Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder of the intestines.
Last week was awful! Kyra was sick for 5 days, Cortlynn had 2 permanent teeth pulled and was also sick for a day, and on Friday I went to Urgent Care in the morning and ended up in the ER that night.
Friday morning I woke up in horrible pain: horrible is an understatement--it is more like excruciating, drop a house on my head, let me have my feet operated on again, I'd rather push another baby out of my girlie parts without drugs--kind of pain. It went away and than came back again with a vengeance. I was able to crawl to the door and bang on the wall enough for Cortlynn to come upstairs and see what was going on. She found me and ran to find Devin. My poor kids thought I was dying; Tristan was crying and Cortlynn and Kyra just stood there and didn't know what to do. Devin was able to get me dressed, and told me that we would be going to Urgent Care OR he would be calling an ambulance. As soon as we pulled up to the parking lot the pain vanished so we kept driving---mistake-it came back. We checked in with me doubled over, crying--but by the time I went back--mystery pain was gone. They did blood work and of course made me pee in a cup and nothing really showed up-so I came back home. Throughout the day I had several attacks and I tried to hide it from the kids since they were so freaked out. I was unsuccessful. These attacks would come on so strong and so fast that I can't do anything, but lay on the floor and pray that it wouldn't last very long. Around 9pm--in the middle of an "episode" I called my uncle and asked what I should do: Go to the ER, was his response. So-Devin and I got in the car and went to the ER. Of course once I checked in and sat in the waiting room the pain went away and when I finally went to a room and they asked me my pain level between 0 and 10---it was a 0.
They did blood tests, made me pee in a cup but that wasn't good enough-so I had a tube rammed up my whoha for a better sample, they took a chest x-ray, EKG, CT Scan (which the dye they put in your IV makes you feel like you have wet yourself), and countless "Are you sure you're not pregnant?" or "Have you ever had hepatitis because your liver numbers are weird?"and "Are you pregnant?" After close to 5 hours in the ER the tests came back inconclusive and I was told I should follow up with my doctor. At times I feel like the staff looks at me for being a "drug seeker". But that is so the opposite. With all the allergies I have to medications and the bad reactions I have to pain meds-I don't want any!!! Poor Devin had to get up for work at 6 and we didn't even get home until 2:30am. I guess while I was getting my CT scan (I was gone for 10 minutes) I missed some excitement. Devin told me that a guy came into the ER with painted hair (like the joker) and went into a room. Than the staff accused him of using a false name and he made a run for it. So the doors were on lock-down-but he was able to get out anyway??!!!! By the time I got back to the room the excitement was over but the cops showed up to file a report. What is with everyone dying their hair like the joker??? After the theatre shooting-you find yourself taking a deep breath and hoping nothing happens--all because of hair color.
The following day I was exhausted. I touched base with my aunt and uncle and they instructed me to send them all the results/paperwork. Fast forward to Monday night when I receive a phone call from Angela and Jeff. After reviewing my CT scan--there was a pretty clear diagnoses: My Colon doesn't work properly and I have IBS. What is a person to do that suffers from IBS?-monitor what you eat closely, make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, up my fiber intake to 50 GRAMS a day, water, limit the caffeine, oh and pray the attacks stay away. You may laugh and snicker that I have IBS---come one, it is kinda funny---but until you are lying on the floor in a huge pool of sweat and in such pain you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy----it's not all laughs.
The amount of money we have spent trying to figure this out over the years is sickening. I've been to the ER twice, Urgent Care a few times, I went to a "specialist" for over a year that performed test after test-: Sleep Study, Upper GI scope, I ate nuclear eggs that glows for them to track my insides, Oxygen Therapy (yes, I had to sleep with oxygen every night for a year), Blood work, ultra sounds, countless prescriptions; I also read that it can cause a person to have headaches: well that just adds more too it: I had seen a neurologists for 7 years--so the money spent on him and the medication he put me on----hmmmmmmm. Not to mention the countless nights of not sleeping due to pain, the times I couldn't go someplace because of pain, Devin and I had to come home from a friends party one night due to an attack... All of this and it took my uncle less than a day to come up with a diagnosis. Thank God for him!
So for the 36 years of my Colon not functioning correctly: I would like to take a moment to make a few apologies:
*For the football players that were blamed for that one incident on the bus--I'm sorry
*For Iggy the Cat taking the blame----I'm sorry
*For a certain 3 year old that was blamed for a toilet malfunction---I'm sorry
*For all those toilets that would like to run away when they see me coming---I'm sorry and I thank the industrial plungers for helping out ;-)
*To my parents who may not be proud of some of the "talents" I have-----I'm sorry
I'm sorry, BUT it isn't my fault. I was BORN this way.
They did blood tests, made me pee in a cup but that wasn't good enough-so I had a tube rammed up my whoha for a better sample, they took a chest x-ray, EKG, CT Scan (which the dye they put in your IV makes you feel like you have wet yourself), and countless "Are you sure you're not pregnant?" or "Have you ever had hepatitis because your liver numbers are weird?"and "Are you pregnant?" After close to 5 hours in the ER the tests came back inconclusive and I was told I should follow up with my doctor. At times I feel like the staff looks at me for being a "drug seeker". But that is so the opposite. With all the allergies I have to medications and the bad reactions I have to pain meds-I don't want any!!! Poor Devin had to get up for work at 6 and we didn't even get home until 2:30am. I guess while I was getting my CT scan (I was gone for 10 minutes) I missed some excitement. Devin told me that a guy came into the ER with painted hair (like the joker) and went into a room. Than the staff accused him of using a false name and he made a run for it. So the doors were on lock-down-but he was able to get out anyway??!!!! By the time I got back to the room the excitement was over but the cops showed up to file a report. What is with everyone dying their hair like the joker??? After the theatre shooting-you find yourself taking a deep breath and hoping nothing happens--all because of hair color.
The following day I was exhausted. I touched base with my aunt and uncle and they instructed me to send them all the results/paperwork. Fast forward to Monday night when I receive a phone call from Angela and Jeff. After reviewing my CT scan--there was a pretty clear diagnoses: My Colon doesn't work properly and I have IBS. What is a person to do that suffers from IBS?-monitor what you eat closely, make sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, up my fiber intake to 50 GRAMS a day, water, limit the caffeine, oh and pray the attacks stay away. You may laugh and snicker that I have IBS---come one, it is kinda funny---but until you are lying on the floor in a huge pool of sweat and in such pain you wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy----it's not all laughs.
The amount of money we have spent trying to figure this out over the years is sickening. I've been to the ER twice, Urgent Care a few times, I went to a "specialist" for over a year that performed test after test-: Sleep Study, Upper GI scope, I ate nuclear eggs that glows for them to track my insides, Oxygen Therapy (yes, I had to sleep with oxygen every night for a year), Blood work, ultra sounds, countless prescriptions; I also read that it can cause a person to have headaches: well that just adds more too it: I had seen a neurologists for 7 years--so the money spent on him and the medication he put me on----hmmmmmmm. Not to mention the countless nights of not sleeping due to pain, the times I couldn't go someplace because of pain, Devin and I had to come home from a friends party one night due to an attack... All of this and it took my uncle less than a day to come up with a diagnosis. Thank God for him!
So for the 36 years of my Colon not functioning correctly: I would like to take a moment to make a few apologies:
*For the football players that were blamed for that one incident on the bus--I'm sorry
*For Iggy the Cat taking the blame----I'm sorry
*For a certain 3 year old that was blamed for a toilet malfunction---I'm sorry
*For all those toilets that would like to run away when they see me coming---I'm sorry and I thank the industrial plungers for helping out ;-)
*To my parents who may not be proud of some of the "talents" I have-----I'm sorry
I'm sorry, BUT it isn't my fault. I was BORN this way.
