Yep, for those unaware, I had a second hospital stay recently. I was discharged from my initial hospital stay on July 20th and had an appointment the following Monday (27th) to see my surgeon for a followup. My stoma didn’t look great, but that’s a different conversation. Otherwise, things were going well enough when I saw my surgeon. Output was still a little high, but I was managing alright. However, that Monday night, my output went nuts again. I ended up going to urgent care for fluids on Tuesday as I was dehydrated. They called my surgeon who then wanted to see me the following day – Wednesday the 29th.

When I saw my surgeon, he prescribed a couple new medications to try. One was a drug similar to Imodium, but more powerful. The other was a cholesterol medication you mixed into a drink. He wanted to see me again on Friday. He also said if I was still feeling bad the next day or prior to my appointment on Friday, I could call his office for a direct admit to the hospital. For those unaware, direct admits are when your doctor admits you to the hospital and bypasses the ER.

I was then up all night Wednesday night emptying my bag. It was filling up every 90-120 minutes. At that speed, not only could I not drink enough to keep up, my digestive system was moving so fast that it couldn’t absorb anything I drank. I made the decision after I got up to call my doctor for a direct admit. I called my doctor’s office to leave a message and a little while later got a call back telling me my doctor had put in the orders and the hospital would give me a call as soon as they had a bed open. To my surprise, nearly as soon as I hung up with my doctor’s office, the hospital called. They had a bed ready. Even with packing a bag for the stay and 35 minute drive, I was settled in my hospital room by 11:30. It took some time for my doctor to put the orders in, but eventually I got put on fluids. After being on fluids for 36 hours, I was finally feeling more like myself. My output was still nuts so I was kept on fluids. It was decided that I would get an IV line I could go home with so I could receive IV fluids at home. My output was still high, but with a plan in place for fluids at home, I was discharged on Monday with an IV called a midline. I’ve taken to calling my midline my “appendage.”

I’ve now gotten fluids three times at home and it’s amazing to me how much better I feel afterwards. We had some kinks to work out with the fluid setup, but we’ve now got it working well. Right now I’m set to get fluids three times a week, but I see my doctor tomorrow and will see if I can get fluids every other day. I got fluids on Friday and the plan had been to wait until Monday for the next round, but I needed them today. I noticeably drag by day two and with a headache that just doesn’t quit until I get fluids. That headache is generally my first sign I’m getting dehydrated, especially since neither tylenol or advil will get rid of it. Hopefully fluids aren’t a permanent thing, but I was aware it was a possible complication when I had surgery a year ago to remove my remaining colon and go from a colostomy to an ileostomy.