The Fridge Sends His Regards…

Ah, food. The smell, the appearance, and most importantly, the taste– all of it brings to mind comfort and satisfaction. It may also bring about a wiggle-dance that you do when the waiter sets your feast down in front of you. (Yes, I’m talking about myself here.) But what happens when the relationship between you and that sweet, sweet man named Mr. Food goes sour? All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

I love everything about food, but when my kidneys and pancreas went on strike and I was hospitalized, I suddenly found myself being told “No” to any type of food, including water. (Don’t worry, I stayed hydrated via IV) After 12 miserable days without anything solid, or liquid for that matter hitting my stomach, I was told those magic words by my care team, “You can eat now.” I would have jumped up and kissed them but the length of my IV tube prevented me from doing so.

When lunchtime came around I was just itching to get my hands on my chicken broth, jell-o, and pudding… oh, and my apple juice! I wasn’t cleared for a full diet, which basically meant that for the time being I could only have soft or liquids like the pudding and the broth. Now, people often say that hospital food tastes bad, but when you’re 12 days hungry… you don’t care. I literally ate every bit, and drank every drop of what was given to me, and soon after lunch I began asking when the dinner trays would arrive. But, my new found hunger wouldn’t last long, mostly because everything I ate gave me a great deal of pain in my abdomen, and usually made me extremely nauseated.

I was hoping that this annoying side effect of my new medical condition would fade, but so far I’ve seen no change. Although I’m continuing to lose weight, I wish it were under slightly different circumstances. I am eating much healthier now though. I’ve come to the point to where I’ve only been putting healthy, fresh, and non-fried foods in my body, that now if I try and eat a hamburger or greasy fries, my body just won’t accept it.

I wish I were still able to enjoy food as I used to, but I’m loving that my body is actually craving fruits and veggies over ice cream and chips. So, I suppose the old adage is true- every cloud does have its silver lining.

my first post

As I sit outside my local Starbucks with my husband and best friend, surrounded by soothing music and ridiculously expensive coffee, I felt compelled to go ahead and publish my very first post here on Adventures in Diabetic Land.

I’m not new to blogging, but I haven’t run a blog consistently in over two years, so, I’m definitely going to give this one the ol’ college try. I’m terrible at being consistent. The only thing I’m consistent at is being inconsistent… so, does that make me consistent or inconsistent… these are the thoughts that run rampant in my mind.

I hope everyone out there in the bloggy world is doing well tonight. As for myself, I’m enjoying being home and (virtually) pain free after a whopping 28 days combined in the hospital. Now, luckily, or unluckily, however you choose to look at it, those days were not spent all in one go. I was admitted with abdominal pain in late April, and after a thorough battery of tests was given the diagnosis of Pancreatitis, as well as mild Renal Failure. Lovely. I was given medication to help the swelling in my pancreas go down, as well as some strong meds to help my kidneys relax and do their dang job. After 11 days I was finally allowed to go home…. for now.

Right at 11 days later the stabbing abdominal pain returned, and I was urged by my husband to return to the ER, where I was once again admitted with Pancreatitis, as well as an abscess in my lower abdomen. After 12 days of pain killers, nausea medication, and LOTS of of fluids, I was released and was able to go home. Both my abscess and pancreatitis were cured…. then there was the other time.

Yes, I ended up having to go back a freaking THIRD time to the same ER. This time I was experiencing the abdominal pain, but I was alerted whilst in the emergency room that my blood sugar had gone up to a whopping 617. As far as I know my blood sugar has never been that high before- and as you can imagine I was thoroughly freaked out. (Which only made my blood sugar worse!) I was (again) admitted, but this time for mild DKA. (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) Lucky for me, this stay was shorter at just 5 days.

Right now I’m still dealing with abdominal pain on a daily basis which is being mildly controlled with pain and nausea medication, but the origin of the pain is still unknown after being poked, prodded, and given an ungodly amount of tests including eating radioactive beef stew. (Don’t worry- I wasn’t able to actually eat it… ) 5 veins have been blown over the course of the past 28 days, and one of my hands is completely blue from the bruises. The other veins in my right hand and right and left elbow are bruised and feel as if there are huge knots under my skin.

But, with God leading me, I press onward trusting that I’ll get through this tough time and that one doctor will soon (and FINALLY) figure out what is wrong with me and why I’m consistently having abdominal pain 🙂

So, if I can actually stay out of the hospital for more than a few days at a time, I have a lot planned for this blog. I have huge dreams of making this a hub just for young people with diabetes where they can say, “Today was a good day…” or simply, “Today sucked.” Life with diabetes is a constant flow of ups and downs, and it’s so so important to have someone who understands to share those ups and downs with and who will be there to support you. So, if you have diabetes or know someone who does, please follow Adventures in Diabetic Land, and comment with your name and state!

See you soon!

– Jessica.