Operation update number 2

[Carolha]

Hi everyone, not sure if you can remember my last update but things went from bad to worse. I was taken into A&E by ambulance to find out that my temperature and servere vomiting after gallbladder removal was to do with the operation not being successful (even though I'd been sent home with these symptoms from the hospital that performed the op, they said it had nothing to do with the operation!). I had to be stabilised as I was dehydrated and jaundice and a week later I had to have a sent fitted into the bile ducts! One nurse thought I was going to die and was amazed at how much better I looked when I left! Although still extremely weak, can only walk into garden, can't concentrate on anything I'm glad I'm still here.

I missed my second rhuematologist appointment but I had some awful symptoms that I think are related to lupus( not been officially diagnosed yet but from first meeting he though I had mild lupus), when I had over done it and became very tired I couldn't formulate my words, I felt drunk and it really upset me. Not sure if it's lupus related or just because I was tired.

Well initial operation was on the 10th Aug and should have been up and around and almost back to normal 2 weeks later, here I am still spending more time in bed, hurting from the stent being fitted, can't concentrate, get exhausted easily and wondering when I'm going to feel normal again! Feeling sorry for myself, wanting to curl up and lick my wounds, eating a bar of chocolate! Mmmm at least there are some pleasures in life I can still enjoy at the moment! Xxx

[Purpletop]

Aww, you poor thing, that's awful! Not only you have to go through one ordeal, you then have to repeat it - not on! Just give yourself time to recuperate, you will get better slowly but surely, no wonder you are exhausted, the body is trying to get up to speed sapping all your energy in doing so. Have loads of clear soups and gentle teas (dandelion for gallbladder) and try not to do too much. All the best x

[Thaddeus]

Hello Carolha

The mental confusion is a common symptom with lupus, we often talk of the 'lupus fog.' It can be very distressing, I used to slur when i got tired and my memory was a sieve. Worse than forgetting things was forgetting that I had ever been told the thing I had forgotten ( if you see what i mean ).

Your unscheduled return to hospital, really does sound like it was related to the first visit. Hope it gets sorted.

Hang in there.

[Houghton73shaw]

Ohh,Carolha....omg,I am and have had exactly the same as you. I had a my gallbladder removed last September after a few months of chronic pain as well as symptoms NOW thought to have been flare ups! I went back to work and seemed fine apart from the chronic fatigue. In May admitted to hospital with terrible pain in my right side...what felt like gallbladder pain, after tests it showed that it was my liver and to cut a long story short, I was diagnosed with auto-immune liver disease Primary Bilary Cirrhosis, which attacks the bile ducts! One of the symptoms is CFS and I was suffering after they had placed stents...so a locum doc at GP surgery decided to run a battery of tests on my blood and it came back ana positive! Which suggested lupus. I have now to wait to go on meds because of my liver condition...it's only been 3 weeks since I was diagnosed with lupus, so still trying to understand it but the liver bit just complicates it! I blame the faulty gene pool I come from....mum has Addison's and various other auto-immune,dad's got MS (which they say is auto-immune) baby sis has lupus and middle sis has under active thyroid...and little old moi.... I have a mixture, vitiligo,coeliac,under active thyroid, PBC and now Lupus...if I was a horse! Lol....

Chin up and enjoy that bar of chocolate, it's those little pleasure that can be worth while on a bad day....or do what I do take the iPad to bed with 'Him indoors' card and buy myself a little treat xxx

[Carolha in reply to Houghton73shaw]

Bless you, strange but one of my parents has Ranaulds disease and osteoarthritis and the other has spondylitis, my daughter has an intolerance to wheat but is showing signs of joint problems amongst other things. So hereditary, does it or doesn't it come into it?

I also have chronic kidney disease and they've never been able to tell me why.

Keep your chin up and enjoy the iPod! My concentration is starting to improve, hopefully it will continue and not just be a good day in between the bad! Take care c