I'm back from my show and tell tour, and after enjoying my time there a little too much, it's certainly time for my next fill. After having some difficulties during the last two fills where hitting my port with the needle has been particularly challenging for the doctors at Suncoast Bariatrics, I'm a little apprehensive about going. The doctors have been as gentle as possible, but there is still some discomfort and inevitable bruising that takes place when you have a needle wiggling around in search of a port. This time was no exception. Unfortunately this one was even worse in that they weren't able to access the port even after sustained effort. It was very disappointing, since as difficult as the last couple fills were, at least they were successful in that the adjustment was accomplished. We decided to let things sit for a bit and try again after the New Year. The cause seems to be that my port has shifted a bit and seems to be at an angle towards my belly button. More on this development in a later post.
It's Christmas time now and along with the holiday cheer, I've got belly pain. Not from the aforementioned aborted fill and resulted bruising, as that has already dissipated, but from my right side, no where near my port or band. After several days of pain, my wife convinced me on a trip to the emergency room. Apparently most of my symptoms seemed to point to an appendicitis, which if not caught in time could be life threatening. On Christmas Eve Eve we ended up in the emergency room. It was an interesting experience, which included a CAT scan to check my appendix, which they couldn't find. This didn't give me a lot of confidence; for some reason I expected a hospital to know where my anatomy is located. On the plus side they were impressed with all my vitals. Thank you Lap Band surgery! It seems it has made me much healthier along with the weight loss. It was nice to get some physical confirmation of that. The CAT scan didn't find my appendix, but it did see my Lap Band and they said everything looked really good, which was another nice confirmation. In the end they didn't have an explanation for the pain and recommended I see my primary care physician as a follow up.
I was able to get in to my regular doctor's office. They didn't find anything wrong either and were concerned that perhaps it was something related to my surgery like scar tissue and I should consult with my surgeon. My next stop the next day was to Suncoast Bariatrics and they sent me to another hospital ER where they can run another battery of tests for them to review. As you can imagine, I was fairly frustrated by this point. Every hospital and doctor's office was a full explanation and battery of tests with the same result until now. Finally Suncoast Bariatrics had someone at the hospital that came right into radiology and made me feel quite better. I went through the tests and got a much better diagnosis even if it was a somewhat embarrassing one. Before I get to that, they did say that the Lap Band was looking good, but they did note that my port had shifted. They decided that we should wait and see if it continues to shift as sometimes it may shift back based on how and where the weight comes off. It wasn't a priority right now as the band was certainly not what was causing my current pain issue thankfully.
OK, now for the embarrassing part. Apparently to no one's surprise, I was full of it! Yes, it was as simple as being constipated. I was surprised as I felt like I had been regular, but maybe I wasn't going enough? You could see right on the CAT scan that I had my intestine full all the way around to my side where I was feeling the pain. They prescribed me some stool softener and sent me on my way. Again the hospital staff was impressed with my vitals as they indicated that my Lap Band surgery and certainly done a lot for my over all health, which was nice to hear. I certainly feel a lot better over all. I can breath; I can sleep; I can move comfortably on my own without feeling like I'm going to pass out. It's been nice. My body has gone through some changes and perhaps one of them is my body chemistry where I may not be relieving myself as often as I should. It could just be I need some more fiber? Within a week of taking the stool softener, I was pain free and back on the healthy track. It made for a bit of a stressful holiday week, but in the end I felt better for it and glad to say I haven't had any constipation issues since. Thank you to all of those at Suncoast Bariatrics for seeing me on such short notice during the holidays and helping me with my constipation. They didn't dismiss me just because my issue had nothing to do with my Lap Band; they gave me excellent care and made sure they got to the bottom of my issue. Without their care I may not have been able to go as I needed to.....
God Bless!
me
PS - The reason the hospital couldn't readily find my appendix on the CAT scan is that it is usually very small when healthy. It only becomes very noticeable if there is an issue and becomes inflamed; at least that is my layman's understanding. I certainly don't have a medical degree.
No comments:
Post a Comment