Update

Okay it's been awhile since I've posted and thought I would give everyone an update.  I had my first appointment for follow up with the surgeon today.  I'll be 6 weeks post op on Tuesday. 

For those of you who may remember I have been dealing with an infection and for the past two weeks I have been bleeding during bowel movements and throwing up.  I feel as though I'm eating to throw up.  I've been using a handy dandy calorie counter and discovered I'm only consuming between 250 - 350 calories (provided I haven't thrown up) in a day.  Apparently i am supposed to be up in the range of 600 - 800 a day. 

The pain still has not subsided and I have been seriously struggling with buyer's remorse as I negotiate my care with a medical team that fails to communicate effectively with each other and has not quite worked out the kinks of teamwork.  In saying this, I have remained surprisingly upbeat and my spirits are high. 

So here's the low-down, the surgeon has discovered a "lump" at the incision site that I have been complaining about for almost 6 weeks.  I am now being sent for a CT scan for this.  After eliminating fissures (sp?) and hemmroids as a possibility (seriously, every time I go to the hospital now my bum is violated =)~  I think I may be getting a complex) I am now being scheduled for an upper GI and a colonoscopy which will occur at the same time and I will thankfully be knocked out for.  Hopefully this will identify what the issues are which can then be treated (please Universe let this be an easy fix!)

In the meantime I have had bloodwork done and meds have been issued. They are looking at a whole bunch of stuff including my iron and B12 levels.   My saving grace, so far, is that I have been taking all of my vitamins and supplements and this will apparently "buy me some time" until the drs can figure out what is going on with me and fix it.  How much time is still undetermined.

Oh and apparently an investigation is now being done into the care I have received thus far and the politics that seem to have been a constant obstacle to my receiving quality care.  I have embraced my "difficult" patient status and demanded that my medical team work with me in a partnership, rather than shuffling responsibilities and leaving me in the abyss to figure things out.   Oh and the great news - looks like I am diabetes free!  Although I must say I'm finding it a little difficult to fully comprehend and embrace this fact at the moment. 

So this is my little update.

Take care,
Michelle

Dear Michelle,
I'm so sorry you are having all these struggles. Please keep us posted with any updates. When is your colonoscopy & EGD? Are you able to drink or eat anything?
Congratulations on being diabetes free. It is an amazing thing to go from having diabetes to being free of it. My last A1C was 5.3, 7 months after RNY.
Do you have good support? Are you taking good care of yourself?
Hugs~
Annie

Michelle ,
WOW .. you sure have had your share of issues. It looks like though you are getting answers .
A little story for you . While I was away on vacation this past 2 weeks .. guess what .. I had a kidney stone ... I was admitted to the Boca Raton Community Hospital in Boca Florida . This is where our summer home is ... I do not have a PCP down there .. just never needed one . Long story short . Because of a car accident almost 4 years ago ... I came with in a nats hair of breaking my back . I am currently and will probably always be Narcotic dependent. So as the nurse was asking me for my medical history and my list of meds, I got to the 30 mg of Oxycodone I take daily . ... Her eyes got real big and she said .. I am sorry but we will not be administering you that much pain meds here ... We only give those to dieing patients with cancer or severely injured people ...
I looked at her and said ... " You will give me my meds .. I have  Addisons disease , and a back that has more cracks and crushed disc than carter has liver pills ... " She said unless my pain managment doctor called them , or I could show them my pills , they would not give me what I needed . SO I had to get my husband to go home , get my pill bottle . He brought it back to them , and for some reason .. a Hospilist still refused to give me my Oxy ... I went on to explain that with out it I would go into Detox and could die . I finally had to call the Patient Advocates office ... and they rushed to my bedside . I showed her my bottle , I showed her my scripts ... and after me missing 4 rounds of meds .. they finally gave me my meds. It was sad to see that I had to go to these  lenghts. I understand that many people abuse narcotics , However , I am dependent on them ... and will always need something to east this pain . I not only have the bad back , but with the Addisons , I take steroids everyday .. and the steroids cause me to joint pain so severe that there are times I cannot walk , this trip we just got back from was spent being wheeled in a wheel chair . This is something I rarely share with people . But sometimes honesty helps others . I am  not ashamed of taking these meds .,I truly need these and am followed close by the greatest pain management team ever .

You must speak up for yourself and your medical care . If you don;t who will ? I could have laid there and went into shock and died from the detox ,

Keep those spirits high , stay positive , know that I will be praying for you . Asking for the most powerful of angels to watch over you ,
Please keep us posted on your status ... and know we are all here for you if you need us ,

Much love and respect ,

Tink