Medical stuff
On Sept 27 I had my 6th colonoscopy and 2nd endoscopy. Yesterday I went to the dr. to get the results. In the recovery room he told me that I would need to have surgery (I've had 2 previously for this issue). When I saw him yesterday he told me that I have hemorrhoids (again) and that in the over 10,000 patients that he's seen in his medical career, only 2 others have had all of these issues due only to hemorrhoids, but that is what is wrong with me. They can't find any triggers for them (and they've looked and tested for all normal and abnormal triggers), and all normal treatment (and abnormal treatments) have not worked, either. The severe bleeding, the anemia, the everything that I've had, is due to the hemorrhoids. This, as he stated, is highly rare and unusual, but that's what is happening. I have to have another small bowel barium xray coming up and he wants to do a capsule endoscopy so that he can test the small intestines just to make sure that there isn't anything in those that he's missing, but he doesn't think that they will find anything. After those tests are over, I'll go back and see him Nov 24th. He said that because of the severity of them, and the way they present themselves and that they do not respond to treatment, that I will continue to need surgery throughout my life, and if pattern holds, that I will need one surgery every 2-3 years. I'm on a no sugar, low carb diet because he said that the make up of those foods react badly to the bacteria in my intestines, making the hemorrhoids angrier (like they could get any angrier)...Because of the amount of bleeding I have there is a change in the future that I will need to have blood transfusions.
Right now I'm kind of in a fog. The fact that I'll have surgery is something I came to terms with after my test on the 27th. But the fact that I'll continue to need them throughout my life? That's something that is really hard for me to come to terms with.
I called the surgeon's office yesterday, and because of the wedding in Feb they've scheduled me to see the surgeon on Nov 29th (bookend dr appts for Thanksgiving!) and then I'll have surgery on Dec 9th. (The surgery is barring anything that they find in the small bowel tests, which the dr thinks he'll find nothing, so that date shouldn't change.) Then I'll need to be out of work for about a week or two (I'm hoping a week.) There was a medical leave form sent out at work yesterday (irony, huh), and it basically said that they can't offer sort term disability, but we do have it through Colonial Penn, which we individually signed up for a week or so ago. Unfortunately, the short term disability won't cover me during this surgery because they need me to have not been treated for this for a year - so I wont' get any money this time. And I could've lied to them, but that wouldn't have done any good because they go back through medical records and they could deny me coverage at all. However, or paperwork we got yesterday from work said that we need to use up all our sick and vacation time before we go with any "no pay time." I was going to use that time for our honeymoon, which is in March. If I use NO time between now and then I'll have 43.3 hours of vacation time by Dec 9th. I need to have tests done, etc, so hopefully I can flex something. I'll find out on Oct 20th what time I have for sick time .... which I already used 6 hours of for my test back in September. It doesn't mean I won't be able to go on my honeymoon, it just means that I thought I'd have money coming in and I guess I won't ... and I really hope its a 1 week recovery and not any more, and on top of that I REALLY hope that its not more than 2 weeks or there are any complications.
Right now I'm kind of in a fog. The fact that I'll have surgery is something I came to terms with after my test on the 27th. But the fact that I'll continue to need them throughout my life? That's something that is really hard for me to come to terms with.
I called the surgeon's office yesterday, and because of the wedding in Feb they've scheduled me to see the surgeon on Nov 29th (bookend dr appts for Thanksgiving!) and then I'll have surgery on Dec 9th. (The surgery is barring anything that they find in the small bowel tests, which the dr thinks he'll find nothing, so that date shouldn't change.) Then I'll need to be out of work for about a week or two (I'm hoping a week.) There was a medical leave form sent out at work yesterday (irony, huh), and it basically said that they can't offer sort term disability, but we do have it through Colonial Penn, which we individually signed up for a week or so ago. Unfortunately, the short term disability won't cover me during this surgery because they need me to have not been treated for this for a year - so I wont' get any money this time. And I could've lied to them, but that wouldn't have done any good because they go back through medical records and they could deny me coverage at all. However, or paperwork we got yesterday from work said that we need to use up all our sick and vacation time before we go with any "no pay time." I was going to use that time for our honeymoon, which is in March. If I use NO time between now and then I'll have 43.3 hours of vacation time by Dec 9th. I need to have tests done, etc, so hopefully I can flex something. I'll find out on Oct 20th what time I have for sick time .... which I already used 6 hours of for my test back in September. It doesn't mean I won't be able to go on my honeymoon, it just means that I thought I'd have money coming in and I guess I won't ... and I really hope its a 1 week recovery and not any more, and on top of that I REALLY hope that its not more than 2 weeks or there are any complications.