said it was a radiating pain from my adrenals and was a good sign. Well, the pain has only gotten worse and it's starting to really concern me since I fear it might be my kidneys. The pain is nowhere near where my adrenals are located and it is near my kidneys so with this super high protein diet and no fiber or natural nourishment I'm wondering if my body isn't starting to create more serious problems due to these strange regimens I've been following. My husband is so sick of all this and so am I. His frustration has been coming out toward me, which hasn't helped at all, but he is very skeptical of anything "natural" or alternative and so am I. Who in the world do I trust with all of this? I just don't know.
I have decided to not take anything today and give my body a break from everything it's been dealing with. My heart is so discouraged. I go back to Dr. E tomorrow and will tell him everything and ask him to do a thorough blood workup on me and also to check my kidneys.
Also, I ordered a saliva test to check out my adrenals glands and see what exactly is going on there. Tingling in my feet continues. Waiting to see if I'm pregnant this week as well.
Monday, August 1, 2011
So my instincts were right
OK it's been some time since I've been on here and I have a lot to tell. First, I took myself off of the PSerine as it was causing me to have really bad headaches and I couldn't function with it. After I weaned myself from it (well, cold turkey really) I found that the headaches lessened more than before, however they were not completely gone. So then I started taking myself off of everything and seeing what might be causing it through a process of elimination/reintroduction. I was only able to go so far with this when I had a friend tell me that if my thyroid was normal and it was getting more thyroid than it needed, that that might cause problems. It seemed there was something to what she was saying since Dr. P really didn't have a lot of proof to say that I needed 75mcg's of thyroid anyway. What I did was go back on everything- Vit. C, E, Omega-3, D3, multi, B complex, Calcium/Magnesium, and my usual anti-fungal medicine too- but without talking the thyroid. My goodness did things improve! THe headaches nearly vanished and I had no more problems save for the times when I was really stressed or tired, which is normal.
The other thing that happened was I started getting this pain going down my legs. It felt as though someone was tying a knot around my leg so the blood couldn't flow well. There was also this pinching feeling going down both legs and I have no idea what caused this. I called my NUCCA doc and he said to do some lower back pain exercises. I didn't actually do any and it went away on it's own, thankfully.
Also I should mention that on occasion I did eat some wheats and very few sugars like fruit and some cake at a birthday party. It was minor, but I felt I needed to live a little. But then I got a phone call from a friend who never calls me (she also has candida) and was telling me about this doctor that she found about an hour away who took insurance and who was able to help her with her candida. I couldn't believe it and was ready to make an appointment asap. I called then next day and did so and was there this morning to meet this aforementioned doctor.
In the last week or so I had been feeling lousy and very tired esp in the morning, which was not normal for me, but when I felt like I had no energy all day I knew something was up and wanted to talk to this guy about it. Also, I started getting dizzy again. Out of nowhere my head would just start getting off balance and I thought, "No, this is not going to happen again!" But anyway, about this doctor's visit,
This Dr. E a very nice guy and took his time with me, trying to understand my history and the whole issue surrounding my health. He liked what I had been doing, though he felt that I was wise in opting to take myself off of the Phosphotidyl Serine and thryroid because, low and behold, my adrenals, from what he found, were not hyper active, but underactive. Thank you Dr. E! He actually tested my adrenals by taking my blood pressure while I was sitting and then as I stood up and found that my bp dropped 16 points when I stood up indicating some serious adrenal fatigue. The long and short of it is that he's seriously cutting out all sugars, dairy, wheat or flours of most any kind, beans, starches, etc and wants me to do this for about a year! Oh my goodness, I pray that I can. It's not going to be easy, esp with my husband, but I have to. What else can I do to kick this thing?
He advised that I purchase some of their self-concocted supplements for my adrenals, candida, and overall health. The other thing I am taking now is Oil of Oregano as that is supposed to kill fungus in one's system. At this point, I don't care what it tastes like, I'll take anything I need to.
It's been hard trying to think of things to eat and I need to go on-line to find recipes that are candida safe- god luck! No, there are some but they sound horrible. I think I'm going to have to make two meals a day, one for me and one for my hubby, I can't expect him to eat this way. It's healthy, but horrible. There are so few options and I don't want him to be miserable because he's eating this way. It's going to be a lot of work, but God knows this and I pray will help me get through the labor that this is going to demand of me.
On a side note, I am not sure if I'm pregnant.
Well, that's all the news for now, but I hope to keep this more current than I have been. It's just that I get so side-tracked and then get tired and forget all about this. But it doesn't exactly matter since no one ready it-lol. Oh well, it's kind of nice to know I have some privacy on the internet, so poo on you! ;-)
The other thing that happened was I started getting this pain going down my legs. It felt as though someone was tying a knot around my leg so the blood couldn't flow well. There was also this pinching feeling going down both legs and I have no idea what caused this. I called my NUCCA doc and he said to do some lower back pain exercises. I didn't actually do any and it went away on it's own, thankfully.
Also I should mention that on occasion I did eat some wheats and very few sugars like fruit and some cake at a birthday party. It was minor, but I felt I needed to live a little. But then I got a phone call from a friend who never calls me (she also has candida) and was telling me about this doctor that she found about an hour away who took insurance and who was able to help her with her candida. I couldn't believe it and was ready to make an appointment asap. I called then next day and did so and was there this morning to meet this aforementioned doctor.
In the last week or so I had been feeling lousy and very tired esp in the morning, which was not normal for me, but when I felt like I had no energy all day I knew something was up and wanted to talk to this guy about it. Also, I started getting dizzy again. Out of nowhere my head would just start getting off balance and I thought, "No, this is not going to happen again!" But anyway, about this doctor's visit,
This Dr. E a very nice guy and took his time with me, trying to understand my history and the whole issue surrounding my health. He liked what I had been doing, though he felt that I was wise in opting to take myself off of the Phosphotidyl Serine and thryroid because, low and behold, my adrenals, from what he found, were not hyper active, but underactive. Thank you Dr. E! He actually tested my adrenals by taking my blood pressure while I was sitting and then as I stood up and found that my bp dropped 16 points when I stood up indicating some serious adrenal fatigue. The long and short of it is that he's seriously cutting out all sugars, dairy, wheat or flours of most any kind, beans, starches, etc and wants me to do this for about a year! Oh my goodness, I pray that I can. It's not going to be easy, esp with my husband, but I have to. What else can I do to kick this thing?
He advised that I purchase some of their self-concocted supplements for my adrenals, candida, and overall health. The other thing I am taking now is Oil of Oregano as that is supposed to kill fungus in one's system. At this point, I don't care what it tastes like, I'll take anything I need to.
It's been hard trying to think of things to eat and I need to go on-line to find recipes that are candida safe- god luck! No, there are some but they sound horrible. I think I'm going to have to make two meals a day, one for me and one for my hubby, I can't expect him to eat this way. It's healthy, but horrible. There are so few options and I don't want him to be miserable because he's eating this way. It's going to be a lot of work, but God knows this and I pray will help me get through the labor that this is going to demand of me.
On a side note, I am not sure if I'm pregnant.
Well, that's all the news for now, but I hope to keep this more current than I have been. It's just that I get so side-tracked and then get tired and forget all about this. But it doesn't exactly matter since no one ready it-lol. Oh well, it's kind of nice to know I have some privacy on the internet, so poo on you! ;-)
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