Carrie T.

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I haven’t had a period in 3 years. Mother Nature has decided that now’s the perfect time. She couldn’t just give me a period, oh no. She had to take all of the pain from the cramps I’ve lacked over the past 3 years and jam pack them into my uterus so that I was hurting in the front AND in my back.

I got ready and did my shopping for the month. While picking up a prescription, I noticed they were putting up the signs to get the flu shot. I got it last year and figured I’d go on and get it while I was out today. After getting the shot, I met Josh at McDonald’s and we had a late lunch (I had a McDouble and about 8 of his french fries). By the time I got home, I wasn’t feeling well.

The cramps, coupled with the effects of the shot, have made me feel nauseated. Blech.

411.9 - 393.1 = 18.8 lbs. lost!
Picture taken on July 31, 2012

I got up this morning for surgery. I was so nervous my stomach was cramping.

When I got there, they wanted me to pee in a cup. When I get nervous, I can’t pee, so I was only able to get a little bit into the cup. Then I had to sit in the waiting room with a cup of pee.

As my luck would have it, my cousin happened to be getting some paperwork from another doctor at the clinic so she and 2 of her boys saw me and came in to chat. The nurse called me to the back, cutting my conversation short.

The weighed me and I’ve lost another 6 pounds! YAY!!! Then she took me into a room and got my vitals. She explained the procedure and I signed the consent form. She had me undress from the waist down and get on the table.

She took an ultrasound of my bladder to see how full it was. She laughed and said, “It’s empty!” I said, “I know! That’s why there was so little pee in the cup!” She washed my hoo-ha with some pink anti-bacterial stuff, then she put some gel down there. The gel was to numb the area a little. She left me in the room while the gel did its work.

She came back in the room with Dr. Ryan. There was a little TV monitor to my right so I could see everything! Dr. Ryan put the camera in and it hurt, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was weird being able to see my insides! They were white! Not what I expected at all!

Now, let me back up to 3 years ago. I had surgery to have my bladder put in a sling to lift it up because it had prolapsed while I was giving birth to Josh and just kept getting worse over the years. When I woke up from surgery, I had a catheter in place and the doctor said I’d have to wear it for 14 days. When I got home, my sister wanted to know why I had the catheter. She’d had the same surgery a year earlier by a different doctor and didn’t need a catheter. That’s when my mom told me that the surgeon had pulled her to the side while I was still sedated and he told her that he had “nicked” my bladder. He just put the catheter in for safety reasons. 12 days later, I got a really bad infection and he had to take the catheter out. My sister has never had a problem with her bladder sling but I always have. I just thought it was normal.

Fast forward to my first time meeting my urologist a month ago: Dr. Ryan said she was looking over the notes from that surgeon and that he noted that he nicked my bladder AND my urethra. I told her it was news to me that he’d done anything to my urethra, which is why she ordered today’s procedure. She figured the damage he did had built scar tissue. She thought she’d have to insert a dilator in my urethra.

Now we’re back in the present: She went to the place in my bladder where the sling was supposed to be attached and it wasn’t there. She had to search around my bladder and found that it was in the wrong location. She also noted that it was way to high, which means that the sling was pulled to tightly.

White in there, I saw a place that looked like a bruise. She pointed the place out and said that’s where the surgeon had cut into my bladder. It wasn’t a “nick”. I was 4 different CUTS. They were deep enough to have gone completely through the bladder and required stitches. She then backed out of the bladder and showed found the place where he CUT my urethra (it had also been stitched). They looked like bruises and were very easy to see because of all the other areas being white.

She pulled the camera out and it was done. She said that she’s worried about the placement of the sling and the fact that it’s so high up. She has scheduled for me to have Urodynamic testing. I HATE that test!! I had to have one done before I had the bladder sling surgery. They put a tube in to empty my bladder, then put a monitor in, then put another tube in the fill my bladder up, then they make me squat and cough and all kind of weird shit, then make me pee in front of them with a monitor in do gauge how I pee, then they put another tube in to empty my bladder. It’s several fucking tubes and it hurts!

It depends on the results of the Urodynamics as to whether or not she’ll refer me to have surgery to have the sling corrected. I got the appointments for the test and to see Dr. Ryan again.

Before I left, I went to Dr. Vigg’s office to see if he’d approved all the testing I need done before my gastric bypass surgery. His receptionist said that he’s on vacation until NEXT Monday! Ugh! Oh, well.

I go to see my urologist at 10AM tomorrow. She’ll be placing a camera in my urethra and down into my bladder. She’ll be checking to see how my bladder has held up since my surgery in 2009, and to see if I need to have the urethra dilator put in.

If I need the dilator, she’s going to try to go on and put it in. She said it’s going to hurt a lot, and if the pain gets too much for me to bear, she’ll stop and schedule an appointment to have me sedated to have it put in.

I’m hoping that everything will look fine and I don’t need the dilator, but I’m still nervous because it’s gonna hurt like a bitch!!

*fingers crossed*

I took the paper with all the pre-op stuff on it (also called an “order”) to Dr. Vigg’s office. I talked to the woman who does all of their scheduling. Her name is Tonya.

She said that Dr. Vigg has been on vacation all this week so he won’t get to see the order until Monday. I told her it was fine. I gave her the order. She made a copy of it and let me take it back home.

I told her that when he gives the okay on the order, for her just to make the appointments and mail them to me. I gave her a piece of paper with all the appointments I already have with other people in the next 3 months so she could work around those schedules.

Now I have to wait until I get all the appointments in the mail.

*sits and twiddles my thumbs*

Some of the questions on that psych eval were stupid! Here are a few of the actual questions:

- At what age were you first overweight by 10 lbs. or more? How do you remember that you were overweight at this time? (e.g., pictures, clothing, size, others telling you)

- What was your maximum weight between the ages of: 5-10? 11-15? 16-20? 21-25? 26-30? 31-35?

- In the past year, how many times have you started a weight loss program that lasted for more than 3 days?
In the past year, how many times have you started a weight loss program that lasted for 3 days or less?

- Will other people support your efforts to lose weight? If yes, how many people will? Who are these people? How many people do you talk with about your weight when you are upset about it? How many of these people are helpful to you?

This doctor clearly knows nothing about social media!!

It came today! My pre-op packet came in the mail!

Holy shit! Look at all the shit I have to have done!

I now have the  appointment for my Psych eval. (Sept. 5th @ 9AM)

 The map to the psychiatrist’s office is on the front. The rest is a questionnaire I have to fill out. Look how thick it is!!

I’m excited though!

I started talking my Provigil today. It did seem to help boost my energy. I got up to get some things done and Mary called me. She was crying because she claimed to be having a problem with a paper she was writing. She guilted me into letting her come over so I could help her. As it turns out, she didn’t need my help at all. *rolls eyes*

In the mail, I got an appointment to see  a dermatologist. I’ve had these bumps on my arms since I was a teenager. They don’t itch or hurt so I never really did anything about them. I’ve noticed over the years that people seem to be grossed out by the bumps and it makes me feel gross. I found out recently that it’s possible that I have Keratosis Pilaris, which is an easy fix, so I’m seeking a dermatologist to remedy the situation. Here are the bumps:

The cost of my new medication (Provigil) compared to how much I have to pay.

I feel sorry for the people who need this medication, but have no insurance to pay for it. Over $1400 for 30 days of medication is ridiculous!!

I got a call from my surgeon’s office this morning. They’ve received all my notes from Alanna and everything looks perfect!

The nurse said she’s putting my packet in the mail. It will include an order for all my pre-op stuff. I’ll take that to Dr. Vigg (my regular doctor) and he’ll set up all my pre-op appointments. The packet will also include my appointment for the Psych eval, as well as a 20-page questionnaire I have to fill out for the Psychiatrist.

I also had to call Rite Aid to see if my new medication came in. They didn’t have enough to fill it on Friday, so they had to order some. She said it won’t be in until later this afternoon. I’m hoping I’ll be able to take that beginning tomorrow.

Things are starting to fall in line! The butterflies in my stomach are going crazy right now!!