Don't you love when it all comes together?

[NicolettaRose]

I have been quite ill lately, this severe stomach flu and fever that keeps coming back, so with lots of trips to the doctor,tests, and lots of sick days and now facing possible surgery for a possibly blocked intestine,

I have spent a lot of time inside with Ebay and not much time or energy to go vintage shopping.

Today was the first day I was really able enjoy any sort of shopping. Anway I was out vintage shopping with a friend and in the coarse of a few hours found a whole outfit, a black early 1940's with carmel lace detailing, and embroidery in white sequins, a carmel colored 1940's topper hat with a white feather and a some metel detailing, a carmel colored suede 1940's purse with a gold bow on the clasp and some tan colored gloves...no shoes...but I am so happy yay.

Pictures to come!

 

[Kim_B]

Sounds like you made up for lost shopping time!! Can't wait to see your finds -and I hope you're feeling better!

 

[Brooksie]

Sounds like a fab outfit! Hope you get back to 100% (feeling better) soon!

Brooksie

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I certainly know a lot about stomach problems, I have Crohn's. Honestly it sucks. I haven't worked in five years. In the past year and a half I was hospitalized 13 times for bowel obstructions, each time for no less than 9 day's. I take 36 pills a day, not including the 3 injections I give myself a week and the piles of percocet, oxycontin and dilauded I take to control the pain. I no longer have a large intestine and had 4 feet of my small intestine removed. I have 3 giant scars on my belly from the 3 major surgeries I've had, this doesn't include the laproscopic surgeries, those are minor, like a day at the beach in comparison to being literally gutted and then stapled shut.
So, if you can have surgery and that fixes the problem you're having, I'd consider you lucky. No surgeon will operate on me anymore because each time they fix adhesions, more occur, and I just end up having to have another surgery. So, do you have any idea why you have this blockage? It's pretty amazing that you have made so many plans to travel and are thinking about moving when you have been sick. I know when I'm sick, I don't make any reservations, except for at the local GI floor at the hospital. Besides, I wouldn't move to a new place unless I had a thorough investigation and interview with at least 4 doctors. Abdominal surgeries can be quite debilitating, I hope this doesn't affect your upcoming transatlantic cruise and your other trips.
Well, if you have any questions about abdominal disorders, I've got a lot of knowledge on them, so feel free to ask.

As for shopping, I always manage to shop, even from my hospital bed!! I managed to get permission to use the computers in the doctor's lounge on the floor where I'm usually admitted, so I can shop on ebay no matter how sick I am!! Of course the constant dilauded drip helped!!!! Besides, for me at least, shopping can be therapeutic. Sometimes the only way I'll ever really feel better is if I stop thinking about how crummy I feel. Going shopping is a good way to stop thinking!!

 

[NicolettaRose]

Well I have always been reletively healthy but in the past 6 monthes I have been having major, major pain every couple of weeks, thought the first time it was appendicitus. This has also reoccured over the past few years, but not as badly. I am a small person and generally need to do a lot to keep my weight up, but in the past few monthes, it has been a real challenge because I have been ill, my weight keeps dropping, so many people they could loose weight, when I loose weight I look to thin and boney, I am supposed to be about 120 or maybe a little more, but now I am lucky if I can push my weight up past 114-115. My joints in my hands have also starting swelling, not sure why. My doctor gave me test for Anemia and a Barium x-ray for to check out my intestines and found a blockage in thier right now I am on anti-biotics.He hasn't made a diagnosis yet, but thinks it maybe something called IBD.

 

[Mojito]

I hope you get to the bottem of it, Nicolletta - that sounds ghastly, and it's no picnic if you're going through a battery of tests and possible surgery.

Daisy, you've been to hell and back I had major kidney problems for much of my childhood, culiminating in an operation to remove a rib and half a kidney. Even then there were recovery snags, and I collapsed after a day at the beach and was hospitalised further. There were also fears of a heart condition and possible Marfans syndrome. So I know something of what it's like to have so many needles and tests, in and out of specialists offices, uncertain about what's around the corner...but nothing like to the extent you've suffered and continue to suffer.

Shopping is indeed therapeutic - although I've been known to use it to over-medicate!

 

[Kim_B]

I know how it feels to live with a digestive disorder - granted not nearly the scope of Daisy's illness! There are days when I have to plan my activities around it, and have missed many important events because of it. I remember when my doctor told me I had IBS, I cried! She thought that was odd, but I told her it was because I was just happy to finally know what was wrong with me and be able to do something about it.

I say, do whatever you can to help yourself feel better - mentally, emotionally, and physically...including shopping!

 

[ITG]

Pics???????

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Thanks Mojito! It has been tough, but I keep a smile on my face, it's the only way I can make myself feel better. I'm so sorry you had to go through health problems too. I wouldn't wish them upon anybody. Are you well now?

Nicoletta, I hope you take some time to research IBD. IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a characterization for 2 illnesses, Crohn's Disease and Colitis. The two illness are similar, but Colitis only affects the large intestine, Crohn's affects the entire GI tract and can affect the joints, in particular the hands and the spine (a secondary illness called Ankylosing Spondilitis). A great place to get a good explanation of CD and Colitis is The Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America I am an active member of this organization and they have been a great help to me ever since I was diagnosed 7 years ago.
I would suggest, and this is just an observation, that if the doctor you are going to say's "it maybe something called IBD", I would see another doctor. No doctor should be running these tests on you and not giving you a clear explanation as to why and a good explanation of what the illness is. Usually doctor's don't even call it IBD, they either say Crohn's or Colitis. Do some research on Gastroenterologists in your area, interview a few. The relationship you have with your doctor is going to be one of the most important you have in your life, especially if you are diagnosed with an incurable illness. I adore both my Gastroenterologist and Rheumatologist. My case has been incredibly involved, but I have the phone number's for the back lines directly to their offices, which they don't give to many patients. I can call them any time day or night. If I say I need to see one of them, they see me that day, even if it means they have to stay late.
Some things you should know. Don't be scared about what I've been through. I, for some unknown reason, have a severe case. This isn't common with CD cases. For some reason I am resistant to many of the approved CD drugs. I have never had a successful remission, but this is not common. Most of the people I know with CD or Colitis have had surgery to move the infected part of their bowel, they go on maintenance drugs and never have a problem again. With me, they have removed as much bowel as they can, I have learned to live with the infection that they can't remove. They can't remove it because I don't have much left, I have only 2 inches of large intestine, and can't afford to lose any more of the small intestine. I also have adhesions. This is scar tissue that can develop after a major surgery. I have had it removed once, but it grew back. It is wrapping around what's left of my small intestine, my kidney's and my liver. They won't operate again for the more they cut, the greater the risk of developing scar tissue. It causes pain and makes it very hard to eat. That's why I take all of those pain killers. So, my case is different than most. CD never present's the same way in different people, that's what makes it so hard to diagnose. But, rest assured, you can have the obstruction removed, go on meds and never be bothered again by it.
Also, as I hope your doctor has told you, diet is incredibly important for IBD patients. If you are in a flare, you should be on a "low residue diet", I'm sure you can get a copy from your GI doc, or on the internet. Obviously stay away from spicy foods and foods that are fibrous.
Did they put you on Cipro or Flagyll (metronidizole)? Be careful on them. Cipro can intensify the effects of caffeine, which can end up making you feel really sick. Flagyll reacts very badly with alcohol. It will make you violently ill, don't drink if you are taking it.
If you're in any kind of pain, don't be scared to ask for pain management. If you are going to a doctor who won't prescribe pain killers, find another one. Any good doctor knows that these diseases are painful. Also another benefit of pain killers like percocet (oxycodone) is that it slows down the gut, so it helps food stay in longer. Try your hardest not to have to be put on prednisone. It's a steroid and the side effects suck! I had a really bad flare last October, was in the hospital for over 2 weeks. They put me on really high doses of prednisone to gain weight and also because the part of my bowel where they reconnected my intestines during surgery was on the verge of ripping apart from all of the swelling. I gained a miserable amount of weight on these drugs, way more than needed! And, it made me incredibly emotional. You can't just stop taking it either, because your body becomes dependent on it, so you have to wean off of it, which means you end up being on it for a long time. It also makes your face swell and become very red. My face is more than twice the size it used to be.
Barium tests are never fun. I go in for upper gi's and CT's every 3 months, I dread them. I did have a very cool test last year, a capsule endoscopy. You swallow a small camera and put on a belt with a computer in it. The camera transmits the pictures of your insides to the computer. It's a very comprehensive test, it takes thousands of pictures, something like one every 3 seconds. It's really incredible, but very expensive. A lot of insurance companies won't cover it unless all other options are exhausted.
Well, check out the CCFA website and do some research on CD and Colitis. An informed patient gets much better care.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I know how it feels to live with a digestive disorder - granted not nearly the scope of Daisy's illness! There are days when I have to plan my activities around it, and have missed many important events because of it. I remember when my doctor told me I had IBS, I cried! She thought that was odd, but I told her it was because I was just happy to finally know what was wrong with me and be able to do something about it.

I say, do whatever you can to help yourself feel better - mentally, emotionally, and physically...including shopping!

I'm so sorry to hear you have IBS. There is a drug that has been on the market now for about a year, I think it's only approved for women, but it's supposed to work wonders for IBS patients. It's called Zelnorm. Here's an interesting article on it, if you haven't heard of it http://www.ibsgroup.org/php/articles.phtml?oid=293106832 . Also, Dannon makes a yogurt called Activia. It's got a lot of pro biotics, and is supposed to be great for digestive health. I have yet to try it, but a friend with CD has, and she said it's actually making her feel better! I totally know that feeling. It took the doctors 7 months to diagnose me. When I heard the news I cried too! The doctor started going on about all of the advances in the treatment of CD, I said "NO! I'm just happy to know what the heck is going on with my body!" The crying about the diagnosis came later, when I found out that I had to have surgery. I perked up pretty quickly though, for soon after the diagnosis I had my first dilauded injection!! It's 100x stronger than morphine, really is amazing stuff, makes everything all better, in a matter of less than a second! Golly, I sound like I have a problem
Not that I would wish this upon anybody, but it's nice to hear that somebody else can understand this. Hearing you say you have to plan things around it brought tears to my eyes! I totally know what you're going through. For the first year after I got diagnosed I wouldn't eat in public, unless I was very close to home. Even now, especially since I no longer have a colon, when I eat out I eat very little, especially if I want to go out after eating. I feel for you in regards to missing important events. I have missed many too, including my best friends wedding. She was so understanding, I was in the hospital, there was no way I could go. She actually called me after the ceremony, before they went on to the reception, to see if I was OK! On her wedding day, she was thinking of me! I'm lucky to have a friend like her. Support is so important. Understanding is even more important. Getting up in the morning and saying to yourself I'm not going to let this take over my life is the most important thing.

 

[Kim_B]

Daisy, thanks for that link...

Nicoletta, I hope everything turns out well for you - do keep us posted on what you find out with your tests and things. And I was just re-reading the description of your purchase - sounds absolutely divine!!

 

[goldwyn girl]

Daisy, when I read all that you have been through it brought me to tears.

 

[mysterygal]

I hope you start feeling better soon too Nic! Shopping is a great remedy for all sorts of things though! There's nothing like the euphoric shopping high one gets when they find that perfect 'something'
Look forward to see what all you got!!!!
Take care Nic

 

[LadyStardust]

I have to echo goldwyn girl, Daisy. My own lifelong battle has been with chronic bronchitis, but even my most severe bouts simply pale in comparison to your ordeal. You are amazingly courageous, and I have so much respect for you for being able to handle all that and still be the class act you are. I wish I could send you more than a massive virtual hug.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Thanks so much ladies
Support from friends and family is the best way to make anyone who is battling any type of illness feel better.
We all have our circumstances, we all handle them in different ways. I am so lucky that I have such sweet ladies to talk to, as well as an incredibly supportive best friend, Mr. Hemingway Jones, who is my hospital taxi and provides a strong hand to hold when I need it the most. I also have an amazing Mom and Dad, who are 2 of the greatest, most supportive people in the world. I don't know what I would do without the support I have. But, I always remind myself that things could always be worse. So I take what I have been handed, and for most of the time, I take it with a smile. We only have one life to live, so we must live it well!!!!

Nic, keep us posted on how you are feeling and if you need any support or have any questions, I'm here. I really do know what you are going through. But always remember that it will surely get better, especially now that they know what's going on.

 

[Elaina]

You certainly have my sympathy, Daisy.

I tell my doctor he sucks. He finally changed me from having "non-Hodgkins lymphnoma" (of which I don't have) to lupus (of which I don't have). But I get good drugs. (I don't take them, but that's something else.)

When I got diagnosed with cancer (the first words out of my mouth was "No, I don't") I got a free 3 week vacation in the looney bin (and let me tell you, there are some crazy people in there). Apparently, you're not supposed to be okay with getting told you've got a year to live. I did one treatment of chemo and three days in the hospital before I said no more. You have more paitence then I do, for sure.

I hope you feel better, all you guys.

 

[NicolettaRose]

Some of my purcheses from that day:

1940's hat

Late 1930's bag

Got the hat, and just got the dress back from the tailors.

1930's housedress, not a very good pic, much better in real life

 

[LizzieMaine]

Some very nice finds there -- I especially like the collar detailing on the dark (black or dark blue?) dress! Very flattering!

 

[NicolettaRose]

Hi there Lizzie, thanks! Its Black with pink and rhinestone detailing.

 

[goldwyn girl]

That black frock is lovely