Dr. Frech 3 Week Post-Tube Removal Follow-Up

I go to see Dr. Frech today for a three week follow up since the feeding j-tube has been removed. At this appointment I weigh 125.7 pounds. I am slowly losing weight since the tube was taken out but not at a drastic rate. We go over quite a few different things and he seems pleased with my progress.

The first issue we go over is the pain that is still in my left side. He still is not convinced that it is an abdominal wall strain like Dr. Rasmussen is. He thinks it still may be more related to adhesions caused by the previous surgeries. He said that at this point, surgery would not be a good idea and would probably cause more problems. He wants to wait and give my body more time to heal.

The second issue we go over is the colonoscopy results and the size of the pouch. He thinks that my intestines may just be altered differently since the last surgery but doesn't want to rule out anything with that. A repeat colonoscopy may need to take place further down the road. He also thinks that my “stomach” has not increased in size in 10 months because I haven’t used it too much in that time. I still cannot eat more than ¼ cup in one sitting without getting sick. Both Dr. Frech and Dr. Rasmussen say I should be up to ½ cup in one sitting. There is a possibility of doing some pouch stretching down the road if I can’t get the volume up. He also has instructed me to take Zofran 30 minutes before I eat to see if that will help the symptoms and be able to push food volume a little more.

(This next section may be too much information for some, just skip over it!)

The next issue we go over is trying to regulate my bowels. Let’s just say it is not normal for someone to go from diarrhea every day to not using the bathroom for a couple of weeks while taking daily doses of Miralax. So, I am to try a new medication called Linzess until I see Dr. Frech again. Hopefully that will make a difference.

Right now the plan is to just basically wait. I am to give my body more time to heal and to try and keep up on the nutrition and keep my weight stable. He said that if I start getting closer to 120 lbs. that I need to call him right away. He also wants me to try and double my ensure shakes to keep my weight stable.

Dr. Frech wants to see me again in 6 weeks to recheck weight, follow up on medicine, re-evaluate pain, and hopefully make some decisions. If anything else needs to be done this year, I want it done this year. I don’t want to pay nothing more than a copay in 2015. That’s my goal!!