feuervogel | Entries tagged with life: medical

Yesterday I had an appointment with the ENT. She looked up my nose with a camera (let me tell you, lidocaine up the nose is a *weird* sensation) and said my sinus looked fine. Then to confirm a recent infection, she wants to get a head CT. Her office is supposed to take care of everything, and I bet they're still arguing with Blue Cross over the pre-auth.

Today I had my annual, over at Duke OB, and while I was driving, I noticed that when I move my jaw a certain way, it hurt on the left side but not the right. So I poked it with my finger and found a spot above my upper backmost tooth (2nd molar) that hurt and was possibly elevated. It's right at the scar from my wisdom tooth extraction. This tooth is one that my dentist is watching, so that sent up a flag. (I grind my teeth, see. This tooth has a potential crack on the lingual surface, as does the one opposite it.)

I mentioned it to the GYN, and she took a look and confirmed the red bump. So when I was finished there, I called my dentist's office, and they got me in at 11 tomorrow. (They close at noon on Fridays, so I got lucky.)

And fucked if that doesn't explain the pain/pressure around my left eye that feels like a migraine and the occasional soreness under the left side of my jaw. An abscess hitting the trigeminal nerve could sure as shit cause that. (The trigeminal nerve is often implicated in migraine. (Aside: scroll up a couple pages, and I've had auras #1 and 3, and something like #2, as well as the paresthesias. It's kind of nifty when it isn't happening and you can view it with detachment, because the world around you isn't becoming strange and painful.)

I don't want a root canal. But I'd rather have that than get the tooth pulled. I guess this tooth was just jealous that the other two teeth in front of it have crowns and it wanted one of its own.

Either I missed the memo or someone failed to deliver it. I should have called an ENT *already* or something. :P

Got a name & number for a practice in Chapel Hill. Left them a message saying my PCP had referred me to them for sinus issues >3 months, I have Blue Cross, and do you need a referral paper from my PCP? With my number to call me back. That was about 20 minutes ago. It's Friday afternoon, though, so I won't be surprised if I don't hear back until Monday.

I can feel the congestionish stuff in my ears, but I don't want to take Mucinex before going out to dinner tonight. I don't want to be sick for Ben's birthday dinner (& drinks).

I have another prescription for Zofran, though, so I can manage the nausea again once I start the expectorant again, whenever that may be.

Current Mood: blank

Trying to piece together the thread of the new nausea thing. It started Friday or Saturday, with a sort of "ate too much" feeling in the morning. Then Saturday partway through dinner (Indian), I started feeling sick again. I ate 1/4-1/3 of my entree (I usually eat about half) and took the rest home.

I don't remember if I felt sick Sunday morning or not, but I think I did. I ate about half the leftover saag paneer for lunch, then at dinner, I felt very unwell, but we were in Raleigh with my dad, so I had some sushi (rice, veggies, good).

Monday morning was probably the same, but I was focusing more on the sinus pressure and congestion.

Tuesday morning I woke with the nausea, as I mentioned in my post. It resolved after a while. But I wasn't hungry for much all day, and I ate later than usual. I had some more nausea around dinnertime. Dinner was flatbreads and chevre.

Wednesday was a bit worse on all parts. I ate the last of the saag for lunch and had some noisy digestion afterward, then got nauseous just in time to go to tai chi. (Took some chewable pepto.)

Yesterday I took pepto twice: before Pilates and while cooking dinner. On the theory that the nausea is related to stomach acid, I took a pepcid in mid-afternoon (to cover the evening after the Prilosec wore off), but it didn't help. I took a couple extra strength Tums, too. I last took Mucinex yesterday around 8 am, so the effects of that should be long gone.

Today I've been a bit queasy all morning, on and off, though I ate breakfast and am getting hungry. The sinus issues aren't fully resolved, but I don't want to take medicine that increases drainage and makes the nausea worse. Assuming that's still the case; it started before I started the hydrate and flush regimen of doom.

My left maxillary sinus area feels full, but it isn't tender to palpation or percussion. I also feel a bit of pressure on my upper front left teeth. I feel a bit congested on breathing, but I don't sound nasal.

I left a message at my doctor's office this morning, letting them know that the sinuses are better but the nausea is worse, so maybe I need to come in. The nurse has received the message, and she'll be calling me back. I hope she calls soon.

Current Mood: tired of this shit

I think the Mucinex is working. I'll spare you the details.

I'm also increasingly certain that my nausea in weeks past was related to sinus drainage, because I couldn't eat breakfast this morning. One bite of my cereal (delicious cereal ;_; which I had to throw out) was more than enough.

Hopefully I'll be able to eat something sooner than later.

Current Mood: sick

No antibiotics right now. I'm to continue the neti pot once a day, use saline nasal spray 4 times a day, Mucinex twice a day, and drink lots of fluids. If I don't improve by Friday, or if I get worse, I call them back.

I'd rather avoid taking antibiotics if I don't need them, really, and I'm hoping this hydration and flushing protocol takes care of it. For good, this time.

I guess I'll run up to Kerr and pick up some saline and Mucinex. And possibly some little packets for the neti pot, but using my own table salt may be cheaper, if less convenient.

I finished Z-pak #2 on Friday. Wednesday I had a shift of congestion into my nose itself (like a cold, kind of), but by Friday, I felt pretty good.

Saturday midday I felt more congested, and yesterday my voice sounded all nasal, and I started coughing. Today I have congestion, my ears itch, and I'm still coughing.

My doctor's office is going to call me back and let me know if I should pick up the Z-pak refill my dr wrote last week or if we should pursue other options (like a fine needle aspirate of my sinuses to see what's growing there, or a head CT to see where the infection is based [and make sure it's not osteomyelitis or meningitis or an infection of the ocular orbit], or just a stronger antibiotic).

I don't care, really, as long as I can drink beer by October 9.

Current Mood: sick

Calling my doctor tomorrow. The back of my throat is red, my ears itch, and I've developed a dry cough. Probably time for another round of antibiotics. Another course of azithromycin (higher dose, more days) or Ceftin? I guess I'll find out tomorrow. There's not much point in calling them today, because they probably won't just call in an antibiotic without looking at me first.

It could be con crud, though I hardly spent enough time at the con to get it. It doesn't feel like a normal cold, either.

Current Mood: sick

I'm starting my period, which is always a fun time for everything, and I felt a bit off all day, and somewhat nauseous earlier. Then I started getting the feeling like I have in the past that I'm sort of getting a migraine, with some facial pressure and general feeling-off-ness.

But since that's the way I felt during previous nausea-bouts, I'm thinking it may be a sign that this (presumed) sinus infection isn't all gone. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and either leave a message for the MD on call (if I feel badly) or wait until Monday morning and see if they can get me in (if I feel less-badly). My left maxillary sinus feels a bit tender and slightly swollen.

Right now I'm on 4 Advil and 2 Sudafed, and crossing my fingers that I don't feel badly during the football match tonight.

(On the topic of football, god damn Wolfsburg is sucking this season. Lost their first three matches. At least they're doing better than Schalke.)

Anyway, time to head out to find some food before the Railhawks game. Taking along my zofran just in case. Hope I don't need more than I took earlier today.

Current Mood: annoyed

So, since the terrifying experiences of Levaquin, I've gotten better. I took my last dose of azithromycin yesterday. I still feel congested a bit, but I'm taking sudafed and drinking fluids (and coughing up a ridiculous amount of crap). I'm going to keep taking Prilosec at bedtime until all my congestion is cleared.

I guess if I don't notice improvement in congestion in a few more days (Monday?) I'll call my doctor and see if we need to try another course of antibiotics. If these germs have really been loitering in my sinuses since mid-May, they could be nasty buggers.

I feel less tired, though, so that's a good thing. I went to weapons class last night, though I rested about half the time. (Master Jou's third principle: don't overdo it.) I wanted to go to Pilates today, but my legs were a bit tired when I got up this morning. So I'll see how I feel tomorrow (and the Friday class is at 10:30, so I have a bit more time to wake up).

Bought tickets for Saturday's Carolina Railhawks match. My friend K from high school, who moved out here last year, said she'd be up for it, and I confirmed, so it'll be the 3 of us. I have no idea about this team or their opponents (the Portland Timbers), or how they play. (NASL standings without the complication of divisions by conference. Apparently American sports fans can't handle a league without them, even when there are all of 12 teams.) And can I just say "eew" to the orange and blue color scheme? It makes Stuttgart's brown uniforms look nice.

Anyway. This Saturday is also the Big Boss brewery tour (2nd Saturday!), so we might go to that. It's at 2, though, so we'd have a lot of down time between then and when the gates open for the match (6 pm). Neither Ben nor I should really drink that much, since I'm still sick, and he just developed con crud. The alternative would be to swing over to the tap room after the match for a pint, though that would be around 9 pm, and see above re: sick people. Gmaps tells me it's about 20 minutes to get from Big Boss to WakeMed Soccer Park (which is also right by Toyo Shokuhin).

I might take a nap.

Current Mood: sleepy

I think that sums up my con.

- Thursday evening I got tired waiting in line outside to get my badge, so I trekked back to the hotel (not a con hotel).

- Friday morning I woke up slightly nauseous and having a raging anxiety attack, except I didn't know it at the time. I almost passed out trying to stand up from the toilet-kneel. Because we couldn't find a nearby urgent care center that could do IV fluids, I ended up at Piedmont Hospital ER. They let me go around 1 pm, and I saw some con.

- Saturday morning, I woke up slightly nauseous and extremely exhausted. Considering I'd gotten about 3 hours of sleep a night since Wednesday (not so coincidentally when I started the Levaquin), that's hardly surprising. Despite knowing that one of the side effects of Levaquin is anxiety, and taking deep breaths and thinking of something else and all that, I still flipped the fuck out. But then, not being able to move your legs or feel your body is kinda fucking terrifying. So we got a nice cab ride to an urgent care center (after Ben called the concierge and learned that the hotel's on-call physician charges $200 to do anything but talk on the phone), where they changed my antibiotic to a Z-pak. They also gave me phenergan and said to take one when I got back to the hotel.

I was in bed from approximately noon Saturday until 8 am Sunday. I slept about 90% of the time. I felt much better.

- Sunday I actually participated in con activities, including a Q&A with the Phelps brothers (the Weasley twins). I went to a politics in SF panel, which I was prepared to be horribly offended on, because John Ringo was on it, and ready to leave the room if need be. However, it was a lot more awesome than expected. Eric Flint is a Trotskyist; Elizabeth Moon is a self-proclaimed centrist, but I think she leans a little left; John Ringo is a "minarchist." There were other panelists, but they didn't get many words in edgewise. The only time I wanted to deck somebody was when Ringo was being a condescending dickwad about "this little thing you might remember, Eric, called ... World ... War ... Two ..." and talking to him like he was a five year old child (even though Flint has a good 25 years on him and admitted to having been conservative in his youth but he grew out of it by meeting real people in the world and working in a factory.)

One of my favorite lines was Moon's (paraphrased): The only type of politics I can't stand is the smug, self-satisfied kind.

But around 7:30, I started getting really tired again, so instead of ordering pizza and whatnot for masquerade watching, Ben got pizza in the food court, I took a couple bites, and I crocheted on the bed during the show. It's sort of like relaxing.

- Today we made a last swing through the dealers rooms, bought some random crap, and some nice prints from Echo Chernik. Then it was drive time, once we got an elevator from the 29th floor, anyway. That only took like 45 minutes.

Around 6, I started feeling tired and dizzy again, but I took my antibiotics and had some Sun Chips, and Ben just got back from getting me some Gatorade, which I'm going to go drink some of and get to unpacking my suitcase. I'm very sad I didn't get to wear any of my cool clothes or shoes, but as unstable as I was, 3" heels just were NOT on.

Current Mood: sleepy

I went to my GP's office today and saw one of her partners (my PCP doesn't work Wednesdays), who said it's certainly plausible that my symptoms could be cause by sinus drainage, because it's very acidic and can upset your stomach. Then she looked in my ears and saw fluid and wrote me a scrip for Levaquin for a week. (I was supposed to get $15 off, but I didn't; I should call the pharmacy.)

I'll start it with dinner tonight. It's once a day, and it can cause stomach upset.

Meds to take to Con:
- Levaquin
- Zofran
- Pepcid
- Tums
- Pepto
- lactobacillus

Still to pack:
- phone charger
- camera
- toiletries
- stuff for reading

Current Mood: cynical

I woke up less sick today than yesterday, but over the course of the morning, I've gotten worse. I left 2 messages with my GI's office, the second when I took my temperature and it was 99.4, up from 98.2 earlier (and it keeps bouncing between 98.2 and 99.x every couple hours).

I got an email from the editor of my anthology asking about sinus congestion, because a friend of hers in grad school had problems like mine, and it turned out to be post-nasal drip. I'd like to ask the GI about that, because Dr Google turns up message boards and nothing reputable. I have noted excess phlegm today and yesterday, though.

I'd also like to ask if every female on my dad's side having gallbladder issues between 25 and 35 (except my sister and one of my cousins) means we should look more closely at mine. The risk factors for gallbladder problems are the 4 Fs: female, fat, family, and forty.

Or maybe we should check for pancreatitis again and rule out HCV while we're at it.

I don't want to bail on Dragon*Con. I especially don't want to make a decision today and be more OK tomorrow and fine on Friday. That's not really the pattern established in previous bouts of this, though. And I'd rather not end up in Emory and have to figure out how to get home if I'm there after my carpool leaves. (Amtrak involves a 5-hour layover in Charlotte, but it's probably less expensive than a last-minute flight.)

But I'm not eating again. I had maybe 350 calories yesterday - 2 ginger ales, some cereal, and some saltines. Today doesn't look promising: I feel hunger, but the thought of eating makes me gag. Yesterday when I ate saltines, I took a bite of one and didn't want to chew or swallow it. I persevered and ate the whole thing, but then I felt nauseous afterward.

Even taking my temperature makes me gag a little.

Current Mood: sick

Dose 1 (around 11:30) was OK, except for making me really tired (as it said on the tin), and I had a raging headache, which I couldn't tell if it was from caffeine withdrawal or the drug. I felt a bit off all afternoon, but around the time Ben was swinging by Med Deli to get dinner, I started to get hungry (yay!)

I took dose #2 around 5:50, about 6 hours later. After about 10 or 15 minutes, I felt nauseous and dizzy, and when Ben brought the food home, the smell of it turned my stomach. Around 6:35 I called my GI's office, got their recording and a number for paging the MD on call. Lucky for me, my GI is on call tonight. She said I should quit the new drug (hyoscyamine) since it doesn't seem to be working and take a Zofran for the current nausea (it's been a good half hour now, and I feel somewhat better, so the stuff works, at least), then call her office in the morning.

I also felt halfway migrainey, from headache to tingly/numb fingers to inability to brain. That's resolving, at least.

The doc said that the results of the biopsies *might* be in tomorrow. Sometimes if they're straightforward they come back early.

Fingers crossed, Daumen gedrückt. Checking which hospitals in ATL are in network to be on the safe side.

Note to D*Cers: if I'm too sick to travel, we'll cancel one room and put the other in someone else's name. It'll be 5 of you most likely (since N said she'll ask for a back-up plan because 6 people is crowded).

Current Mood: disappointed

When I went to the GI specialist last week, she gave me a prescription for hyoscyamine. I sent Ben to get it filled for me, while I was nauseous on the couch. I wasn't sure exactly how I was supposed to use it, so I called the office. The nurse called back and said I should take it every 6 hours on days I have symptoms, and to taper off.

I'm supposed to meet Erin for lunch at Med Deli (the owner is doing a Pakistan relief event, like the one he did for Haiti earlier this year, and he's donating all his profits for the day to flood relief), but the meds say not to drive after I take it. I thought I could wait until later, but I'm thinking I should take one sooner.

So I'm taking it every 6 hours starting today, and hoping I wake up normal tomorrow. If this works, I'll keep taking it during the con. I won't be able to drink alcohol at all (it potentiates the CNS depression and could kill me), but I'd rather be well and not drinking than sick.

The thought of food still isn't particularly appealing, though.

Also, Isis peed in the bed while I was in the bathroom at 5:45 this morning, so I didn't get nearly enough sleep.

Current Mood: sleepy

Guess who woke up nauseous today and is going to have a wonderful time at con.

Current Mood: nauseated

This morning, I got up bright and early for my upper endoscopy. That's a test wherein they put a little camera on a flexible tube down your throat and look at your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. They sedate you, of course.

I went in, signed paperwork, got an IV started, and waited a bit for the doctor to come in. Then they rolled me back to the suite, gave me a nasal cannula for oxygen, and said, "we're going to start the fentanyl and Versed now." The next thing I remember was being awakened. Kind of cool.

They took a sample for H. pylori (the ulcer bacterium), since no one's tested me for that yet, and found a polyp in the duodenum and biopsied that. Won't get results for another week. This means I can't take Advil for another week, because it increases bleeding risk. My neck and lower back are achy and I want my anti-inflammatories.

We stopped at Target on the way home, because we needed cheese and cat litter, and we left with con snacks (Mountain Dew Throwback!) and some workout wear and cute socks, all of which I need to toss in the laundry. I felt really off, as they said I would, so I insisted on pushing the cart as my support.

I did feel really queasy after we got home, so Ben hung around a bit longer and I took a nap on the couch (with Meyrin, who's a couch-snuggler).

I should eat more food, here. All I've had was a weird juice thing from Target to get my blood sugar up and a bagel with cream cheese.

Current Mood: hungry

The GYN doesn't think endometriosis makes sense. Pelvic ultrasound was normal as normal can be. I'm to call her back with the results of the upper GI next week and go for an annual (Pap) in the end of September. (I can't remember when I got my last pap, but it was sometime in September last year, I think. I don't appear to have noted it in my LJ. I suppose I could call PP and find out...)

This is really fucking frustrating. Will this mystery illness ruin Dragon*Con for me, like it ruined NASFiC? Will I be OK? I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE. And neither does anyone else.

TT__TT

Current Mood: annoyed

I woke up a little off this morning, but I showered and ate some breakfast. Now my neck is getting stiff and I'm feeling somewhat migrainey. OF COURSE I can't take any ibuprofen for the next 5-10 days, because they may decide to take biopsies of my upper GI, and ibuprofen increases the risk of bleeding.

FML.

Current Mood: annoyed

I called and got an appointment for an upper endoscopy next Monday, 8/30. I have to be there at 7:15 (yes, AM), and I will need to be driven there and back home, because they're giving me Versed and fentanyl. I also have to be NPO after midnight (hence the preference for a morning appointment). The whole thing should last about 3 hours. I'm responsible for my specialist copay on arrival, and if they take any biopsies or brushings, pathology will send me a bill. (Also, no ibuprofen for a few days on either side.)

Then I called the GYN my GP recommended (which is Duke OB). The particular group she recommended doesn't have any openings until mid-October, except one had an opening (a cancellation) on 8/30 at 8:45. That's not gonna work. So the nice lady who did the scheduling found a provider with an opening this Thursday at 2:20.

The GI doc said that a post-infectious motility disorder is a possibility. I don't really like that idea, because all I turned up with that is IBS, and, while some of the symptoms match, food doesn't seem to be a factor at all. But she also said that, since I noted that the start of my period coincided with the onset of symptoms, there may be something hormonal going on, so I should have that evaluated.

It's time for my daily caffeine and something for lunch.

Woke up fatigued this morning. All I can think of that was different was drinking a beer too close to bedtime.

The GI appointment yesterday went OK; she asked a bunch of questions and listened to my guts a bit, then said I should call to schedule an upper endoscopy to make sure there aren't any structural abnormalities. She also thinks there's something hormonal going on and I should get it checked out. I guess I'll call Planned Parenthood and see if they can diagnose more complicated things, or if I need to go to a GYN for that.

I wish this whole nonsense would go away. I want my mornings back. I want to go to Pilates class, but it's in half an hour, and I'm already too tired/fatigued to spend 75 minutes on a mat exerting my muscles.

I hate this.

Current Mood: disappointed

- The fabulous

tammylee is working on my website design! I have zero design skill, and am completely not a visual person, so I'm glad to have friends who have these skills and abilities that I lack entire.

- I haven't found my Bundesliga team yet. I enjoyed the 2. BuLi match between Hertha Berlin and Oberhausen yesterday, and I liked the way the Berliner played (and, as you know, Bob, I have a -5 weakness to Berlin). The VfL Wolfsburg:Bayern match was good, too, and the Wolves played well, even if they lost 1:2, when Basti scored in the 90th minute. Today, I caught the second half of the Werder Bremen:1899 Hoffenheim match, to which Werder's defense apparently didn't bother to show up, and they lost 1:4. But Marko Marin is the most adorable thing ever.

- I'm almost finished with "Valkyrie One." I guess. I mean, I could keep poking at it and editing it and changing words here and there, but it's at that point where if I *don't* stop poking at it, I'll never send it off.

- Dragon*Con is in less than two weeks. Holy shit.

- I haven't been sick since Sunday. I'm not optimistic about this continuing indefinitely, however. My GI appointment is Monday at 4. I'm avoiding excess soy (soy protein, TVP, soy milk, etc) on the supposition that it could be endometriosis, which is aggravated by xenoestrogens, like some of the components of soy.

- I've been stable at 137 lbs since Tuesday.

- It's time for lunch.

Or at least, it's not celiac, and not an allergy to wheat, soy, corn, milk, peanuts, pork, beef, fish, eggs, or chocolate.

I've been fine the last 3 days. My GI appointment is Monday. I'll call my doctor tomorrow and ask if she thinks endo is a possibility, and if I can get a GYN referral if the GI thinks it's not a GI issue.

Since the symptoms overlap with my period, and before I was on hormonal BC, I had hell periods (back in high school, I'd miss a day of school every time), and when I was on the pill, I still had fairly heavy bleeding (though far less than without it). I have a Mirena IUD now, and my periods have been much lighter, except the last couple, which have been noticeable (as opposed to spotting) and lasted 7-10 days or more (though it's all spotting after 3-4).

Could it be endometriosis? This site talks about some bowel issues, which, aside from the blood, sound similar to mine. (I've also felt a weird popping sensation below my right ribs on stretching sometimes, and I can point to a specific location where, if I massage it, the cramping goes away. Adhesions?)

If that's the case, then I need to see a GYN, not a GI. And probably not Planned Parenthood, either, because this is likely more specialized than they can handle. I can call them and ask, though, since I have their number in my phone. Though I'll wait for my doctor to call me with the celiac and food allergy results.

ETA: Endo would also explain my hip pain.

Current Mood: contemplative

end April 2010: 153 lbs
June 15, 2010: 148 lbs (after 6 weeks of walking everywhere)
August 16, 2010: 139 lbs.

Yes, I wanted to lose weight, but not this quickly or because I can't eat. I wanted to use the increased physical fitness method.

Current Mood: annoyed

So, yesterday at the beach I woke up sick again, after having rice, bananas, and several bites of cantaloupe, and two different kinds of ginger ale.

Once I got my appetite back, I had more rice crackers, then I ate the gratin we made last week for dinner (a very small piece).

Today I woke up fine, except I didn't really have an appetite. Then I ate some more rice crackers (good thing I like them) and have been drinking water and doing laundry. (I also typed up my notes into a spreadsheet so the doctor won't have to deal with my handwriting next week. I should also type up as much of a history of this thing as I can remember, including the night I went to Sage with A and ended up getting my food to go. Which was back in April I think.)

I'm getting hungry, but I don't know what I can/should eat. There's plenty of food in the house; I have no idea what's going to make me sick tomorrow, or even if it's related to food AT ALL. The blood panels should come back sometime this week, hopefully sooner than later. (I asked my friend K, who works at LabCorp, and he said the test takes a day to run, but they wait until they get enough samples to run a kit, which is why it takes 4-5 days to get the test done.)

It's disheartening, because I have days like Saturday and today, where I'm fine, and I don't feel sick, and I can go about my normal business, then there's Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, where I'm awful in the morning and fine in the afternoon. There's a pilates class I want to take at the yoga studio up the street. It's at 9 am Tues/Thurs, or 10:30 Fri. Today I could make it, but I have no idea about tomorrow.

There's a huge anxiety component with this thing.

I'm also getting irritated with expressions of sympathy that compare it to some self-limiting illness they had this one time. My instincts (all pessimistic, naturally) are telling me this is going to be a PERMANENT issue now, and I'm going to have to make a lot of changes. [The friend who had cancer and talked about how radiation and chemo gave her horrible n/v/d? I think she understands.] Yes, I'm glad you're expressing sympathy. Comparing this whatever that's been going on for two months now to the time you got the stomach "flu" and felt bad for a week? Or had food poisoning? Kind of misses the point.

This is like food poisoning or viral gastroenteritis (influenza viruses do not infect the GI tract; yes, I'm an infectious disease nerd) that hits repeatedly, and almost daily, gives the slimmest hope by the end of the day that tomorrow will be normal again, then cruelly shreds that hope.

And I didn't wake up very sick this morning. The rice diet seems to have helped. Today I added bananas and a few bites of cantaloupe.

I'm very tired of rice.

A bunch of people went out for Mexican, but I decided not to join them, because I would be tempted by the delicious food, and that could prove bad. (And even if I didn't succumb to temptation, I'd be jealous of their food, since I had 3 rice balls for dinner.) I'm hungry, but I don't know what else I can eat, and I don't want to risk being sick when we're having to check out tomorrow morning.

And I'll have to miss whatever people get for breakfast, too. :( (Though I could possibly get something and find out I can't have it in the privacy of my own home tomorrow morning...)

I'm not much of a beach person, really, and I'm not keen on the whole 30-odd people going together thing. Maybe I'll organize a trip to the mountains next summer, or possibly the Outer Banks, if the beach is a requirement.

Made some progress on the minor edits from

anthimeria; still need to figure out how to fix some of the larger issues. (Make it more difficult! Trying to work out how...)

Current Mood: hungry

What I've eaten since I got out of the hospital, day by day. (cut for your convenience)
( Sunday 8/8 )

( Monday 8/9 )

( Tuesday 8/10 )

( Wednesday 8/11 )

( Thursday 8/12 )

Could it be soy? That would be unfortunate. Soy is in every goddamn thing. It would be less annoying than wheat, anyway...

Current Mood: contemplative

I went to my PCP today for follow-up after the hospital. I told her I'm still having issues in the morning. She's sending some blood for a celiac panel and common food allergens, and we discussed an eliminationish diet (wherein I avoid wheat/dairy/whatever for a number of days and note improvement/no change in my food and symptom diary (which she thought was a good idea, and that the GI doc would probably want to see it)).

I'm *hungry*. Tonight's dinner is probably going to be gratin potatoes, leeks, and artichoke hearts (with a massive amount of cheese; maybe I'll try confounding my experiment and take Lactaid tonight. I'd like to be well enough to go to the beach...).

Speaking of the beach, I'm going to have to take along my own food, because I don't want to experiment at restaurants.

I really hope it isn't gluten intolerance; I really like beer.

Got home last night, actually, but I didn't feel like getting on the computer.

Slept fairly well in my own bed, but I still woke up kind of queasy. I took a 4 mg zofran, and half an hour later was still off. My discharge paperwork says I can have 8 mg, so I took a second. That was about 10-15 minutes ago. I was feeling a little hungry earlier, but it could also have been nausea. Sometimes I can't tell them apart.

I'd *like* to hit up the con again today, because I want to see people before they head out, and swing through the dealers hall again. I was planning to be in by noon, but we'll see. I need to stop by my friends' apartment where I was staying to pick up my stuff and my car. It's ca 40 minutes to their place, and 25 to the con from there, so I'd have to leave here 10:30-11. I hope this spell is past by then.

I'm planning on applesauce for breakfast, with a side of ginger ale. They discharged me on a regular diet, but I don't want to touch dairy right now. My mouth is dry, but drinking upsets my stomach a little. I know I need to keep drinking to stay hydrated, but it's hard.

I have a list of criteria for when to go back to the hospital (fever to 102 or signs of dehydration (dizziness on standing, etc)), so that's helpful. I'm to follow up with my dr next week and keep my GI appointment (8/23), because the root cause of this is still a mystery.

Feeling less queasy now; just kind of tired. Maybe I'll go try to eat. Unfortunately, the thought of food makes me kind of queasy. This is probably why I ended up so dehydrated. I need to get my "ins" up, so I can balance my "outs."

No caffeine yet. The dr might find me some sort of something (I'm okay with like 1/4 cup of black tea, which'll be enough to take the edge off), because they won't let me have Coke on account of it's not clear, and no coffee, either.

He says I should reduce or stop my Synthroid (right after I picked up 90 days' worth, of course) because my free T4 is high and my TSH was 0.66 in their lab (when I last went to my dr it was 1.5), because that can cause some of the symptoms.

I had lunch: veggie broth with tiny bits of veggies (onions, I think), jello, and a cherry Italian ice. ~~It has not yet made a repeat appearance, unless you count pissing like a racehorse.~~ No longer true. I need to let my nurse know. (It was right after the dr left. Of course. Which was right before I started writing this.)

They think it might be IBS? That would make me sad, but less sad than celiac would make me. But we need to restore the flora, etc.

Fuck, my head hurts. Ooh, they're bringing me tea.