cause for concern?

This morning, I was out running errands; trying to keep myself busy and get things done before my surgery on Friday, when I received a phone call from the surgeon's office.

Apparently, my bloodwork came back atypical and the anesthesiologist is concerned. So, I have to go see my primary doctor tomorrow to see whether I can get clearance for my surgery or not. If not, I don't know what's going to happen.

I called the surgeon's office back to try and get a little more information out of them, and it seems the Potassium concentration is high in my blood stream. (hyperkalemic)

Being a (slightly) nervous Nelly, I looked up what hyperkalemia is and what causes it. Everything I found, shows it's a kidney malfunction. (Originally, I thought it might be a side effect of my meds, but I can't find any correlation between them. If anything, I've found Florinef being used to treat hyperkalemia.)

I'm not too ashamed to say that that prospect makes me highly nervous.

Why, you ask? Because one of the symptoms of hyperkalemia is tingly feelings in your body and muscle weakness; both of which I've (sometimes to the point of pain) experienced this week.

That's just what I need - to find out I have kidney failure or something.

interesting info

My boyfriend was kind enough to ask his cousin how his appendectomy went, so I could have a better idea of what to expect with mine. His was also done laproscopically so my recovery should be similar.

His cousin said that the surgery is nothing, and that he woke up feeling decent (no nausea or anesthetic complications...which is what I was worried about) and was able to go home the same day. He also said the recovery wasn't that bad pain wise.

The snag? He was told he couldn't lift or do anything for a week. The maximum weight you can lift is 2lbs. Can't even lift a laptop or a full single serve pop. Can't go upstairs (which I already knew) either.

My boyfriend was somewhat nervous to share that with me because I haven't spent a single DAY doing nothing, let alone a whole week. What the hell am I going to do with myself?

One step closer...

This morning was my appointment for my pre-Admissions Testing. They took blood and gave me a physical to see how I'll do with having surgery. They also gave me instruction sheets for pre- and post-surgery.

I'm not even nervous anymore. My side is becoming increasingly uncomfortable; and, because of the low level infection in my appendix/colon, it's been making me have digestive trouble also. Which is disheartening because I'd been doing so well. It's forced me to drop some of the weight I've worked very hard to put back on after being in the hospital in December. (Although, I'm sure some of it is depression related too over my Grandpa's death.)

Let's just get it over with already.

good and bad news

Good News: Today I got a call from the hospital to get all my pre-testing 'paperwork' done. They got most of my file filled out so hopefully Friday's "Pre-Admissions Testing" will be shorter than the 2 hours they've told me to prepare for.

Bad News: This morning my family and I got the call that my grandpa died overnight. He passed around 4:30am. It came as quite a shock because he had made a full recovery from being in the hospital a few weeks ago. The nurses said that he was in better shape than he was before he even went into the nursing home (and he was healthy then). Thankfully, he wasn't alone.

We're hoping that once he's cremated that they'll bring him up from Florida for a memorial service with our family.

He will be greatly missed. He was a kind, sweet and wonderful man that we all loved very much.

dreams...

Last night, both my boyfriend and I had dreams about my surgery. Normally, I'm not a superstitious person but this makes me a little uncomfortable.

His: I ended up with a problem and caused me to need brain surgery that my insurance wouldn't cover. I ended up in a coma, but thankfully I woke up.

Mine: They found a systemic problem, involving having to do surgery on my throat. Plus, that my colon is shaped incorrectly and they have to go back in and try to correct it.


I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous about it. Although, I know I have no choice and have to go through with this surgery.

getting nervous

Yes, surgery is two weeks away...but I got the paperwork on it today and I'm starting to get extremely nervous about it :/

CT Results and an Appendectomy

So...I got the call yesterday giving me the results of my CT scan.

It turns out, my appendix is still inflamed/ infected and has blocked itself off from my colon. It has to be removed.

I knew something was up when the surgeon himself called me. Plus, I've had a lingering discomfort ever since my hospital stay.

Surgery Date: Feb 4th