Mood:
downNow Playing: Day 640-The Final Road To Survival
One can never predict day to day nor hour to hour living with Gastroparesis. Since Gastroparesis causes severe nerve damage it can affect anything. Including your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Today I got a grim reminder just how severe Gastroparesis truly is and how much worse the condition can progress leaving one vulnerable for anything.
Luckily starting today I now have help from a few great friends updating my blog just long enough until my brain recovers. This comes after the unthinkable happening this afternoon. I should had joined Pumpkin and just lounged around all day.
Instead it was time to do my Drano aka Hell-In-A-Jug treatment. I got up and started putting away my couchbed blankets and pillows. Everything 'seemed' A-OK until I felt myself getting dizzy then the last thing I remembered was losing my balance hitting the right side of my face and head on a wooden side table then seeing white. It felt like I broke my teeth then I heard a glass shattering noise in my head. What I realize now after almost blacking out was my blood pressure and blood sugar were low and with the table being within my reach I held onto something that wasn't stable. At the same time poor Oreo was jumping mid air onto the couch next to the table. I made a collision between a hard 50 pound fur pup's skull and a wooden table. I saw stars and went down. Within I felt was a few seconds I looked around the room and felt blood coming out of my nose. I reached back for the couch as Oreo sat next to me. I remember hearing my friend in the kitchen but I was still dazed and confused so it took me five minutes to just say their name. Once they came into the living room my friend panicked asking what the heck happened then ran to get some tissues for my nose. It was a funny story 'I thought' at the time but I was the only one laughing.
Later on as the day progressed I felt burning in my face and head. I also couldn't keep my balance. I couldn't breathe out of the right side of my nose either. The headache was horrible but dumb me kept moving around pretending like everything was OK. I did fine until around 6pm. Almost four hours after the fall my friend thought it was a good idea I get checked out. I refused to go to the hospital seeing I am so tired of emergency rooms and even with insurance its just too darn expensive. I agreed to be seen by the Urgent Care center down the street by my house. My friend was concerned because the right side of my face was becoming more swollen. I was also getting very tired which is unusual for me seeing it was only 6:30pm. Once we arrived at Urgent Care there were only two people ahead of us so we got back into a room within 15 minutes. The doctor was very concerned although he didn't want to push on my nose, face or head. He had me do some tests on my balance as well questions to see neurologically where I was at since hitting the table and Oreo's skull. Instead of just finding out if I had a broken nose I was told I needed to go to the nearest emergency room because he said, "There is something clearly going on neurologically with your brain."
My friend began to panic but I remained calm because all I wanted to do was go home, get some ice and lay down. Instead I was told the opposite which was not to use ice or lay down. So from a quick Urgent Care visit we headed up to the hospital. The doctor at the Urgent Care center had already placed a call with the hospital and faxed over the report and exam. We only waited around ten minutes then was quickly sent back to a room. The nurse came in and took my vitals then the doctor-Neurologist came back to see me. After tests and going over everything the reason I was so tired, confused, dizzy, burning and having ear pressure with a horrible headache was because I have a concussion. YIKES! I must had hit the wooden table on the corner so its no wonder my nose is swollen and feels like bone protruding. I also hit that side of my head on a 50 pound fur kids skull as he was jumping mid air then hit my right ear with both his skull and table. I am lucky she said it wasn't worse because some people with low blood pressure and low blood sugar problems black out then go into a coma. DOUBLE YIKES! Instead I realized I was blacking out because I got dizzy super fast so I reached for an unsteady table and Oreo in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oreo is fine, my friend did check on him after we got my nose bleeding under control. With my concussion it will take 2 weeks before I can resume a bit of normal activity. 4-6 weeks for the bruised part of my brain to fully recover. The nose swelling will go down in time and then I need to see my ENT specialist so they can take a look to make sure its only a fracture and not a break.
After a few hours the doctor came back in to go over the treatment plan. She made sure that I understood things will get worse before they start getting better and not to be alarmed if I continue feeling dizzy, off balance and over all just not feeling well. Its normal she said to be very tired and its ok to sleep because it will help my brain to recover. The doctor explained that the first 24 hours are the most serious and when complications can occur so she went over with my friend the symptoms and signs to look for and when to head back to the hospital. They wanted to start a good pain management treatment however my Idiopathic Gastroparesis doesn't leave much room for medication that can cause further GI problems so instead the doctor ordered anti inflammatory drugs. Before being released they made sure my blood pressure and blood sugar levels were in a safer range than we could head home.
My head, ear, nose and face were throbbing! Completely different than a migraine or normal headache. If anything today, I quickly learned that I need to be careful and more aware of my sugar and blood pressure readings. I failed to take my blood sugar and blood pressure once I woke up this afternoon. A poor decision on my behalf but if I was to learn the hard way I sure did today!
I hope this month isn't a warning of a bad year to come. Amen.
celebratory
I'm feeling a bit Jersitaly this week! 
What I ended up doing instead is going back and forth with the seller on how to return the defective product. I even suggested they contact the company where it was purchased from seeing that is information that any company would want to know. If there is one surely at least a few other defects are also roaming around the great USA. I even tried the discs on three different video players but they came up blank and wouldn't even read. After four days I am still waiting on information to send back the return to the seller but so far no luck. I might just end up eating this purchase. Go figure! Although sellers just like Ebay have buyer feedback I am hoping to hear back from the seller on my return by early next week so I can buy a replacement. Maybe I need to just contact the 'Mob Wives' so I get this quickly resolved instead of Amazon. Hahahahaha! OK. That was FUNNY! 
First it was Jingles puppy who I found out was born one sick little guy so I made sure he got the care he needed in order to get better. Next Oreo and then Littleblue ended up catching the same viruses from Jingles puppy so they had to be checked by my veterinarian and then placed on medication. Now it seems the poor kittygang all caught the exact same respiratory/head virus. GEES! It started first with Precious kitty then it went to Pumpkin and now Cuddles. Bear kitty seems so far to only have the head part with his eyes watering so I have to clean them with warm water twice a day. I figured it might be a very good idea to have one of them checked out by my veterinarian because the virus can be passed around the fur kids over and over again.
Pumpkin is the easiest and most laid back when it comes to car rides and doctor visits. He doesn't enjoy them but tolerates them! Hahahaha! Sure, he talks to you while your driving until you reach the clinic door. Once the veterinarian places a hand near him he turns into a SCARY Halloween kitty! YIKES! He was actually pretty good today but did give a few warning meows and hisses to the veterinarian. Seems the same viruses are still lurking around the house. Now the kittygang are passing things around so instead of bringing them all up my veterinarian are treating them all at once with two rounds of medication. No need she said to have them checked because the virus is airborne. Its inevitable and they will all sooner or later catch it. So after we drove back home and dropped Pumpkin off we headed to Walmart to get their prescriptions filled. At the same time Walgreen's called to give a heads up that my insurance and the company who makes my Drano treatments are flagging their concerns with me drinking the jug on a weekly basis due to unforeseen side effects as well long term. I can't tell you how many times this has happened and my GI doctor has sent them numerous letters and reports on the necessity of the medication but once again we have problems. Now instead of my medication being a $20.00 copay it is now $100.00!
amorous
What a week! What a day, but another productive one at that! Unfortunately all good things must come to an end as I am closing in on another Drano treatment weekend. UGGG!
My daughter Brittney is 12 years old and suffers from Gastroparesis. Brittney has been through a great deal in the past 15 months. She has suffered greatly with this illness. At first, we thought she was making it up or was just a worrier suffering from anxiety. But after losing 17lbs and not being able to eat anything at all, we started to get very concerned. She was looking very ill and seemed to be getting depressed. Then when she completely stopped gaining weight, she also stopped growing. She was suffering daily with nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and insomnia. She was eating very few foods because there are so many foods that upset her system.
Nothing quite like the magical feeling waking up to see SNOW! B E A U T I F U L SNOW! GLORIOUS SNOW! Wonderful S N O W! I just knew it was going to be an amazing day!
This evening I had a not so wonderful migraine come on with the darn tremors and vertigo. With the weather doing such a rapid change I am sure its not helping as my immune system struggles to adapt. Luckily I still have my horse blinder glasses so I put them on and grabbed my ice pack then took a short one hour nap. I try my best not to take medication unless I am screaming mercy! So far so good and I will just have to take things one step at a time. I have yet to find any permanent relief for my intestinal ulcers. Seems the darn Drano just makes the burning ten times worse so for now I am breaking up my treatments through out the week to see if that might help a bit. If not I won't have a choice but to chug the jug straight up! YIKES! I see my Gastroenterologist next week so not too far away. I am also due to have my dentist check my teeth seeing between Idiopathic Gastroparesis and the darn Hell-In-A-Jug treatments I am lucky to still have teeth. Same with the hair today, gone tomorrow but such as life and I will be just fine. Although somewhere later on down the road I might just have to gum my way through Slimfast. Hahahaha!
With all the non-stop stress I am happy to say sorry folks who like to bring me down but guess what? I'm still ALIVE! WHOAHOA! 
It's called the act of "Self Defense."
I like to call my little friends M O P. I won't tell you what the initials stand for, I rather you guess but certain you can figure it out. When you are sick and in no position to be lunged at nor threatened with violence you have to get some type of support and back up. Have a game plan. Sure wish I had both prior to last weekends ridiculous act of someone being way out of control and NUTS! Being told by the law and the court system that regardless the scenario and you are sick as well injured you need to do what you need to do to protect yourself. Period. I couldn't agree with them more and honestly I have had just about enough, no wait! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH of walking on egg shells. No one should have to live a life of fear due to some nut job extended family member nor an addict who mind you will never be clean or sober. They just lead everyone to believe they are for the sake of once again manipulating. Those who fall for the stories are just as if not more foolish looking than the addict.
Now I have my own personal stash of M O P S because one can never be too prepared to protect themselves. Amen. Miss pink M O P stays by my side indoors while her cousin blue M O P stays in another location and their cousin dark blue M O P in a special secret hiding spot. A dear friend of mine was very, very proud of me today for taking action and finally saying NO to being a door mat for violent and aggressive behavior. They have recently taught their own son about sticking up for themselves after being picked on by a bully at school. He said, "You can just never be too certain with people in this world. There are a lot of nuts out there and you always have the right to protect yourself when you are being threatened. This also goes for children because as parents we can't always be there for them." As a very concerned Father he has no problems confronting the school nor the bully's parents but at the same time let's just say his son finally stuck up for himself and justice was served!
So for now I told the judge's office I will hold onto the paperwork but at the same time I will do what needs to be done in the name of self defense. They agreed as well the local and county Sheriff's department. 'If' and that's a huge 'if' this happens again the individual or individuals will be arrested on the spot. It will be the last and final incident report that will be taken. Guess we all run out of the 'Get Out Of Jail Free' passes sooner or later. Back fractures or not I refuse to ever again live in fear. 
chillin'
This Oprah couch session went wayyyyyy past the one hour time limit...Heck! Where were the commercials? Time to give Oreo his medication and call it a night. OOPS! I mean a morning. There are other chess pieces just waiting to be moved this week and remember time waits for no one. Amen.
d'oh
There wasn't much sleep for this gal last night seeing poor Oreo still isn't feel well with seizures. He had one at 10:30am that woke me up then he was disoriented stumbling to stand up so once he come to I had him sleep next to me on the couch bed. This way I could keep a close eye on him. The seizures are very scary for him as well what follows which is extreme disorientation. His blood work is still out pending and until that comes back its touch and go. Jingles isn't helping matters but he can't help it since hes still a puppy. Littleblue is still nursing her hedgehogs playing Mom to the gang. So much for a two week ordeal. We are now going on three weeks.
The veterinarian was very concerned with the other fur kids at home seeing they can rebound the same infection and virus then pass it around again. YIKES! With Oreo also being 13 years old the stress of the puppy isn't helping his seizures because over the past three days they have gotten worse. Oreo is having different type of seizures so it makes it twice as hard for the veterinarians to get things under control. "IF they can get them under control." When the blood work comes back then they will have a better understanding of Oreo's medical condition. 
This all makes me wonder the other night when that nut was over the house outside in a psychotic rage while Oreo was also outside if that made his medical situation worse...Seems to me if stress makes my GP worse and others who have chronic or terminal medical conditions it can certainly do the same to fur kids. It really makes me infuriated! My back is still not 100% and I had to cancel my GI appointment for Thursday since things had to be all rearranged this week and I still have to fit in the second half of my treatment. GEES! My Gastroenterologist is very understanding and worked me into next week, same day and same time. Tomorrow I have a court appointment to put a quick stop to that nut trying to assault me for no reason then I will be taking a further step in another direction right after that so I won't be tolerating something like that from ever happening again.
don't ask
My friend apologized to me today in regards to not sticking up for me while having someone attempt to assault me. Honestly he said, "I don't know what I was thinking but I sure the heck wasn't thinking." It got to him all night and around 5am he confronted my ex about the entire incident that happened all because his puppy 'accidentally' got out of the house when he was walking Littleblue. Remember anyone who comes off drugs is bound to snap for no reason same goes for the sibling and whatever they were taking or under the influence of. Detoxing should be done under a controlled environment and never on your own cold turkey. Its a step down process. Not all at once. Lord only knows but it was CRAZY! My friend asked for my ex to apologize for coming after me and screaming when it wasn't my fault that his puppy 'accidentally' got out but I would never and don't hold my breath. 
On top of the chain of events this is Drano treatment day and I still have a swollen back. Its important for me to walk around still due to my Idiopathic Gastroparesis but it doesn't come without the heavy price of constant pain. I have been through worse and I will just have to continue sucking up and dealing with it. I didn't sleep hardly at all last night into the morning and early afternoon. I got a few hours here and there in between the constant text messages and calls from very concerned out of state friends. At least they did talk me into some rational sense and helped me decide the next of many moves which will allow some peace back into my life. Its true! Unless you have lived it yourself or walked in someones shoes you will never know first hand what its like. They all know because they either have been through the same things or live it now. Consider it being a back bone for each other. 
Love you all!
irritated
So much for this being the start of a stress-free weekend. I should had just caned or wheel-chaired my way out of the house tonight but instead some how I made my back much worse last night. It could had been from moving a box or just bending the wrong way. Regardless I figured late last night it would just 'go away' if I just took it easy and used some ice. Instead I didn't sleep well and couldn't get comfortable. The pressure pain was horrible trying to sit up and when I went to move it only got worse. When I looked in the mirror my entire lower back was swollen. I think I bit my own tongue by not listening to my specialists and taking it easy. I had planned to go out this evening but instead got stuck once again inside my house-jail. At least the animal gang are enjoying having me home. So much for getting out once a week and with treatment tomorrow it doesn't look like I will be getting out to escape anytime soon. If I do it will only be to my local police department or county courthouse.
Let's be honest by saying anyone who has a drug or alcohol addiction problem you won't be winning any arguments nor reasoning. While I am hearing it from him I am hearing it from his sibling and things were getting NUTS! From minding my own business to once again being a punching bag I had to literally try to shut and lock the door on his sibling who was trying to grab and punch me all at the same time. YES! All this unnecessary stress and madness was going on while my friend of all people was just standing there. Call me crazy but I am not sure what he was thinking! He should had protected me by escorted the sibling off the property so they didn't cause me any further stress nor physical harm but...he didn't. My ex didn't help matters either by continuing to say they can come over and visit when they want. This was also going on while the sibling was still calling me every name under the sun while still reaching for the door and me. I am not sure what they were loaded or tanked on but I was just waiting for them to put their fists through the glass storm door. I wish they would had then maybe when they woke up the next day they would had realized how crazy they looked! I don't even talk to my ex's siblings nor family. I haven't in years so I am not sure why this sibling felt it was 'OK' to come after me like that. Its called aggravated menacing. 