Mayo Clinic - Day Three. EKG & Endoscope

I reported for my 10:35am appointment this morning for my EKG. The appointment was in Davis Building 2 East.

I didn't have very long to wait. As soon as I sat down, the nurse appeared and called about four of us back. The nurse led me to a dressing room in the back and gave me a gown to change into to. She told me to leave my stuff in my dressing room and to take the key with me. Then, I went around the corner and laid on the table in the room while my EKG was done. The tech doing my EKG talked to me about the Falcons and how disappointed he was that the Ravens won the super bowl. We started talking about UGA games, since I have to deal with the drunk people after the games. He was telling me how horrible the UGA and Florida games were. The other tech behind the curtain working on someone else was also commenting on our conversation and chiming in on what he felt strongly about. They told me that I was their favorite patient for the day. That made me smile. I think they were amused that I love football.

So, the EKG was normal and I was released. My next appointment is at 1:30pm today for my endoscope and my Bravo test. I'm going to take a nap until then.

I started a new page last night based on humor. When I went to sleep last night, it only have fifteen likes. Now, it has over 100. The page is LAUGHTER THROUGH GP. I figured that Gastroparesis needed a little humor to cheer members up and it was a niche that hasn't been carved out yet. =)

At 1:30pm I reported to the patient registration desk in the Mayo building to register for my endoscope.

The receptionist sent me up to Mayo 5 North to check in for my procedure.

Before I did anything else, I stopped and looked at the views from the fifth floor. They were amazing, so I took some pictures of that as well.

I sat down and went over my medication list. I crossed a bunch out that the doctor took me off of and answered a questionaire about past surgeries and medical issues. I sat with papers in hand waiting for the nurse to call me back.

The nurse called me back and had me put on a gown. The attached me to a blood pressure cuff (my BP was high, no changes there), and got my IV in my right hand on the first try. She asked me a lot of questions and then I met the doctor. He was nice. Then, I met the anesthesiologist who was nice as well. They didn't waste any time and they wheeled me back in my bed for the endoscope. They had me lay on my side and bite down on a green plastic ring. The anesthesiologist pushed the drugs to make me sleep. I remember looking at the screen and then waking up in recovery. I cracked jokes with the nurse after I woke up.

The nurse told me that I would feel like there's something stuck in my throat because of the BRAVO TEST. The capsule attached to my esophagus will fall away by Friday. I came back to the hotel, ate a bit, and then went to sleep. I'm about to go back to sleep now because I still feel exhausted.

After Surgery - Day 2

Well, surgery went well on Monday. I was amused because the anesthesiologist had to come in and place my IV because the nurses were too scared to poke me. The nurses said they didn't see anything so they didn't want to poke me 8 times. I agreed with them and thanked them for not doing so because I've had some horrible nurses who have stuck me up to 18 times, no exaggeration.

The IV went into my right wrist, so it was in an odd place. The anesthesiologist gave me the medicine to put me to sleep while the doctor was injecting numbing medicine into my back. I yelled ow a few times and he injected more. The anesthesiologist asked me if I felt the medicine yet and I shook my head no. She gave me two small syringes of something plus versed. Then, pushed the Propofol, twice. The doctor realized that my IV wasn't working and went over to my wrist and pressed down on it at a funny angle...and then ALL of the medicine hit. I don't remember anything after that, not even being woken up to see if the spinal cord stimulator (SCS) was working properly in the right area. I woke up and the anesthesiologist moved quickly to unhook my IV because the Propofol was still in there heading to my vein, trying to make me sleepy again. I was amused. The staff at this place are great. I would recommend them to anyone who needs pain management. Their bedside manner is fantastic and it's hard to find a doctor who will actually listen to you first.

After they taped me up, I went into recovery where they fine tuned the SCS with a computer. They gave me a remote where I could control the amount of stimulation myself or turn it off while driving.

I laid down when I got home from surgery and laughed so hard because the stimulation was turned all of the way up. I had to wait for my husband to bring the remote inside.

Last night, I slept without tossing or turning, which is something I haven't done in a long time because I couldn't feel pain in my left knee. I was able to walk around more. It was nice not to have that constant sharp pain along with aches. It was all gone.

Then, I went to sleep the wrong way with my back brace on and moved the leads. Now, they will only work if I'm sitting a certain way or if I lay down. So, I called the doctor and asked them to pull the leads out and that I would like to have the permanent implant done. The Rep for Boston Scientific (who represents this machine I'm using for the SCS) will call the doctor and put me on the schedule to have the leads pulled out tomorrow, which is good because I'm allergic to this tape. It itches like crazy!

So, I will be put on the schedule to have this one permanently and I'm excited about it. If I can get this under control, maybe I won't vomit as much because vomiting is my pain response too.

Then, I can just focus on my stomach. I need to get that taken care of. I have an appointment with the GI doctor on Monday and an appointment with the Nutritionist to go over a diet plan later next week. I'm still severely nauseated, but not as bad as I have been. That could be wishful thinking on part of the temporary implant but we'll see.

I'm just excited to finally have my knee taken care of and to have finally found someone who will help me. Then, I can focus on my stomach.

Pictures of my back are below: