Update: My Health

Hey everyone! Long time no read! I can’t believe it has almost been an entire month since I have posted anything. It has definitely been weird not working on the Blog for this long since I created it over a year ago. I for sure needed a mental break especially with the stress of everyday life and having to deal with chronic health problems. Which leads me into the meaty part of the newest Blog. An update on how my health has effected me the past few months and what has been happening,

   Before I was married I did not have Medical insurance so I had not seen a doctor since my pediatrician. (Excluding numerous trips to Urgent Care and my Hospital Stay last year) This was not a big deal because I never really got sick, so I felt there wasn’t any need for one. Up until last year my health had been in pretty good standing since I was a child. As most of you already know my gut problems started to effect me in harsh ways at the end of 2019 and then became prominent and excruciating as 2020 arrived. Since then I have tried my best to not ever be in that situation again. I have taken my medicine consistently and I had kept up with exercising and better food intake at the heat of the issue. Now my exercise status has drained substantially and my healthy food choices have been limited to my preferences that day. (No excuses, I need to do better with my self-control and motivation when it comes to wise food choices and a better form of exercise.) With my new establishment with health insurance this past October I started making better choices when it comes to my health. I made multiple appointments with Doctor’s, some already established and others became new. I made calls to a Primary Care, an OBGYN, and I changed my Eye Doctor because I needed a better understanding of my eyesight. I scheduled all of this around my already set Dentist Appointment with whom I have seen since I was a toddler.

  The first new area that I sought was my Primary care. I had not had a normal check up in so long that I was nervous about not knowing what to expect. I mentioned my chronic constipation and my life long history with the issue. She then gave me advice that I have heard countless times, exercise and a high fiber diet. She did state that she wanted to get labs taken on me, just to make sure my Thyroid was not a factoring issue in the more prevalent problem. This lead into a referral to a specialist or a Gastroenterologist. This appointment was set and I was off to see Dr. Pitts, the specialist. The morning of my appointment I was in good spirits and very hopeful to be able to get some knowledge as to why my Colon and other intestines are the problematic thing that they are, other than the overused… Sluggish Gut. The entire time I was giving the same repetitive answers to the same asked questions, I was happy to finally be getting somewhere. “The first thing we want to do is look at your Gut.” At the end of my talk with him, this is what my doctor said to me. With a smile on my face I say okay. Not really understanding what he meant. We discussed different medication options to help with the issue or to try doubling up on what I was currently doing. I mentioned my issues with the prior medication my new primary care had given to me and we came up with a solution. I was very impressed with Dr. Pitts and thoroughly enjoyed him as a kind and humorous man. After being sat back in the waiting room I was called to a small office to schedule my Colonoscopy which at that point in time I still was not privy to in my mind. The lady and I began discussing available time slots in Dr. Pitts’ schedule and I stop her mid sentence, “Wait is this to schedule a colonoscopy?” Obviously her answer was yes. I knew the lady saw the nervous look on my face because she slowed down and went over all the paper work with me and spoke slower and with more sympathy in her voice knowing that I had never been through this before. I left the office feeling nauseous and called my mom immediately on entrance of my car. I minimally had a lifting feeling in my stomach. I then called my Husband and gave him the details. I then proceeded to ball my eyes out for 5 minutes and then sucked it up and went to work. I was caught off guard even though this should have been the first thing I expected. The next few weeks went by and the day for my Colonoscopy Prep arrived. I wasn’t really nervous anymore I just new that I needed to do it, so my brain went into pilot mode. The day of I slept in as long as I could and then made my concoctions with my medications and started the process. I am going to spare you the grewsome details of the “shitty” rain storm that came shortly after and skip to when things took a wrong turn. Up until 6pm I was perfectly fine. I was doing what I was supposed to. Other than some bloating with how much liquid I had to consume and the constant need to pause my show just to sit on the toilet (which was very annoying) I was taking the Prep in stride. I had told friends and family that it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be… I regretted that statement soon after. Early in the evening after I had ingested all of the medication through liquid and I was just chilling the sudden nauseous feeling began to take shape. I tried to sit in different positions on my bed, making sure to sit up. Around 8pm I got a text message from my Husband that he was going to be home late, which was the worst possible thing that I could have heard. Instead of giving myself a pity party I got up and started to make my way downstairs in hopes of chicken broth easing some of the nausea. I soon learned that dizziness and a stair case do not go very well together. After taking out the pan and opening the chicken broth I felt as if I was going to faint so I laid my head down on the cold countertop because in some cases this helps. In this case it did not. I stood there for a minute thinking I was going to die when the sudden urge for my bottom half to explode made itself known. I am sure you can figure what that means. I am going to leave what happens behind that closed door… behind that closed door.  

  At this point I was done with my whole life! I was so ready for the morning to come so I could get the process over with. I barely slept that night and the sleep that I did get was thanks to a heating pad. After my paperwork was done I was taken back to the prep room and asked the normal questions by a 4’11 blonde nurse who’s husband happens to also be a Firefighter. I took a pregnancy test (policy), dressed in my Hospital gown, and laid down. The same sweet nurse came back in to take my blood pressure, put in an IV with Fluids, and conversate. After this the anesthesiologist came in to discuss exactly what to expect. A few minutes later Dr. Pitts came in to check on me and then I was taken back to the Procedure room by the anesthesiologist and another 4’11 blonde nurse. ( I was very happy to meet woman just the same as myself) I was told the anesthesia was one of the best because it is quick and effective and leaves the patient feeling very good! A total of 40 minutes was the affect, 20 minute procedure time and a 20 minute recovery time. I turned on my side and a nasal canula was placed on my nostrils and then a large syringe with a milky liquid came into view. I was speaking to the anesthesiologist about why my name is hyphenated when she became very blurry and the next thing I new a straw with coke coming out of it was placed into my mouth. I had a giddy feeling inside as well as a very dizzy feeling in my head. I was walked to the bathroom where I got dressed and proceeded to leave the bathroom without permission. The next vision was of my husband and then a Subway sandwich. The next hour of my life was very hilarious! I tried to sleep the rest of the day and just take it easy. The doctor spoke to my Husband about the procedure and explained to him that he did not find one thing. I am in perfect health and to continue with the medication regimen I am on or we can discuss a different kind if I wanted. I was sent home with another Fiber Diet paper and yet again was told that I have a sluggish gut. I did know that there was a possibility that there is ultimately nothing wrong with me and my body is just naturally this way. It definitely sucks that there is not a way to make this problem go away completely, but I am happy to know that there are plenty of ways to help maintain it.

  I want to end this health update on a lighter note with that being, all of my other appointments went very well. My new eye doctor finally gave me the explanation that I was craving for about my eyes. He simply said I am a perfect storm, I have the genetics and the eye shape to cause blurry vision and that it can easily be fixed with Lasik if I choose. There is no way that I will go blind unless I develop a type of eye disease. This definitely put my mind at ease!

  I think that about covers it! I am going to be leaving my OBGYN appointment private. I feel very relived to have all of this finally done and to know that I have these options to fall back on. Thank you guys for tuning in to this lengthy post! I have missed you and will be back soon!