very cool
...and today is the end of the '4 days of hell' and boy oh boy I didn't think this day would come!
Today I had to have a colonoscopy AND and endoscopy! Ever since my surgery 3 years ago my 'insides' haven't been the same. I have been to my doctor a few times and finally (after some abnormal bleeding) they finally referred me to a gastrologist to have some further tests and get some answers. An endoscopy is when they put a camera down into your stomach through your mouth and a colonoscopy is when they put a camera into your bowel through your...well you get the picture. You are put under for the procedure and in day surgery for a few hours. If you have ever had these tests done before you will know that the prepping is far worse than the procedure itself. Well amen to that because the prepping was hell and I will NEVER want to do it again. Basically I had to go on a 'special diet' for 2 days then go on a 'clear fluid diet' for one day and then clear out my bowel with medication. Simple. Gross.
So this is a diagram of the bowel and that red section...GONE! I didn't realise they took so much in my surgery! Almost 1/3 of my bowel has been taken. Crazy! No wonder everything is a lot more sensitive since my operation.
The special diet wasn't too bad. I just had to take extra care because of the above! You have to eat all refined foods. So all white bread, rice, pasta etc, so no wholemeal or seeds or beans etc. This was pretty easy as I just ate rice bubbles for breakfast and a white bun for lunch and I could have meat for dinner. I was told to avoid fruit and veg and these on a normal day would 'play around' in my stomach so my doctor said to stay clear of them. But oh my goodness I didn't realise how much I 'grazed' during the day. Holy crap was I hungry. The 'diet plan' was very vague and I wasn't sure what I could or couldn't eat in regards to 'snack food' so I didn't want to risk anything and decided to just not eat them. but i struggled. I think I ate 3 buns a day because I couldn't eat any snacks so I tried to fill up on the buns hahah gross. White bread is so yuk when you're limited to it! So I got through those first 2 days o.k then I got to the 'day before' and this is when it all went down hill.
I had to have a 'clear fluid' diet. So basically anything you can see through. Water, diet lemonade, apple juice, jelly, and broth. Delicious! That day I ate 4 sachets of chicken broth and 2 packets of Jelly and a litre of lemonade! hahah Every time I felt hungry I shoved more in my mouth to try and make the hunger pains go away. It wouldn't have been as bad if I wasn't working. But sure enough I had to do the grocery shop...omg I would of eaten anything and everything in that shop I'm telling you now! I also had to feed the kids and they were having pies for lunch and spaghetti for dinner. Oh brother! Not cool when you are starving and a deliciously fatty meaty greasy pie is sitting right in front of you! 7.00pm HOME TIME! thank god! Although this is what I had to go home to...
Yep that's right dinner was a nice little bowl of THIRTY TWO tablets. Taking one tablet on an empty stomach is bad enough but taking 32 is just ridiculous. I had to take it with lemonade as well becasue I tried the first 2 with water and vomited both times. I guess I need the sugar, the taste, to get these babies down. The plan was to take 4 tablets every 15 minutes until 16 are taken. Then wait a couple of hours then take the rest of the 16 the same way. oh lordy lordy I don't mean to be a winger but this was HARD!!! Even the thought of it now makes me gag! Normally I would be cracking it by this stage! crying, panicking, calling my mum. But I breathed through it and just did it! Maybe I was deliriously tired and so hungry my mind thought I was eating food so it pushed me into it. What ever the reasons were...I just did it and well lets just say I spent the next 8 hours on the toilet. No sleep for this little chicken. Hey at least I got a full body cleanse! Ha take that nasty toxins!
So the next morning we traveled into the hospital and I was admitted at 6.30am - I was smart when booking my test and knew the early appointment would be the best so I didnt have to starve during the day. I was pretty calm. Wasn't nervous at all. I had a few 'what ifs' going through my mind but nothing I couldn't shake away. After all I was only going to be in there for 2 hours then I could go home and sleep and EAT. Oh man all I could think of was the sweet taste of food after it was all over! I was feeling quietly confident and proud as they wheeled me in. Look at me and my brave self. UNTIL they went to put the cannula in! Dam my veins! They couldn't find any of my veins in the 'usual' places so he turned my hand around and went for the inside of my wrist and holy dear god I flipped. I went off my nutter. Burst out in uncontrollable sobs pulling my hand away just asking for a little break before we started. The poor anesthetist! He told me we didn't have time and grabbed my hand back. The thought of a needle going into that sensitive spot just threw me straight over the edge. The lovely nurses comforted me and still bawling my eyes out they put in the needle. F*** me it hurt! omg the sting was crazy! That's all it was a dam sting...a very long sting...but I think it was breaking point. So much for me and my brave self. Oxygen went on and that is the last thing I remember...
I woke up about an hour later...crying hahah I literally woke up and was immediately crying. My arm with the dam needles were hurting so much. The nurse looked at my arm and took out my cannula straight away and gave me some ice! She said it was quite bad and "it will leave a nice little bruise".
arrr yeah you think?
So anyway that seemed like a whole big drama for nothing really. I came straight home and slept for hours. Rob and I went for sushi for dinner. mmmmm sushi....its what I craved the entire time! I have a few pains now in my lower tummy...kind of like period pain but nothing too serious. I have no sore throat from the endoscopy so I'm feeling pretty good. It is 2.00am however and I am wide awake because I have slept all day but oh well.
So that was my '4 days of hell" Quite a small procedure compared to what some people go through but in my little world it was big! I'm ready for a day of rest tomorrow and to look after my poor little wrist.
x S.K.K x