Kathleen’s medical madness journey

Kathleen’s medical madness journey Please share this page & ask questions! I’m here as an open book to bring awareness to chronic health Please ask questions, and share this page!

This page was started by one of my best friends, Bernie, whom I consider my sister. She started the page to keep family and friends informed of my status and to raise money for my transplant. I have since taken over and it is now for family, friends and strangers to follow my story and my recovery. The ups and downs and to learn about these terrible diseases. I am here to educate! This is a write up UMMC did on our story. http://umm.edu/programs/transplant/health/patient-stories/liver-transplant/kathleen-dobbs

Man these meds are getting out of hand. I have 15 different types of pills, 1 liquid and 2 different patches one is chan...
12/19/2025

Man these meds are getting out of hand. I have 15 different types of pills, 1 liquid and 2 different patches one is changed every 7 days and one every 3. It’s amazing I haven’t died just from taking my meds wrong.

Saw pain management today and he changed my meds. I’m on a nerve pain now and normal pain meds to see if that tackles the pain. In the hospital both Clayton and I got a little teary because my pin was at a 3. The hope that gave us is … I don’t even have a word. In the hospital they started me on this combo I’m on now but they also had an IV muscle relaxer and IV Dilaudid every 4 hours. BUT that was with the intestines fu***ng up and they have stopped now so my hope is that even without the IV stuff, my pain will be actually manageable!

Seriously though at one point during that stay, I was on IV Dilaudid every 4 hours, IV muscle relaxer every 12 hours, a liquid nerve pain med 2-3 times a day and a Fentanyl patch. I was STILL at a pain of 3. Which is amazing for me… but like… I’m at a 3 with ALL that in my system. And almost zero effect on my head. Totally lucid and wide awake. What is wrong with me! lol that will kill most people! If you take a benedryl and it knocks you out… I hate you LOL

Now enjoy this montage of Lucipurr eating a kitty sucker.

No one tells you how hard it is to create the Christmas magic for your kids and family when you are depressed.
12/17/2025

No one tells you how hard it is to create the Christmas magic for your kids and family when you are depressed.

Working on disability paperwork and I always think into questions too much. I have illnesses that I will have until I di...
12/16/2025

Working on disability paperwork and I always think into questions too much. I have illnesses that I will have until I die. I have illnesses that COULD kill me fairly easily. But I don’t have illnesses that will 100% be the death of me. Soooooo would the answer to this question beeeee…..?

You know what no one tells you is that there’s a perfect storm once in a while for me that’s now. Y’all know I was in th...
12/16/2025

You know what no one tells you is that there’s a perfect storm once in a while for me that’s now. Y’all know I was in the hospital for a while. during that time I missed my estrogen patch change for menopause and apparently I was also PMSing and didn’t realize it. So I was two days late changing my patch which I changed immediately upon coming home but apparently that was not soon enough for the perfect storm. Since I have gotten home I got my period and during that time I’m usually very emotional, and menopause is hijacking any part of my brain that my PMS didn’t already in every now and then my depression just dips down a little bit and it is now because of the hospital day.

Any of these on their own, pms, menopause or depression, I can overpower and overcome but all three of them together though… they are FU***NG ME UP.

I’ve been home for three nights i think and you wanna know what my brain is doing to me when I’m at my most vulnerable… asleep? Recurring dreams EVERY night. Clayton’s voice… claytons face… telling me he doesn’t love me anymore and marrying somebody else.

We all may have those cheating dreams where you are *sort of* play mad at your soouse when you wake up for your dream. But have you ever had your spouse tell you seven times in theee days, with his face and his voice that he doesn’t love you and hasn’t for a while and he’s already found somebody else and is getting married. They are so real, ive even said in my dream “how can you do this to me when our 20th wedding anniversary is in just weeks?”

That’s what I have to listen to every night when I fall asleep. Clayton is doing everything he can to reassure me that he loves me he’s not going anywhere it has no desire to leave me. I have been having trouble with my rings staying on because of the weight im losing because of my health and since I’ve been having these dreams, he got me a rubber wedding band in my current size to hold my others on so I don’t have to wear them on my middle finger or mail them out to the jewler. He even insisted he put it on so my stupid mean brain sees HE is here, HE is staying HE putting it on, just like the day he married me. Trying to over power my mean brain. He really is the best. How can I make this stop!? It is making me slip into a depression. I had 2 more last night

Don’t be late in changing those menopause patches ladies. Mine was two days late because I was in the hospital when it w...
12/14/2025

Don’t be late in changing those menopause patches ladies. Mine was two days late because I was in the hospital when it was due to change. I changed it right when I got home but today I woke up sad after having a dream that Clayton divorced me, when I suddenly got frustrated the kitchen wasn’t clean enough and rage cleaned then cried for no reason, then rage cleaned harder because I was mad that I was crying. Then Clayton brought the boys down to help clean and then I cried because I was unstable around them and now they had to teal with it. I eventually laid down and took an anxiety pill and bawled. I’m boarderline not crying. So no one say anything sad or mean to me lol I’m exhausted menopause is real, menopause is fu***ng insaine. It’s not you ladies.. its your hormones. but get your estrogen patches …. Like night and day.

Current food fixation… sweet potato casserole
12/14/2025

Current food fixation… sweet potato casserole

So the pain management doc here said there is a new sublingual (dissolves under the tongue) muscle relaxer. My current o...
12/11/2025

So the pain management doc here said there is a new sublingual (dissolves under the tongue) muscle relaxer. My current one is a pill and I have to crush it to be able to absorb any of it and get relief. It’s called Tonmya. It would SO help my quality of life so I messaged my doc and she said she would put it in but it will probably be denied by insurance. I thought “meh, how expensive can it be?”

UMMMMM apparently MORE than my fricken anti-rejection meds that are rediculously expensive. This is through Good Rx which if you don’t know about you should lol but it give you discounts for free… the out of pocket price is crossed out under the Good Rx price. I’m thinking unless she can talk TRICARE into it, I’m not getting it. I have Gastroparesis, no colon, missing 7 feet of my small intestine so also short gut syndrome… any med that is in any form other than a pill is going to benefit my life. But you go ahead random person behind a desk who has no medical knowledge… please … deny my claim cause of course you know better than the doc prescribing it.

Get yourself a spouse that will come to the hospital just to wash your hair and help you bathe. I’m a lucky girl and I ...
12/10/2025

Get yourself a spouse that will come to the hospital just to wash your hair and help you bathe. I’m a lucky girl and I love this man!

They advanced my diet to “post op solids” which is basically soft food. I’ll take it!
12/10/2025

They advanced my diet to “post op solids” which is basically soft food. I’ll take it!

My goal today is to advance my diet. I can’t take the gross lime jello or the broth anymore. Lol but I guess I don’t get...
12/10/2025

My goal today is to advance my diet. I can’t take the gross lime jello or the broth anymore. Lol but I guess I don’t get to choose that the ones with the pictures of my insides do but… that’s my goal. Leem and Jman both told me to binge stranger things. And let’s just say, when he was allowed to watch it at 5 years old when I was states away for my ileostomy surgery, I understand why he was suddenly afraid of the walls. Wtf! This is not a show for a 5 year old! He did get over the trauma cause as a teen he’s rewatched it but it messed my baby up for like 2 years. His kinder teacher even brought it up. Poor kiddo. I’m trying to put that out of my head cause it makes me want to hate it since HE thinks I’ll like it I’m trying. I’m on episode like… 5 I think. When they find the body in the lake.

Anyway, no update as of know. Just still inpatient keeping on.

A buttload of IV meds, fluids and gut rest is the treatment plan. Pain and nausea are being kept in check too. I’m in ro...
12/09/2025

A buttload of IV meds, fluids and gut rest is the treatment plan. Pain and nausea are being kept in check too. I’m in room 536 if any of you locals wanna visit! Now enjoy this pic of Harry being absolutely ridiculously adorable

Well now they are saying it might be a blockage. They can’t tell for sure if it’s biological (scar tissue, irritation, i...
12/09/2025

Well now they are saying it might be a blockage. They can’t tell for sure if it’s biological (scar tissue, irritation, inflammation etc) or not (food) and my WBC was slightly high as well so, I’m NPO (boooo! I want ice chips!) for now since its late and they are going to discuss more tomorrow. But for now, got nausea meds, pain meds, normal night meds, antibiotics, something i dont remember, my 4th Liter of fluids, and a heparin shot. And with that I shall try to sleep. Oh and they are monitoring my heart but im not sure why.

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