I have had a month from hell. In my last update I was more than willing to accept that the chest pressure, shortness of breath, and feeling like my airways were closing in were simply symptoms of anxiety and was waiting to be off the cortisone acetate (which is what everyone was attributing the cause of my anxiety to). Well the day where I stopped the steroid came and went and, if anything, my "anxiety" was getting worse and happening more frequently.
I had made an appointment with my family doctor to discuss my anxiety issues as well as some GI issues that had popped up since my surgery (++bloating after eating anything, abdominal pain that would sometimes wake me up at night, constantly feeling like my abdomen was full, and major acid reflux despite being on Ranitidine), but it was going to take 2 weeks to get in to see him. So I waited for that appointment and all of my issues kept getting worse and worse. I started not wanting to eat because the bloating would get so severe I would look like I was 9 months pregnant and this was painful, would only be relieved by walking around yet would make my legs so weak I could barely stand up, and it made breathing very difficult.
Two days before my appointment with my family doctor, I tried to eat a supper of lukewarm, steamed vegetables (I had been feeling awful all day and this seemed to be all I could even consider eating). These soft, barely warm vegetables caused so much pain in my chest and abdomen, I thought I was going to vomit, pass out, or both. I tried drinking an antacid and it barely helped. I ended up staying awake all night with this pain which would not be relieved by anything and early the next morning I asked Rob to take me to the emergency room, again.
After explaining my situation, being assessed, and having some blood tests done to rule out liver and pancreatic issues, the diagnosis was that I had pretty severe gastritis and esophagitis that was likely caused by the steroid I had been taking (probably because I had been told to take it before bed and not with a full meal at supper time like I was supposed to). I was given a prescription for a stronger antacid to allow my stomach and esophagus some time to heal and sent home.
I went to my family physician the next day and explained everything that had been going on. The GI symptoms were worse that day and my shortness of breath was quite evident when I was in to see him. He said that it sounded like I have gastroparesis (which is where the stomach takes too long to empty) but that this is a rare condition usually caused by nerve damage. He ordered some more bloodwork to rule out H. Pylori bacteria and then filled in a requisition for a barium meal test (which is a series of upper GI x-rays) to see if there are any strictures or blockages in my esophagus and stomach. He is suspecting that I have a hiatal hernia (part of the stomach ends up in the thorax through the hiatus where the esophagus goes through the diaphragm) so he marks the rec as urgent. We discussed how the symptoms of gastritis and esophagitis could easily explain the "anxiety" symptoms that everyone else kept dismissing and then went over the types of food I should try to eat while my stomach and esophagus were healing. Then I went home.
The next morning I was nibbling on some saltine crackers when I started to feel some pressure in my abdomen which quickly turned into a stabbing pain and intense nausea. There was so much pressure I could barely take a breath. I tried to walk it off but it kept getting worse so I finally called Rob's mom to ask her to take me back to the hospital. At the hospital they hooked me up to an IV to give me anti-nauseants and fluids. My esophagus kept having spasms which was both painful and frightening. It also kept bringing what little stomach contents I had, including acid, into my throat. I had a chest x-Ray done to see if I had a large hernia (sometimes they are visible if they are big enough). After being at the hospital for several hours I started to feel better, but I knew that was just because I hadn't eaten anything for awhile. They couldn't find anything wrong with me so they decided to discharge me with an increase in my antacids, and the advice to figure out what my triggers are for acid reflux. They also told me that I needed to get my anxiety under control (I guess being emotional when I'm in pain is unacceptable). One nurse actually wrote down a website for counselling for anxiety and depression and told me she "highly recommended it" for me. I took it, but was slightly upset. I know I have anxiety but my physical symptoms were not just being caused by that.
The next week was rough. I could only handle fluids so was living off of boost (hind site: anything with dairy is not a good idea for my upset stomach), Gatorade, and chicken broth. Even those few things would often make me nauseous and achy. I lost 7 pounds on top of the 7 I had already lost since the surgery.
I have since been making a pretty good recovery in the past week. I started adding really soft, bland foods to my diet. I don't have any pain anymore and I rarely feel nauseous. I still can't eat very much at one time but I have been eating often and seem to be maintaining my weight now. I have also been sleeping well for the first time since my surgery, which is unfortunate since I'm sure my body could have used the rest well before now. I was supposed to return to work last week, but with everything going on I knew I had to give myself some time to heal and delayed my start date to next Wednesday.
My "urgent" barium swallow test has been scheduled for May 30 (it took my doctor's office three days to even fax the requisition) so we will see what comes of that in the near future.
Next time on the Priscilla Chronicles: follow up appointments with the ENT, neuro-ophthalmologist, endocrinologist, and neuro-surgery.
