Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Being Sick Is Boring. I'm Sorry.

Larry drove me to the doctor this morning (because I was still too hysterical and hungry to be coherent on my own) and I explained to her that I still couldn't eat without pain. So she said, "Okay, we'll do a CT scan, just to rule the scary stuff out. Just drink these 2 HUGE bottles of barium first."

????

CHEERS
So that was hard. I choked down most of the first bottle, but only half of the second, because I thought I was going to start puking up all my hard work if I drank more. And I did the CT scan, which was totally easy and space age, except the iodine stuff they put in you, which feels really weird. And then we waited around for an hour for the results. We were sitting there, each of us looking at the news on our phones, and Larry said, "You know, you have the best ideas for dates."

Finally the doctor called us back in and said everything looked normal. So she's sending everything to the specialist and in the meantime is treating it like an ulcer, although ulcers don't just pop up out of nowhere - usually you're having stomach/indigestion problems for a long time first. Which I wasn't. Go figure.

Larry drove me home and I took my proton pump inhibitor drug, like an old person, and then gingerly ate half a turkey sandwich (hey, I lost 6 pounds since the last doctor visit. I'm HUNGRY) and a few grapes. And then I had a stomachache. I ended up sitting around all afternoon, reading a book that is a true account of a person's stay in a TB sanatorium, because I really know how to cheer myself up.

The author is the same person who wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, by the way.

I don't sit still very well, so I also took a walk. In the awful humidity that insists on hanging around these parts, even though the leaves are turning and it is SUPPOSED to be fall.

Yeah, I'm cranky. And hungry. Since lunch I've eaten a small apple and a spoonful of ice cream. It was medicinal, because I figured the dairy might soothe my theoretically ulcerated stomach. It's science, people.







12 comments:

  1. Betty MacDonald is my absolute favorite author of all time. I've read all her books a dozen times each, at least. Do yourself a favor and read more Betty! I can't decide which is my favorite, but "Anybody Can do Anything" comes close. Also, my money is STILL on gallbladder. Don't let them try to convince you're merely malingering!

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    1. I loved The Egg and I! She was so funny. And you could read between the lines and see her husband was awful; I'm glad she got rid of him.

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  2. I had no idea she wrote more than the Piggle Wiggles. Wow. Your book doesn't sound cheerful though. I don't do sad books anymore. Yuck with the barium swallow. That is awful stuff.

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  3. I really like Betty McDonald too. I own an old copy of The Egg and I. I'm glad everything looks normal on your CT and I hope you start to feel better soon.

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  4. Never heard of Betty McDonald; but will have to look into her writing. Tell your doctor/specialist that we need answers STAT on your health status.

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  5. I am so sorry you aren't feeling well. Drinking barium sounds awful! But Larry is really funny! I am reading the Plague and I right now too. I am just about to finish it. Honestly, I enjoyed it more than the Egg and I. Right after I finish it I'm on to Onions in the Stew.

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    1. Really? I preferred The Egg and I. I guess I'll read Anybody Can Do Anything next, since the first commenter recommended it.

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  6. Larry's humor saved the day, I hope (along with sandwiches and ice cream). Do not take "I don't know" for an answer from these medical folks. Demand answers! I'm worried about you.

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  7. Yuck, two bottle of barium...ew! Glad that the scan didn't show up anything - and hope it's an ulcer. Not nice to have but the brat diet might help, bananas, rice, applesauce and toast (dry) I had a gastric issue when I was a teenager, for almost a year I hate nothing but scrambled eggs (no butter or oil), milk puddings and arrowroot biscuits. I feel your pain!

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  8. Oh!, I am so sorry that things are not going well. I had a teacher who went through this and it was a kink in her intestines. She could not eat, it was not gall bladder and they took that out when they could have left it alone. Needless to say- she is better but not without the second surgery to intestines. I hope you are better now.

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  9. I think something weird happens to our digestive systems as we age. I used to have an iron constitution ... I could eat the local food in Haiti, for example, and be the ONLY one in our group who didn't get sick. Now, I have to be careful with dairy, sweets, and certain vegetables; I can't have caffeine, and can only do decaffeinated in small doses. All the fun is being taken away. Hope you get better soon!

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  10. I'm sure you're tired of the "someone had something" but lol my step mom has had to have 2 surgeries on her intestines now. They originally thought she had an ulcer. She never did tell me if they decided it was a genetic thing.

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