Megan Derrick Megan's Cleveland Journey

In February 2016 I started having GI symptoms that were just not going away, a few weeks later I had a EGD done and my gastro found that my stomach wasn't pumping like it was suppose to, this was a sign of Gastroparesis meaning my stomach wouldn't empty out like it should. After trying Reglan and a medicine from Canada that was non fda approved with no improvement it was time to try and get into the Cleveland Clinic. After a lot of weight loss and abdominal discomfort I was able to see Dr Cline from the Cleveland Clinic. So on August 9th 2016 we made our way to Cleveland to see Dr. Cline. After talking with the doctor he agreed that something was going on and that it wasn't just my stomach but also my small and large intestine, so I had to have a test called the Smart Pill performed. In October 2016 we headed down to Long Island for this specialized test and I'm so glad I had this done, it did show that not only was my stomach affected but my small and large intestine were severely affected as well. Only one medicine would be able to help with this and that was called Propulsid and my body just didn't do well on that medicine. This meant I had to be sent to Gut Rehab and Intestinal Rehab portion of Cleveland Clinic, so February of 2017 I saw Dr. Shatanwei and started the process of test and blood work to be seen by the surgeon that will be doing my surgery on January 26th. Many months passed, In June 2017 I got my first feeding tube called an NJ tube. This gave me the nutrition I needed straight to my small intestine where nutrients are absorbed. After 4 months with the NJ tube I was able to switch to a GJ tube which is what I have right now. This tube is right in my stomach and I do my feedings at night with my pump. I have a major surgery coming up on January 26th and that will include a pyloroplasty, chimney ileostomy, exploratory laporatomy and a partial colectomy. This surgery will take anywhere from 8 to 14 hours. I will be in the hospital for about 10 to 14 days and will have to stay in a hotel by the hospital for at least two weeks. I look forward to the days ahead of me and hopefully this surgery will make me feel S0 much better!!!!