Larissa P.

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Time for an update. Sorry I don't post much anymore, but the stress of dealing with my health problems and being flamed here when looking for support made this place one I wanted to avoid.

Anyway - I have revision surgery in the beginning of July with Dr Provost, who basically had to cut out a portion of my stomach and the pyloric valve completely because of all the scar tissue completely blocking the movement of food and liquid. After a few weeks, believe it or not, my damn body started going overboard with the scar tissue production again and creating another stricture. This time, they put two stents in me to hold my stomach open while I healed for another month. They removed these two weeks ago, and injected steroids right into the walls of my stomach for good measure.

Now, I can eat. And a decent amount, too. I haven't been able to tolerate protein drinks so it's a blessing to be able to eat all my protein in actual food. I'm delighting in chicken and beef and pork and cheese and different flavors and sauce. My weight stayed stable for several weeks now, so I think my body and nutrition is on the upsweep! I just had my labs drawn so we'll see just how bad I am.

The other good news is that I am able to swallow and tolerate vitamins! So, I'm scrambling to get my act together in that regard.

Politics aside, I NOW HAVE INSURANCE. That's right, and it covers ALL OF MY PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS including the surgery and complications that I have suffered.

Visit this website: http://www.healthcare.gov/law/provisions/preexisting/index.html

Until 2014, when ALL insurance carriers, private and non-profit, are required to accept everyone regardless of pre-existing conditions and charge them the same premiums, there is a temporary insurance offerred by the federal government for those rejected now and having no insurance the previous 6 months.

All I had to do was apply for insurance - I applied for BC/BS - answered their health questions brutally honest and got my nice "FARK NO we ain't insuring you" letter, and sent it along to the PCIP with my application. I was approved. My premium is $387 a month and my deductable is $2500 for the year. That's steep, but better than uninsured. And I can now use a mail order pharmacy that will save me hundreds!

Won't help me with the tens of thousands I owe now, but will help with the future health care I will need.

Thank you, President Obama.

I honestly have crawled into a hidy hole because I was still having issues with recovery and getting a lot of negative posts/feedback (and positive, I can't lie, but the negative was hard to read every day).

But I can't ask people to care, and get involved (even if only emotionally) and then leave them in the lurch, that is irresposible and cruel.

So, my apologies for reverting to hermit like behavior, and here is the update.

After my dramatic surgery donated by the wonderful Dr. Provost, about 3 weeks post surgery I started nausea and vomiting again. He tried in vain to treat me with round-the-clock anti-nausea medicines but I ended up in the emergency room so dehydrated that they said my kidneys were on the verge of shutting down!

This time, Dr. Provost was very aggressive, making sure I got fluids, but also electrolytes AND TPN nutrition - IV nutrition - which up until now, in ALL my hospital visits, no doctor had ever ordered even though I asked. He consulted with a gastroentologist who did an EGD. They diagnosed another stricture - and placed two stints (plastic tubes) in my stomach (or what's left of it) to hold it open for a few weeks and hopefully - oh please oh please - when they are removed my damn stomach will STAY open.

The stents in aren't like my favorite feeling (I do randomly gag and puke but NOTHING close to what I was suffering), I get hearburn like crazy despite taking meds for it, but I've eaten more food and kept it down over the past few weeks than the past few months! I can feel myself getting stronger.

Next week or so I get the stents removed. Good luck to me.