My Six Quirks

My friend Sarah tagged me to post my six quirks.

1. I'm obsessed with recycling to the point where I recycle the cardboard rolls from toilet paper.

2. I brew green tea in a coffee pot. What can I say? I needed to use the coffee pot for something since I drink very little coffee now and I love having brewed green tea when I come down on a work day at 5:15 AM.

3. I give my cats ice in their water just like the water I drink for myself.

4. I take vacation days from work so I can have time to myself to rest/sleep while my son is at school.

5. Similar to Sarah, I cherish bathroom breaks on busy days at work. It's not uncommon for me to sit for a few minutes rubbing my temples or taking a very brief snooze.

6. I feel guilty taking a lunch break at work so I only take a lunch break about every 6 months for an off-site meal. Otherwise, you'll find me at my desk with a frozen entree or bowl of soup working on my Mac.

I'm working with doctors again

I wrote yesterday that I was going to battle whatever is wrong with me on my own. Well, my husband had a different idea. He called my doctor today and reported my swelling and the golf-ball sized lump to her. My case has been escalated. I went in and had blood drawn tonight so it can be checked for pancreatic enzymes. I have to go in for x-rays tomorrow. Wish me luck!

On my own

After this past week, I have decided to give up on my medical community to take care of myself "on my own".

My latest CT scan was negative and my doctor has thrown up her hands in defeat and referred me to a GI doctor. This doctor cannot see me until September 24th. Jon asked me to try and see his doctor; I called on Friday and they were getting ready to close and the woman who can schedule for this doctor is out until Tuesday.

Jon was gone when I got up yesterday morning but I called him and told him about my left side being swollen again. When he got home, I showed him. From roughly the waist up including my breast, my left side is swollen. I have a hard spot under my ribs where the spleen is located. I have all of the signs of infectious mononucleosis which has not medical treatment. The recommendations are rest, Advil, and Echinacea can help boost your immune system. I have decided to try and get as much rest as possible and just requested a couple of vacation days from work to make for a five-day weekend Labor Day weekend. Oddly enough, my staff haven't really taken time off until later in the week following the holiday. The vacation days let me get rest on Friday while Jonnie is at school which will be important since Jon will be in Circleville Friday - Sunday. The vacation day on Tuesday the 2nd lets me recooperate afterward.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers. I will get through this although it's been very discouraging as of late!

Feel like a lab rat

I'm starting to feel like a laboratory rat. Thankfully, I don't live in a cage, have to run on a wheel, and, so far, nothing done to me has been lethal.

Since my doctor cannot determine the source of my left side pain and low grade fever that I've had since July 21st, we keep trying things. We tried the colonoscopy but my colon is fine. I had another blood draw on Aug 13th; no results yet. I had another urine test on the 13th which was negative so it was being cultured to see if anything would "grow". Yuck. On Tuesday the 19th, I am having another CT scan but this scan includes the entire abdominal and pelvic area plus a stone study. We are running the possible course that I could have kidney or gall stones. My doctor also has me trying prescription Prilosec in the event that I have something in my stomach that my previous CT scan did not pick up. The medicine is a "pump inhibitor" which will control stomach acid so any ulcers I might have can heal. My experience with the Prilosec is mixed at this point. I did not read the directions thoroughly when I first got it and for two nights, I took it prior to bed. This morning, I woke up horribly dizzy and feeling like someone cracked open my head and tried to scramble my brain. My husband bailed me out by taking my car in for the service appointment that I had at 8 AM and filled the car with gas which I forgot that I needed to get. Even around noon I still felt a bit dizzy so all of us piled into the van and went to Kroger for groceries. I was angry with the meds and started reading the leaflet again and confirmed dizziness is a side effect and that the med should be taken prior to a meal. Oops. Starting today, I am taking the med with dinner.

I am eager to have the test next Tuesday and get the results so I know what to do next. In the midst of all this, my husband has to have an ultrasound on his throat on Tuesday. His doctor felt nodules around the thyroid during his physical last week. The doctor called today about the blood work and found elevated liver enzymes so they want to check his blood again in a couple of weeks. I laughed when the doctor had told Jon that the elevation could have been due to alcohol consumption. He had a glass of wine in the last two weeks and that was his first drink in months. He's not a drinker and that's not a bad thing. My mother-in-law is on standby and ready to drive in from Kansas if anyone (or both) ends up in the hospital. I guess it's a blessing for us that she hasn't found another job or started her business yet!

Thanks to everyone for your prayers. I hate asking for prayers but I truly believe they do help. I know, if nothing else, the well wishes and hugs from friends that I have received during the past month have offered encouragement. I am blessed to be part of such wonderful communities of faith!

Test update

I had the colonoscopy today and the results came back negative. So, we're back to the drawing board.

Since doctors have not been able to provide answers, I asked my husband what I should do next. He had medical training as an athletic training so he's no medical slouch. He thinks my pain could be either my kidneys, pancreas, or liver. I started taking vitamin, antioxidant, and supplement packs by Dr. Andrew Weil back in June. He said it's possible my diaherra incident and the pain I have no could be completely unrelated. He asked me to stop taking my Dr. Weil packs and to go back to my regular Centrum multi-vitamin. He thinks that perhaps the packs that I have been taking might be toxic to my body. I spent over $200 on the stuff from Dr. Weil but with the co-pay for my doctor and the co-pay for the ER I've almost spent that same amount. So, I am going try what Jon suggested. I packed up a box of supplements, antioxidants, and vitamins shortly after we got home. I got out on my one bottle of Centrum and put one pill in the AM slot of my pill box.

I appreciate everyone's prayers. I wish I had something more definitive to report.

Day 2 without food

I am into day #2 without being able to have food. I got up at 6:30 AM so that I could have a glass of apple juice and a cup of green tea before 8 AM. After 8 AM, nothing is permitted until after the tests are complete.

I'm actually feeling pretty good. My left side has been sore since last night but I had to drink my colon prep yesterday which had me in the bathroom frequently until about 9 PM. I took a short walk around the neighborhood this morning and I did some reading. I decided to lay down because my left side was uncomfortable while I sat to read. I ended up taking about an hour nap laying on my right side. I've been a left side sleeper for as long as I can remember but that has changed during these past 3 weeks. I've had to start sleeping on my right side with some time on my tummy and my back.

Jon saw a very dear friend last night at his K of C 4th degree meeting. Our friend is still mourning the loss of his daughter; Jon attended the calling hours and served with the honor guard. He was telling our friend about my situation and his friend said that his sister had the same symptoms and she was diagnosed with colitis. I googled for colitis this morning and the symptoms do seem to be right on with what I've had for the past 3 weeks. The tests will be the determining factor. Jon and I already discussed some treatment options and I'm not surprised that Jon wants me to go with traditional medicine. I wanted to explore alternative treatment with herbs. We really have to wait and see what the diagnosis is and go from there before making any decisions.

We'll be leaving here in about an hour to head to the university. I'll post an update tomorrow with what I find out.

The fasting has begun

Yesterday, I ate what we joked is my "last supper" at Digger and Finch. It's at least my last supper until Thursday; I'm optimistic that it's not my last supper ever! I told Jon that I hope the hospital doesn't ask me what my last meal was because fried pickles, 2 draft beers, fries, and a burger with blue cheese and bacon are probably not what they want to hear. The truth is that I don't normally eat like that; we had a coupon for Digger and Finch and since I will not be eating for a couple of days, I let myself splurge.

Today is the clear liquid diet which is actually translucent liquids you can see through but that don't contain any red dyes! I'm finishing a cup of tea and I had some water. I can take my prescription meds but I'm skipping my vitamins and supplements as I think those will make my nauseated without food. I have out a large mug that I will be filling with ice and enjoying arctic shatter powerade, some calorie free sparkling pear-dragonfruit flavored water, regular water, and apple juice. At 4 PM, I have to start drinking the dreaded cleansing beverage which I opted to flavor with Citrus Berry this year.

It's just me and the cats today until the guys get home. I will probably leave the downstairs while the guys eat dinner since I'll be well into hour two of my cleansing beverage and need to be near a potty plus I don't want to see Jon enjoying his leftover ribs!

I hope to have some answers to my health mystery after my tests tomorrow. I might not get anything posted until Friday since they give you really good drugs to relax during the tests. I recover for a while at the hospital but I found I want to go back to sleep when I get home. Depending on my stomach, I might have some dinner. I've already requested that Jon make macaroni and cheese which is a tasty bland comfort food!

Trying to stay upbeat

I've been trying hard to stay upbeat even though I do not feel well. All of the tests that I have had so far have indicated nothing. This means, no one know what is wrong with me. I continue to have pain in my left side that varies by hour and can sometimes become quite uncomfortable. I've also gotten tired quiet easily. I had grand plans for my Saturday and ended up only leaving the house for a 10-minute stroll in the immediate neighborhood. When I went to bed last night, I decided to let my body dictate when I would get up. I slept from 10 PM until almost 9 AM with a brief interruption around 3 AM to check on Midnight who was howling like crazy.

For the first time since I've been sick, I was nauseous. I'm glad that has gone away and I've been able to have more to eat. I've done some laundry but have had to take it easy because my side starts to hurt more when I am carrying baskets around the house. I didn't think sweeping the floor would be strenuous but my side flared up by the time I was done.

It's been hard not to get discouraged. I think the one thing that has keep me going are the words of the Divine Mercy Novena that I've been reciting nightly since last Sunday. The Novena will wrap up on Monday.

I sometimes wonder "why me?". In mid-June, I made lifestyle changes to try and live an healthier life. I eat whole wheat pasta, brown rice, I love fruit, and I've enjoyed veggies like eggplant and asparagus that I normally don't have since the guys don't like them. I baked my eggplant for a healthy version of parmesean. I added baby portabellos to my chicken soup. I roasted some asparagus with a little soy sauce, a touch of sesame oil, ginger, and garlic that I cut up and tossed with whole wheat rotini. I drink green tea with coffee as an occasional treat now. I wonder if I had never made efforts to change my eating and drinking habits if I would still be in this situation.

Until the colonoscopy, I will remain as strong as I can, follow doctor's orders for the pre-test fasting on Wednesday and Thursday in the hope that some clue is found during the test that can help me find the road to recovery.