Pain In The Butt

It has been a rough week. It started on Monday morning when I started a clear liquid diet in preparation for the following day, when I was to go in for Colonoscopy. Monday afternoon was dedicated to the dreaded colon cleanse. It's pretty much the most miserable thing ever. After 8 hours of running back and forth to the bathroom I was finally able to get some rest. On Tuesday morning I woke up and wasn't able to eat or drink anything at all. My procedure was scheduled for 2PM. Let me just tell you, every other commercial on TV is selling food. Fast food, grocery food, restaurant food. Tuesday was torture.

We got to the hospital and then came the dreaded IV. On top of having very small veins that tend to roll as soon as the needle hits, I was dehydrated. The last time I had an IV was Talan's c-section. They stuck me multiple times on both arms and then, finally, brought in the anesthesiologist who finally got it right:

I was sweating like a pig when the woman came in to hook up my IV knowing what would happen. I warned her that my veins don't like to cooperate and she laughed it off saying that she was a pro. She stuck me twice, spending about 10 minutes each time digging in my arm for the vein....and couldn't get it to cooperate. She called the resident expert who was successful on the first try. Meanwhile, my arm was turning black & blue.

They finally got the IV in and went a little crazy when they sedated me. Normally you're only in recovery for 30 minutes after the procedure. At that point you should be able to wake up and walk out. Not me! Kevin & the nurse both tried waking me up but had no luck. I was back there for 2 hours! When I was finally coherent enough to leave, we drove home and I went straight to bed because I couldn't shake it off. I didn't wake up until 7am the next morning. I do remember the doctor telling the nurse to give me a shot of Benadryl in addition to whatever else she had so maybe it was that....or maybe it was a combination of the drugs they used. 17 hours of sleep later I was feeling fine.

I was so ready to eat after my 2 day fast. Wednesday was great and I felt back to normal. It was very short-lived because on Thursday, after lunch, I started to feel nauseous. I was getting watery mouth and knew something wasn't right. By 3 o'clock I was violently ill. After 5 hours of suffering, I finally threw in the towel and went to the ER. I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't have to go through the whole IV crap again but no such luck. Thank God it went better this time. One needle, one try!

They hydrated me and gave me some meds for the pain. I suspected food poisoning but the doctor said that it's most likely a gastrointestinal virus. I'm now back on a clear liquid diet and will have to eat with caution for the next few days. So I haven't been able to eat 4 out of 5 days this week. Not good when you're as food obsessed as me.

One last note: The doctor called today with good news. The biopsy he did came back benign. I am so glad to know it and very glad that I won't have to go back for that procedure for several years.