Last Saturday afternoon I continued to have the horrible pain when eating. It was like early labor. I would describe it like contractions, or like someone kicked a soccer ball in my stomach and I got the wind knocked out of me. I had not eaten solid food in about 10 days and was barely drinking water because when I drank I felt immediately full and uncomfortable.
Jim called Dr.Lerner to see if there was a way to get IV fluids at home and Dr. Lerner suggested I go straight to the ER and that he would get ahold of Dr.Desai (or someone on his GI team) to meet me at the hospital. I went in and ended up staying 3 days. I got three days of IV nutrients which made me feel like superwoman in terms of energy! I saw several doctors at the hospital, they did bloodwork, I did almost 4 cups of golytely and an upper scope. All the tests came back clean. (Except that the CT scan showed my colon was extremely packed). The general conclusion was that my stomach was having spasms for an unknown reason. They sent me home on Dec 23 with an appt with Dr. Desai on Dec 26. I am so so thankful I got to spend Christmas at home!
Jim and I met with Dr. Desai yesterday. My main complaints- 1.) I have pain (about 2-3 inches in diameter) surrounding my bellybutton when I eat and between my ribs when pressure is applied. 2.) When I drink I feel so full after 2 sips it feels like I just finished Thanksgiving dinner. It is uncomfortable to drink. 3.) I have not had a normal bm since August. It has been alternating between diarrhea and constipation depending on how much Natural Calm (magnesium drink) I take. I have tried changing the amount by a fraction of a teaspoon and I still don't have success.
Dr. Desai, unfortunately, did not seem to have any helpful advice. He told me to try Prilosec, take a walk outside daily and try not to be so stressed out. He did echo what most of the other doctors in the ER said which was that I'm on way too many medications for someone my age. I agree. Instead of dealing with the root issues, whether it be migraines or something else, I have had doctors giving me medicine on top of medicine since I was 20 years old. This has caused chronic constipation and who knows what else. He said to come back in a month.
I spoke with Dr.Lerner later that day and he said that he thinks the pain is stemming from the Epstein Barr Virus. I don't know if he means from the Valtrex that I have been taking for it (which he took me off of 2 weeks ago just in case) or other symptoms of the virus. His last statement on the phone was, "When you are feeling better, please come in so we can begin a more rigorous course of action." I'm not sure what to think about that. Dr. Lerner was incredibly helpful while I was in the hospital and I know is very knowledgable about this virus. At the same time I am drawn back to a more natural form of healing with my holistic doctors. We continue to pray for the best course of action and ask God for continued healing.
Friday, December 27, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
ER visit
Since a little before Thanksgiving I have been having stomach pain when I eat. It has been getting progressively worse and over the weekend I knew something was wrong because the smallest bite or drink of water caused extreme abdominal pain. Jim took me to the ER on Saturday night and they did a CT scan and a gall bladder ultrasound. The CT scan showed that my colon was completely full of stool, but according to the doctors nothing was "wrong" with it.
When I saw Dr. Lerner on Monday morning he ordered a few GI tests to check for reflux and ulcers and a test to see how the gall bladder was doing emptying. So far everything has come back ok. I had a consultation with Dr. Conley and the notes are below. It still really hurts to eat, but I read the most perfect devotional today which gives me hope and strength:
"My UNFAILING LOVE IS YOUR FUEL- the best source of energy for you. The glorious source of strength is limitless, so it is always abundantly available. You tend to get quite focused on your health and energy. There is a plan for such concerns, but they can occupy more and more of your thoughts. When you are preoccupied with the condition of your body , I slip from the center of your mind to the periphery. At such times, you are unable to receive much help from Me. The remedy is to repent quickly- turning away from obsessive thinking and turning wholeheartedly toward me." -Jesus Today by Sarah Young
Phone call
(810) 230-0617
Stomach pain
Stop colonics for now
Keep going with magnesium, but don’t do the ultra-high doses every 7-10 days as previously suggested.
Increase dosage of probiotics up to 4-6 capsules a day
He fine with using Klaire Labs Vital 10 (recommended by Dr. Massoumi)
Increase incrementally—go up a pill every few days; stop if have any issues (not likely)
Doesn’t matter whether take with food or empty stomach
You can take them all at once or spread it throughout the day
Radiologist doctor at Beaumont reviewed CT scan and said he can’t believe how much feces was in the digestive tract. His opinion is that there is no room for more food and that is causing the pain
Conley doubts Lerner’s concern that this could be caused by Valtrex but said okay to go off.
If feel same when off Valtrex, stay off.
If feel worse, start taking Valtrex again.
This could all be a gall bladder problem…but pain by belly button means less likely gall bladder
He will review the hepatobiliary scan being done this week. If that is okay, then it’s not likely the gall bladder.
Eating fat can cause the gall bladder to spasm—sometimes immediately. Keep fat low for a while then add it in and see what happens
If hepatobiliary scan is negative and fat ingestion doesn’t trigger the pain, then it’s not gall bladder and these will be our next steps:
Get a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn’s, colitis, inflammation
Talk to primary care physician for referral
Ask them to do most extensive parasite tests possible (they won’t do enough tests unless we ask)
Eventually do an African stool test, but not yet
If all the above tests are negative, it is a mechanical issue and the plan will be to work on clearing you out and establishing regularity:
Continue with large doses of probiotics
Continue with magnesium supplementation
Begin supplementing with psyllium fiber
Do colonics again—maybe 1-2/month
Bleeding since starting progesterone
Conley says stop for now and we’ll revisit after addressing digestive issues
When I saw Dr. Lerner on Monday morning he ordered a few GI tests to check for reflux and ulcers and a test to see how the gall bladder was doing emptying. So far everything has come back ok. I had a consultation with Dr. Conley and the notes are below. It still really hurts to eat, but I read the most perfect devotional today which gives me hope and strength:
"My UNFAILING LOVE IS YOUR FUEL- the best source of energy for you. The glorious source of strength is limitless, so it is always abundantly available. You tend to get quite focused on your health and energy. There is a plan for such concerns, but they can occupy more and more of your thoughts. When you are preoccupied with the condition of your body , I slip from the center of your mind to the periphery. At such times, you are unable to receive much help from Me. The remedy is to repent quickly- turning away from obsessive thinking and turning wholeheartedly toward me." -Jesus Today by Sarah Young
Phone call
(810) 230-0617
Stomach pain
Stop colonics for now
Keep going with magnesium, but don’t do the ultra-high doses every 7-10 days as previously suggested.
Increase dosage of probiotics up to 4-6 capsules a day
He fine with using Klaire Labs Vital 10 (recommended by Dr. Massoumi)
Increase incrementally—go up a pill every few days; stop if have any issues (not likely)
Doesn’t matter whether take with food or empty stomach
You can take them all at once or spread it throughout the day
Radiologist doctor at Beaumont reviewed CT scan and said he can’t believe how much feces was in the digestive tract. His opinion is that there is no room for more food and that is causing the pain
Conley doubts Lerner’s concern that this could be caused by Valtrex but said okay to go off.
If feel same when off Valtrex, stay off.
If feel worse, start taking Valtrex again.
This could all be a gall bladder problem…but pain by belly button means less likely gall bladder
He will review the hepatobiliary scan being done this week. If that is okay, then it’s not likely the gall bladder.
Eating fat can cause the gall bladder to spasm—sometimes immediately. Keep fat low for a while then add it in and see what happens
If hepatobiliary scan is negative and fat ingestion doesn’t trigger the pain, then it’s not gall bladder and these will be our next steps:
Get a colonoscopy to rule out Crohn’s, colitis, inflammation
Talk to primary care physician for referral
Ask them to do most extensive parasite tests possible (they won’t do enough tests unless we ask)
Eventually do an African stool test, but not yet
If all the above tests are negative, it is a mechanical issue and the plan will be to work on clearing you out and establishing regularity:
Continue with large doses of probiotics
Continue with magnesium supplementation
Begin supplementing with psyllium fiber
Do colonics again—maybe 1-2/month
Bleeding since starting progesterone
Conley says stop for now and we’ll revisit after addressing digestive issues
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