surgery – Dystonia and Me

Archive, January 2023

Surgery 1 Done

Posted on January 3, 2023 by dystoniaandme

Well that’s the first surgery of the year done and dusted. After much anxiety over preop appointments falling through, fear of it being cancelled due to arriving on the ward and finding out that surprise surprise I had a temperature, and the team not being overly sure over the best way to handle my misbehaving jaw – to now be recovering on the ward is such a relief.

There had been some back and forth over how they were going to carry out the surgery due to my jaw having the potential to spasm and dislocate which could impact their management. My last surgery went fine until waking up when it dislocated and I needed to be sedated to have it relocated. A situation we all wanted to avoid repeating. One option presented was to have a spinal anaesthesia and be awake. I declined this as my neurology team have always stressed that they don’t want anything invasive being done to my spine due to all my health complications. This disappointed the team here and we chatted about this a few times, as understandably to them this was the safest way to proceed, however I chose to go ahead with the general as my neurologist was always very clear on the matter.

It went really well which is fantastic. They’ve inserted a suprapubic catheter; which is a catheter that is inserted through an incision in my lower abdomen and into a small incision in the bladder. I’ve had bladder issues for about eleven years now but over the last year these got severe. I reached the point in the summer where my bladder just stopped working and I was unable to void anymore. We tried intermittent catheterising but due to my tremors and spasms in my hands along with frequent dislocations in my fingers this was impossible on some days. Over the last few months I’ve ended up in hospital on multiple occasions with UTIs, kidney infections and retention.

When my consultant originally announced this next step I felt quite down. It seemed like such a spiral in health and I was overwhelmed. However I’ve had time to come around to it all and the relief I now feel having had the operation is significant. This should hopefully mean I start feeling much better, infections should stop being a regular occurrence and life should return to its usual level of uniqueness. So I’m embracing my new addition with a happy heart. Now to recover and get well enough for surgery no2 on my jaw.

Archive, November 2022

Fridays Ambulance Call Out

Posted on November 27, 2022 by dystoniaandme

As the early light of Friday morning broke through the damp cover of night I lay in bed counting the minutes until my Drs practice opened. The pain in my lower back had been agony all night and I suspected my ongoing UTI had progressed. After a night of no sleep 8am couldn’t arrive quick enough.

By the time I arrived at my doctor’s for my 11am appointment my temp had hit 40.3c and I was in urinary retention, my heart rate and blood pressure were through the roof. I can vaguely remember being encouraged out of my wheelchair chair and onto the bed whilst they phoned an ambulance. Shivering with fever chills, and desperately tired. Three hours later I was in the back of an ambulance on my way to the hospital.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen A&E so busy. The staff were amazing and after quickly establishing my veins were playing hide and collapse they had an ultrasound out to guide them. They hooked me straight up to antibiotics for an upper kidney infection and told me urology would make me a plan.

Saturday morning three burly Urology consultants appeared at the end of my bed. “What would you like us to do?” The question caught me offguard. I’m rather used to staying quiet and listening so as not insult god complexes, or putting my thoughts across in a tonned down manner. When I explained I’d be happy to be guided by them, it was really refreshing as they took the moment to explain my options. I could that day under local anesthesia have a suprapubic catheter put in: this would involve a small incision in the tummy allowing them to put the catheter through and to the bladder. Alternatively I could have an indwelling urethera catheter and go home, to come back at a later to have the suprapubic catheter put in under a general. I chose the latter option giving them a brief explanation about my Ehlers-Danlos and how due to EDS you can pump me full of local but I’ll still feel everything. They happily accepted my decision .

Back in 2019 whilst pregnant with my daughter I’d agreed to surgery where they attempted to remove a large suspicious mole from my breast without pain relief or sedation due to the pregnancy. The local failed. I felt every cut. The team did their best to distract me but the whole thing was traumatic. I made the decision at the time to not put myself back in that situation ever again. So even though the suprapubic catheter is meant to be better long term I’m happy to wait a few extra days/weeks for it if it means they can put me under.

So why has this all happened? My guess is that it’s down to the Ehlers-Danlos. My bladder has been dodgy for well over a decade, it’s just recently sped up in its decline. I’m feeling a little emotionally up and down, frustrated mainly but I think it’s healthy to acknowledge that. I know this will all feel normal soon.

*On a side note if you use catheters and have any tips on making it more comfortable please get in touch!

March 2021

Medication Success

Posted on March 28, 2021 by dystoniaandme

As I have mentioned previously following a discussion with my neurologist I tried a couple of different medications to see if we could get a better handle on my spasms. In particular the spasms around my jaw as these cause me significant issues with pain, dislocations, and make it next to impossible some days to relocate my jaw; I’ve had the joy previously of coming round from an operation to have my jaw relocated under GA, only to dislocate when I wake up due to spasms, and have my surgeon coming running over to put it back in and bandage my jaw up. Not a pleasant experience.

Trihexyphenidyl is the medication we have added into my daily regime and it has made a huge difference. Little things like I can brush my teeth now with an adult sized toothbrush rather than a children’s one are possible, and instead of dislocating my jaw by brushing my teeth, my jaw is just in a small spasm and achy. My son commented the other day on the fact that my face isn’t wonky all the time and asked if my Jaw Dr had fixed my jaw. We had a quick chat about mummy’s silly brain and moved on, but for me that showed just how amazing this medicine has been.

I saw my neurologist the other week and he has suggested increasing the dosage further as I am currently not experiencing any side effects. I’m waiting to receive a copy of his letter to my gp explaining that I have the go ahead to do this at my own pace, so we can see just what improvements we can get.

Right now, thanks to lovely female hormones, I’m sitting here feeling quite sore all over as my body goes downhill each month due to the fluctuating hormonal changes. I’ve had several subluxes today in shoulder which have in turn aggravated neck spasms. Normally I’d be quite grumpy about all of this, and yes I’m not exactly thrilled, but having the Dystonia side of things more controlled doesn’t half make coping with the EDS etc, easier. Everything just feels that little bit more manageable right now, and that’s fantastic.

Archive, March 2019

The trauma of Anesthetic Free Surgery

Posted on March 2, 2019February 24, 2022 by dystoniaandme

At the start of January, I underwent a small surgery. I’d known for several weeks that I had needed it but due to being pregnant my surgeon wanted to wait until I was safely into the second trimester before we risked putting my body through the stress of it. I am by no means a stranger to surgery; due to my varying conditions I’ve had more surgeries than I care to think about. Whilst I was naturally nervous with all of them, this one was by far the worst. With my previous surgeries, it had always been carried out under a general anesthetic, this time, however, as much as I would have far preferred to be knocked out, I was wide awake and able to feel everything.

My surgeon had made it clear to me from the start that if he could have put me to sleep he would have done, but as it was a quick surgery he didn’t want to do so due to the pregnancy. A decision that I fully agreed with. The complication we faced was that I experience no response to the local anesthetic. It doesn’t matter the type or amount you inject me with, it does nothing. This is down to my Classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. My surgical team and I have a very good relationship, and we talked at length about the possible sedative medications we could use to help me through the procedure; ultimately it transpired that the few medications that were appropriate to use I am severely allergic too. With no other options, I consented to undergo the surgery with no anesthesia or pain relief.

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Clambering onto the operating table, staring up at the bright lights above and conversing with the operating surgeon went against everything that felt natural to me. My surgeon cracked joke after joke, trying to keep me focused on anything but the pain that his scalpel inflicted. Having to force yourself to lie steady, and not scream for help whilst someone is cutting into you, to try not to curl up in a ball and cry hysterically is hell. If I hadn’t needed the operation I would not have put myself through it.

I had wrongly presumed that because I can handle dislocations like a pro that this surgery would not be that much harder. Instead, I find myself waking up at night in a cold sweat, gripping my duvet, absolutely consumed with fear. Night after night I go to sleep and dream I am back on the operating table except for this time the pain never stops, the surgeon just keeps cutting bits of me away until there is nothing left.

I am fairly certain that the nightmares are getting worse due to the possibility of needing a c-section in the not so distant future due to a low-lying placenta. Whilst I know if this is the case my team will put me under for the operation, the irrational part of me has still built up a fear of once again being on the table able to feel everything. A position I hope never to be in again.

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Archive, Feb 2019

Three Becomes Four

Posted on February 26, 2019February 24, 2022 by dystoniaandme

As some of you may already be aware of from my other social media channels, we are delighted to announce that we are expecting our second child this summer. I had many concerns at the start of my pregnancy due to my previous poor experience in having my health insufficiently managed whilst I was pregnant with my son. This naturally left me with many worries as it was not an experience that I wish to repeat. My current GP is incredibly supportive and refreshingly up-to-date with his knowledge on my mix of conditions which has meant that so far *touch wood* although the pregnancy is complicated it has gone much smoother than we had expected.

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I decided to take a few steps back from my blog in the beginning months. My health was really not great and whilst normally I would process how this was impacting me by writing about my experience here I didn’t want to blog about the pregnancy until we were past the halfway point; nor did I want to write half stories. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting blogs reflecting on the different things I experienced in this time. I’ll be touching on being your own advocate to doctors, the emotional trauma/impact of going through surgery without anesthesia or pain relief, and acceptance when doctors tell you your the worse case they’ve seen but there’s nothing more they can do for you. The last few months have been easier than my first pregnancy yet extremely hard in their own way.

I’m currently awaiting the results of further testing as once again my cardiac problems have reared their ugly head. I spend most days with a resting heart rate of 130+. It’s uncomfortable, to put it mildly. We recently discovered that the type of EDS I was originally diagnosed with was incorrect and that I actually have Classical Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which may explain my current cardiac complications. I have a few more tests to go before we know more.

This has been a very quick overview of the last few months which I apologize for, but there’s a whole series of posts coming soon.

September

I can smile!

Posted on September 22, 2012February 24, 2022 by dystoniaandme

For the first time since July 22nd I can smile! It takes a bit of effort due to all the botoux but I don’t care!!!

The operation so far is looking like a success! No pain, I can open my mouth, I can chew, my lips are still a tiny bit wonky but I don’t care, it can take a few days to see the full results of the botoux. Having no pain in my face, is the most amazing feeling! Now when my face decides to spasm, its is only my eyes, mouth and nose that spasm, my cheeks stay blissfully still!

I feel so lucky to have been treated by a surgeon who actually understands what Dystonia is, who listens to what you have to say and cares and likes to put some extra amount of botoux in as he finds it has better results!

So little dystonia alien, I feel like that’s another point to me… I’m catching up.

🙂

September

I have a treatment date :-)

Posted on September 18, 2012February 24, 2022 by dystoniaandme

After the disappointment of having my last treatment date cancelled, I have finally been given a new date…For tomorrow!! I am extremely happy and excited. Though I am trying to contain the excitement a little bit as my face has developed a new spasm since my lovely surgeon last saw me.

The surgery will consist of my jaw joint being washed out, the jaw wiring being removed and botoux injections being administered to both sides of the jaw. All of this will hopefully mean that I will finally be able to open my mouth, chew, talk properly and no longer have the horrid jaw jaw wiring slicing my cheek open every few minutes.

I am a very happy girl.

😀