Hmmm, What Do I Call This One?

[peleroja]

How to mess up a Hawaiian vacation in one easy lesson OR
Am I still a PD virgin? OR
Which came first, the chicken or the egg OR
You pick a name

Four days into my Hawaiian vacation, having seen nothing but ocean, I had my first ever cloudy bag (been on PD for 5 years).  A visit to the ship's infirmary and he decided it was peritonitis and "cellulitis umbilicus."  The next day we docked at Hilo and they whisked me away via ambulance to the Hilo Medical Center, where they ultimately decided I had an infected abdominal hernia as well as peritonitis.  So, one surgery, many, many IV drugs. practically no food and 10 days later, they decided I was stable and the insurance company (boy am I glad I bought the travel insurance this time!!!!!), flew me home first class (one thing off my to do before I die list), and someone with my name on a sign (another thing off the list) picked me up in a van and delivered me home.

Remember the word stable?  Yeah, I was stable enough to fly, but not "well."  Less than 12 hours after landing I was at the Bellflower Hospital where they determined that because I had pseudomonas (couldn't even have "real" monas, just pseudo), my PD catheter had to be removed, which they did.

So, now I have a permacath (again) and am once again on hemo, which was where I started 5 years ago.  The good news is that the doc says in 6 weeks she's going to refer me back to the surgeon for another PD catheter.

As to the virgin question.  If the hernia came first and the infection caused the peritonitis, then I feel I'm still a PD virgin cuz the peritonitis wasn't caused by anything I did wrong on PD.  Your call.

So, how has everyone else been while I was gone?!?!?!?!?

[David13]

So sorry to hear about the peritonitis.  It is especially difficult coming as it did while you were supposed to be on vacation. 

Glad to hear you are feeling better.  And, just for the record, I definitely still consider you to be a "PD virgin".   

[jbeany]

Aww, what a lousy way to end a vacation!  Hope you soaked up enough sun to last until you can go again!

[jessup]

Sorry to hear your holiday was not all you wanted it to be.
Buggar
Hope you are recovering and feeling better
 

[kitkatz]

Sorry your vacation ended on such a sucky note.  Get well quick!

[okarol]

Jeez that's awful. I hope you get a chance to re-do your vacation! Feel better soon! 

[Red from Canada]

Peleroja, I was so sorry to hear about your tube removal.  Me too.!  I had pseudomas in my tunnel, so they pulled the tube, put in a hemo  atheter, and then a few days later put in a new tube in the other side, which is now healing.  I sure hope to be back on PD soon, maybe 6 weeks.  Let's hope we both get back on PD fast.  Good luck!

[G-Ma]

I hope you get back on PD soon.............question:  will travel ins pay for a re-trip??? 

[Sunny]

There you are trying to have a nice vacation and look what happens. Not fair.
I'm glad to hear they took good care of you, though. Smart to buy travel insurance. I always do.
Get better soon.

[peleroja]

Thanks everyone for your well wishes and shoulders to cry on.  Slowly I heal.  Been to hemo twice and I hate it already lol.  Doesn't seem quite like the adventure it was 5 years ago.  Ah, well, life goes on.  At least I have the possibility of going back on PD to look forward to.  That, and a whole lot of friends willing to go places with me and make good suggestions.  My hair is down to my derriere and I was wondering how to get it clean, and my friend suggested Fantastic Sam's.  They only charged me $5 to wash, condition, towel dry and comb out.  I feel like a new woman!

Oh, G-Ma, they don't pay for a re-trip, but they promise me 150% of the purchase price.  Not a bad deal.

[boxman55]

Wow sorry to hear you had to go thru all that. Your travel ins. paid for all the hoopla at least you didn't have to worry about that otherwise you would still be in Hawaii. Boxman

[thegrammalady]

hope you're feeling your old self soon

[kellyt]

   Sorry you had to go through all that, especially while vacation!  I hope you are now on the road to full recovery.

[monrein]

So sad to hear this news Peleroja.  Hopefully it won't be too too ling before you're back to PD and your routine.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Peleroja this must have been just before I had my peritonitus. The home sister usually does my line change at home but this time it was done at clinic just two days before peritonitus started so I'm betting that's when I was infected. I follow the heigene routine to the letter and always have done.

Peleroja are you seriously considering going back onto PD after the kind of agonising pain peritonitis caused you? The thought of more surgery, all the healing process, restarting PD and possibly having to go through another bout of peritonitis? I've heard it said on here that Pseudomonas can often return once you've had it. You are a far braver person than I.

[Red from Canada]

ken, I too have just had a tube removed for a pseudomonas infection and had another tube replaced 4 days later on the other side.  I would go to ANY lengths to stay on PD as long as possible.  It gives me so much more freedom and flexibility and much less dietary and fluid restrictions.  I really do hate being on Hemo.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Red you brave brave lady. To have surgery to remove the tube and then have more surgery 4 days later, how painful that must have been.For the time being I'm staying on haemo I couldn't face more surgery yet.

[peleroja]

Ken, try this on for size.  I was supposed to have the PD catheter removed one day and the permacath inserted the next day.  Well, hospitals being what they are, I ended up having both surgeries the same day, plus a pick line.  That equates to 4 surgeries within 15 day, counting the infected abdominal hernia which got removed in Hawaii.  My chest looks like the road map of Philadelphia!  As for the peritonitis, I didn't find it to be "agonizing pain."  I thought it felt just like gas  And, just like Red, I will do anything to go back on PD.  Both my neph and another one say it was the infected hernia that caused the peritonitis, so they still consider me a "PD virgin," in that nothing I did wrong caused my peritonitis. 65 and still a virgin 

[pelagia]

Dear P, sorry to hear all you have been through.  Again, I don't know why it has taken me so long to find this thread, but well wishes late are better than none, I hope.   

[peleroja]

pelagia, well wishes are ALWAYS welcome.  Thanks.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

Peleroja you deserve a medal of honour for all that surgery. Maybe if my experience of the peritonitis just felt like gas I would be seroiusly thinking about resuming APD. But the only way I can describe the pain for me is like I had a thousand metal spikes trying to poke their way out of my abdomen!

[peleroja]

Ken, I suspect if I had pain like you describe, I, too, would not be seeking PD again.  In fact, I was so sure it was gas, I got them to give me simethicone to "break up the gas" so I could burp and do other things.  Not once did I consider it "pain," merely discomfort.  I guess everyone reacts to pain/discomfort differently.