September 20, 2014

First Indications of Cancer

Since my stem cell transplant in 1997, I have had issues resulting in small bowel blockages. They are quite painful and a few have resulted in hospitalization but no surgery. We, Carol and I, have struggled to figure out what was causing the blockage. The MDs(Doctors) were baffled. I was tested for allergies but the allergist found nothing. In addition, I also had low protein and albumin. This was curious because I was eating food with high protein.

Dr Ballinger, my GI MD, and Carol finally figured this out. Carol asked if there could be something blocking the digestion of protein. Dr Ballinger did some research on this and discovered a few cases in which that occurred. Protein is digested after fat. Since I was also eating a high fat diet my body was discharging the protein. We changed to a very low fat diet and my protein level rose, never to a normal level but much closer.

Lets get back to the blockage. Over the 17 years since my transplant I would endure the pain of a blockage until I vomited and the pain would ease. The last time I required hospitalization was in 2012. Carol and I finally figured out what was happening. I did not chew my food properly. If I had beef for lunch and was in a hurry, I gulped and usually ended up with a blockage.

 However, this September something else happened. I did not eat beef but chicken. After vomiting the pain continued. I was in agony and had Carol drive me to the hospital. The MDs gave me some morphine, stuck a garden hose up my hose (actually the ER nurse who performed this was fantastic), and admitted me to the hospital. This was a Saturday morning. I scrambled to find a replacement. Fortunately I the Rev Dr. Roxie Davies was available. The blockage finally dissolved and I was released on Tuesday.

After one of these episodes Carol puts me on a all liquid to very soft diet. Nothing solid and certainly no meats. My body responded and eventually I returned to a normal diet.