Mostly Medical: Endoscopy Time!

I have not been able to keep up with my blogging as I had hoped to!

On Friday of last week, I met with a GI doc. I could not have asked for a better appointment. Dr. GI was thorough, attentive, compassionate, and very careful to make sure that we do the testing so that we do our best to manage my ANS issues.

My first test will be on Wednesday morning. An endoscopy. I'm most concerned about the medication used for conscious sedation called propofol because, of course, its most common side effect is hypotension! I have such bad memories of my gallbladder surgery--even though I realize that this is a LOT different than going under general anesthesia.

After I left the office on Friday I felt so confident in Dr. GI and his team. I really do feel that they will do everything to make the procedure safe for me. Dr. GI emailed Dr. ANS immediately after my appointment, so I know that he is paying attention to my ANS issues.

In addition to the endoscopy I'll be having several other tests done for several other things, including a gastric emptying study, and other such fun things. I'll skip going into detail about them all now (I can't even remember all of them right now!) and update as each test approaches or the results are in. I don't know that we expect to find much, but at this point we do feel that it is a good idea to investigate these issues a bit further.

What I most remember about this appointment, besides how thorough Dr. GI was (amazing detail and attention to my medical history, current conditions, and great problem solving) was his compassion and empathy.

I know that I need to take away what he said to me and remember it when I'm struggling.

He said to me more than once, how good it made him feel to see me smiling. He said, "Most people who have been through what you have been through don't smile like you are." I said, "Really?" And he kept saying, "Yes."

Maybe I was surprised because I have met some other friends who are very sick and we are all pretty goofy and still smile--even though we do struggle a lot too. And I certainly have days when I don't smile. Also, Jeannine has also been through heck and back and she still laughs and makes me laugh.

He also asked me what my days were like. And asked if I got lonely. When he asked me if I was single I joked that it was pretty hard to date when you are homebound. He just genuinely said he was sorry. I'm not used to being asked how hard this is. I'm used to going to a medical appointment for, well, medical evaluation. When he started asking me about how difficult this experience must be I started crying. I told him it was difficult, that I had a lot of passion for life, and it was hard not to be able to do things with that passion. He just asked me to keep that passion.

I also found that Dr. GI appreciated that I knew things about various conditions and tests rather than finding it threatening in any way or as if I was trying to 'know it all'.

I can certainly see why people in this town sing this doctor's praises. I only wish he had been here years ago when I saw two GI doctors for my GB issues and both were completely dismissive.

I'm feeling a bit anxious about the endoscopy just because of the sedation part. Otherwise, I know it's time to have one done! I've been trying to avoid it for quite a while now!

I'll be heading over at 8:30 for check-in and 9:00 procedure on Wednesday. We chose to do it early in the morning so that I would be less dehydrated and not have to go as long without food. I'll be allowed to take my midodrine two hours before the procedure (7:00 am) to hopefully help with blood pressure.

We got some AWESOME tickets for the fireworks on Saturday, so I'm most wanting to feel well enough to go to those!!! I don't want to miss them and don't want to be feeling lousy for them!

Please send some good energy my way!

Blessings,

Emily

Photos: Iris in our yard. May.