Surgery in LimboLand

Howdy y'all! Ready for more in the Jennie saga? (smirk)

In June 2016, I found myself in the ER because we and the EMTs suspected a heart attack and wanted to hook up a 12-lead EKG and check things out. Heart was fine. Blood tests showed elevated liver enzymes that continued to increase to outlandish levels as well as some sort of organ damage going on. So, I was admitted to the hospital. After a couple clear ultrasounds, a CT scan, and blood tests, it was determined it must have been a gallbladder attack, and I was discharged, though my liver enzyme levels were still extremely high.

For the next six, long months, I had left-side abdominal pain that was often increased by eating only a few bites of food or even drinking a little water. Doc visits. Pancreas tested fine. Stomach tested no ulcers. Endoscopy, colonoscopy, CT scans, abdominal MRI, gastroenterologist visits, etc. Polyps found (some "pre-cancerous") and removed from colon and stomach; not cause of pain. Mild, uneventful diverticulosis found, but not cause of pain. Stones in both kidneys as well as cysts on ovaries, liver and kidneys, so sent to nephrologist. Not cause of pain either, but now have new diagnosis of Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

From: source


Gastroenterologist, then, suggested gallbladder removal because I'd had a few more of the middle-abdomen, crushing pain episodes along with the left-side pain.

So, on 11/29/16, I had "diagnostic" laparoscopic gallbladder removal. In other words, it should cause all pain to go away and "one doesn't need a gallbladder anyway." There's some sense to the idea, for the internist said he'd learned at a seminar that "any abdominal pain within six feet of a diseased gallbladder is caused by that gallbladder." Mine was diseased for sure. In the scans, it showed microscopic stones called "sludge." So, I went for it. One can refrain from eating only so long anyway! (chuckle)

It was confirmed after the surgery to be diseased, too. The surgeon showed us still photos taken of the procedure. My gallbladder was completely buried under fatty tissue. When my eyes got wide, he said, "You're not fat. Building that up over the gallbladder was your body's way of dealing with it being so inflamed and diseased." Interesting.

Now, though, seems to be the aftermath. The surgery was under general anesthesia with an anti-nausea patch behind my ear. I had an asthma attack in the post-op room, so was given a broncho-dialator via the oxygen tube. Then, in the recovery room, I was given Vicadon for a pain-killer. Also, in recovery, I was cold, so they put me under a hot-air blanket cranked way up.

I get my worst symptoms when my body gets hot. So, it wasn't long in recovery before I started getting vertigo and double vision. Though I still felt cold, I asked to have the blanket removed. Vertigo lessened so we checked out. But, double vision remained for the next couple hours. It went away, but blurred vision remained and is still there.

I'm home now and had read that the anti-nausea patch can cause blurred vision, so removed that a couple days ago. Still blurry vision, now on 12/4/16. Plus, I'm getting achey numbness in my left arm and leg. Also, quite short of breath and fatigue with only a brief amount of activity or sometimes just sitting there doing nothing! This was my first surgery, so I'm really not knowing what to expect, especially with a body that has weird reactions. You know what I mean, I am sure.

In the past 10 months, we'd changed our lifestyle to eat lots of fresh fruits & veggies, whole grains, good oils, no dairy, no meats, absolutely no sugars (not even honey or maple syrup). We also worked up to my being able to hike 8-10 miles a day. I was doing so well with few symptoms; now this!

For future reference, I'm trying to figure out whether this would be a reaction to anesthesia or one of the other meds or simply a shock to the body or all of the above.  Since I'm in limbo of non-diagnosis for the nervous system issues, I don't have a regular neurologist. We moved to Washington, and I have a good, "I'll do some research; what do you think, doc?; would you order the test?" relationship with the GP available in our region. Therefore, it is up to me to figure this out. Any advice or ideas or thoughts from your experiences are quite welcome, if you have the time.

https://twitter.com/YogiJennie

Happy holidays to y'all!
Jennie

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The Isolating Loneliness of Chronic Pain & Invisible Illness: Chronic pain and invisible illness can be incredibly isolating, sometimes in obvious ways but other times, it’s far more insidious or subtle. Just as our pain and symptoms are mostly invisible, we too can feel as if we’re living behind a silent divide, isolated from life by an invisible window of pain. When pain never pauses, it can make it hard to feel connected—even to those we love. As erratic and unpredictable symptoms can alter and affect friendships and relationships, you may see your friends and family far less, or when you do, feel disconnected — lonely in a crowded room — and quite unlike how things once were, which leads to a different kind of loneliness. “Part of what makes pain “painful” is its privacy and unsharability, the feeling of aloneness,” says David Biro. “This under appreciated feature — to that outsider, that is — is especially true for pain that persists, chronic versus acute pain.”

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