Yesterday I headed to Charlotte with my husband for my follow-up visit with my gastroenterologist after my weekend trip to the ER. I wasn’t able to see my primary GI doctor because they wanted me to get in as soon as possible so my appointment was set up with one of his associates so I really wasn’t sure what to expect.
Right off the bat, they ruled out pancreatitis. While I had slightly elevated levels, it was nothing close to what would indicate pancreatitis so we were able to mark that off the list. We next did a brief overview of my medical history. He immediately apologized when I told him about my journey with endo. He said that endometriosis is like the black plague for women. I have never heard a better description. That man deserves a medal.
We went over the blood work taken at the ER and compared it to my blood work done at my previous visit. My liver enzymes are a little up but not anything crazy – just something to keep an eye on. He sent me for more blood work as well as an abdominal xray and then met me back in the office. At my latest EGD, they discovered my gastroparesis. After confirming with the xray, it seems that its not only my stomach that is paralyzed but pretty much my entire GI system. This coupled with existing chronic pelvic pain (endo/adhestions/etc) was probably the source of my severe abdominal pain.
So the plan is to attempt to jump start my GI system with back-to-back bowel preps (I started the 2nd this morning). I will also start a new medicine that will try to help stimulate my system which will help the gastroparesis as well. We also dropped to the two new medications I started last week as they were likely adding to the irritation. Not sure what that will mean for my pain levels but hopefully once things get moving again I will notice a big difference!
Jeez. I really hope things start looking up for you Jamee. I’m constantly impressed at how involved and knowledgeable you are about your own health though. You are very proactive, which is amazing and inspiring!
God bless you! Hang in there.
What are you taking for your gastroparesis? My GI doctor suspects this is my problem, however told me there is no way to treat it. I take Miralax and Amitiza to try to regulate my bowels, but nothing is really too effective. I’m also currently taking 40 mgs of Omeprazole because I am constantly feeling like all my food is sitting in my chest. He thinks once my bowels start working with the meds, that feeling of fullness and bloating will go away.
Right now I’m not taking anything to treat the gastroparesis specifically. There isn’t a whole lot out there. Regelan is an option but I couldn’t tolerate it. Right now I’m on a diet of Miralax and Bethanecol (25mg 3x day) to help get my GI system going as well as cutting down on as much of my pain meds as possible. My liver is also an issue so we’ve had to take out all fibro meds as well.