It’s day 6 of Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week, and I give you the first of my (poorly drawn) infographics about stomas.
“Stoma Facts!
Did you know… Stomas appear to dance. Yes, they move around on their own, therefore, giving the appearance they are dancing.”
So I went to Lincoln (which is about 200 miles-ish north from where I live) to visit family over the weekend. We travelled by car, which is usually a 4-5 hour journey. It was the first time I’ve travelled in a car for any real length of time since getting baggie so I had some concerns about having to make extra stops as well as the position of the seat belt. As it turned out, we didn’t have to make extra stops because my stoma was thankfully very inactive for most of the journey. Also, because it’s getting pretty cold now, I had a thick coat on which kept the seat belt away from my stomach.
As for supplies, I did my usual and packed more than I needed, just in case. We were only there for three nights, which meant two changed for me, but I still brought an extra bag in case something happened.
I didn’t run into any issues with baggie over the weekend aside from the cold causing my muscles to ache a little. Other than that, I had a great weekend.
I’ve been pretty busy recently; I started counselling last week to try and help with a few things I’ve been struggling with recently. My first session I didn’t think went so well because my therapist seemed a bit uncaring and disinterested because I scored low on the risk assessment. I thought I’d give it one more try before asking to change therapists and I’m glad I did; today’s session went much better because we went through some things (not everything) in depth and she seemed a lot more interested in what I had to say. She even gave some advice on something I’ve been struggling with for a while now but haven’t been able to talk about. I hope these sessions will be helpful in the long run but I guess it’s still early days.
In other news, I’m going to visit family up north this weekend which I’m hoping will help relieve some stress. It’s going to be cold but I’m prepared for that; I know the cold can make my stomach muscles hurt so I’ll be bringing a load of heat pads and my hot water bottle with me.
I hope everyone is having a safe Halloween.
It’s been 6 months since the blob was formed so I’m celebrating the new life it has given by decorating today’s baggie.
My CT scan has been moved due to work commitments but it’s only by a week so not much of a wait.
I’ve finally heard from the hospital; I’m having a CT scan next week to see what’s going on with my liver. Here’s hoping for answers.
I won’t go into detail about it but I decided to start counselling. I had my first initial appointment today and I should hear about further appointments with a councillor within the next week.
So, the stick is back in use, at least for now. I’m finding my middle is very sore throughout the day and using my stick to move around when not at home helps take some of the strain off my muscles. It also gives me a little bit of security in that I know I’ll be able to get home eventually with it. Whereas without it, I’d feel stranded if I found walking too hard.
It sort of feels like I’ve taken a couple of steps backwards but I know it’s not something I can control. That doesn’t make it any easier to deal with, but I’m dealing. I hope.
Ok, so let explained what happened yesterday; after I got to the hospital, I had bloods taken and a cannula fitted before being moved into the AAU (Acute Assessment Unit) where I experienced a major flare of pain in my stomach. They gave me oral morphine (which tasted like fruity vodka) but it didn’t seem to do a lot so a little bit later a nurse came over with two syringes of IV morphine which she gave me little by little. This helped to numb the pain enough for it to be bearable. They then took me for both a chest and abdominal x-ray before taking me up to ASU (Acute Surgical Unit). By this time, the pain had gone down enough for me to have a shower and change my bag but I was nil-by-mouth in case they needed to do surgery for any reason. I did notice my stoma was protruding more than normal but it seems to have gone back to normal so I’m putting that down to muscle strain.
Eventually, the doctors came round and I was seem a whole three times! (And on a Sunday too) They checked how my stomach felt and decided that I needed an ultrasound. They booked it for this morning but said I could go home provided I wasn’t in too much pain. Thankfully, the pain went away with the morphine and I’ve been given dihydrocodeine to take home.
The ultrasound was to check it was gall stones, which they’d remove if needed. And if it wasn’t my gall bladder, then they’d check for inflammation in my stomach. As it turns out, they actually couldn’t see my gall bladder because my liver has somehow become twice the size it’s meant to be, which would explain the pain. The consulting surgeon I saw after the ultrasound said he would refer me to a liver specialist but to take it easy in the meantime.
My boss has been amazingly understanding, as usual, so I’m taking the rest of today off work to rest my sore muscles.
I’m hoping this’ll be easily fixed and not affect my stoma or interfere with future surgeries.
I’m out of the hospital! I didn’t need to stay overnight but they do want me back in tomorrow morning for an ultrasound.
They think it’s either my gall bladder, an inflammation in my stomach or a sprained abdominal muscle. I’m hoping it’s the latter but we’ll see.
What Can I Eat 