It's been a bit since I have updated. We have been crazy busy and it seems time is just flying by.  Heck, less than six weeks until Christmas and Thanksgiving has passed  AAAAAHHHHHHHH

Things really have been very smooth for me, that is up unitl two weeks ago Thursday night. So here is my *bump in the road*  It two weeks ago Thursday, during the day, I just couldn't eat much (not that I can anyway - duh!) but what I could eat was way less than what I can normally eat.  I even made mention of this to a couple people at work.  When we got home from work on Thursday I started to get a cramping feeling in the upper abdomen.  The pain grew throughout the night and I spent most of the night up, tossing and turning in pain. Friday I stayed home from work, which I rarely call in sick but things were fairly painful.  I thought about going to the ER but decided to take a nap and see if I cold sleep it off.  Woke up a little after noon and the pain was even worse.  Now I am thinking I have some food stuck in my pouch and try the warm tea treatment.  Nope, didn't work.  Things are getting really painful now!  Time to go to the ER.

We arrive at the ER and it is a 3 hour wait.  Go figure, full moon and the ER is full!  Sigh, we wait, and wait, and wait, and......Finally they call us, nope, not to see the doctor, but to get xrays and then back to waiting...sigh.  I think it was another hour before they called us to go back to a room.  That was one long, painful wait!  Almost 4 hours of waiting, but there is more waiting, it is another hour before we see a Doctor. 

Finally a doctor!  He tells us the xrays look good and he wants to do a contrast CT scan.  Fine, they want me to drink this contrast, they start an IV and give me some pain meds - by this time I am in severe pain.  4 dalodid (sp?) shots later and another stronger pain med shot and the pain finally calms down some.   I really was in a lot of pain :(  Back to the contrast, they bring me two large 24 oz cups of OJ with contrast mixed in.  Ummmmm, I can't drink that I have a 4 oz tummy now.  HELLO people, what where they thinking. I drink what I can and I get sick from all the sugar in the juice, nausea, sweats, shaking...sigh.  They take me off for the CT scan and then back to the ER room. They tell me the CT scan looks good give me a RX for pain killers and send me on my way.  9 hours later and I am still in pain and have no answers.

On to Saturday -  Saturday is this big fancy event at a big fancy hotel.  I have been looking forward to this for some time now.  It is a formal for all us WLS patients.  A chance for us to put on our best and be the princess/prince for the night.  I am STILL in pain but have been popping the pain killers all day and wanted badly to go to this.  So Steve and I get all dressed up and go.  I think we looked pretty sharp!

So we made it about an hour after this picture was taken and back off to the ER we went.  I couldn't take the pain anymore.  We got right in this time and they gave me some pain meds.  I am not even going to commenton what rude remarks the first Dr. said to me!  Let's just say that I didn't see that Dr. anymore!  Some Dr.'s really do not get WLS patients.

Anyhow, they admitted me to the hosipital.  I stayed until Monday and was hooked up to an IV and had lots of pain drugs.  Well, turns out I have an ulcer.  Man, do they hurt.  I am glad it was nothing more serious.  So I am on the mend now and things are much better.

I now weigh 152 and have a normal BMI for the first time in over 25 years.  WOOOOOOHOOOOO.  Oh, and I can wear a size 4 Levi's and they are not even the stretchy jeans :)

Hugs!

Linda