Testing...Testing...Testing...

Today I had my fourth...yes, FOURTH...Gastric Emptying Study done. If you've never had one, here's how it goes: 

Step 1: Eat either an egg salad sandwich or oatmeal (Today I was given oatmeal, which is a first for me)
Step 2: Take an X-ray of your belly
Step 3: Wait an hour in the waiting room
Step 4: Take an X-Ray of your belly

Step 5: Wait an hour in the waiting room
Step 6: Take an X-ray of your belly
Step 7: Wait 2 hours in the waiting room or go shopping (I chose to wait because I had a prime parking spot)
Step 8: Take an x-ray of your belly

Today, at Step 8, they didn't take the x-ray because I still had food in my belly. Oatmeal from 9:45am was still in my tummy at 1:45pm. So they had my go sit and twiddle my thumbs--I'm an excellent thumb twiddler--until shortly after 2pm. They went ahead and took the x-ray, but I could see on the

imaging screen that my stomach was still glowing. I don't know if the technician just said internally "forget it!" and went ahead and took the x-ray because by this time it had been 4 1/2 hours or if my stomach had emptied and I was seeing residual glow. I'm no radiologist. But the technician had said that she wouldn't be surprised if it comes back abnormal.

Well, duh! For almost 6 years now my diagnosis has been (some severity) of Gastroparesis.

I don't know about other Gastroparesis Warriors,  but every time I take that test a couple of things run through my mind. The first thing is: Dangit, why do I have to take this test again?! The second is: What if it comes back normal? Or not

as severe as I FEEL like it is? Instantly you feel as though your family, your friends, your doctors are not going to believe a THING you've been telling them! That's how I felt today! It's a horrible feeling!

Of course you don't WISH or HOPE to be super sick, you just want it to match up with what you're telling everyone. And of course you don't WISH or HOPE for drastic interventional measures to be taken to help you improve your life, but when eating 4-5 bites of oatmeal makes you feel sick to your stomach and you burp it up for hours, all you want to do it avoid food!

Wednesday August 5th brings yet another test, an endoscopy--more fun!--and hopefully more answers or confirmation for the new GI. Having Gastroparesis is NO joke. It is not a weight loss program to sign up for. A stomachache to take lightly. Something I am making up in my mind. It is VERY real. I would not wish this life on my worst enemy (if I even had an enemy).

Gastric Emptying Studies, Endoscopies, Bloodwork, and Medicines...Ohmy!

Today was an exceedingly LONG day seeing the new Gastroenterologist (and the resident) today all in the hopes of, or the end game of, getting started on Domperidone again. 

Yeah, about that...

I first spoke with the resident for about fifteen minutes giving her the lowdown on Life with Gastroparesis. How do you condense 5 1/2 years of UGH into a short visit? It's hard to do! She looked me over and then went and got Dr. Lim. 

When he came in we kind of, even MORE briefly, went over my history and what I've been experiencing on a day-to-day basis...nausea...lack of appetite...vomiting...constipation...pain...He then examined me and said that, before even getting CLOSE to Domperidoen, the FDA stipulates that I have to have, not only a Gastric Emptying Study (GES), but an Endoscopy as well. 

RAWR!!

He mentioned that, since I've had the Botox therapy in the past (once, five years ago), there have been cases of people having scarring from it and causing the stomach (in assuming maybe the pylorus, but maybe I'm wrong) to close up, so then it'll need to be stretched. That may be a possibility with me. I'm sure it's also to check to make sure there aren't any ulcers or other things going on. 

The GES is a GES...I hate doing them because you have to eat so much food and lay around with a GIGANTIC bellyache. 

Dr. Lim also had me do bloodwork to check for diabetes, as Gastroparesis is commonly thought a diabetic issue. He also checked for any thyroid problems. He wants to rule out anything that might be causing my gastroparesis and constipation/IBS and treat that as opposed to just putting me on Domperidone right away. 

I appreciate his thoroughness and his kindness. I'm just done with doctors and told the resident as much. It's nothing against them specifically, it's just the situation as a whole. When you go to the doctor almost as much as you go anywhere else and then you feel like you get little to no answers, little to no help, grief for asking questions, you just don't want to see any more scrubs or white coats. 

I'm hoping for some answers from this, particularly since I have to do an Emdoscopy...again. I hate those things.