I managed to make it to my appointment with the specialist on Tuesday but still had major problems with my stomach and bowels. I have been constipated for ages now and was unable to open my bowels for almost a week when suddenly on Monday they opened with a shock. It was like a car back firing it was so loud and smelly. I have never seen anything so disgusting in my life. Even a sewer would have been a lot more pleasant than what came out of my back side and i don’t want to go into detail, all i will say is what ever it was must have been stuck inside me for some time and must have festered. When the ambulance came to pick me up i was in 2 minds whether to go or not as i was now getting the runs and only liquid was coming out. When i was in the ambulance i could feel that i still needed to go to the toilet but had to hold it in for almost an hour as we had to pick up 3 more patients before i got to the hospital. When we did arrive i must have done the 100 meter dash in a record time as i flew to the toilets in a hurry.
When i got to the ward they asked me to wait in the day room until a bed was ready for me, i started to worry and think they were about to keep me in again but it wasn’t the case. When the specialist came to see me he could see i was in pain with my stomach and asked me for an update on how i was getting on and coping. I explained about the trouble i have eating where i get food or drink trapped when i swallow and it takes ages for it to pass through the gullet. I also told him about the bowels and constipation i was getting and how bad it had been. He seemed to agree with me when it came to continuing my treatment as he didn’t want my stomach giving false side effects from any new medication we would try so we need to get to the bottom of why it is so bad all the time. He has now referred me for an endoscopy to take a look down the throat and gullet and see what is going on. I am really happy he has taken this step as it will be a lot off my mind but at the same time i am dreading the procedure as it doesn’t sound pleasant at all having a camera shoved down the throat.
I now have to book an appointment with my doctor for her to start looking into my bowels with a bit more detail and even refer me for a colonoscopy to take a look at what the bowels are doing and why i am having so much difficulty. At least this way they can see exactly what is going on and why it has been causing me so many problems for so long. It’s yet another procedure that i don’t really like the sound off but have to put up with if i want to get some answers as to what is happening to me. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that the condition i have, CH, is not curable and i will have to keep experimenting with different medication until we find one or more that give me back my control and life and keep the attacks from appearing. What i can’t stand is not knowing why my bowels are giving me so much trouble and what is causing it all?
Today i had to go back to the hospital to have a heart monitor put on so they can monitor my heart rate and rhythm for 24 hours to see what is going on, if anything, and why i keep having a racing heart. Normally this wouldn’t worry me but just lately i have been getting chest pains along with the increase in pulse rate and suddenly break out into cold sweats. I am hoping it is nothing and probably the medication causing the trouble or even the problem i am having with the bowels could be contributing to it also. Lets hope with all these tests they are dong they will finally get to the bottom of things (excuse the pun) and find out exactly what is going on.
It’s like carrying a ladies purse, walking round with the monitor. It is placed in a small shoulder bag and wired up to the sensors on the chest so it can monitor the heart beat and rhythm in real time. You also have to fill in a daily diary so they know exactly what is going on. The idea is that they will be able to notice any slight changes in the hearts rhythm that wouldn’t normally get noticed in a normal ECG test. I am hoping that there is nothing to be found and that my heart is OK. The trouble is my farther and his farther and so on down the male side of my family have all suffered with heart problems.
My farther had a ruptured aorta, this is one of the main arteries that feeds the heart and he has also had angina to go with it. My grandfather also suffered heart problems and had to have a triple bi-pass due to him also suffering from angina, as well as my great grandfather who, apart from pickling himself with rum, also suffered heart problems and eventually died from it but his condition was made a lot worst by his drinking. I am praying i do not follow in the footsteps of my farther, i know that’s not a nice thing to say but when it comes to my health i have had enough bad luck to last me a life time and i don’t need any more complications coming along and making it even worst.
Well i am now praying that with the other tests the doctors have referred me for we will now get the answers we have been seeking as to why i have been suffering so much over the last couple of months. It is strange how the body reacts to different things and i understand that the medication i am on can cause different side effects but the problems i have been having have been made worst by something other than just the medication. My bowels have become a lot worst than they were when all this first started and have caused me so much discomfort it’s unbelievable. Today they have started to get a bit better and i am no longer in agony. It could be because my bowels actually opened and i managed to go to the toilet properly, again something i haven’t been able to do for a few months now.
Let’s hope now things have started to move it will improve over time and all the pain and suffering will eventually stop. At first i though i had a nasty infection that just wasn’t shifting but realised that surely they would have spotted and infection when i was in hospital having all those tests, The amount of bloods i had to give for different testes was just crazy, it was like being treated by a vampire. Nothing showed up in the blood tests so what ever infection i may have had was no longer there that was for sure. I was a bit shocked that i ended up catching an infection when i came out of hospital and ended up with enflamed glands and a really sore throat. The infection only lasted a week and with the help of antibiotics it soon shifted but left me with the bowel problems once again as antibiotics, like other medication, can cause constipation and when you are already suffering it makes it ten times worst.
