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So I've been having this horrible, sharp pain in the lower-right quadrant of my abdomen for a few weeks now. It's comes and goes, and I didn't think much of it because I've pretty much been in constant pain for 15 months now, since my surgery last year. It ranges from mildly uncomfortable to "Oh-my-God-it-hurts-please-let-me-die." I've had several labs taken, x-rays, MRI's, C/'s, and a colonoscopy. The one bit of good news I've had is that there is no sign of my divirticulitis, but other than that, no one really knows why I'm hurting. They finally agreed on abdominal spasms brought on by stress. So for this latest pain, I just ignored it as best I could.
Then, on Tuesday, I held the spot that was hurting and felt a lump. Wednesday, went to the doc, who was deeply concerned when she felt it and saw me trying to stifle a scream when she pressed down on it. Had a C/T scan on Thursday morning, then left the hospital, got some lunch, and found a voicemail from my doc waiting for me at home. The scan had only been completed about an hour before this and they told me I'd probably hear back on my results on Tuesday. She said she wanted me to call her ASAP. By this point, I was going nuts with anxiety. I've got cancer in my family (breast cancer killed one of my aunts back in '84, and my mother has had several cases where questionable tissue and cells have been tested).
So I called the doctor, and she told me that I had a small hernia. Lovely. However, the concern is with swelling and an edema (collection of blood) around it, and she wanted to know what surgeon I would prefer to use to have it removed. They want to fix it before it gets any worse, because my lab from the other day showed my white cells were pretty elevated. So it was back to the hospital to consult the surgeon who took care of me last year. He said that the surgery involves getting close to the little tubes that run from the kidneys to the bladder, and it they get damaged during surgery it would be extremely bad. In case this happens, they need to have a Urologist present, and we don't have one here. So he called the nearest major city (about 20 miles away, no biggie) and I'm scheduled to go consult another surgeon next Friday.
The silver lining to all this is that, as long as they're slicing me open and fiddling with my guts again, they are going to reverse the colostomy. I know lots of people have them, you can lead a full, normal life, blah blah blah, but I HATE that damned thing so much. On the other hand, the only reason I haven't had it reversed yet is because I can't financially afford to be out of work for a week or two recovering. I'd like to have at least some freaking say in when these things happen, but at least this time I've got a little advance notice.
Unless things get any worse, that's where I stand. Oh, and I'm to go see the PA at the doc's office today if I still have a fever. And right now I'm still sitting at 100.6 (F). I don't know whether to go on in or just wait and see how things go.
Then, on Tuesday, I held the spot that was hurting and felt a lump. Wednesday, went to the doc, who was deeply concerned when she felt it and saw me trying to stifle a scream when she pressed down on it. Had a C/T scan on Thursday morning, then left the hospital, got some lunch, and found a voicemail from my doc waiting for me at home. The scan had only been completed about an hour before this and they told me I'd probably hear back on my results on Tuesday. She said she wanted me to call her ASAP. By this point, I was going nuts with anxiety. I've got cancer in my family (breast cancer killed one of my aunts back in '84, and my mother has had several cases where questionable tissue and cells have been tested).
So I called the doctor, and she told me that I had a small hernia. Lovely. However, the concern is with swelling and an edema (collection of blood) around it, and she wanted to know what surgeon I would prefer to use to have it removed. They want to fix it before it gets any worse, because my lab from the other day showed my white cells were pretty elevated. So it was back to the hospital to consult the surgeon who took care of me last year. He said that the surgery involves getting close to the little tubes that run from the kidneys to the bladder, and it they get damaged during surgery it would be extremely bad. In case this happens, they need to have a Urologist present, and we don't have one here. So he called the nearest major city (about 20 miles away, no biggie) and I'm scheduled to go consult another surgeon next Friday.
The silver lining to all this is that, as long as they're slicing me open and fiddling with my guts again, they are going to reverse the colostomy. I know lots of people have them, you can lead a full, normal life, blah blah blah, but I HATE that damned thing so much. On the other hand, the only reason I haven't had it reversed yet is because I can't financially afford to be out of work for a week or two recovering. I'd like to have at least some freaking say in when these things happen, but at least this time I've got a little advance notice.
Unless things get any worse, that's where I stand. Oh, and I'm to go see the PA at the doc's office today if I still have a fever. And right now I'm still sitting at 100.6 (F). I don't know whether to go on in or just wait and see how things go.
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