The Adventure Never Ends...

I wish it would....

So.... Thursday, I went for my PICC xray and found out that it had shifted from it's original position, so I was going to need a new PICC put in.  The nurses that install the lines were busy, so I had an appointment scheduled for Friday morning.  After that lovely news, I went for my EGD, which I was told was scheduled at 10:45am.  After I had checked in, gone into the pre-op area, got dressed in the lovely paper gown, I was told that my appointment had been changed to noon.  Aaaaand, no one told me.  Yay, lots of extra time in pre-op...

During my EGD, my surgeon found an errant stitch that should have been removed two years ago.  He took that out and said he also untwisted a slight turn in my intestines.  I woke up from anesthesia feeling like someone beat me up.  I've gone through a ton of EGDs before and I'd never woken up feeling so awful.  They pumped me full of Fentanyl and sent me home.  I actually slept most of the rest of the day.

I had my PICC appointment this morning at 9am.  The nurses were overbooked, as usual, and seemed hurried.  They got me prepped and yoinked out the old line.  Not too much of a problem locating a good vein a little further up in the same arm.  The problem arose when the nurse started the deep vein punch and it HURT.  I yelped and tried not to move, and the nurse casually said "Oh, I guess I should give you some Lidocane."  What?  You did that with no local anesthetic?!?!  Oh, shoot me now.

Par for the course, huh?

Now I'm crabby, my arm is sore, and I have to get used to the new placement f the PICC.

I know, whine and bitch, bitch and whine.  That's about all I'm good for lately.

I haven't tried to eat anything solid yet.  I just don't want to.  I did drink a protein shake today, but that's all I could manage.  The pain twang is still there, though it does seem to be lessened.  At least that's something.

Haven't They Figured Out That I'm Bad at Tests??

Tomorrow, I'm scheduled for another EGD.  Before I go in for that joy, I have to stop by radiology and get my PICC line xrayed.  My visiting nurse is concerned that my PICC line has pushed itself out 7 cm over the past 6 months or so and now it may not be seated properly above the heart valve.  If my PICC xray shows the line has indeed moved up far above my valve, I'm going to have to get the current PICC pulled and have a new one installed.  I'm not sure exactly which I'm looking forward to less...  At least with the EGD I get a nap...

So, joy of joys, since I cannot drive myself to these appointments (1. since I'll be under sedation, and 2. since I'm on heavy duty narcotics and don't trust my own driving skills) I'll have the added stress of hanging out with my parents the whole day.  Don't get me wrong.  I like my parents.  Though my father's driving lately tends to scare the bejeebies out of me.  So, yay.

I'm still convinced that I have some form of adhesion to my abdominal wall.  A small piece of fused scar tissue perhaps.  It would explain (in my mind, at least) the tugging, pulling, and rubber-band like twanging feeling that I keep getting.  It would also explain why hiccups, sneezes and any sudden movement of my abdomen leave me looking like I have Torrettes Syndrome.  I hiccup, I curse.  I sneeze, I curse.  I turn too fast, or bend down to quickly, I curse.  ...maybe I just have Tourettes...  I should add that test to the list.

Monday, next week, I'm traveling up to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania.  I've been working with the Gastroenterology department (Dr. Wernsing and Dr. Yang) there attempting to get some much needed answers.  On Monday I'm scheduled for a menometry and a little tracking camera-pill (that I can't remember the name for right now).  Basically this will test my rate of peristalsis and check for any physical anomalies along the way (such as ulcerations or obstructions and strictures).

I'm still having the same pain in the same spot, so at least something is consistent.  Still feels like a rubberband twaging me... or on a bad day I swear it feels like a baby kicking.  It's creepy and weird and on really bad days you can watch my abdomen move while it spasms.

Hopefully someone will figure something out soon.  I'm ready to take my ball and go home.  This isn't fun anymore.

In addition to all of my medical stresses, my oldest son just graduated High School.  YAY!  We survived prom planning and graduation stuffs.  Man, that crap is expensive!  My youngest also had to order his school ring.  I feel like I should be shooting twenty dollar bills out of my fingertips with all the money I've been handing out lately.  But I must say, I am proud of my boys.  My oldest and his woman looked fantastic going to the prom.  The boy made me super proud graduating, and he's already been accepted into the college of his choice for the fall.  Now the college planning begins.  He'll be going to school in Connecticut, so we have to figure out travel expenses along with everything else.  I swear, if this stomach thing doesn't kill me, freaking out about college will.  It's very traumatic realizing that my first born baby boy is a man.  A man with a beard.  A man with a clear career path and plans for his life for the next 10 years.  I must have made a good decision or two somewhere.  The kids turned out pretty good.  Or I got lucky.  Something like that....

Anywho, I'm off to bed.  Early start tomorrow.  Already have my TPN hooked up so I can take it off before my parents get here.  Oh, yay.  Wish me luck...

Sweating as a "thinner" person...

So, I was always under the assumption that I would sweat a lot because of my size.  Putting it plainly, fat people sweat.  I had become accustomed to carrying papertowels folded in my jeans pockets when the weather got slightly warm because I knew just walking from the car to the front door of my job would make me all kinds of sweaty.  Mopping the sweat off of my face/neck before I got into work/the store/whatever destination would make me look less...fat and sweaty, for lack of a better term.  I would dread sitting anywhere outside in the heat because I knew when I got up there would be a HUGE sweaty butt print left behind (especially if I sat on concrete like the benches outside of work).  There is no dainty way to play off that huge sweat-print.  There's no way to pretend it isn't there.  There's no way that everyone doesn't see it.  It's there.  On the concrete bench, on the plastic lawn chair, on the steps, where ever I sat, I could not escape the big sweaty butt print.  Worst of all, sweat spreads out, so inevitably the butt print would make my already formidable arse look even bigger.

I was under the assumption that thinner people sweat less, therefore I would sweat less when I became said thinner person.  As I sit here, sweat-stuck to my leather desk chair, I will tell you that thinner people sweat.  Dammit.  Today the thermometer outside hit 97 degrees.  I cannot seem to drink enough water.  I sip and sip and sip until my FrankenStomach is sloshy and I'm still thirsty.  I'm sweating it all out.  I'm racing to stay hydrated, attempting to find that fine line between sloshy and pukey.

Perhaps it's all the excess skin... Will I be less of a sweaty mess when I get that removed?  Or am I just a sweating kinda person?  Will I always be doomed to damp hair in the summer?  I guess I'll just have to wait and find out.  I'm drinking water like it's going out of style.  Sip, sip, sip, puke... rinse, repeat.  The last thing I want is to end up in the hospital due to dehydration.  I know a lot of post op's end up hospitalized a few times due to lack of waters.  I've already been there once or twice myself.  So I'm moving onto more breathable furniture so I can continue to sip, sip, sip my water.

I want a Mountain Dew.  It's almost 100 degrees out and I want a fizzy, ice cold soda... on ice... with a straw.  Bitch and moan, I know.  I'm going to refill my water bottle now.  ...well, after I peel my smaller arse off of this leather chair.

I was smart enough to put a towel down on the seat so no one can see my butt print when I get up... Ahh, the small victories.  Gotta take them when you can  =)

Wow, Has It Really Been That Long....?

Yep.  I have already said I suck at this blogging thing.  I'm sorry.

If any of you are still out there, I apologize for my absence.  I'm going to read a few pages back and see where I left you all hanging, then get some updates up.

It's been a rollercoaster... par for the course...  I've had my ups and my downs, and now I'm still pretty much in the same place I have been.

Currently I've been on the same PICC line since October of last year, but my TPN has been cut down to every other day.  My visiting nurse has suggested bringing it down further to every three days when I feel like I can eat enough to sustain myself in between TPN bags.  My diet currently consists of mostly liquids... Liquids are safer... I've been sipping on Glucerna shakes during the day since none of the protein shakes seem to be thin enough to appease the FrankenTummy.  I have bits and bites of solids, but usually it's just to satisfy the need for a taste of something.  I'm still vomiting like an overactive volcano with solids or thick liquids.

I haven't logged in to MyFitnessPal for quite a long time.  I just found it too depressing.  Instead of being inspired, I would watch the success of others and cry.  Sooner or later I'm going to have to face those demons.  I do miss quite a few of my MFP friends.  Some of them have sought me out on Facebook and we talk there.  Please feel free to contact me there, if you'd like.  But, yeah, I need to get back on MFP... I keep saying I'll log back in as soon as I'm off of the PICC line... that just hasn't happened yet.  I've also stopped logging into the gastric sleeve boards.  It's just too depressing.  Same reasons pretty much.

Basically, I'm still breathing, so that's something.  I'm still in constant pain and I'm now physically dependent on my pain meds, so there's another demon I'm battling.  I'm preparing for another EGD next week along with a wireless menometry test.  I'm still a medical mystery.

I will try and get back to logging about everything.  I have missed this blog as an outlet.  My cathartic little ranting place... Oh how I've missed you.  I'm still out of work on disability and trying to get signed up for social security disability.

Currently it's 90 degrees in Delaware, so my arse is sticking to my leather desk chair.  I will move some files around tonight and see if I can remember how to upload some updated pictures...

Again, thanks to those of you who were checking up on me.  I'll try and be less of a hermit.  I promise.