The Whole Dang Pancreatic Story, Part 2
It definitely was not fun. I still have nightmares about that one and every time I've had to be under…
Part 1 Gallbladder, Part 2 of the Whole Dang Story
Still Have Pain
I went in for my 1 week follow up with the surgeon and I was still in pain. It was just as bad as before. He guessed that I have some stones lodged in my Bile Duct so he sends me to a Gastroenterologist who specializes in this. I go see this doctor and he agrees that I probably have stones in my Bile Duct and schedules an ERCP (they put me to sleep and will go down my throat with a camera to see if there are stones in the Bile Duct and remove them).
ERCP for Stones in Bile Duct
Jason and I head to the hospital for my ERCP which is outpatient surgery. The procedure should take 20 – 30 minutes. Mine took 2 hours and the worst part was that my anesthesia started to wear off and I woke up in the middle of it. I remember sitting up and gagging because I had a camera down my throat in my bile duct. I still have nightmares about that.
After the 2 hours, I wake up (again) and I am in HUGE amounts of pain. The worst pain I've felt in my life. The nurses keep me for a few hours and then everyone wants to go home I guess, so they send me home with Percocet. I'm told my procedure took 2 hours because my Bile Duct is shaped like a U at the end and is very narrow so they could not get all the stones out.
Back to the Hospital
We left the hospital around 8pm and by 2 am I am in so much pain, I think I'm going to die. It was worse than childbirth. Jason takes me back to the ER and I can barely stand. I got service very quickly.
I get the good meds and I can tolerate the pain. Turns out I have Pancreatitis. They admit me to the hospital and tell me I should never have left after my ERCP (great!)
Pancreatitis HURTS
The only way to get rid of Pancreatitis is to not eat (be on IV) and wait it out. I was so out of it for the week I was in the hospital. I got Pancreatitis because they were in my Bile Duct for 2 hours messing around. I need to be transferred to another specialist at another hospital who has specialized equipment and can do another ERCP and get the stones out of my Bile Duct and open up the end of Bile Duct (Sphincterotomy) to be sure I don't form stones again.
I spend a few more days recovering from pancreatitis and then they do another ERCP and get the stone out and open the duct more. Finally I go home after being in the hospital for about 9 days.
Pain Free for One Year
For the first time in about 4 months, I'm feeling really good. I have to be careful about what I eat and sometimes I have some pain, but Ibuprofen takes care of it. I'm beginning to feel that I'm cured. Jason and I plan to get away for a cruise which will be our first ever trip without kids.
ERCP can be a difficult procedure and there are many risks associated with it. Waking up during the procedure seems like a horrible thing, especially given the state that you were in!
It definitely was not fun. I still have nightmares about that one and every time I’ve had to be under since then, I’ve told them that story. I want them to be sure they know I’m under before they do anything.