2 Month Post Op with Dr. Frech

I am officially 7 weeks post op since the second feeding tube was placed. I am scheduled to see Dr. Frech at his new office in Cottonwood Heights. I check in and am taken back to a room. My official weight at this appointment is 127 lbs. I have now gained 7 pounds since we have started counting! Holy Hannah! Now I only have to gain 13 more pounds and maintain it. It is really hard to watch the scale continue to go up, but I do know this is what needs to happen. Dr. Frech is very excited that up until 2 weeks ago I have been pretty much pain free! (I have pain in my right side again but it is so minimal I leave this info out). He still wants me to work on my oral calorie intake as I am only eating about 1,000 calories a day. He is still not too excited that a lot of foods make me sick  (like chicken breast and bread) but I think that’s just the way my body handles that type of food now.

However the latest and greatest is a new pain in my abdomen on my left side. It is an awful pain that is aggravated by breathing or changing any elevation. So if I am sitting down and then stand up the pain is so intense I feel like I could fall to the ground in agony. Walking up the stairs is a huge task which I try to avoid as much as possible. My pain is always worse as the day goes on. I feel it in the morning but it is not as bad. Dr. Frech is very concerned about this and after listening to my lungs and feeling my abdomen he decides to order another CT scan. He thinks it may either be scar tissue or a hernia pushing on something and causing the pain. He does not feel that the pain is related to the tube being there since the area around the tube is not tender. I am also to lay off taking narcotics and he writes a prescription for Tramadol to take during the day so that I can still function. The liver labs and kidney labs are also ordered to be repeated.

My next scheduled appointment will be after I see Dr. Rasmussen in August. He will contact me with the results of the CT scan and lab work if there is anything to be concerned about.