Health Problems n stuff...
Any of you that are my friends on Facebook would have noticed that I made several postings over the past week from the inside of a hospital. Basically, what you're gonna read below is probably TMI for a lot of people, but many of you have been wanting to know what happened, so here goes:
Basically, I went to the hospital on Friday because of some gastro-intestinal bleeding that had started on Thursday and was quite startling. We're not talking a little bit of blood, we're talking about mostly blood. So I was freaked out. My lovely sister Tiana came to pick me up on Friday morning after I called her in a panic, and drove me out to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. I drove past three hospitals on my way there, but chose Royal Columbian because the Gastroenterologist there has dealt with several of my family members, and therefore is familiar with my family history. So I got to the hospital, was admitted to Emergency, and they proceeded to run some tests to try to determine what was wrong with me. They took a stool and urine sample, as well as a bunch of bloodwork (CBC and hemoglobin counts at the minimum), and they hooked me up to an IV to start administering pantoprazole (which is a proton pump inhibitor that'll neutralize stomach acid and rebuild stomach lining).
Eventually, I was admitted and taken to the GI Clinic for a gastroscopy - where they send a scope with a camera on it through my mouth, down my esophagus and into my stomach to look for ulcers or abnormalities. They didn't find anything - but because I was gagging so much, they actually nicked my stomach and had to affix a clip to stop the bleeding. After that turned up nothing, I was kept over the weekend in preparation for a colonoscopy. Meanwhile, they were monitoring my hemoglobin levels and noticing that they were dropping (130-140 is a normal level for adult males), and mine was sitting at around 100. On Saturday I noticed I was becoming dizzy whenever I would stand up to walk around - and on Saturday night, I collapsed twice while going to brush my teeth. As a result, I was stabilized and they made the decision to give me four units of blood. I was pretty terrified, as I've never had a blood transfusion before, and it made me think how close to death I actually was. Luckily, I was in the right place to avoid such a demise. They had to give me some adavan and a sleeping pill to calm me down that night though.
Sunday was a relatively quiet day - I had a lot more strength, and my hemoglobin levels were starting to stabilize once again, but I was still slightly anemic. I started preparations for my colonoscopy on Monday - which involved going on a clear fluid diet and consuming 4L of this nasty polyethelene gylcol and electrolyte preparation. The colonoscopy was relatively normal and not terribly uncomfortable. I was sedated, but coherent the entire time, I was able to watch them remove some tissue for biopsies and a couple of polyps - but nothing abnormal was noted.
Because these two tests didn't explain the bleeding I experienced, the last course of action was to have a CT scan of my small intestine - to see if they could find a source of bleeding there. I had to wait two more days for this, in the hospital. Each day, my energy level increased significantly - and I was happy to report that whatever bleeding there was before - had now stopped - probably by healing on its own. On Wednesday - I had my CT scan, which involved drinking more of that PegLyte solution and then having a dye injected into my bloodstream to provide contrast. The CT scan showed no signs of bleeding either - but they did notice that my appendix was inflamed. They now suspect I may have appendicitis - although I show no symptoms of such a diagnosis. I was discharged with two antibiotics and an oral version of the Pantalock, and told to return in a week for follow-up. I may have to have my appendix removed! Fortunately, these days appendectomies can be done laproscopically - meaning I'd only have three small scars where they made small incisions for a camera and some tools. We'll see what happens though with the antibiotics.
Lessons learned for me? They suspected that the bleeding may have been caused from taking advil. Ibuprofen is definitely my drug of choice when I have pain - and when I was sick with the flu a few weeks ago - I took Advil Cold and Flu every six hours - many times on an empty stomach. Don't take that stuff without food! It'll literally burn holes in your GI tract!
Thanks to all of you though - who sent me well wishes, or came to visit me while I was in the hospital. I was so appreciative of your love and support - and it makes me feel so good to know I have such caring family and friends! <3
Basically, I went to the hospital on Friday because of some gastro-intestinal bleeding that had started on Thursday and was quite startling. We're not talking a little bit of blood, we're talking about mostly blood. So I was freaked out. My lovely sister Tiana came to pick me up on Friday morning after I called her in a panic, and drove me out to Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. I drove past three hospitals on my way there, but chose Royal Columbian because the Gastroenterologist there has dealt with several of my family members, and therefore is familiar with my family history. So I got to the hospital, was admitted to Emergency, and they proceeded to run some tests to try to determine what was wrong with me. They took a stool and urine sample, as well as a bunch of bloodwork (CBC and hemoglobin counts at the minimum), and they hooked me up to an IV to start administering pantoprazole (which is a proton pump inhibitor that'll neutralize stomach acid and rebuild stomach lining).
Eventually, I was admitted and taken to the GI Clinic for a gastroscopy - where they send a scope with a camera on it through my mouth, down my esophagus and into my stomach to look for ulcers or abnormalities. They didn't find anything - but because I was gagging so much, they actually nicked my stomach and had to affix a clip to stop the bleeding. After that turned up nothing, I was kept over the weekend in preparation for a colonoscopy. Meanwhile, they were monitoring my hemoglobin levels and noticing that they were dropping (130-140 is a normal level for adult males), and mine was sitting at around 100. On Saturday I noticed I was becoming dizzy whenever I would stand up to walk around - and on Saturday night, I collapsed twice while going to brush my teeth. As a result, I was stabilized and they made the decision to give me four units of blood. I was pretty terrified, as I've never had a blood transfusion before, and it made me think how close to death I actually was. Luckily, I was in the right place to avoid such a demise. They had to give me some adavan and a sleeping pill to calm me down that night though.
Sunday was a relatively quiet day - I had a lot more strength, and my hemoglobin levels were starting to stabilize once again, but I was still slightly anemic. I started preparations for my colonoscopy on Monday - which involved going on a clear fluid diet and consuming 4L of this nasty polyethelene gylcol and electrolyte preparation. The colonoscopy was relatively normal and not terribly uncomfortable. I was sedated, but coherent the entire time, I was able to watch them remove some tissue for biopsies and a couple of polyps - but nothing abnormal was noted.
Because these two tests didn't explain the bleeding I experienced, the last course of action was to have a CT scan of my small intestine - to see if they could find a source of bleeding there. I had to wait two more days for this, in the hospital. Each day, my energy level increased significantly - and I was happy to report that whatever bleeding there was before - had now stopped - probably by healing on its own. On Wednesday - I had my CT scan, which involved drinking more of that PegLyte solution and then having a dye injected into my bloodstream to provide contrast. The CT scan showed no signs of bleeding either - but they did notice that my appendix was inflamed. They now suspect I may have appendicitis - although I show no symptoms of such a diagnosis. I was discharged with two antibiotics and an oral version of the Pantalock, and told to return in a week for follow-up. I may have to have my appendix removed! Fortunately, these days appendectomies can be done laproscopically - meaning I'd only have three small scars where they made small incisions for a camera and some tools. We'll see what happens though with the antibiotics.
Lessons learned for me? They suspected that the bleeding may have been caused from taking advil. Ibuprofen is definitely my drug of choice when I have pain - and when I was sick with the flu a few weeks ago - I took Advil Cold and Flu every six hours - many times on an empty stomach. Don't take that stuff without food! It'll literally burn holes in your GI tract!
Thanks to all of you though - who sent me well wishes, or came to visit me while I was in the hospital. I was so appreciative of your love and support - and it makes me feel so good to know I have such caring family and friends! <3