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:

Pharmacy and sickness

I just made a trip to the pharmacy to pick up medication refills. I thought I was going to be ill in my husband's new car. I raced back home and got sick. The only things I can remember eating are wedding food, fries, and pureed sweet potato soup. I vomited up the sweet potato soup shortly after I ate it. The other stuff I kept down but I'm nauseated and I feel like I have food poisoning now

Oh, and I am now mayor of the CVS on foursquare by my house. Sad, huh?

I have to send my brother to my house in a taxi because I'm too sick to leave the house. I'm still a bit hypoglycemic and still feel like I'm in a semi dream where I'm talking to people who aren't there. I'm not on drugs, I promise you.

It's scaring me and I made a follow up appointment with the specialist for next week. That's the soonest she could get me in. I also made an appointment with a pain management specialist on the advice of my knee doctor. I'm scared to see what the can do for the nerve pain in my knee. I'm really scared that all of the nerve pain, even the vagas nerve damage in my stomach, is all related somehow. What if it is? My friends are convinced it's autoimmune. I just don't know what to think. No one else in my family has it.

I just want to lay down on the bathroom floor to be closer to the bathroom. I'm just so sick. I would be happy if I could sleep through most of this.


I just feel useless today. Sometimes, it's hard to find the light in the darkness.

Woke up at 6am - and My Stomach Hates Me

My stomach managed to wake me up and I went straight to the bathroom and vomited. So much for that. I thought I was having a good day yesterday. I vomited up some of the food that I ate at the wedding reception, some of it wasn't digested (OK, I know that's probably TMI - but my blog is to help keep track of these things to tell the doctor). I have very intense stomach cramps. I also feel very tired, exhausted, and fatigued even though I slept yesterday and some last night.

I just took:

1 pain pill

2 anti-spasmotic pills

1 anxiety pill

1 muscle relaxer

2 anti-nausea pills

Between all of those, and I hope I can keep those down, hopefully I'll go back to sleep. I just hate waking up with that immediate need to be sick. And, as per usual, I whacked my knee on the side of the toilet again.

I just want to feel better. I'm going to call and make an appointment with the motility specialist. She's at Crawford Long, so that's a bit closer to me to get to. When I do drive, I have to drive around with a bucket. I've gotten pretty good at vomiting outside of moving cars though. I don't feel safe driving because I might get sick while I'm driving.

I need to find a primary care doctor closer to my house as well. I feel bad just walking in and saying, "Hey, I've got gastroparesis and I'm your new patient!" I would like all of my records in one place, though. My knee records, my stomach records, my records from my old primary care doctor. I feel as though my medical records are scattered all across Atlanta.

I have to say that it was good to leave the house for a little bit. I've been confined here since March since my GP has been so severe. I slept on the car ride back because the nausea started to hit. Then, I went to bed and didn't wake up until about 10pm or so. This new medication knocks me out.

The medicine that helps the most is the muscle relaxer. It relaxes my stomach enough for me to eat and not be in as much pain.I don't know if they'll keep me on it or not but it's the only thing that seems to help.

Maybe one day this Summer, I will get to go to the beach! I miss the salty smell of the air... there's nothing quite like it. I'm leaving Wednesday or Thursday for a car ride up to Connecticut for convention for my fraternity with my friends. I hope that I can make it up there with no problems. I'm more worried about the car ride. If I don't eat while at convention, I won't be sick. I know that sounds absolutely horrible. I didn't each much before or after the wedding, so I didn't get sick like normal. So, I'm going to have to monitor myself very closely with food. Most of the time, I'm not hungry anyway. But, social conventions seem to be centered around food and drinking. I can't do either.