CT Scan - there are issues

[buffalobillsfan]

Went for my CT Scan that is supposed to help my nerves only to have them get worse. I was very bloated from the breakfast I ate and I was having some twinges of pain here and there during the scan. They aren't exactly like when I had the obstruction but milder and fleeting. Plus being so bloated is very uncomfortable.

My PCP called and said that there were some abnormalities and that I should pick up the disc from them and take it to Dr Rabkin's hospital. I called Dr Rabkin and he questioned my symptoms. No fever, no vomiting, no open incision, no pain like I had before the surgery. He said to calm down and to come and see him Monday afternoon.

Off I go to get the disc which came with the report. Here is what it reads:

• There is a segment of dilated small bowel containing air-fluid measuring 7 cm. This may represent ileus versus partial small bowel obstruction. Contrast is seen distal to the loop.
• There is an elliptical shaped fluid collection deep to the incisional scar and abdominal wall measuring 11.6 cm in length. This is compatible with a nonspecific postoperative fluid collection. Possibility of an abscess cannot be excluded and clinical correlation follow-up is recommended.
• Left renal cyst and angiomyolipoma
• Left renal nonobstructing stone.

I immediately called Dr Rabkin because the bowel obstruction part concerned me (ok really freaked me out). He said that we are going more on how I feel for now and since I'm not having vomiting, bad pain, fever and I'm still able to go to the bathroom that he still feels coming in on Monday is fine. He said that none of this surprises him after the surgery that I just had and it reads "may represent" a bowel obstruction.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I THINK I feel better but I'm afraid my mind will play tricks with me and I'll be thinking my bowels are dying and I'll end up with a colostomy bag or dead or just even in surgery again. My plan for the weekend is to load up on fluids, drink protein shakes, eat super clean but mostly soft foods and pray a lot. I think I'll also take frequent walks but pack a hospital bag just in case.

I know that I don't have the worst problems but I still feel sorry for myself. Damn it!

 

[newanatomy]

I am very sorry you are going through such a tough time. I hope you can relax till Monday afternoon and then get good news.

 

[star0210]

I'm sorry....that's all really scary. I don't blame you a bit for feeling sorry for yourself!

 

[more2adore]

Oh no. Please let us know as soon as you can Monday what the outcome was - we'll be thinking about you and worrying along with you. Fingers crossed it's nothing awful.

 

[southernlady]

1) BREATHE!!! If Dr. Rabkin was worried, he would have had you come in right away.
2) Your current plan for the weekend sounds good...protein loading, eating clean...just in case.
And you were right to be concerned...trusting your own instincts is what we ALL need to learn to do.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

****HUGS****

See, you were NOT going crazy. Your guts are not quite "right" yet. You felt this correctly.

It is NOT an emergency. You're still banged up badly from surgery. You're still sick. Your body is telling you the truth: "I feel like crap on a stick."

If it changes for the worse, your body will tell you so truthfully. Waiting sucks, but you know how to take care of yourself. What I do when I'm flipping out over scary stuff is to make my contingency plans, writing them down if appropriate so that I have them all documented for the "worst case scenario," and then I'm more able to just take it a day (or an hour) at a time.

You know how to take care of yourself. You can do this. I have faith in you and in your surgeon.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I don't know anything about this but it sure sounds like it could be worse - keep us posted and we are thinking about you!

 

[Larra]

It sounds like you and Dr. Rabkin are doing everything right. Remember that when a radiologist reads the CT scan, they overread, if anything, because they don't want to miss anything that could possibly be amiss. They have to describe everything they see, whether it turns out to be significant or not. Maybe there is a partial obstruction (MAYBE) or maybe it's just that your intestines still haven't recovered completely from the obstruction you definitely had and the surgery needed to fix that obstruction. And the fluid collection is probably just a seroma, because if it were an abscess you would be more sick (fever, pain, etc). Of course, head straight to the ER if you take a turn for the worse (and let Dr. Rabkin know)

So your plan for the weekend sounds good, and you will see Dr. Rabkin very soon. Please keep us updated. You don't need to worry too much because you have us all worrying along with you, sort of a shared worrying concept.

 

[buffalobillsfan]

It sounds like you and Dr. Rabkin are doing everything right. Remember that when a radiologist reads the CT scan, they overread, if anything, because they don't want to miss anything that could possibly be amiss. They have to describe everything they see, whether it turns out to be significant or not. Maybe there is a partial obstruction (MAYBE) or maybe it's just that your intestines still haven't recovered completely from the obstruction you definitely had and the surgery needed to fix that obstruction. And the fluid collection is probably just a seroma, because if it were an abscess you would be more sick (fever, pain, etc). Of course, head straight to the ER if you take a turn for the worse (and let Dr. Rabkin know)

So your plan for the weekend sounds good, and you will see Dr. Rabkin very soon. Please keep us updated. You don't need to worry too much because you have us all worrying along with you, sort of a shared worrying concept.

I love shared worrying and shared praying! It's immensely comforting right now. This sure has been a learning experience for me. To be faced with my own mortality, to try to feel connected to a body that I feel is turning against me, to stand up for myself even against professionals, to see what I did wrong and to work on preventing that in the future, to feel out of control and learn to self-soothe, to face fears, to trust my own intuition, to ask for help and tell people that I'm scared even if it scares them too, and to let go of my guilt for taking care of me, to realize that I really didn't want to learn these lessons

 

[buffalobillsfan]

****HUGS****

See, you were NOT going crazy. Your guts are not quite "right" yet. You felt this correctly.

It is NOT an emergency. You're still banged up badly from surgery. You're still sick. Your body is telling you the truth: "I feel like crap on a stick."

If it changes for the worse, your body will tell you so truthfully. Waiting sucks, but you know how to take care of yourself. What I do when I'm flipping out over scary stuff is to make my contingency plans, writing them down if appropriate so that I have them all documented for the "worst case scenario," and then I'm more able to just take it a day (or an hour) at a time.

You know how to take care of yourself. You can do this. I have faith in you and in your surgeon.

Thank you Elizabeth! A definite lesson in trusting my instincts. I kept saying I felt fluid in my belly!!! I didn't want to be right though. Right now I'm looking forward to really being past this and helping some poor sucker on this board who is in a panic like me. I'm documenting every thing because sometimes the details help so much. I can't tell you how comforting it is that I have Dr Rabkin since I know him and what an excellent surgeon he is. Imagine me right now with a surgeon I didn't know. I would be the naked freak running down the middle of the freeway on national news. And all of you guys could say "I know her!"

 

[buffalobillsfan]

I don't know anything about this but it sure sounds like it could be worse - keep us posted and we are thinking about you!

It can always be worse. Most of the time I thank the universe for the problems I have for just that reason.

 

[buffalobillsfan]

1) BREATHE!!! If Dr. Rabkin was worried, he would have had you come in right away.
2) Your current plan for the weekend sounds good...protein loading, eating clean...just in case.
And you were right to be concerned...trusting your own instincts is what we ALL need to learn to do.

He is a great doctor. I have to balance my own fears with his experience. He doesn't want anything to happen to me. I'm doing ok right now and that is a blessing!

 

[buffalobillsfan]

I'm sorry....that's all really scary. I don't blame you a bit for feeling sorry for yourself!

There is no shame in feeling sorry for ourselves once in a while!

 

[buffalobillsfan]

I am very sorry you are going through such a tough time. I hope you can relax till Monday afternoon and then get good news.

I'm counting the minutes. My husband took another unpaid day off to go with me. Oy! I'll let everyone know what the outcome is. Just hoping nothing comes up between now and then.

 

[DianaCox]

Go to a movie. Walk around a mall. Do something to distract yourself. If you have Ativan, take some. It looks to me (lots of letters after my name, none of them MD) like the odds are:

• You have an ileus* - your bowel is taking a while to wake up around the section that was operated on - completely normal. There was contrast distal to the segment that isn't moving quickly, so there isn't an obstruction.
  
• WAY more likely than not, you have a benign seroma that will dissipate on its own over time - very common after surgery.
• The kidney stuff is pretty common too, and not causing current issues. MANY people (self included) have benign kidney cysts - just something to keep an eye on over time. In particular, re the angiomyolipoma: "Angiomyolipomas are the most common benign tumour of the kidney and are found either in patients with tuberous sclerosis or sporadically. About 80–90% of cases are sporadic and these are most commonly found in middle-aged women."

* Ileus (/ˈɪliəs/; from Greek εἰλεός eileós, "intestinal obstruction") is a disruption of the normal propulsive ability of the gastrointestinal tract. Although ileus originally referred to any lack of digestive propulsion, including any bowel obstruction,[1][2]up-to-date medical usage restricts its meaning to those disruptions caused by the failure of peristalsis, rather than by mechanical obstruction.

Try to relax - easier said than done, but distraction is a good way, as are drugs.