December Health Issues (AKA Why I've been away a lot)

I promised a blog post explaining why I've been gone so much and have put it off for a good little bit now.  I've just not wanted to think about it, as I'm hoping that we've finally found a solution and my health issues will be a lot better before long.  However, I did promise to tell y'all about the month I've had and I will do so.

I do have some health issues that I deal with on a regular basis.  One is Mitral Valve Prolapse with mild to moderate mitral regurgitation.  Basically my mitral valve doesn't close properly (think of a swinging saloon door) and that causes a backwash of blood (some comes back in, when it should be pumped out).  I have relatively FEW problems from it and have even been off medication to control the symptoms for about 6 or 7 months now!  I do have to see the cardiologist next month though, so that may change.

I also have Degenerative Disc Disease.  They discovered this last year around this time, after a year of pain that no one could put a finger on.  I had an epidural on December 26, 2011 to try to ease the pain.  It didn't help at all, so I had another epidural done the second week of January.  This one seemed to help quite a bit.  Unfortunately, it's not a permanent fix.  The pain is getting to me yet again and I can see that I will be going back to the doctor to look at my options in the next few months.  It's not a major deal right now though.

However, I also deal with one thing on a regular basis.  I also deal with renal calculus, or Kidney Stones. Most of the time these are a minor irritation.  Sometimes they can be quite bad.  I don't have just a few stones here and there.  Anytime I have a CT scan done I will have multiple stones in each kidney.  In August 2010 I got a blockage from a stone on my right side.  I have a surgery pretty much every year due to the stones (a lot of time I end up with two surgeries, one to place a stent to dilate the ureter, and the second to go after the stones).

Well, back in October I started having problems with stones again.  See, I always have them, but sometimes they hurt more than other times.  October they started hurting pretty bad.  At the same time I was dealing with a cellulitis infection on my leg (I have no idea where it came from, just that it hurt really bad!).  So, I had to kinda ignore the stones (as much as one can ignore something like that) while I dealt with the cellulitis.

In November they continued to get worse.  I was still okay for the most part, just dealing with a lot of pain.  I did go to the Emergency Room one night for them, as the pain was just too much to bare that evening.

Thursday, November 29th I had some really sharp pains.  By Friday morning I woke up very ill.  I was sick to my stomach, hurting, and had a fever over 102.  Jennifer, over at Deep South Dixie Couponers, lives around the corner from me and she volunteered to drop me off at the hospital to be seen.

The doctors said I had bilateral renal calculi (a fancy way of saying I have stones in both kidneys) along with a blockage in the left side.  They told me to keep an eye on my symptoms and return to the ER if I got worst.  Otherwise, I was to follow up with my urologist the first of the week (which presents another concern as my urologist I really loved moved away and I haven't found another I liked a lot yet).

Saturday I was ill all day.  Sunday I was much worse.  I debated going back to the ER all day long.  I finally decided that I needed to be seen as I didn't want to end up stuck here on Monday while my hubby was work, and to get even worse.  Our friend, Mike, dropped me off.  I was admitted late that evening.

Monday Morning, December 3rd, they woke me around 5am to tell me that they were doing emergency surgery to place a stent and relieve the blockage. Surgery was a success and I was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday. 

Unfortunately, my body does not tolerate stents very well.  From the day it was put it, we were pretty much on countdown til when I'd develop an infection, as it was bound to happen.  I also had a lot of pain associated with the stent (which was to be expected).

Thursday, December 13th, I saw my new doctor (who I absolutely LOVE by the way).  I expressed my concern to him about that Saturday's events (my husband's company Christmas party) and how I was concerned about whether I was "up to" doing all the walking and such that I would have to do.  I also told him that I felt as if I was getting an infection.  After he ran the necessary tests he said that he didn't think I was getting an infection as everything looked fine, and to go ahead to the party and have fun, just try not to overdo it, as I know what I can handle and what I cannot.

Monday, December 17th was the day of my follow up surgery.  I arrived at the hospital and signed in.  We had to do labs and vitals, at which time my fever was 101.3.  When my doctor came in he said there was no way we could do the surgery.  If it was done I could wind up in ICU due to the infection.  He wrote me a prescription for antibiotics and sent me home.

About two hours later his office called to let me know when the surgery was rescheduled for.  When they happened to call, I had just woke up from a brief nap and was in really bad pain.  I was in the process of taking my temperature (it had went up to over 102) when I answered the call.  His scheduler heard how bad I sounded and said she wanted to talk to him and call me back.  HE called me back less than 5 minutes later and expressed his concern.  He said he'd prefer me to be in the hospital, receiving IV antibiotics and having my pain managed better.  I discussed it with my husband and we decided that this was the best course of treatment.  I've been hospitalized for an infection from a stent about once a year for the last several years.  Normally after a day or two of antibiotics I can have the follow up surgery and feel a lot better.

So, I was admitted on Monday.  Tuesday the doctor told me that I had two different types of infections and they added another antibiotic to the rotation (so I was on two IV antibiotics, twice a day).  Wednesday I was still running a fever.  Finally on Wednesday night it broke.  So, Thursday we scheduled the surgery for Friday, with hopes that I could go home the same day.

My surgery on Friday was a little more complicated than most have been.  I had some issues with the anesthesia and had to have some heart tests due to some concerns that arose.  Plus, I had some severe pain issues and my medications had to be switched around to find what would work best for me. So, I was stuck for another day.

Saturday, December 22nd, I finally got the news I'd been waiting for.  I was a FREE woman yet again.

I'm still having a lot of issues (I still have a stent in for another week or so).  Today has probably been one of the worst since I was released, as far as pain goes. 

I do have good news though. 

I've dealt with stones for about 7 or 8 years now.  I've been told "they're hereditary" and nothing could be done to assist me.  Add to that an allergy to the medication that they give to assist you in passing the stones, and my life has been pretty bad as far as stones have been concerned.

However, when the doctor saw the stones, during the surgery, he recognized them!  He says that they are made up of Uric Acid (the same thing that causes gout).  Now I'm on a prescription daily to help dissolve the uric acid.  If this works, I won't have to deal with them near as much.  So keep your fingers crossed.



So, that is the really long story on why I've been gone so much here recently.  I'm still not back to normal, but I'm trying to work on everything a bit more.  I hope that you all have a little patience with me while I continue recuperating and get better, so that I can be back here like I need (and want) to be.

Thank you all for your continued support.  I really do appreciate it.