Saturday, March 3, 2012

Endoscopy Complete!

Good Saturday morning to everyone. Let me just tell you that we have had a serious wind storm here over the last 15 hours or so and we didn't sleep very well because of it! The wind has been howling all night and I just knew at some point we were going to lose our roof or that maybe our smaller tree in the back yard was going to bite the dust! But so far so good!

I haven't posted since right before my endoscopy on Thursday, but let me tell you, it was not that bad. I had an endoscopy about 7 years ago and it was a terrible experience for me so I was really nervous going in and just plain scared to death! Well this was a much better experience. I think the worst part of the day was when the nurse tried to put an IV in my hand. I have a scar right on the vein from where I broke a glass when I was about 12 years old so there is some scar tissue build-up and the needle couldn't get through. It was very painful and even now, two days later, my hand is still sore.

So after putting an IV in my arm it was time to meet the doctor! He was really nice and made me feel a little more at ease. He actually sprayed some really nasty tasting stuff at the back of my throat to "numb" the gag reflex muscle. This is not something that was done the first time around for me and it made the experience so much better. After this was done and the back of my throat was getting numb they put something in my IV to sedate me. Honestly, I wasn't as sedated as some of the others I had seen in recovery before they took me back for my procedure. Everyone I saw was out of it or sleeping as they recovered. However, this did not work the same for me. I was awake during the procedure and was able to watch the whole thing on a computer screen in front of me! It was really interesting to watch this done.

I should mention that I got my degree as a Medical Assistant right out of high school about 20 years ago and my first job was working for a Gastroenterologist. So I've assisted in this procedure on others, but so much has changed over the last 20 years for sure! So here comes the BUMMER news! After this procedure was complete, I was supposed to be able to make a date with the surgeon within a couple of weeks and get my surgery date which would probably be sometime in May. HOWEVER, it was not to be :( Turns out my stomach is not shaped like it is supposed to be. The doctor, wanting to be on the safe side, has decided that I need a barium x - ray of my stomach now before we can go further. I do not know what this means. But what I do know is it sets me back a couple of more weeks or so and that makes me sad :(  He said it should not be a problem and if anything they could probably just fix whatever the problem is at the same time as the gastric bypass surgery.

That should just about wrap up this segment of my blog! I will be doing some writings on what has led to this part of my life to help give some understanding to my background. I hope that you will stay tuned as I begin my journey and rebuild my life as healthy woman.

Cheers and Much Love!
     Ellen  

2 comments:

  1. URGH - I hate set backs, but it is better to be safe than not. So hopefully they can fix what is wrong and you will be on your way.
    I waited for over a year before I got to have the surgery and had my own set backs, but it truly is worth the wait. For me I am very impatient so it sucked to wait, but I did it !! So can u. Keep writing in your journal and before you know it you will be out of surgery and your way to a new you. I will be reading !!!

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    1. Thanks Nicole!

      I know I've been waiting for almost 2 years :( My doctor was slow to getting things turned in to our Province to see if it could be covered. But I know that it is slowly approaching and I'm soo ready! Thanks for the support and I will definitely keep reading your page too!! :)

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