Health a seven year saga

For at least seven years now I've been having problems with my lower abdomen. This was initially diagnosed as a hyatus hernia and I was put on a drug called Omeprozole.

The drug reduces the production of stomach acid & generally iliminates all symptoms(apart from a constant tightness in that region of the body)

More than once a year though it can flare up, sometimes the cause is clear such as being crammed into a tight space such as a crowded car seat or a theatre seat with little leg room. These flare ups can be very uncomfortable involving constant muscle cramps the worst one lasted for seventeen days. Not just discomfort but also very energy sapping often so bad it requires time off work.

It's taken me years to encounter a GP willing to push me up the diagnostic ladder but earlier this year during one of these attacks(GP prefers the term episodes) I had an on the day appointment at my GP and finally made progress.

Since then I've had two stool tests, both of these showed a raised level of a protein so I was referred up initially for an ultrasound scan, this revealed nothing. After that I had a CT scan which is similar to having an X Ray and also revealed nothing unusual.

Most recently I've had a colonoscopy, for this the hospital sends you four sachets of what I've nick named “Special Stuff” You mix up an initial batch of this the night before the procedure and once you've started drinking it about 90 minutes later(in my case) You start needing the toilet and output nothing but liquid for the next six hours when your body finally settles down enough for you to sleep, this isn't exactly a pleasant process as you barely have a moment to relax.

The next morning at 6am you have to start taking a second batch of “Special Stuff” it's a slow process consuming this as it's mixed up in a litre of water. Again you need the toilet so regularly that I stayed in my pjs till lunch time.

The treatment centre at Addenbrookes is a surprisingly modern building tucked away at the back of the site, thankfully only a short walk from the nearby car park,once we’d got there, there was the usual mixture of form filling and waiting(they were running 20 minutes late) My name was then called and a very friendly nurse explained the procedure and gave me the option of a sedative(she even listed all the drugs involved) or no sedative. I chose the sedative option. I was then shown to a changing room where you have to don a hospital gown and take a seat for(surprise surprise) more waiting.

Then my name was called again and you have to lie down on this table whilst first the procedure is explained and then they give you the sedative. This appeared to consist of four separate injections via a canula. They'd told me this wasn't a general anaesthetic but after a brief period of light headedness, the next thing I knew I was being wheeled into the recovery room. Apparently two hours had gone by but I wouldn't know as I'd slept through it all. They told me they'd found nothing to worry about during the procedure. So after getting dressed again I was allowed to head home.

At this point I was rather glad I'd put a small box of Pringles in my coat pocket as I was finally allowed to eat again.

So now the waiting resumes hopefully my consultant has other tests up his sleeve because if anything is certain it's that there's definitely still something wrong with me.