My Belly part I

( Content Warning... Long boring post that contains reference to actual surgical procedures and human anatomy... But don't worry too much I decided against actual pictures of aforementioned procedures)



Belly, abdomen, stomach, tummy, gut, bowels, bread basket, paunch, whatever you call it, I have a special relationship with mine. You could call it a love/hate relationship. I am not talking about the way it looks in a bathing suit ( that is a vent for another time). I am also not talking about one specific organ, just my midsection in general.
I love it because it carried my beautiful baby for TEN months, the wonderful satisfied feeling I get after a good meal, and even though it is bigger than it used to be, it makes me feel soft and motherly ( I know, weird.. but I digress).
But I also HATE it, it has been giving me fits for as long as I can remember. I was an anxious child and suffered from chronic stomachaches. I would drink awful powders mixed with water, chew bottles of tums and missed a lot of school. As I got older it became the general consensus that these stomach upsets were due to anxiety and after being put on anti-anxiety meds they lessened. But I was still often plagued with pain.
Multiple trips to multiple doctors came up with multiple diagnosis over the years. After being hospitalized for the better part of a week and having a dozen tests run, my gallbladder was taken out. It was severely diseased, this was obviously the problem, I was assured that the pain would go away. But I still had pain, not always the same pain and not always in the same place.
Maybe I was crazy? More meds, more therapy, more self-doubt and subsequently more depression.
I had UTI's and kidney stones multiple times a year. I had horrible periods that lasted for WEEKS, pain kept me in bed for days, they found multiple ovarian cysts. In short I was a mess.
ER's became second home to me, I was told I had irritable bowel, I was constipated, I had a "stomach bug". No one could give me a clear explanation about anything.
Shortly after getting engaged to Allen I found myself in an ER once again. But this time I didn't have my parents with me, I was scared. They ran test and test after test, they finally decided that it was my appendix. I had a choice, I could go home and see if it got worse or go in for surgery. I had never made this kind of decision for my self, in tears I begged Allen to call my daddy and ask what I should do. After a few minutes Allen walked back into my room, white as a ghost, " He said that you were my problem now, and I had to make the decision."
Allen decided that there was NO WAY he was taking me home in as much pain as I was and we opted to have the surgery. The result, my appendix was fine but they did find evidence of scarring and possible endometriosis. With this diagnosis I was put on Birth control pills, these helped for a while but the pain, as always, returned. I finally was able to see a endometrisosis specialist who assured me that I was not crazy, all my symptoms (with the exception of kidney stones.. I am just genetically blessed..thnx mom and dad) could be explained by my endometriosis. I had surgery with in the week to clean out my "belly". Endometriosis can attach itself to any organ inside the body. Mine was all over, my uterus, my ovaries, my intestines, my pelvic floor, on muscles and ligaments. No wonder I was in so much pain, the doctor told me. And as the extra cherry on top if you will, He had found three staples adhered to my uterus, presumably forgotten after a previous surgery ( Wait..... what!!!!)
Endometriois can not be cured and can come back, but pregnancy stops it progression and often lessens its effects after labor. So we decided that this was as good a time as any to start a family. And I had a relatively pain free ten months. But my familiar friend returned as if it had never left. Pain, horrible unexplainable pain. I have moved away from my wonderful specialist. So I have been resigned to ER docs and my family doc. But this time I had the wonderful additional symptom of diarrhea and rectal bleeding.
So now I come to what inspired me to write this blog, a list. That's right a list. ER docs were really no help, it was all the same.... stomach bug, constipation, etc etc..... My family doc readily admits he is not n endometriosis specialist but wants to rule out everything else before I go see a specialist. I have accomplished all the simpler things on my list and will not go into detail (trust me you don't want to know) . But today I was able to cross a major thing off my list, I had the privilege, nay the pleasure ( are you getting the sarcasm here) to get a colonoscopy. I was great fun! But dispute all the crap ( no pun intended) It was good to find out that all is right in that area, except for some internal hemorrhoids that are probably from childbirth and are most likely the cause for the bleeding. So I can scratch a GI disorder of my list.
Next I get to get a physiological evaluation ( I thought that we had decided this wasn't all in my head.....?) But my anxiety has been worse since the birth of dear little Miles. So it never hurts to talk with a professional, right? I am sure that this will be helpful with my mental health but I am still very doubtful that this pain is in my head.
And then? Well, I have decided to plan a little road trip sometime before the end of the summer down to sunny St. George. Miles will get to see Grandma and Grandpa Stout and I will get to see a familiar doctor who has seen the inside of my belly and hopefully will assure me once again that I have not lost my mind.
Anyway, there is the Readers digest version of the maladies of my Belly. I hope I didn't gross anyone out or put anyone to sleep, but hey I warned you.
Stay tuned for updates.....