Thursday, June 20, 2013

I Am The Bionic Woman.

For real, I am.  I have my very own remote control...don't believe me? Here it is:


And I carry it around with my in a sparkly pink coin purse.

The truth is, this is a hard post for me to write.  It's about something most people are embarassed about, but it's become such a huge part of my life that I feel like I am living a double life when people don't know about it.  I explained the background of my GI issues here, so read that if you haven't yet. I carry the diagnoses of IBS-C and colonic inertia. You can read about those in the links because I really don't want to explain either of thos things.  I have no idea how I ended up with either of these things.  I first notied a problem when I was on a trip to Guatemala and everyone I was with got a parasite- so did I, but my symptoms were different/opposite than everyone else. That year I also had jaw surgery and was on a liquid diet, which when combined with pain killers really took a toll on me. 

I explained in the post linked above that I tried to modify my diet, increase my already active lifestyle, tried over the counter and prescription meds, and many holistic & herbal treatment routes as well.  I had lots of labs drawn, lots of very uncomfortable testing, and several rounds of biofeedback therapy.  Nothing worked AT ALL.

Last summer I went for my annual OB/Gyn and she referred me to a urologist because she had worked with a similar patient who had a sacral nerve neurostimulator implanted that helped her.  She said that most people with bowel problems also have bladder problems even if they don't know it- and she was right.  I was feeling "bloated" all the time because I also had pretty severe bladder retention.  I'm actually lucky about that, because my implant isn't FDA approved for either of my GI diagnoses, but it is for all urinary condtions- so I qualified to get the surgery.


Last fall I had 3 surgeries to implant this bad boy.  It took 3 because they do a "test phase" first, which I had to do 2 of, before they put the permanent device in.  During both test phases, I had multiple wires sticking out of from under my skin (gross!)that were connected an external device, which was kind of like a really huge pager that I had to attach to my waistband.  The whole process lasted about 3.5 months.

Now I have a pretty sweet scar on my lower back/upper butt, and I have a rock-hard spot where the device is that you can easily feel if you touch it.  I control the settings with my remote control, so I can turn it up or down, or switch which lead is working (I have 4.)  So weird right?  I still have to take daily medications, but this device has made me feel a lot better!

I bet you didn't know that you had a bionic friend...well, now you do!!

6 comments:

  1. So glad that you have found something that helps you. I have Crohn's so I am secretly jealous since I have the exact opposite problem as you. Maybe they will come up with something like this for me too! A girl can dream. I'd love to be able to control it with a remote - there's no shame in that! Go bionic woman!:)

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  2. That is so cool! You are tough as nails - three surgeries? Whoa!

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  3. I used to work in durable medical equipment at Mayo and I was continuously blown away by how amazing modern medicine is. I was able to help aid patients in all sorts of ways. It was a very rewarding job. Your story is just so amazing. Thanks for sharing all of this. I think it's great when a blogger can open up about something a little personal. It makes you more real.

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  4. Seriously...I've said it before...but you are such a rockstar. You have had to deal with so many health obstacles and you just take the punches as they come and keep on going. You are such an inspiration sweetie!!

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  5. I had no idea! Thanks for sharing! And like Jen said above, you'd never guess that you've been through so much in the area of health. You do awesome!

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  6. It's amazing what they can do now to help people. That's awesome that it makes you a little more comfortable.

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