i'm growing!

*caution, read and look at pics at own risk*

i've always had stomach/constipation problems. but the last 3-6mos have gotten pretty bad. i could usually take a laxative and be ok. but when i started getting stomach pains monthly i got a little concerned but just figured it was normal for my body. but in the last 3 mos i've gone home from work sick (with stomach pains and throwing up) about 3 times. i knew that wasnt normal. brandon got me an appt with his gastro dr's NP. i was about a month out though. i waited with patience for that stupid appt. the day finally came and the NP said he had his work cut out for him and i wasnt moving at all in there.....uh duh! thats why im here. i told him about my side pain but he didnt seem to be too concerned and i just figured he does this daily and it's normal. i had to swallow about 30 tiny metal rings and get xrays everyother day to track them to see whats going on. my follow up appt wasn't until after randy's wedding. luckily i wasn't in too much pain the mean time. the friday before my follow up appt. i went to work at 5am like normal. i woke up that morning feeling a little sick but again, it had been normal for me. well little did i know, it was gonna be a day from hell. i threw up about 5 times at work before 8am. i had the absolute worst stomach pains i've ever ever had. i tried to explain them as labor pains...although i have no idea what that feels like. i would have to sit or lie down curled up in pain. they lasted anywhere from 5-10 seconds. i went home by 830am that day and slept the pain away. when i went to my follow up appt. on may 2nd, i told him what happened at work, again he didnt seem to be too concerned and told me i had a spastic colon and it needed to be re-trained, and that my poop was fermenting inside of me because my bowels were pushing everything back and forth...never out...like a normal person's colon should :-) ok...lets do this! he said it'll take about 6 weeks so have patience. well i've lived with it for this many years, i guess 6 weeks won't kill me. he sent me home with a prescription for miralax. i had hope and was ready to poop! the bottle said give it 2-4 days for a bowel movement....dang! ok, still had hope at this point. well day 4 came and still no bowel movement. instead just a really distended stomach! anytime i ate, i felt like i had eaten a HUGE meal. when in reality it was a bagel. 

 after doing an enema that week and it not working, thursday at 6pm i drank a phosphate laxative. and if you've ever had to do this, you know they're pretty dang strong and work. the box said it takes 30mins to 6 hours to work. well by 10pm nothing had happened...at all. so i took another dose. called my mom and talked to her and told her i had hope of pooping by morning! well just the opposite happened. i threw up about every hour. first i threw up dinner. and by 5am i had nothing left to throw up except acid and water that i kept drinking after i threw up to keep hydrated. it was the most horrible night i've ever had. i took at shower about 2am hoping to feel better. kinda worked. i told brandon i would much rather have the flu and a fever over the worst stomach pains and throwing up anything i tried to drink. i called my mom at 5am (4am AZ time...sorry mom) and asked her if she thinks the ER would be a good idea. we both decided that at least they could put an IV in me and get me hydrated. so we did just that.

 they gave me toradol for pain, zofran (my new best friend) for nausea and hooked up an IV. they did an xray on my stomach and the Dr said they're was only air in there. um...nope...i haven't pooped in a week mind you. so they did a CT to rule out kidney stones. nope. so they had me drink some nasty contrast to do another CT with dye in it. nothing showed on this. so the Dr said, we're gonna send you home with pain meds, nausea meds and stuff to prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow.

 so we did just that. again, if you've ever had to drink this stuff, it is the most rancid horrible crap EVER made! it was absolute torture. plus i feel like trash and cant keep anything down. i had to drink 3 10oz bottles.at 10pm i gagged down 1 1/2 bottles. it took over an hour to do so, but i did it, and prayed and prayed i wouldn't throw it up! i think it was about 11:30pm when i was finally feeling well enough to sleep. so i did so. i woke up about 1am with poop everywhere! hahaha i couldn't believe it, i pooped my pants, and the stupid bed at age 27. i said, brandon? i think i pooped the bed! he said yep, you sure did i can smell it. i was laughing, i couldnt believe it. i guess i was so tired from not sleeping the night before at all that i passed out for an hour. so we got up, stripped the bed and my clothes. i got in the shower and cleaned up. still laughing. then at 2am i had to drink the other 1 1/2 bottles of crap! it took about an hour to drink a cup full of one. about 10 mins after i drank it, it came right back up. every little bit of anything i had in my stomach was now up and out my throat and into the toilet. i just hoped and prayed that the first 1 1/2 bottles was enough, because i wasn't going to try to drink anymore. the smell of it made me so nausea's! about 4am i finally fell asleep on the couch. my alarm went off at 530am. we had to be at the hospital at 615am. i was absolutely exhausted from the last 2 nights of no sleep, throwing up and stomach pains. we finally got settled into the room. they came to get me and well i dont remember anything after that!

 brandon said i was in recovery for about an hour before i woke up. i guess i was just so sleepy :-) i was really excited for my socks! oh, and to find out what the freak was going on with my stomach. the Dr finally came it and said they found a growth in my colon. i knew it! i knew there was something causing this pain and throwing up. it felt so good to hear this. i knew i wasn't crazy! i cried a little bit, brandon cried a little bit. we text family and friends, brandon talked on the phone for awhile to family and then they said we'd have to call the Dr (who's gonna do surgery) on monday to find out biopsy report. that was a litte scary to hear. i've been at peace with this though. i don't feel like it's anything serious, but if it is, we'll go from there. so, i call the Dr tomorrow and find out all the details about the growth, and about surgery. i've been on a clear liquid diet and its so boring!i cant wait till after surgery when i can eat again. i told brandon, we're definitely racking up a bill at brick oven! who wants to join us?! this has kinda been a blessing in disguise though. we've been trying for a family for about a year. i personally have been a little frustrated by not getting pregnant, where as brandon reminds me to be patient. i'm thankful my Heavenly Father knows me and my plan. i wouldnt be able to have pain meds, xrays, colonoscopy or most importantly surgery if i was pregnant. who knows...maybe we'll get prego soon after ;-)

the picture below is of the growth, if you have a weak stomach dont look. the growth is the yellow/white area.

we'll keep everyone updated on the biopsy results tomorrow!

thanks for all the many many prayers, texts and phone calls. i couldn't go through this without my husband, family and friends! you're all the best!