Surgery, pregnancy and hernia. Oh my!
Dec 05 '05
The Bottom Line Life might be like a box of chocolates, but I can't stomach those anymore!
I've been MIA for a couple of days online, and sort of at home. This Epinion is a update on my recent happenings. If you don't wanna read it, is ok. You won't hurt my feelings.
I hurt so badly I could scream! I found out that my "knot" where one of my surgery incisions is, above where the baby is right now, is a hernia. I went to the doctor yesterday. I may have Matt take me to the ER tonight, if I have a repeat of last night, and see if they can do something. The new meds the doctor gave me yesterday are doing squat.
My back spasms and hernia are separate issues. I saw my doctor about 2 months ago for the back spasms. She gave me Flexural (sp?) and liquid Lortab for pain and muscle relaxer. Those really helped, but then I saw my OB last week. I guess the muscle and joint pain, especially in my knees, legs, hips and elbows, are just par for the course in a pregnancy, although I don't recall having them the first time around with Zackary.
By the time I saw my OB again, I was out of my Lortab and asked for a refill. I was really hurting above the baby, as well as my lower back. They weren't contractions, and I had no bleeding, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I tried to tell the OB resident (since I hadn't seen the OB) what was going on, where I hurt, and she was so drawn to the fact that my doctor (who I had been seeing for over 3 years and she knew my history very well, not to mention my high tolerance for pain meds) had given my Lortab, which is a narcotic. She went into a big lecture about the damage I was doing to my baby. Brain problems, low birth weight and so on. I was so upset that I left crying. Matt, who I was lucky to have with me, was ticked off, as well. She never even addressed me hurting. Nope. Just all about what I was given for it, and how basically evil I was for taking it.
I stopped taking my Lortab shortly after that last week, and just stayed with the Flexural, which alone, for me, does diddly. Plain Tylenol I can eat like candy, and it does nothing for pain. I started taking warm bathes, anything to relax the muscles and stop my from hurting. I was taking liquid Benadryl to help me sleep, as it was mention by a previous OB resident I had seen.
After not sleeping in almost 2 days, and not being able to get in to see my assigned doctor until Dec 23, I called and saw whoever they had available yesterday. He was a nice guy and confirmed the hernia. I have to be careful because I could easily get my bowels/intestines caught, which would be an emergency situation. So far I have been able to lay back down and gently push them back thru where they belong. If they won't relax and go back into place, I had to go to the nearest ER for possible emergency surgery. He said that as the baby gets bigger, it might be more of an issue, but they don't want to do an "elective" surgery until after the baby is born. I'm not allowed to lift over 10 pounds now, and with us moving this weekend, it should be interesting. We're going to have some help, but I hate standing by and doing nothing. Explaining to Zacky why I can no longer carry him, with him being 42 lbs, also should be a challenge!
I even remember when the hernia happened. Zacky was standing on the sofa and wanted to give me a hug. I was maybe 2 weeks out from surgery. Instead, not knowing he'd hurt me, he picked up his feet and I felt a tug and a "pop" of one of my internal sutures. When I told my bypass surgeon, he said not to worry about it. It wouldn't be a problem. Well, if I hadn't have gotten pregnant, it might not have been, but now it is.
Yesterday, when I saw the on-call doctor at the Naval Clinic, he gave me more Flexural and Codeine for pain. Neither are doing anything for me. I can't get comfortable at all. I went to bed at 11:30pm last night and I was still roaming around the house, trying to get comfortable, at 2:30am, and I had to get Zacky up at 6:45am for school. I tried my bed, Zacky's bed (we both have queen sizes but a different brand and softness level), and even the sofa. Nothing worked. Matt had to work all night, so I was on my own. I was up crying in pain most of the night. Added to my hormones, it wasn't a pretty site. I had taken 5 warm/hot bathes to relax my muscles in less than 8 hours. I put Icy Hot on my back and joints 3 times last night. Nothing is working anymore!
I have never been so miserable in my whole life! Nothing makes me comfortable. I would love to sleep thru the next 22 weeks, since I keep being told that it might be "cured" after the baby, and if not at least they can troubleshoot with X-rays and such to see what is going on, which they can't do now. For now, all they can do is try to make me "comfortable" and keep an extra close eye on me.
On the surgery front, I weighed in at 250 lbs on my doctor's scales yesterday. If that's right, then I have lost almost 10 lbs in less than a week. My nutritionist will have a cow! Just the smell or thought of food makes me retch! I am supposed to see my assigned doctor tomorrow (the one that gave me the Lortab originally) after Matt called for me today and made an "emergency" appointment so I don't have to wait. I am supposed to see OB next week, if they ever call back and give me an appointment.
Anyway, 18 weeks down and 22 to go! I'm not sure that, at this rate, that I'm gonna make it, though.
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Epinions.com ID:
LisaDo
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Member: Lisa D
Location: Back home in Indiana!
Reviews written: 552
Trusted by: 277 members
About Me:
Proud SAHM, Navy wife and member of SHLEPS!
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