Gastric Pacemaker: Back on Track!
When I last posted, I was at the Mayo Clinic having my gastric pacemaker settings re-adjusted. After I met with Dr. Fox on Friday, it seemed as if the flare-up was gradually starting to subside.
I had a return appointment on Tuesday afternoon. My doctor was out sick for the day, so instead I saw Dr. Robert Kraichely, who is also part of the gastric neurostimulator program at Mayo. Dr. Kraichely checked the pacemaker settings and realized that Friday’s adjustment hadn’t saved either. The settings were still “out of whack,” for lack of a more technical term.
At this point, I was starting to get nervous that something was wrong with my device. Dr. Kraichely tried again, increasing the current to 7.5 and doubling another setting, both of which he said were pretty small changes. Whatever he did worked. This time the update was registering just fine. He graciously invited me to come back the next day before our 16-hour drive home to double-check that it was still set properly. Thankfully, it was.
So I’m home now and the flare-up I experienced after the first follow-up appointment is over. The vomiting has become far less frequent again and I’m not as nauseous. I’m mostly back to where I was in the five weeks post-surgery and I’m very grateful for that!
Other notes from my visit with Dr. Kraichely:
- He indicated that he wouldn’t recommend changing the settings — or assessing the success of a particular setting — for at least 4-6 weeks. It sounds as if the improvements may be happen more gradually than I originally thought. So I need to be more patient…
- He agreed that finding an experienced gastric pacemaker doctor or surgeon closer to home would be a good idea. Sixteen hours each way – plus staying several nights in hotels – is time-consuming and expensive. So I’ll be looking for a doctor that will be willing to work in conjunction with my docs at Mayo for short or non-routine appointments, with Mayo taking the lead of course since I’m part of their Enterra program (and I love them).
Oddly, since the appointment on Tuesday my abdomen visibly contracts every 5 seconds or so for quite a while after I eat or drink something. My family finds it entertaining but, while it doesn’t hurt, it’s a bit uncomfortable. I’m really not sure if this is normal so I’m looking into it. At least I know the pacemaker is working!
As of this week, I’m keeping a daily journal so that I can accurately track my symptoms and my progress, as well as hopefully identify what works and what doesn’t as I start to (slowly!) expand my diet over the next few months. I’ll be sure to keep posting updates!
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