Friday, December 3, 2010

Thanksgiving and Temple

Thanksgiving was FANTASTIC!! I started off with an average sized meal for me with Jacob’s family for lunch and then I ate for dinner. My family just watched me at times like “Are you really going to eat all of that?” The only thing that was off limits was the turkey. Oh my goodness did I pay but oh was it worth it. I’m all about paying the consequences but this time, I think I pushed my limits. I should of went on down to the emergency room Saturday night because of not digesting but I toughed it out.

We left Tuesday morning for Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. Jacob and mom went with me which was nice. I had this mentality that Philadelphia would be similar to New York City yet smaller and Temple would be bigger than Baptist Hospital. Oh my goodness, Temple was huge. The x-ray technicians told me they get lost at Temple. It occupied numerous city blocks; you could put Baptist Hospital in Temple.

My appointment went well. I really like Dr. Parkman. He listened and was thorough in his exam. He scheduled me that afternoon for a series a blood work, x-rays and of course my least favorite test of all, an anaorectal manometry. I was semi okay with the manometry until I heard I had to have TWO Fleet enemas. I was getting ready to come unglued. I had just given a bunch of blood, I was cramping and hot, I hadn’t really ate anything and I’m cleaning out in a Philadelphia hospital bathroom. People are knocking on the door and I’m yelling at them. I was not a nice person. I knew what test was coming my way. I did have a nice doctor and nurse though who did the test and they helped me relax through it. Unfortunately I had abnormalities in my test results.

Dr. Parkman talked about my Gastroparesis and how it had advanced. He talked about my stomach and intestines and how a pacemaker might not be the best answer because my colon might not be able to keep up. He went on to say that I may have a condition in my colon known as Hirschsprung Disease. I would be dealing with Gastroparesis and Hirschsprung Disease which would not be good. He wants to do a gastric emptying scan of my whole GI tract which will take four days. I go tack to Philadelphia December 14th.

I can deal with the Gastroparesis. I am just not sure about the Hirschsprung Disease. It seems very overwhelming together. Whatever happened to the normal stomach bug?


4 comments:

  1. Hi, I was just diagnosed w/ a severe case of gp last week and stumbled upon your blog while searching for more information about the condition. I just wanted to let you know how helpful I've found your blog to be, as I am also young (24) and not sure what to expect with the treatment process, so thanks so much for sharing!

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  2. Hi Jennifer, I hope you are feeling better this Christmas holiday!!!! Have you found some things that work for you to speed up your digestion? Has your doctor looked into pathogens (bacterial, protozoa etc) that could be causing all of the slowing down? Are you taking digestive enzymes & probiotics? I really really hope you are feeling ok and have a very merry christmas! best, claire

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  3. Hi Nicole Frances,

    I am very sorry that you were diagnosed with GP. I know that having GP is tough in itself but being younger personally just adds to it. Have you checked out these sites?

    www.gpawarenessfund.com
    www.g-pact.org

    They are really cool sites. Please keep me posted on how you're doing!

    Jennifer

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  4. Hi Claire,

    I hope you're GP is treating you well. No, nothing to be working seems to be working in the digestion department. =) I have figured out that if I don't eat anything on the day that I clean out, it goes by soooo much easier and quicker!!!

    How's your GP doing?

    Jennifer

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