Happy Halloween

The little devil wishes you a Happy Halloween!  It was close to impossible to get this picture, she would much rather eat the horns then wear them.  

Next Monday is going to be a busy day.  It starts off with skipping breakfast, being given a bunch of drugs and then having a camera shoved down my throat, past my stomach and into my small intestines.  Oh what fun!  They actually don't fully knock me out for the procedure, they just give me drugs that make me forgot.  Nice huh?  I always wonder if I say stupid things?  The doc has told me I just let them rip while I'm drug induced.  I guess it takes a lot to embarrass me now.  Then, for Monday's highlight, Gracie and I start puppy kindergarden!  Every Monday night for the next 6 weeks.  Two of her litter mates are in the class.  It should be a fun time.  It is nice that I'm actually starting to do things for fun.  

Speaking of doing things just for fun again, I've become quite the Betty Crocker (or Paula Dean, my personal favorite).  Pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread, mock Thanksgiving and today Apple Pie.  Hm, I think Scott is fully enjoying the return of my appetite!

Alright I need to go save the kitty from being repeatedly assaulted by the Little Devil.  

Special

I just wrote out this long post.  But it was just too gloomy.  I'll save it for another day.  Here are some picture of little Gracie Mae.  So far most of my pictures consist of her sleeping.  It is the only time she is still enough, otherwise she is a blur in the picture.  

On a whole I am well.  Adjusting nicely to this new way of pooping.  It can be full of surprises.  But so far nothing I can't handle and a hell of a lot better then being  backed up with that stupid stricture. 

Talked to my Gastroenterologist last night (yeah the actual doc called me.  Not one of his nurses, man did I feel special for a moment).  Long story short, the duodenum polyps need to come out, like now.  Given that my common bile duct is progressively getting larger, the polyps are growing more rapidly then we had hoped (just my luck).  My GI consulted with the other docs in his practice and they all came to the same opinion.  Due to the size and pla

cement of the main polyp they don't feel there is a doc in the state of Michigan who is qualified

enough to attempt to remove them.  So as of right now we are looking into Mayo, Cleveland Clinic or Indiana U.  At least those are the places my GI recommends.   The doctors feel I need to have these little suckers removed within the next two months.  Hey, at least that means maybe we can get all this under this years deductible.  

Alright, I'm off to bake some pumpkin cookies.  I like this having an appetite again.  My body is desperately trying to regain the 25 lbs I've lost over the past 3 months!  

Priceless

I fasted half the day to prevent accidents.  I had two body heaters, two hand warmers, and 4 layers of clothes.  And it was all worth it to see the Spartans beat the Wolverines at The Big House! What an incredible weekend.  I'm kicking myself though.  Stupid camera batteries died before we even got into the stadium.  Would you believe we were only 9 rows from the field?!  

In other news, all seems good.  I'm happy to have last weeks hospital stay behind me.  Things are still moving through.  Thank God they finally dilated that stricture.  I knew it was a stricture.  I never did due my in-you-face-told-you-so- dance though.  The 4 mgs of morphine every 3 hours made me a bit forgetful along with other things.  Next week I have 2 visits with the docs.  One with my GI to check on the polyps in the duodenum and one follow up with my colorectal surgeon.  Honestly, I am nervous for the GI visit.  I'm scared of finding out those polyps are growing or changing or worse.   One day at a time, right?  

Home at last

A few people have commented that they are having issues with my blog, blogger is having some technically difficulties, but they are aware of them and are working on fixing them.

Well, I'm home.  Thank God.  I'm just trying to adjust to my new working plumbing system.  I am trying to remember that my body is only now learning to do it's job and not to have unreal expectations for it.  But it is frustrating.  Very frustrating.

Tomorrow is the MSU vs U of M game.  Honestly, I am a bit nervous.  My bowels are unpredictable, at best.  Could be interesting.  And embarrassing.  

I'm off to go spend more time with Gracie.  I have a lot of pictures to take.  

About time

I'm going home! For realsies this time.

Failed

I don't feel up to posting, but I just wanted to keep everyone in the know. I'm still at the stinkin hospital. They told me I could leave today as long as I passed a few simple objectives.

1. I had to consume 2 meals.
2. Keep both meals down.
3. Both meals needed to exit via the proper route.

Sounds easy right? Well my body couldn't even do that. My first meal decided it would rather come back up instead of going down. And on top of failing those objectives I also developed some incredible abdominal pain (upper right quadrant for you medical junkies) and intense lower back pain.

I hope Gracie hasn't forgotten about me.

Hopeful wishing

Still here and updating from my hospital bed. Finally had the "procedure" last night. It was scheduled for 4:30, doc didn't show up till 8:30. Nice huh? The procedure went well, he vacuumed out 500 ccs of stool and stretched the main opening (where the pouch is sewn to the skin right above my anus). Surprisingly, it wasn't uncomfortable. I have yet to poop on the toilet. The poop, however, has no problem coming out if I am in any position other than sitting on the pot.
I still feel pretty crappy and I was puking again last night. Gotta love the pink bucket. I'm curious to what my doc will say about the vomiting. I really hope it doesn't stop me from getting to eat food today. By the time yesterdays procedure started I hadn't eaten in 51 hours.
Maybe, just maybe I will get to go home today. I'll update after I see the doctor this morning.

Hurry up and wait

What a long night last night was. The majority of it was spent with my head in the pink puke bucket. Due to last nights vomitus-maximus, I am NPO (no food or drink, nothing, nada, zilch) today. The residents were trying to give me the dreaded NG tube, but I managed to talk my way out of that. Phew.
Yesterday's CT scan did not show any definitive reason for my pooping, or lack of pooping I should say, problem. So, our next game plan is to sedate me and the surgeon will give it a little looksy. Hopefully then he will be able to see whatever the problem is. The surgeon is booked all day today, so we won't be able to do this till sometime this evening. Fun! I get to hang out in the hospital all day today. I swear whenever I have been in the hospital it is always hurry up and wait, hurry up and then wait. . .
The radiologist did notice something of interest on the CT. It appears as though my "common bile duct" was enlarged. Interesting, given that I have those ticking time bomb polyps still cohabiting there. This could be nothing, or it could mean my duodenum polyps are growing. Thank goodness I have an upper endoscopy scheduled for next week. Will this ever end?

Xray to the CT

The xray was "inconclusive". So now I am sipping on contrast for a Ct scan. Yum. I haven't been able to poop in who knows how long, but give me this nasty contrast and watch out. Figures.

If anyone is trying to contact me, my phone is acting up. Just when you need it, it goes crap. If you've tried calling and it goes right to voicemail that is why. Feel free to email. I have my complementary laptop set up next to my bed. Gotta love Lacks. Better then most hotels.

I should hear the results from the CT in morning during Dr Kim's 4:30am check-in.

No news is boring news

Still chillin at the hospital. They took some xrays a few hours ago, but haven't heard anything yet. They also did a digital exam (yup just what you are thinking) and couldn't detect anything wrong there. So there goes my lower stricture theory out the window. I guess I won't be doing that "in-your-face-told-you-so dance" after all. By the talk from the nurses around here it sounds like I'll be here overnight at least. I did get some morphine, which helped with my pain. I didn't fully realize how much pain I was in till it was gone.

The attending called my colorectal surgeon and asked about giving me laxatives. He yelled and said you don't give laxatives to someone without a colon, they won't help. Um, doc, you need to tell your office nursing staff that. Cause that would have been nice to know 3 weeks ago!

You've gotta be kidding me

Ugh!  Long story short. . . I'm being admitted to the hospital.  I called my surgeon's office this morning asking if we could move up my Friday appt.  My pain is pretty intense.  After asking when my last full bowel movement was (Um? maybe some last tues?) they decided I needed to go in.  

Who knows what this is going to bring.  Hopefully some relief.  I'll try and update as I can.  So it's off to Lacks I go. . . again.  

Vegetable Lust

I tried the Miralax this week.  While it made things move, it caused horrendous pain. The pain when "not going" is also getting more intense.   I have been seeing more blood in the bowl.  Now that can't be good.  When I talked to my surgeon's nurse this morning she agreed that something is wrong somewhere and is squeezing me in next Friday to see him.  I still think the "narrowing at the connection site" is causing my misery.  But I'm not a doctor, so what the hell do I know?  Just know that if I turn out to be right there is going to be a huge "in your face"  celebration dance  at the doctors office.  To help prevent a major obstruction from happening in the mean time I am back on a soft food diet.  Fun.  I never knew I would one day crave a salad so much.  Hm. . . spinach, carrots, asparagus, broccoli. . .   Oh apples. . .

I just want to be done with this.  I'm tired of only posting about my problems, but they are what are occupying my mind right now.   So fricking annoying. 

To Go or Not to Go.

Holy smokes!  This little nugget sure is keeping me busy!  In a good way.  After losing Koda, I thought I would never be able to love like this again.  

Still having "going issues".  It's quite a conundrum.  Either I can be miserable and all backed up with horrible gut pain and bloated or I can take a laxative and have horrendous cramps and can get farther than 5 ft from the loo.   I did talk to my surgeon's nurse the other day.  If we can't find a happy medium by the end of this week, she is going to talk to the surgeon and hopefully convince him to see me.   I would love to know why I am having these issues.  I can't live the rest of my life like this.    

The best and the worst all wrapped up into one.

Saturday was suppose to be the happiest day, we were going to pick up Gracie. Unfortunately, things started down hill Friday night.  I became extremely ill.  We aren't fully sure as to why, but it all started with incredible intestinal cramps.  I'm talking a 9 out 10 on a pain scale.  They lasted all night, which meant no sleep.  Then, by Saturday morning I progressed to vomiting.  So, there we sat Saturday morning trying to decide between going to the ER or picking up Gracie.  I couldn't stand the thought of not getting her.  Picking her up had been my bright spot over the past few weeks.  She won out.  We packed up the car with plenty of paper towel and puke bags and off we went.  

I'm so happy we went.   I already can't imagine life without her.  I still have some cramping, but at least now it is bearable.  We are concerned I may have developed another stricture higher up in the intestines.  So I'm back on a full liquid diet.  Hm, yummy. 

Now that the cat, I mean puppy, is out of the bag. . .

I would like to introduce you to Gracie Mae:

Gracie is a 7 wks old boxer and is still with her mama and litter mates.  She gets to come home tomorrow!  I can't wait.  We have been going to visit her almost every weekend for the past 4 weeks.  I'm in love.  

Gracie's mom, was relinquished to the a rescue organization while in active labor.  She had a healthy litter of 8 cuties.  Right now Mom and babies are living at a fosters house.  How could someone just dump a dog?  Especially one in active labor?  

Gracie and I are good for each other.  She will give me a reason to get out of bed, a reason to get out of my pajamas, she will give me something to love again.  

She'll keep me on my toes.  Hard to wallow in self pity with a cutie like her around.  

One shoe. . .

I really hope I am not jinxing myself but. . . I feel good.  I think I have found the right amount of Milk of Mag to take.  I have learned my stool needs to be the constancy of water to be able to pass through the scar tissue.  Any thicker and it dams up.  All I know is this can't be good for long term.  The doc wants to "wait and see" and if in 4-6 weeks I'm still having to dose myself with the milk of mag then he will do a dilation while I am sedated.  

While I am trying to enjoy feeling semi normal again, I'm a bit hesitant.  I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop at any second.  

Lack of Balance

Just a quick post, as I only got 2 hours of sleep last night and I'm way too tired and cranky to be creative.  Still having a pooping problem.  If I don't take the Milk of Magnesia, I get very backed up.  Since I don't have a colon or a rectum, I have no storage facility.  It quickly becomes very uncomfortable (scratch that.  It's downright painful) and doesn't take much for me to begin vomiting (the body says heck, if it won't go out one way, we'll make go back out the way it came in).  So, then I take the Milk of Mag.  I only take 1 Tb. and that is still too much for my body to handle.  The cramping pain is some of the worse pain.  I'm also unable to get off the loo for more then 10 mins at a time.   Sigh, there has to be a happy medium here.  I just haven't found it yet.  

I continually find myself wishing I still had Stoma Stan.  

Poopless

Things have been getting better.  I ate yesterday and no vomiting.  Still having pooping issues though.  I was all prepared for the massive diarrhea post take-down.  I was ready to be a slave to the bathroom.  But nope, not me.  I barely poop.  It's like my body doesn't know how.  I'm off to pick up more grape juice and some pear juice (as recommended, I'll report back if it helps) If my new plumbing doesn't figure out how to eliminate my waste here in the next day or two, we will back to where we were last Wed.  I honestly believe it is due to a stricture.   Which means this won't get better until I go in for a dilation with the doc.  Great.  

Yodeling in the Porcelain Canyon

Within minutes of pressing enter on last nights update, things got worse, fast.  I began vomiting. After an abdominal surgery, vomiting is a very bad omen.  Between upchucks, I put a call into my surgeon's on-call number.  When he called me back, he felt that it was a good sign that the Milk of Mag had opened the poop gates.  He gave me the option of riding out this storm at home or being admitted to the hospital.  He said about 50% of blockage cases work themselves out.   If we were to go to the hospital they would give me an iv and the dreaded NG tube and then it would be a wait and see.  So, we chose to play wait and see at home.  After stopping all food and drink the vomiting stopped.  

It was a long night in the Stolen Colon household.  Fast forward to this morning.  I am a bit nervous to put anything into my stomach.  Needless to say I'm back on a all liquid diet this morning. 

 I'll update if anything exciting happens.  

Update the Flood Gates Have Opened

The milk of mag worked.  

Poop Watch '08

My bowels have made very little progress.  Yesterday evening I started to have very small poops, were talking mouse turds here.  I hoped it was a sign things were moving.  But nope.  It was just a tease.  I put  a call into my surgeon,  he said to try some Milk of Magnesia and to call back in 6 hours with a detailed report.  Hopefully things are just backed up and this works.  Otherwise, I would have to come in.  It could mean there is something structurally wrong with the new plumbing.  

I feel emotionally wore out, drained.  I'm tired of all this.  I want to be human again.  I want to feel whole and not broken.  I just want to get back to my life.  

I'll update if there are any new developments in the toilet bowl.