Endoscopy For The Win

So there are things that you expect to hurt when you have surgery and then there's the things that people just don't warn you about, which they totally should. So here it is... When you have gallbladder surgery (ok, laproscopic surgery in general) they pump co2 into you so help see your innards. And then where does it go? Up. Into your shoulders. And man is it painful. It was worse than any of the pain from the incisions or cutting out an entire organ. And it was the worst when I was laying down. So I had to try and sleep sitting up. It kind of worked, but mostly was just dumb.

But in the morning they came and got me for my endoscopy. My GI doctor came and did the procedure for me. It took about 20 minutes from the time they knocked me out. And I must say that getting ready for that one was scarier. First they make you lay on your stomach, which you just had surgery on. Then they put on oxygen. Then they put a plastic thing in your mouth to keep it open during surgery. And they make you drink this gross goo that numbs your throat. Also they give you anitbiotics through the IV, which thankfully, they were able to use the same one I had in (after much debate on whether it would work). And I don't know if it was the good or the stuff in the IV, but your pee smells like medicine or something for the next 2 days, weird. Anyway, so I wake up in the first room they took me too. And they kept wanting to roll me over to get me off my stomach, but really, it was the most comfortable I'd been since I got there. I didn't want to move, I just wanted to take a nap. And every time I lifted my head I would burp (Jameson was amused). Then they took my back upstairs to my room where I slept for 5 hours.

Meanwhile, Jamo picked up James and took him to an appointment he had. And James did amazing (cause he's awesome). And then brought him back afterward. I had to eat something before they would let me go to make sure I wasn't going to puke everything up. But my stomach felt fine, just really hungry from not eating for 2 days. So I ate dinner and we went home.

Home is interesting. It's ok when I don't have to move or don't have to do things. Also it's nice when I have my pain killers running through me. Also, when I'm napping. Jamo took a half day today and half day tomorrow to help out. It was nice being able to have him watch James when he got home so I could take a nap. And I was finally able to pump some milk that I didn't have to throw out. And so my boy is back on the mommy milk, which is fabulous. Cause he would make the saddest faces when he realized you were giving him the formula. And then this evening I tried breastfeeding him. It took a lot of blankets and pillows but it worked. I wasn't getting hardly anything from the pump, so I figured it was time so I don't dry out or anything. Plus babies are much more efficient at getting the milk. So with Jamo's help we're making things work here. And I'm hoping to get things back into routine soon enough. And life should be looking up from here again.

Dear Gallbladder, You Suck and Must be Evicted

I keep meaning to post, like for weeks and weeks. But life sure is busy when you have a new little baby. Especially when you have the cutest baby in the world and all you want to do is spend time lovin' on the little guy. Mostly this post will be about my gallbladder, but first I will say this. Being a mother is the best things I've ever done and is everything that I hoped and thought it would be. I can't imagine ever wanting to do anything else more. After all the years of waiting (and I'm not just talking about the married portion) I thought that maybe I wouldn't like it as much as I thought on account of it's kind of what I've always wanted more than anything. But this sweet little thang is the the love of my sweet little squishy squirming life. I guess all I'm saying is that being a mother rocks and I can't wait to have a whole litter of these. Also, my baby sleeps like ALL night long and is awesome. He's definitely my child.

Now, my gallbladder. I had it taken out today. And I'm pretty sure it knews it's time was coming to an end, cause it hit me with I think the worst gallbladder attack ever, that lasted a full 48 hours. Much pain and tears and drugs and vinager were used to no avail. It finally went away and I ate some cake.

I came into the hospital at noon and got registered and then they sent me down to the prep area to get all my infos and get me ready for surgery. They took my blood, which went well. Then they tried to put on IV in me. They poked me 4 times before then got a good vein! They could get the needle in, but weren't able to thread it (? something like that). And finally they went to the vein that they got blood from earlier (duh, it's my best vein and I told them so). Then lots of sitting around and all the nurses ogling my baby and saying how cute he is and how it's the most excitement they've had in weeks. My baby makes everyone fall in love, it's just a fact. Then they brought me down to surgery, put some drugs in me and then I was o.u.t, out. I woke up a couple hours later in pain. It felt like a stinkin' gallbladder attack all over again. But mostly it was just pain where my gallbladder used to be. And the pain wouldn't go away. Then they noticed that the IV decided not to work very well anymore. SO THEY POKED ME AGAIN! Sigh. And you would not believe how many nurses it takes to put in one needle. They think it was cause I was dehydrated and stuff from not being able to eat past midnight and stuff. My blood just wouldn't flow for them. That is, until I went to the bathroom and think I started my first period. A little unsure at this point though cause I haven't left this bed since. It's my blog, I can TMI if I feels like it :).


Anyway, so I sat there and cried and cried until the drugs finally kicked in... and then I cried some more cause I couldn't stop. I think it's the hormones. I think they nurse thought I was being over dramatic about the pain, but I wasn't even crying about the pain, I was crying because of how utterly pathetic I felt. And then when I'm feeling all crummy I get even worse news. They're admitting me and keeping me until tomorrow. Apparently I have gallstones in my bile ducts that need to be removed, which means another surgery. And why they couldn't have taken them out while they were in there is beyond me. I'm going to ask them about that tomorrow when I see my doctor. And so I am sitting here in the hospital being all sad and pathetic.


But I think the worst part about all of this is my sweet baby James. I have to pump and dump for the next 12 hours, so no breastfeeding for me. And if I do have to have another surgery tomorrow that poor kid is going to have to do something I didn't want to do... drink formula. I had some frozen for the surgery, but I didn't expect this to happen and didn't save enough. He's going to hate it. And I'm going to hate it. And we're both going to hate it together. Except for the part where my sister-in-law Tracy is watching him for the night, since I'm trapped to this stinkin' bed and can hardly hold him cause of where the incisions were. And I'm so grateful that I have family around that is so loving and willing to help on a seconds notice (and feed my dear husband also). But oh how I miss that boy already. It really is quite sad. We haven't spent more than about 4 hours apart (date night to Harry Potter 7 pt. 2). And so more hormonal crying happens. Sigh. The bright side is that once this is over, it's over. I shouldn't have to worry about this stupid gallbladder anymore. I can eat freely. I can take care of my baby freely. I can live a fearless of food kind of life. And I'm super excited about it. I'm already thinking about what I want to eat. How wants to take me to all you can eat pasta bowl at Olive Garden when I'm on the mend? Man I'm hungry right now. This popsicle just isn't doing it.

Also my Dad and Sandy came out because I asked them too. Jamo and Dad gave me a blessing. Isn't it great to have the priesthood in your life? I'm just thankful for the many worthy male members that surround me in life. God has really blessed me in my life and helped me find a great husband and blessed me with one AMAZING family.

And so I'll leave this blog post on that note. And here's to praying tomorrow will be a better day and have a superb ending. Also a big thanks to all that have helped and will probably be asked to help a little bit more :). I love you all!

A Week of Sleeping Injuries

First Sheri complains in her blog, mostly about pregnancy related things?...

1. My Stinkin' Gallbladder - I finally have some energy after the past couple of days of being in pain due to my gallbladder. And it sucks when you don't know exactly what caused it. And it sucks that you can't do anything about it. It kind of ruined Easter for us around here. Although I did make myself get up and go to church. I made it through most of Sacrement Meeting before it hurt too much and we gave up and went home, where I proceeded to lay in bed for the next 4 hours, and the next 6 after that on the couch. We did do a puzzle though! I like puzzles.

2. Ow, My Rib - I'm pretty sure my rib is bruised, yesterday I would have said broken. I woke up Saturday morning and man did it hurt. I guess that's what I get for sleeping? I have no idea if I got karate chopped in my sleep or if this kid is just trying to break my silly ribs. Either way, it's dumb when it hurts to breathe. But it's feeling better tonight, so hopefully when I go to bed I won't injure it again.

3. Pulled Ligaments? - All the websites and boards say that the pain you feel is round ligament pain. Well if that is true, then I sure as heck pulled mine. I flipped over in my sleep, from my right side to my left side, about a week ago (again with the sleeping... maybe I should try and avoid it from now on?). And it hurt like crazy. It's like my muscles were being torn. And since then I have to sit down to get dressed. I always have to stand on both feet. It hurts to bend, squat or pretty much make any movement that involves my legs. It's quite silly.

Ok, I think I am done ranting about my various injuries this week. It's like my body hit 30 weeks and started to fall apart. Everything was all peaches n' creme before (except the tiredness which will never go away) and now my poor body is under attack by a foreign being. But I will say that all of it is totally worth it and I wouldn't trade of second of it. While it's annoying he sticks things up in my rib so I can't sit properly, it's totally awesome to know he's there and to feel him kicking me, sometimes rather hard. Either way, my kid is awesome.

And I was going to post about the craft project I've been working on tonight, but this is already getting long. Plus it's not quite finished anyway. I should invest in some varnish or something.

Gallstones For The Win

I had the ultrasound on my gallbladder done yesterday. Went in, thought I was going to have to wait forever, cause there were TONS of old people in the waiting room. But after registering, I was the first one called. Don't you just love that? I always feel a little special. Anyway, so then I got the ultrasound done, the u/s tech was nice, seemed to know what she was doing. So she said they'd send it to my doctor and she would discuss the results with me in 24-48 hours.

So this morning I wake up to a voicemail on my phone from the doctors office tell me to call them back. And I do. And the assistant lady tells me that I have GALLSTONES! And for now I should try and eat a low fat diet to keep it under control. And I should also contact the G.I. doctor she referred me to. I don't think there's much they can do while pregnant, or at least much they want to do.

But I have gallstones! And I know that I probably shouldn't be so excited or happy about this, but I am. I think it's just finally having a diagnosis to this stupid problem I've had my entire life. And it also feels nice being justified in thinking for years that the problem was in my gallbladder, when even the doctors wouldn't listen to me. So yay.

24 Week Doctor's Appointment

Today I had a doctor's appointment. I got to meet my new doctor. My old one switched practices and I didn't feel like following her to her new one, even though I liked her quite a bit. The drive would have been like 20 minutes longer and I would have deliver at a different hospital. So, I decided to stay with the practice I'm at. And I'm quite fond of my new doctor. She seems to actually listen to her patients. So I had all the usual routine stuff done (weight, blood pressure, pee in a cup and listen to baby's heartbeat). Then we got to talking about my gall bladder. And she actually listened to me (unlike every other doctor). It probably helped that I expressed how frustrated I was with the ER doc and his complete lack of doing anything and a general frustration that this has been going on for years and no one has felt the need to help past one appointment. Anyway, so she had me do a blood test there in the office. They were checking umm, liver enzymes or something? And also checking for celiac disease, just to make sure it's not a gluten problem making me so sick. And there were a few other things, general blood test stuff to check my levels. And I have an ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning to check my gall bladder. She said there's another test that I can take after I've had the baby... some sort of gall bladder function test. And to check if it's inflamed? Cause the ultrasound might not show anything if there aren't gall stones or anything. Also, she gave me a referral to a gastroenterologist, so I have to call him up and set up an appointment. She said sometimes they don't see pregnant women, but in my case to go to him and tell him I've been having these problems for year and that I want to start figuring it out. If nothing else, get everything ready for when I'm not pregnant anymore.

So yup, hopefully things are now moving in that department and we can figure this out. Is it sad I'm excited to so the gastro guy? Finally someone knowledgeable who might actually be able to help. In the meantime, I go to my ultrasound tomorrow and wait for my next appointment. She said we'll discuss the results then (in 4 weeks).