Surgery would have been easier...

I got home yesterday after a 6 day trip to the hospital. I have to say, I HATE TPN!!! If I had to stay another day, they would have had to put in a PICC line, because my veins are trashed and I don't have one that could be used if I needed another one. I had 6 IVs in 6 days, and I look like a drug addict now (which is really bad considering I have a job interview Monday...I'm going to go look for a lightweight long sleeved shirt tomorrow).

Anyway, my CT showed that it was adhesions causing a partial obstruction. The adhesions/scar tissue has been causing obstructions, and each one is worse than the last. I was put on the schedule for surgery when after 12 hours the barium had barely moved, but then overnight it went through to my colon, which meant that surgery will wait until it happens again. I stayed NPO and on TPN for 4 days, then released to enjoy my oh so comfy bed!

While I'm glad to not have to had to go through surgery, it is inevitable, and I would have rather gotten it over with since right now I'm not working and can take the time to let myself heal. Also, my COBRA runs out in a few months, and knowing my luck, that's when I'll need surgery. I pointed this out to the surgeon, and he said he wished he could make a surgical decision based on personal stuff like that, but he couldn't do surgery knowing that my crohn's isn't active and I need to keep all the bowel I have not knowing the future.

I'm just frustrated...and scared that right when I need to have it done, I will have so many other things on my plate that I can't take time to heal....or not have insurance to cover it.

Thanks for listening, and to any of you who have had to have TPN in a regular IV...sorry...now I can say I feel your pain.

Yes, I do have a history of adhesions. When he did the second resection, it took longer for him to clear through adhesions/scar tissue than anything else. I think in the report it took 3 hours to clear it all just to get to intestines that needed resecting. Because of that, he's very conservative when it comes to me & surgery.

I don't actually have a stricture...per say. I get frequent acute obstructions because the adhesions push so much against the bowel that nothing can go through. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) steroids and meds don't help, as my crohn's isn't active at all.

Thanks for listening. I appreciate it.