Monday 4 April 2016

Pain doctor, exciting news and I finally had my operation!

I need to start by apologising for leaving it so long again - I must do better! Things have been a little crazy with Uni deadlines and my health not being great, but I've now finished all my work for this year and am looking forward to focussing on my health and my blog a bit more. I can't quite get my head around the fact that I've basically finished my first year of university - where has the time gone?! 

Things with my health have been a bit up and down, and as well as my usual medical appointments a few other things have been happening. I saw my Pain Consultant a couple of weeks ago - I hadn't seen this one before, as my old one moved to Canada, so I was quite apprehensive about it. But he was really nice and seemed very understanding. He told me to increase my Pregabalin, as I'm still on a very small dose. Then in a few weeks he wants me to reduce my Tramadol again (the aim is for me to completely come off the Tramadol so I can start a motility drug for my digestive problems). I spoke to him about the fact I'm not that happy with the Pregabalin, as it seems to be causing me to put weight on, but he just said that unfortunately that's one of the side effects. He's also decided to take me off the waiting list for injections in my back and neck, which I was quite upset about as I'd pinned my hopes on them helping a bit. But he seemed to think they wouldn't help and could actually make things worse, so it's hard to know who to listen to.

Over the last month or so I've seen a few friends, which has been lovely. I found out one of my closest friends is pregnant, which I'm so excited about for her and look forward to meeting baby in September. My friend Charlie also popped over one Friday afternoon with her little girl Izzi, and presented me with two large gift bags full of goodies for me. I was completely overwhelmed to find out that a few of my friends had got together to surprise me with lots of things to make me smile, and it completely brightened my week! I also caught up with my friend Katrina, which was great as we don't get to see each other that much any more with living in different places. But what was even more exciting was when she asked me to be her bridesmaid next year! I must admit I got a little teary eyed when she gave me the cute card. She's getting married in Ireland next August, and because I'm going to need my parents to travel with me, we've decided to make a family holiday out of it. I've never been to Ireland before and can't wait to explore it a bit!

Goodies from some of my friends

Card that Katrina gave me
Talking of being a bridesmaid, I've also been doing some wedding planning for our two family weddings this summer (both of my brothers are getting married in case you're a new reader). I've done some Hen Do planning for one of my sister-in-law's to-be, which is getting quite exciting (if a little stressful!) And we also had a hair trial for my other sister-in-law to-be's wedding, so that was fun getting a better idea of what we might look like.

Finally, and probably the main topic of this post, is that I've had my operation! For those of you that know me, this is the operation I was meant to have last August (but when I went into hospital I had a seizure, so it had to be cancelled while that was investigated). I was so nervous last Wednesday evening and Thursday morning as I waited to go into hospital. I was due in at 1pm, and was shown to my bed where I had to change into my gown and some rather sexy stockings to help prevent blood clots.

The anaesthetist came to see me and we chatted through my illnesses and what drugs he was going to use. I was then seen by the surgeon (not my usual one for some reason, but he was nice all the same) and we went through what would happen during the operation and plans for afterwards. I took a pile of magazines and books in with me to keep me distracted while I waited, but it turned out I was near the top of the list, so was taken down to theatre soon after seeing the doctors. 


This was my third general anaesthetic, so I knew what to expect (although that didn't make it any easier!) The anaesthetic team were all lovely, and we had a good chat while they were prepping me for the operation. The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery, feeling rather sore and completely wiped out. One of my biggest worries was having to stay in hospital after the operation, as that's what's happened the last two times. But thankfully, although it took me a few hours longer than they expected, I felt well enough to go home. 

I pretty much spent the whole evening (and the next couple of days!) crying, but that's happened after all of my anaesthetics, so I'm pretty sure it's something to do with that. They put a new catheter in after the operation, just until things settle down. They've given me the equipment so I can take it out on my own, and then it's just a case of wait and see. The surgeon said that this won't be a permanent solution to my problems - because of my EDS he said I will never be able to empty my bladder properly. But we're hoping I can at least go back to self-catheterising for as long as possible. I don't know whether the operation will need to be repeated again in the future, but at the moment I'm just trying to focus on getting through one day at a time. I'm still recovering from Thursday, so trying to get lots of rest and sleep!

I will try and update you again as soon as I can, but you know what I'm like! I'd love to hear your news though, so please do leave a comment and let me know what's been going on in your life.


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