#NoGutsNoGlory A Gastroparesis Story

WE HAVE MET OUR GOAL! We are currently sitting at $5,543.00 as of 04/22/22. Anything over the $5,000 goal will be used for the medical bills from this trip! Thank you so much to my donors... YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

Hello! My name is Camille Posten, and I am a 23-year-old with a body that just doesn’t like to cooperate. I’m also a 23-year-old not ready to give up on the hope that one day I will be able to manage my health issues and get back into living the life I would like. I enjoy being active in my hobbies, being there for my family and friends, fostering animals, and advocating for those who are overlooked. I do my best to make lemonade out of lemons, even when the going gets tough.

 

The going is tough right now. My doctors have decided that it would be best for me to go to Mayo Clinic. I sure hope they can find a way to make life just a bit less complicated.

 

I have had issues with my digestive tract since I was just a little dude at 6 months. I have had to deal with my sensitive stomach and nutrient deficiencies for as long as I can remember. In 2018 my stomach decided to be very slow and make everyday living a challenge.

 

I was diagnosed with gastroparesis that year. My gastroenterologist put me on the gastroparesis diet and hoped for the best. In 2019, they tried out Motegrity to see if that would help manage my nausea, vomiting, other GI issues and make me feel more comfortable. I was back after about 6 months with the same symptoms as before. At that time, the gastroenterologist I had in town wasn’t the greatest. So, I hopped around and got multiple opinions from different gastroenterologists here in Casper and Denver.

 

My Gastroenterologist struggle soon came to an end in early 2020 when I was able to see Dr. Fishman in Denver. He was able to change meds and work with me via telehealth during the pandemic. He was a godsend for me at the time. Unfortunately, It was getting more difficult for Dr. Fishman to keep up with my progressing symptoms, so he recommended that I look for someone more local to be his boots on the ground. That is when I met Dr. Cloud here in Casper.

 

Dr. Cloud was able to get my GI issues stable for almost a year. We figured out that I have autoimmune gastritis, a very slow small intestine that causes small intestine bacterial overgrowth, and IBS. He started me on Domperidone for my gastroparesis and started working on solutions for my other issues. I was feeling pretty good! I got to enjoy family meals, hangouts with friends, and baking for about 10 months. Being a huge foodie, that was a big win for me.

 

I learned to expect that my gastroparesis would progress, but I never expected that it would hit me like a freight train. In January of this year, I caught covid. I lost my appetite and had a hell of a time being able to keep anything in. Water and clear fluids were massively painful, so much so that Dr. Cloud ran me through a myriad of tests trying to figure out why I suddenly couldn’t eat or drink. Those tests came back normal or near-normal, yet I kept getting worse. I have lost nearly 30lbs in less than 2 months, been to the ER a couple of times due to dehydration, and my orthostatic hypotension has gotten bad enough I pass out way more than I used to. Those issues have all been tied to me not being able to keep up with my fluid and nutrition needs. Thankfully, Dr. Cloud has put me on a medication that helps with the pain, but that is not a long-term solution… it is barely a short-term solution as that medication does nothing to release the nutrition from my locked down stomach.

 

Dr. Cloud decided to send me to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I have an appointment on April 26th and a GI transit scan that lasts for the following 3 days. This is an open-ended trip, so we have no idea how long I will be up there. The scheduling person at Mayo told me to stay in Rochester, MN for 7-10 business days just in case the doctor wants to do more testing after my initial scan. Dr. Cloud has told me to anticipate the possibility of surgery, be it a G POEMS surgery that opens the bottom sphincter of my stomach, or placing tubes in my GI tract so I will be able to meet my nutrition needs. If surgery is the route we take, I will have to stay up there longer or travel back at a later date.

 

Thankfully, I don’t have to go to Mayo by myself! My grandmother can go with me so she can help me keep tabs on all the new info and help me through the decisions I have to make while I am there. We are currently looking at places to stay and travel expenses. We estimate the cost of this trip to be around $5,000. This does not include the medical bills that come up from this trip.

 

Your donations will be used for fuel, food/nutrition, and hotel/air BnB stays to and from Mayo clinic. Anything extra will be applied to the medical bills from this trip. I am a very open person, so I plan on keeping you guys up to date on how this goes.

 

Any help, be it donations or sharing this campaign, is massively appreciated! This trip is hopefully the first step towards a better normal for me. I cannot convey how much it means that you are willing to help me aim for a better future.

 

Thank you for reading,

Camille