GP Life After Pregnancy...

I have had numerous people ask me over the past months ask me how I am doing. Generally, like most GP patients do, I answer with a blanket answer. It isn't a lie but it isn't detailed. I usually answer with the words "good" or "fine". I decided that I would finally "answer" the question as to how I am doing.

For the most part, my gastroparesis is the same. It is something that I will always have to deal with. It is chronic but I am perfectly okay with that. During my pregnancy, my GP was more manageable due to the hormones associated with pregnancy. Since giving birth to Chaselyn, I have noticed my GP symptoms are becoming more intense than what they were during my pregnancy. The nausea is greater, my GI tract is slower, my medication doesn't work as well and so on and so forth. Some days I am able to eat what I consider to be my "normal". Other days, I am struggle with eating. It doesn't bother me that things are returning to how they once were before I became pregnant. I knew that this would happen. I am just thankful for the bit of relief that I got to experience during my pregnancy.

As for my clean outs, I have to be extremely careful. I really have to watch my hydration. Whenever I clean out, I lose a lot of fluid. I am constantly drinking something, whether it be water, Gatorade or some type of protein drink. My energy varies from day to day depending on how I am feeling and if I am on a post clean out day. I try my best to manage my energy and time. I don't want to take away from Chaselyn due to me over doing it. I have had it happen several times where I have just had to lay on the couch while Jacob takes care of Chaselyn and I absolutely hate it. I want to be involved. My weight has returned into my "GP range". When I found out that I was pregnant, I was around 87 pounds. When I gave birth to Chaselyn, I weighed 128 pounds. Today, I am just a few pounds heavier than when I was before the pregnancy.




Image Credit: http://www.keepcalmstudio.com/_gallery/1500/12wCRW5.png

a GI appointment...

I went to see my GI the other week. The appointment was very beneficial and productive. During the appointment, we discussed the success of the Botox injections that I received back in December to help  reduce my stomach spasms. Last fall I started experiencing these painful yet nauseating colon spasms. When this first started happening, I could not figure out what was going on. Is it even possible to have pain in the remaining eight inches of colon that I have when it isn't even hooked up to my digestive tract. Very, very strange. After speaking with my surgeon and GI doctor several times since then, the colon spasms haven't stopped. It is just something patients sometimes experience after having the type of colon surgery that I had. However they are so random. I never know when they are going to happen or where. I was once in the grocery store and it was so bad I honestly thought that I was going to have to just leave my cart in the middle of the store and walk out. At this last appointment, my GI gave me something to help with the spasms. Hopefully the is new medication will help during those unpleasant times.

Another thing we talked about during my appointment was my weight. Fully clothed, I weighed in at 85lbs. My GI expressed his concerns and dislike about my weight which I fully understand. This brought us to my clean out routine and "future plans". He explained that he did not want to remove any of my small intestines. We discussed my current routine and my small intestines decline in motility just like with my colon. As for now, I am to continue clean out as is doing it three times a week. As time progresses, we will up the medications as we see fit. If my Linzess stops being as effective as it is now, we will substitute it for another medication in hopes to buy me some time. The whole overall goal for me is to not max myself out medication. He did explain to me that when the time comes, we can do a feeding tube which would be placed into my small intestines for additional nutrition and possible weight stability. I am sure my facial expression was not the best when I heard that but I'm a determined and stubborn person. I am not interested in having a feeding tube. I have enough going on below my rib cage. I do however know from experience, that once you get to a certain point and you're so sick, you'll do just about anything to feel better.

This is taken almost a week after my colectomy. It was bad.

These were taken the morning and afternoon of my ileostomy surgery. I made Jacob take these pictures so I could look back and visually see how bad it was. Over time, you sometimes lose perspective and forget how an experience actually was. The morning of my ileostomy surgery, I couldn't move without vomiting. I couldn't move my hands and feet. I have never been so sick in my life than what is depicted in these two pictures. During those hospital stays and just being so sick, my fears and perspectives changed. You could have pretty much done whatever to me medically because I was so sick. Situations like these are what my GI and I are trying to avoid. If that time does come, I want to already have somewhat of a plan in place so I am not sick as a dog and having to make a life altering decision.

Since Jacob and I have been married, I have done really well during my clean outs at night. I have only blacked out, no passing out. Our bathroom is separate from our bedroom so I have always wondered if he would hear me if I was to pass out in the bathroom. I have to sleep with the fan going so I don't get hot and I am honestly not waking him up every time I get up during the night. To me, it's ridiculous. Well Wednesday night during my clean out, I got up to go to the bathroom and I had to sit in the floor to finish cleaning my bag. Looking back now because hind sight is always twenty-twenty, I should have known I was in trouble. I got up to wash my hands and I just got that feeling. I thought to myself that I'd better get back to the bedroom. I made it about two steps into our bedroom and I passed out cold. I think my head hit the door before hitting the hardwood floors because it was throbbing. My left side took the blunt of it. It took me a few minutes to get my bearings back. Needless to say, Jacob had no problem hearing me and I'm pretty sore from all of it.