After years of suffering i am finally starting to get some answers as my appointments start to appear. I know the NHS is stretched but i have been waiting for these tests for over a year and now they have done them i am finding out that my suspicions were correct. I had been given my appointment time and date for the endoscopy to try and find out why food keeps trapping and also liquid making it difficult to breathe until it has passed through. I have to massage my chest like crazy when it happens and the food or drink eventually passes through with a pop. When i received the appointment i was very worried that i could have a CH attack whilst they were in the middle of doing the procedure. Due to being so worried i had opted for the sedation option rather than the throat spray and it wasn’t until i had the endoscopy that i regretted my decision.
They took me into the room and asked me to lay on the operating table whilst the nurse put a needle in the arm and flushed through the blood. It was just after they gave me what ever it is for the sedation and then asked me to put a blue guard into my mouth and bite down on it. This guard ensured i couldn’t bite down on the tube as it was pushed down the back of my throat. As soon as it started i began to heave and throw up. The nurse was using a small tube with suction to get rid of all the bile i was bringing up. With each movement i kept on throwing up and it was then that the specialist realized that the sedation had no effect on me but was too late to stop what they were doing. I continued to throw over and over again whilst she was looking around to see what problems there was. It only took 6 minuets from start to finish for them to find the problem but it felt like ages.
After it was all over i could feel that they had scratched the back of my throat and it was really hurting. I wish i had taken he throat spray instead. The nurse then called me into a side room and said she had good news and bad. The good news is they found what was causing me all these problems. The bad news is that is a Hiatus Hernia and that i would have to change my lifestyle. No more could i have caffeine or chocolate and had to avoid fatty foods and mints. I was also to try and cut down my smoking and change from normal meals to small regular meals that i could cope with making sure i do not eat 3 hours before bed. I am also to elevate my bed by 10 degrees at the head by placing pillows under that mattress so during my sleep i don't develop acid in the chest where the hernia had come through.
As you can see from the picture above it is quite a large hernia that i am going to have to learn to live with. Ever since my diagnosis and the start of these strong medications my health has been going down hill and no matter how hard i fight i just can’t seem to cut a break. I am grateful that my attacks have halved but i am still getting bad ones and i can get up to 4 a day and am only able to abort 2 of the attacks using the injections so i still end up having to go through hell for over an hour at least once a day. I haven’t yet restarted my Sodium as i have a swollen stomach and swelling around my heart according to the hospital so they took a biopsy to see if it is from a rare stomach bug so i still have to see the doctor in 5 days to start to make a plan of action as to what to do about all these problems. I have also been keeping an attack diary to keep track of all the attacks and the things that have been happening to me, I decided to start this since i was in hospital last year so i could see if certain things make it worst or if it gets better with the treatment.
I am hoping that as soon as i can start to restart the sodium the attacks will then disappear and even go into remission for a while giving me a chance to get myself a bit fitter. The trouble with suffering from illness all the time is it is very difficult to get out in the fresh air or go anywhere to take your mind off things as you end up locked away in your home all the time scared to go out in the cold just in case it triggers a big attack as the cold is one of my main triggers. I try to do things to take my mind off all the stress and worry but it is so hard. Every morning when i wake up i am expecting pain and discomfort all the time. I am praying that now we are starting to learn exactly what things i have wrong with me, as we treat them i will start to be able to get out more and get back to my fishing. I have planned to start my season in March this year and try and get out as much as i can as i missed out on many fishing trips last year due to the pain all the time and this year i refuse to let it stop me. Once i have the correct medication for each condition i should be able to start to manage it better,resulting in a lot more pain free time.
