Hi Miss K,
I live in Perth, but I was in Melbourne for a wedding when all this started, so thats probably where you got the Melbourne thing from! I love it there, would love to live there too, and have been contemplating it, as my brother lives there, and so does my best friend. My other brother lives in Canberra, so I'd be closer to him too.
I can imagine that living in Central Aus would make it hard to see specialists! It's good that your general surgeon has a plan and a deadline for you.. it seems that they are taking your issues seriously, which is good. Mine do take me seriously, but after 6 months, it feels like they are just about temporary fixes, and don't have a long term plan in mind for me. Which I know is difficult for them, but for me, 6 months is just too much to bear.
I haven't been able to work at all, except for a few days here and there, but it's just been too difficult with the pain, and if I have to have a BM, I have to race home, because I always need to sort myself out with a shower or a bath after because of the pain, and then sort myself out with painkillers.
Had another BM last night, that's 1 a day for the last 2 days, but it's still incredibly painful, still having a lot of blood loss, and I was awake until about 5.30am as I couldn't sleep due to the pain. Which is really difficult when you have 3 kids at home to look after!
Talked to one of my surgeons this morning, and he is very compassionate and sympathetic to my cause. I asked him about a temporary colostomy, and he said that was quite a drastic measure, but they wouldn't rule it out if I need it. He is meeting with a Professor of Colo-Rectal surgery this morning to discuss my case, as apparently she is the best in the field in Perth. So I am waiting on a call back from him to see how it went, and he is hoping to get me in with both himself and the professor this week to discuss my options. Which gives me a certain sense of relief!
I have bought some Quinoa, I haven't cooked it yet, but I am making a chicken and vegetable soup for dinner tonight that has quinoa in it, so I will see how it goes!
How long have you been having your problems for?