I’m sharing my daughters post not only because I’m so incredibly proud of her but to show also that GP has not stopped her to follow her dreams and hopefully give hope to some others out there!! Diagnosed almost 3 years ago, has been through hell & back, is a tubie but has so much determination to not let this horrible disease control her life!!
#GPwarrior
My story is different but this time I hope to help some people. I had many problems with my stomach and after many times that I had nasogastric tube, I had my surgery Iatoplastic and fundoplication.
I had a baby but for me, having a baby is dangerous! In fact when my son was born, I had an intestinal infection that made me near death. I again had to have a nasogastric tube and I was in the hospital for a month. I want another baby despite all the difficulties because I don’t give up. After the birth of my son and having all the problems, I’m here! I’m a survivor and I want to help other people.
This picture for me means a lot. It’s a picture with my son when I was in the hospital when he was born. This is my different story but i want to help all people that have and had digestive desease as me because nobody is alone.
October 30, 2006 – Gastric bypass surgery
December 15, 2006 – Admitted to hospital since could not keep
anything down
December 28, 2006 (my birthday) – Vagotomy and had my GJ
feeding tube put in during surgery
April 17, 2007 – had gastric bypass revision
January 11, 2011 – had my gastric bypass reversed
I was in and out the hospital many times during this time – many
EGD’s
November 02, 2012 – Officially diagnosed with GP – at Temple
April 14, 2015 – Went on disability and had to switch insurance –
started to go to Johns Hopkins and have had good care so i still see several doctors
Can’t have the gastric stimulator since i get MRSA anytime something foreign is put in my body
No other surgeries can be done safely since i have a blood clotting disease, uncontrolled diabetes, and after last knee surgery i
went into respiratory failure
Hi all ! My name is Nicole and I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis in 2017. I was however having symptoms two years beforehand! Two years ago I randomly fell really sick on holiday in Portugal. One night i vomited everything I had eaten. I lost my appetite for a week, living off practically water. I was at a scary low weight by this point.
My parents took me to a private doctor who told me I had ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ (yes- i was depressed from not being able to eat and the nausea!!!). I was then put on anti depressants and some vitamins. A month later I started to feel a little better, but kept getting random nauseous episodes where I would just feel randomly sick.
My name is Kristine Bishop, I’m now 53 years old, live in Missouri, married, quit my corporate career to stay at home and raise my three daughters. It all began in April of 2015. I became so ill so quickly. From nausea, feeling full, extreme pain, the inability to go the bathroom it seemed to hit out of no where. I saw so many doctors. Urogynecologists, gynecologists, GIs, Family practitioners, neurologists you name it I saw them. I was misdiagnosed with Rectal prolapse, bladder prolapse, heart burn, infections and though I did everything, took everything they each
individually requested my health continued to deteriorate. The first GI I saw did the Sitz Marker test within 6 months from the start and I retained 72 of 72 markers at day 5. Had he been more proactive and less text book my suffering would have ended long before it did.
By January of 2016 I couldn’t eat solid food and was on a liquid diet. No doctor was taking any of this seriously yet I knew something was desperately wrong. Not one doctor was concerned about my weight loss, my inability to not eat. I was told to add fiber, eat less fiber, medication was offered continuously but only to band aid instead of fix whatever was wrong with me. I was slowly giving up, close to bedridden until I was referred to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
At 5’4 and 93 pounds (I had lost over 20 pounds by this time) March of 2017 I arrived at Mayo alone. I went through their battery of tests only to be told I had slow motility (add fiber) and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. I headed home feeling like this was it. I didn’t have the strength to fight. I underwent Biofeedback therapy which was unsuccessful. Loaded with prescription laxatives I was not only close to bedridden, I was isolated in my house from all the laxatives which failed to work most of the time and when they did it was awful, not to mention the constant pain, cramping and nausea.By the Grace of God I was referred to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis to the best Colorectal Surgeon there Dr Elisa Biernbaum. She took one look at all of my records, test results and said we are going to get you well. As well she had a few choice words for GIs prescribing overdose levels of laxatives. She redid a few tests I had already had and scheduled me for a total abdominal colectomy.
July 24th, 2017 my large intestine was removed and completely paralyzed by this time from the GIs overloading me with laxatives. This was confirmed by the pathology report. I was down to 83 pounds. Surgery was successful even with complications, a free ride 4 hours back to the hospital, blood transfusions and the normal adjusting to a new body. I now suffer from permanent vision damage, teeth deterioration, not even an indication of any form of nutrition, passed off by doctors and GIs until I finally went to St. Louis with the exact same issues I had started with 2 years prior? Now one year after surgery I can’t say everything is normal because normal will never be normal for me again. However I am better, I’m better because I became my own advocate, I’m better because I fired all those egotistical doctors who want text book cases, I’m better because of the GP community fighting to raise awareness to doctors that this condition is serious, incurable, with people dying from neglectful doctors who took an oath to save lives, not dismiss them.
I have some great doctors now who care enough to know, I am that special case, and do everything in their power to help me live day by day!
I also have been diagnosed with EDS, Gilbert’s syndrom, 2 faulty MTHFR genes, Colonic Inertia, Fibromyalga and a few other issues.