Still in the hospital, feeling about the same. It still really hurts to inhale, but none of my doctors are surprised since my left lung has a lot of fluid either around it or in it. Dr. Dunn said I could try another thoracentesis (drain my lung), but didn't have to. I've chosen to have it done. It wasn't traumatic the first time, so I'm fine doing it again, especially if I can get more relief. They're also going to look at my j-tube, which has been giving us trouble now. They took an xray that showed 2 very sharp turns right after it goes in to my intestine. So I guess they're going to try to run a guidewire through it to see if that will straighten out the j-tube. If not, they will replace it. Both the thoracentesis and the j-tube study will happen sometime today - just not sure when.
Another thing - I was kinda craving some cream of wheat earlier, so I was going to give it a try. My hospital diet is restricted to "clear liquids only" so I need it advanced in the system by a doctor to a full liquid diet. (Cream of wheat is considered a liquid.) But, Dr. Dunn wants me to be able to clamp my g-tube for 2 DAYS before I can try eating anything. I've tried clamping before, but can only make it about an hour before I get too nauseous and have to open and drain it. And she wants me NPO (nothing by mouth) for those 2 days. This is going to be SO hard! Right now, I'm drinking tons of water (like 4 liters) every day. It just goes out the tube anyway, but my mouth is so dry all the time that the icy cold, crisp, clear, wonderful water just feels like heaven in my mouth! :-) And once I do that, she wants to just remove the whole g-tube. This really scares the crap out of me! I was actually in tears after she left my room. Yes, that's stupid, I know. It's just a lot of stuff to deal with, I guess. It's my safety net, my comfort blanket, and I'm so scared that I'll go back to the horrible daily nausea that I'm used to and there will be no way to "fix" it.
Lastly, it sounds like I will be able to get out of here tomorrow. I need those 2 procedures done today, then see how I do overnight. As long as everything improves (or at least stays the same), I can go home - yay! Then they will draw blood for more labs on Monday and I will see Dr. Dunn in clinic on Tues. That's when she will tell us how much longer we will need to be out here. My guess is 2 more weeks. If I can keep my g-tube clamped over the weekend, then she can remove it next week. Then we can work on my blood sugars and make sure my insulin is stable. Cross your fingers!
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