Dear friends, I'm trying to write this message from my phone. So please bear with me...
I've been in the hospital since last Thursday morning, so I guess that's 6 days now. Wow, what a horrible blurr!
They've diagnosed me with Idiopathic Acute Pancreatitis.
The abdominal pain has been horrendous. I couldn't stop writhing on the bed, couldn't attempt to lay down in any way for more than 2 days. Just cried out and whimpered in pain continuously. Embarrassing and so sad to look back on that experience.
Everyone basically ignored me. They gave me minimal pain coverage, I would compare it to spitting on a fire and expecting the fire to go out. Crazy right!
Now my pain is about 8 out of 10 when I rest in bed. It shoots up to 9 when I sit in a chair for awhile or attempt to walk (that 1st time was today).
Just this evening they switched my IV pain med to a lower potency oral pain med. Now I'm hurting more again.
I'm also only on a clear liquid diet. So basically it's reconstituted broth, jello, & lemon ice are my only options for breakfast lunch and dinner. Oh, and I can have juice, coffee, or tea to drink. So healthy right!
I think I have to tolerate foods and fluids well, have less pain, and have gut working better (they always want this in hospital) before I can be discharged.
So if you all could just think of me, pray for me, send any warm wishes or encouraging thoughts. I would so greatly appreciate it!!!
***Hugs***
[ 12-01-2015, 10:26 AM: Message edited by: sammy ]
Posted by TNT (Member # 42349) on :
Hugs to YOU!!! And PRAYERS! That the pain would LEAVE and that you will feel and be totally better by tomorrow. And have a good night & be able to sleep.
Thinking of you
Posted by TNT (Member # 42349) on :
Good morning sammy! How are you feeling and doing today?
Andy has been an inspiration to me. His video messages are very good.
Thinking and praying for you.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Sammy .. Sounds like it's beyond horrible!!
I pray you feel MUCH better VERY SOON!
Posted by poppy (Member # 5355) on :
So sorry. Hope this passes soon.
Posted by shoeless joe (Member # 45835) on :
May God bless you with strength,peace,comfort and healing
Posted by Theresa (Member # 421) on :
I will also pray that God will take your pain away and and return you to good health. There are times when I feel like prayer is the only media in we have left in this crazy world of lyme! God Bless Theresa
Posted by hopingandpraying (Member # 9256) on :
I found this wonderful prayer for you and for all who are ill which truly says it all:
PRAYER FOR HEALING
Dear Lord of Mercy and Father of Comfort,
You are the One I turn to for help in moments of weakness and times of need. I ask You to be with your servant in this illness. Psalm 107:20 says that you send out Your Word and heal. So then, please send Your Healing Word to your servant. In the name of Jesus, drive out all infirmity and sickness from her body.
Dear Lord, I ask you to turn this weakness into strength, suffering into compassion, sorrow into joy, and pain into comfort for others. May your servant trust in Your Goodness and hope in Your Faithfulness, even in the middle of this suffering.
Let her be filled with patience and joy in Your Presence as she waits for Your Healing Touch.
Please restore your servant to full health, dear Father. Remove all fear and doubt from her heart by the power of your Holy Spirit, and may You, Lord, be glorified through her life.
As You heal and renew your servant, Lord, may she bless and praise You.
All of this I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Hope you are feeling better today, Sammy!
Posted by Dekrator48 (Member # 18239) on :
Praying for you, sammy!
Lord have mercy on our dear friend, sammy!
Posted by susank (Member # 22150) on :
Sammy - so sorry you having to deal with this. Then on top of that not being treated well. Hope the pain is better. Please keep us posted. You are daily in my prayers.
FWIW - I was reading TNT's post - and misread it-as "if you need an aspiration".......some procedure. I was actually envisioning some kind of abdominal tap to release something and relieve pain. Then I thought - that can't be right. Sheesh. My poor Lyme brain. Hugs to you and prayers going up.
Posted by randibear (Member # 11290) on :
I had about of pancreas something. im sure sorry to hear this.
do you need anything?
Posted by TNT (Member # 42349) on :
Good morning sammy! How are things today?
I pray that your body and spirit may be uplifted today! Pain LEAVE! Healing flow IN!
You tell them turkeys (I mean ducks) that you want the real deal today! No broth. You want turkey and stuffing!
Thinking about and praying for you. You'll be out soon.
Posted by sammy (Member # 13952) on :
**11/30 Update**
Dear friends, Thank you for your kind words, encouragement, and prayers. They (you all!) mean so much to me! I truly appreciate you
I finally made it home. My main diagnosis was Idiopathic Acute Pancreatitis. If you know me, I am not an alarmist. Tend to avoid seeking medical care unless the situation becomes dire...
Well, on 11/19 I had such severe upper left sided abdominal pain that it radiated to my back. I could hardly breathe. I felt like something inside was going to rupture, the pain was so intense...
I simply couldn't bear it. I was afraid that if I didn't seek care that whatever was wrong with me, it might actually kill me. Remember, I'm not an alarmist so these thoughts were strange and unusual for me.
And I've suffered through a great deal of pain before without medication. A couple years ago I broke, actually crushed, 10 of my vertebrae!!! That hurt like crazy. I couldn't stand up straight, could hardly walk... So I know pain and this pancreatitis was scary bad!
Well, unfortunately, when my pain was not getting better after a couple days in the hospital, they did another CT scan. This time they discovered an Ileus.
So the Ileus took several more days to be treated. I still have a good deal of pain and nausea lingering from both conditions.
But I am so glad to be home!!! I've missed almost 2 weeks of my life. It all went by in a blurr.
So now I need to pray that I don't get Pancreatitis again or else they recommend that I have my gallbladder removed because it is likely triggering the attacks with micro stones and sludge.
Sorry I couldn't give updates more often when I was in the hospital. I thought of you all often. Again, I'm so grateful for you all!
*Hugs*
[ 12-01-2015, 10:28 AM: Message edited by: sammy ]
Posted by Jordana (Member # 45305) on :
Just ran across this, I'm a newish Lymie, hi:).
Just want to say I think you should get your gallbladder out. A sluggish gallbladder is a reservoir of infection and when it becomes infected it is not sterile -- it throws all the bacteremia around and -- if you have stones and sludge-- it probably is infected.
In a healthy person that low level of bacteria can probably be managed by a healthy lifestyle. But in a non-healthy person it's just another bacterial burden that taxes the immune system.
Just my two.
If you do it, don't forget ( like I did) to ask them to culture it before they dispose of it. Lots of info there.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Sammy, my sister-in-law went thru the very painful pancreatitis while on vacation in St. Petersburg.
The docs in St. Pete told her to get a mammogram when she returned home (Indy).
Yes, she did have 2 early breast cancer tumors. Only one was estrogen dependent.
Yes, they were removed and she was cured.
For whatever reason, pancreatitis can be one of the first "symptoms" of a more serious problem in other locations.
Glad you are home...now schedule a mammogram - to be on the "safe" side.
Posted by Haley (Member # 22008) on :
Sammy - I would have a stool sample sent to a good lab.
I had pancreatitis for 6 years after a procedure where they went into my Pancreas for no reason at all. This was before I knew I had Lyme and no one could figure out what was wrong with me. I woke up the following morning in complete pain. I always knew that the pain was not from Lyme because I knew when I got it.
I went to many GI docs, had many tests and no one could figure it out. I told my doc that I had gotten an infection from the procedure. He said that was possible, so he never gave up on me.
Finally, one day I had a positive stool test for Campylobacter and was able to treat it. It's a stubborn bug, but if it comes back I know what it is.
Here is the lab I used, the other good one is Metametrix. Keep in mind these tests can often come back negative, so it may take more than one.
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