Some pictures!

Here's a couple more pictures of my last ER trip. You're probably wondering why we take pictures in the hospital, especially when I go twice a week like this past week. What else are we going to do when there's nothing to do besides taking a million pictures of each and every room. Plus, this way it'll jog my memory since there's some things I don't remember because of the medicine they give me. And of course we take them just so you can see too :)

This was before all the medicine. I was not feeling good at all, as you can tell from the no smile.

Feeling better!

Our back yard on Saturday. Almost 80 degrees. They're still saying tonight and tomorrow we are going to get 10-14 inches of snow with at least -10 degree temps. Schools are pretty much closed tomorrow. It should be crazy!! I'll post pictures!

Another ruptured cyst

On Wednesday I had an ultrasound to see if there were anymore cysts. They found one, but said it was small. On Thursday night, the pain got worse and I got lightheaded and dizzy. We knew something was wrong. Off we went to the ER again. It was packed with people and we waited in the waiting room for 2 or more hours. Too bad there were no entertaining people there this time. We finally got taken back to a room. I'm lucky I even got a room because there were gurneys lining the halls with people. I got put in this room with tile everywhere, a door leading to the outside, and a shower on the wall by the bed. It was a little creepy. The nurse said it is the room they use for chemical spills and they can open the door to air out the ER.

The doctor was great. She used to work as an OB nurse and even had some of the same problems I'm having. She didn't think we needed any tests besides blood work since I had just had an ultrasound. She is pretty sure that the small cyst ruptured on Thursday, causing the extra pain and dizziness. We spend a lot of time talking to her about things, and she was in my room for a long time! So she gave me a couple syringes of medicine and sent me home. I started the medicine to help stop things and make sure the cysts don't come back.

Here is the room I was in. It was very weird. This is after I started feeling better and was fixing to go home.

Since being home, I'm feeling good. On Friday night, I did get sick several times, but it might just be from my body adjusting to the new medicine that I started taking Thursday. I'm still taking strong pain medicine because of the abdominal and back pain. The pain usually stays under control with that, it only gets bad when it's almost time for the next dose. It's not very bad though!

The weather was in the 70s on Friday and yesterday, so we sat on our back porch all day both days. There's supposed to be a major snow and ice storm on Tuesday. You would think the world was ending the way everyone acts. The stores are filled with people and are out of everything. The weather men are having the best time of their lives getting to be dramatic and everything. There's already a winter weather advisory. Welcome to Oklahoma.

The past few days I have had these itchy bumps start popping up all over me. Yesterday they started getting worse. We are trying to figure out what they are. They aren't hives or anything like that. We thought they were the chicken pox, but we aren't positive. They are driving me crazy! More keep popping up.

Well I better go prepare for the end of the world snow storm.

second night in the ER this week

I'll update tomorrow but things got worse so Im back in the ER.

Things are about the same today. I wish I could say it's better, but it's not. I've been sleeping about 12-14 hours at night and I'm still so exhausted. All the pain medicine makes me pretty groggy too. Yesterday my stomach started swelling up, most likely from all the fluid and blood in my abdomen and pelvis. It's still very swollen. I took a shower today which felt really good since I hadn't showered in a while from just being too sick. I take multiple baths a day to see if that will help with the pain. Sometimes it does, sometimes it makes it worse. I'm still not okay will the "wait and see" thing that's going on, but I honestly don't know what to do about that. How can they tell me to wait for 2 weeks, when they don't know how much it hurts and how sick I feel? I don't ever want anyone to know how this feels, but I wish someone would listen and do something about it instead of sending me home. I'm trying to be tough but i'm so tired of this terrible pain! It seems like everyday it hurts a little more, but there's nothing I can do about it. I keep wanting to take myself to the ER but I don't think that will happen. I just need relief soon. Please keep praying.
Here's a song by Steven Curtis Chapman and then some Bible verses.
"This is not how it should be
This is not how it could be
But this is how it is, and our God is in control
This is not how it will be When we finally will see We'll see with our own eyes, He was always in control
And we'll sing holy, holy, holy is our God And we will finally really understand what it means
So we'll sing holy, holy, holy is our God, while we're waiting for that day
This is not where we planned to be
When we started this journey
But this is where we are And our God is in control
Though this first taste is bitter There will be sweetness forever
When we finally taste and see That our God is in control
And we'll sing holy, holy, holy is our God
And we will finally really understand what it means
So we'll sing holy, holy, holy is our God While we're waiting for that day We're waiting for that day We'll keep on waiting for that day
And we will rise
Holy, Holy, Holy
Our God is in control"
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:17-18
"The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him" Nahum 1:7
"When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze." Isaiah 43:2

Update 1/26/11

I forgot to mention that last week we decided that there's no way I can graduate. My mom has to go up to the school and sign papers to remove me. I'll just have to get my GED. With 2 major surgeries and 6 weeks of recovery for both, so many ER visits, hospitalizations, and just being sick this semester, I just can't finish school. I'll post about it later.
Monday I had an appointment with the gynecologist. We thought I was going to start the injections (Lupron) that would shut everything down, but he doesn't want to do that anymore. He said that that will take too long to start working. Right after surgery, I had asked his nurse if by waiting this long, it would give the cysts and endometriosis a chance to come back, and she said no. Well obviously she was wrong. I can't believe this is happening again. The ruptured cyst makes my legs, abdomen, and back hurt. He said I have fever because of the internal bleeding and inflammation. So I feel extremely terrible. We asked how long it will take for the pain to get better and for the internal bleeding to go away and he said two weeks. I don't understand how with my surgery, he said that he would have done emergency surgery even if I would have just had one of the problems I did (which a ruptured cyst was one of them), and now he tells me to just wait and deal with it. I'm on SO much pain medicine, and it doesn't help. Between Percocet, Loritab, and a strong anti-inflammatory, you would think that I would not be in pain, but that's not the case. I cry a lot of the day because I hurt so much. And it's not like I'm a wimp who can't handle pain. I have such a high pain tolerance, even the surgeon said that after my surgery. I've thought about taking myself to the ER again multiple times a day and demand to be admitted. I haven't really eaten since Friday night because I'm nauseous and I just feel too bad. I eat a little here and there but not much.
So today I had an ultrasound. I really don't know why, I just know that it hurt a lot. And of course insurance wouldn't cover it, so we had to pay full price.
What is the plan now? I have no idea. I guess just trying to keep me comfortable. I'm sure it will get better soon. If not, surgery is sounding really good about now because at least there would be an end in sight. Last time I checked, internal bleeding was NOT a good thing and there was no "let's just wait and see". It was an emergency situation and needed attention IMMEDIATELY. I just don't understand why I'm allowed to lay here and cry in pain from internal bleeding and be told to wait it out. My stomach and pelvis are full of fluid and blood, that doesn't seem okay to me. It doesn't make sense.
We'll see how the next few days go.

Another night in the ER

On Friday, I got to go to senior lunch with my youth ministers and friends! I was feeling pretty good. That night, my friend came over and we were watching tv and all of the sudden my lower back and abdomen started hurting so much. My thighs also hurt. It was the same pain that I had before surgery. The same exact pain. I took some pain medicine and it did nothing. Somehow I made it through the night and woke up Saturday with the same pain. On Saturday all I could do was lay down. As the day went on, the pain got worse. Through out the day, I took 3 different pain medicines, but none were even touching the pain. I cried most of the day because I was hurting so much. I also was nauseous and didn't eat all day.

About 9pm we finally decided to go to the hospital. My mom stayed home with my brother so it was just me and my dad. When I arrived at the ER, I was put in a wheelchair and taken to triage. My blood pressure and heart rate were high, and I had fever. After that we were sent into the waiting room. To our surprise, the waiting room wasn't extremely full. We waited for a while and then were taken into another triage room off the waiting room to start an IV and take blood. It was the same 2 nurses that have been there every other time we have come. They remembered us and we started talking about my history and Lyme. We got to talk for a while because I was so dehydrated so they couldn't find my veins. The nurse tried one spot on my arm and literally dug around for it for 3 minutes. She gave up on that spot and got it in my wrist. Somehow we got to talking about how doctors here say Lyme doesn't exist and about all the trouble we've had. The nurses mouth dropped to the floor. She said, "how stupid can they be? Of course you can get Lyme here! What idiots!". She was so shocked and angry about all the problems we have had. It was so nice to have another nurse agree with us about how stupid it is that doctors say it doesn't exist here. It's common sense people! We have deer and ticks. That's all you need. She got so upset and mad that this is happening.

Anyway, they finally got my IV in and took blood. They don't hook you up to anything yet since you go back to the waiting room, they just get the line in so they don't have to do that once you get called back. The nurse told us that I might have a kidney stone because of the fever and my history. She said kidney stones after surgery are very common. We were sent back to the waiting room. Usually if you need a CT scan, you are taken from the waiting room up to CT then either back to the waiting room or your room if it's ready. This time I got to go to my room first which was so much better! We were only in the waiting room for about an hour which isn't bad!

They took me to my room and it was the same room I was in when I was admitted to the hospital. It's weird how I always get put in the same rooms. I got changed into my adorable hospital gown while we waited for the doctor. He came in and pressed on a few places on my stomach, which hurt a lot. We gave him my history and he did not try to tell me that I don't have Lyme. This hospital is great! I'm still wondering why we never went to that hospital before my gall bladder problems. For a year and a half we went to Children's Hospital and another smaller hospital, and honestly it was torture. Everytime we went, I would be scared to death because I knew I would get yelled at and told that everything is in my head. But this hospital is different. I love it so much!

So the doctor said he suspected it was another cyst, just from looking at my history. He got some IV fluids started and gave me pain and nausea medicine. We waited for a while and then transport came to take me to CT. I was so dehydrated that my body took in a whole bag of IV fluids in 30-45 minutes. I was done with my fluids by the time I went to CT. So they rolled my bed up to the CT room and injected the dye into my IV and did the scans. It only took about 20 minutes. Have you ever had the IV dye before? I love what they always start by telling you. "The dye will make you feel warm and it will feel like you're peeing on the table, but don't worry, you aren't." Haha thanks for warning me. It's a very odd feeling!

He put the dye in, and then I felt so sick. I really thought I was going to pass out. I guess I had a reaction to the dye because I've never had that happen before and I've had 3 or 4 CT scans in the past 2 months. When my dad came back in the room, he said I was so pale.

Once I was done with that, I was rolled back to my room to wait for the results. I received more pain and nausea medicine because the pain had already come back. It's sneaky like that. One minute you think you've escaped the pain for a while and then it hits as hard as ever. Sometime while I was there, the nurse gave me a dose of Dilauded and it didn't help at all, so I had to immediately get another dose. That's how persistent the pain is.

I was not allowed to eat or drink while I was there in case I had to have surgery. Pain medicine makes your mouth so very dry, especially IV pain medicine. I asked if I could have ice cubes, but I could not, so I was given this sponge on a stick. The nurse puts water on it, and then you can rub it around in your mouth and suck on it...it was the best thing ever! Not really, but I was desperate. Here's a picture of it.

Finally, the doctors gathered in my room with the results of the CT scan. The scans showed that I have internal bleeding again in my abdomen and pelvis. Looking at my history, they said that I most likely had a cyst that ruptured, and that's what is causing the internal bleeding. No wonder I hurt so much!! I was already scheduled to see my gynecologist on Monday, so they felt comfortable sending me home.

When I was done with that little sponge on a stick, my dad asked if I wanted to keep it and I said, "well of course!" and he thought I was serious. He put it in my purse and I freaked out and said, "I was just kidding! Why would I want to keep that?!". It was pretty funny! Guess you had to be there...

As soon as I got up to change out of my hospital gown, I was hit with nausea. IV pain medicine makes you so sick, especially if you've had 5 doses. You're fine until you lift your head or move, and then the nausea strikes. It's terrible! I made it to the bathroom and changed and then had to wait for transport to bring a wheelchair since I was a little drugged and couldn't really walk. The nurse gave me 3 barf bags to take with me. I guess I really did look so sick.

We got home at 3am I think and I was so excited to be able to go to sleep in my own bed. I went upstairs and then got sick. I had nothing in my stomach since I hadn't really eaten all day, so I was dry heaving. This happened every hour all night. Finally, around 8am I stopped getting sick and feel asleep, and I slept until noon. It was a hard weekend.

I don't know if you can tell but I'm holding that awesome sponge on a stick. Haha

Lyme Disease in Oklahoma

I'm working on an update to post. I had to go to the hosptial on Saturday night and I'm really sick but I'll try and post soon.
This weekend we saw that the Oklahoma State Department of Health changed their info about Lyme Disease. They just hired a new director, so maybe this will change things. You can read the article here.
This is what my dad said about it on facebook.
"Great news! After years of fighting with doctors and health "professionals" about our daughter's diagnosis of Lyme Disease because "it doesn't exist in Oklahoma," the OSDH now says it does! Docs who treat late stage Lyme have been run out of practice and out of Oklahoma - so we STILL have to leave the state to get care from experienced, knowledgable Lyme docs. But this is a victory for those suffering this terrible disease!"
In the article it says, "However, other evidence suggests that it could be possible to get Lyme disease in Oklahoma".
They are starting to see the light! So now, if any doctor here tells me that it's in my head and that I can't have Lyme, we can show them this article and they can't deny me. I want to go to all the doctors who have been so rude to me and just show them this. Maybe all we're doing to bring awareness is actually getting somewhere.