December 2018
For the first few weeks after my initial issues in November, December seems to be starting off well. The pain in my neck was subsiding, along with the jaw and teeth pain. I was taking the antibiotics that the InstaCare doc had prescribed, and of course there were the "traditional" side effects of the antibiotics--which I really didn't worry about.
However, two weeks into December, right at the start of my winter break from teaching, I noticed that the same symptoms I had from weeks before were rearing their ugly head; and this time it was much more intense than before. I had an major stress episode the day before the break while at work, and I was expecting some digestional upset since that has always been the case when I have a major anxiety and stress episode in the past. But what I wasn't expecting was it to last as long as it was.
The weekend came and went, with me spending the majority of the time in bed or on the couch because I didn't have the energy to go anywhere else or to be too far away from a bathroom. That Tuesday, I wanted to work on a new project and needed my mum's help, so I made the trek up to her home (which is about a 15 minute drive) and when I arrived, I had to dash for the bathroom. I felt like a toddler. My mum was a little concerned about it, but I wrote it off as just some residue from stress and the fact that it was the holidays and I was probably not eating the best for me anymore. We really didn't discuss it any more than to brew some chamomile & mint tea for me to sip while we worked. Throughout the afternoon, it seemed that every 30 minutes or so I needed to visit the bathroom; urgently! Maybe it wasn't that frequently, but it was pretty frequent; and annoying. I wasn't feeling bad in the sense of when you're really sick and just want to spend that time in bed, but I was starting to feel like something was a bit wrong.
I went home that evening and had absolutely no appetite. I was getting tired of having to use the restroom constantly, but I thought it was just another stomach bug. And that is when I noticed that besides having just the standard diarrhea, there was starting to be blood and some more of that mucus. I called my mum and asked if she could set up an appointment with our Primary Care doc because this was starting to get out of hand. **as a little side note, and before anyone starts with "why couldn't you call him up?" nonsense, I have an amazing mother. I *h*a*t*e* talking on the phone. Making phone calls to those who are not my family gives me major anxiety. So my mum will call them up and set things up for me. She usually even accompanies me to them to help me with the possible anxiety of the visit and to gather information. I am her daughter and therefore a part of her. I love her to death and the fact that she wants to continue to be part of my life . . . even these yucky episodes, means the world to me. Plus, she helps me remember things and asks some questions I wouldn't even think of**
Anyway, the next morning, we were able to get an appointment scheduled for later that afternoon (because our doc has come to learn that we don't call unless it is an emergency) and at the appointment, after listening to everything, wanted to start with some stool samples and a complete blood workup to see where my numbers were. So off all those samples were sent. A couple days later when the results came back, most of the numbers looked okay, and there weren't any unusual findings in the stool sample, so he was a little stumped as to what it could possibly be.
And so we left it like that until after the Christmas holiday. It was a rough holiday. I was more tired this time around, and still having those urgent calls for the restroom. I ate as I normally would during our Christmas meal, but my mum made some "simple" foods for me in case I didn't want to upset anything further. During the day that we spent with my parents and my brother, my mum and I (between naps of course) did some research as to what it could be so we could help move along things with our doc. The next day that they were open, he called us and asked if we could make it in because he wanted to discuss further options.
The day that we went back to the doctor (visit #3 in two weeks), I was started to feel worse than I ever had. I wasn't eating much, but was drinking coconut water, electrolyte solutions, and a couple of "power smoothies" when I felt like eating something (which wasn't much). I had lost about 6 more pounds than the week before, bringing my total so far for December to 10 pounds gone. After a bit of discussion and looking at where my numbers were the week before, it was decided that I needed to do a double scope: and endoscope (where they go from the mouth) and a colon scope (you get the picture as to which direction that goes). We just had to wait until the first week in January to actually get it done. I was put on a restricted diet, asked to keep up the fluids even more if I could to combat the dehydration that was already starting to become evident, and more blood draws were taken. That was #2 since the middle of December. As if I wasn't losing enough blood when going to the bathroom, 4 full vials plus 3 half vials were taken. Apparently they wanted to run my numbers again and compare them to the visit before. "Something seems off" is what my doc said. He has always listened to me and my wishes when it came to doing things in a holistic manner.
I'm not a fan of most western medicine practices and I am happy to have a Primary Care Physician who actually listens to that and works with me in that regard. Sometimes we butt heads with ideas on stuff, but we are normally able to come to a consensus that benefits us both. As much as I wasn't a fan of the idea of a scope being done (either direction), I wanted answers . . . and boy, were we going to get answers that none of us liked.
However, two weeks into December, right at the start of my winter break from teaching, I noticed that the same symptoms I had from weeks before were rearing their ugly head; and this time it was much more intense than before. I had an major stress episode the day before the break while at work, and I was expecting some digestional upset since that has always been the case when I have a major anxiety and stress episode in the past. But what I wasn't expecting was it to last as long as it was.
The weekend came and went, with me spending the majority of the time in bed or on the couch because I didn't have the energy to go anywhere else or to be too far away from a bathroom. That Tuesday, I wanted to work on a new project and needed my mum's help, so I made the trek up to her home (which is about a 15 minute drive) and when I arrived, I had to dash for the bathroom. I felt like a toddler. My mum was a little concerned about it, but I wrote it off as just some residue from stress and the fact that it was the holidays and I was probably not eating the best for me anymore. We really didn't discuss it any more than to brew some chamomile & mint tea for me to sip while we worked. Throughout the afternoon, it seemed that every 30 minutes or so I needed to visit the bathroom; urgently! Maybe it wasn't that frequently, but it was pretty frequent; and annoying. I wasn't feeling bad in the sense of when you're really sick and just want to spend that time in bed, but I was starting to feel like something was a bit wrong.
I went home that evening and had absolutely no appetite. I was getting tired of having to use the restroom constantly, but I thought it was just another stomach bug. And that is when I noticed that besides having just the standard diarrhea, there was starting to be blood and some more of that mucus. I called my mum and asked if she could set up an appointment with our Primary Care doc because this was starting to get out of hand. **as a little side note, and before anyone starts with "why couldn't you call him up?" nonsense, I have an amazing mother. I *h*a*t*e* talking on the phone. Making phone calls to those who are not my family gives me major anxiety. So my mum will call them up and set things up for me. She usually even accompanies me to them to help me with the possible anxiety of the visit and to gather information. I am her daughter and therefore a part of her. I love her to death and the fact that she wants to continue to be part of my life . . . even these yucky episodes, means the world to me. Plus, she helps me remember things and asks some questions I wouldn't even think of**
Anyway, the next morning, we were able to get an appointment scheduled for later that afternoon (because our doc has come to learn that we don't call unless it is an emergency) and at the appointment, after listening to everything, wanted to start with some stool samples and a complete blood workup to see where my numbers were. So off all those samples were sent. A couple days later when the results came back, most of the numbers looked okay, and there weren't any unusual findings in the stool sample, so he was a little stumped as to what it could possibly be.
And so we left it like that until after the Christmas holiday. It was a rough holiday. I was more tired this time around, and still having those urgent calls for the restroom. I ate as I normally would during our Christmas meal, but my mum made some "simple" foods for me in case I didn't want to upset anything further. During the day that we spent with my parents and my brother, my mum and I (between naps of course) did some research as to what it could be so we could help move along things with our doc. The next day that they were open, he called us and asked if we could make it in because he wanted to discuss further options.
The day that we went back to the doctor (visit #3 in two weeks), I was started to feel worse than I ever had. I wasn't eating much, but was drinking coconut water, electrolyte solutions, and a couple of "power smoothies" when I felt like eating something (which wasn't much). I had lost about 6 more pounds than the week before, bringing my total so far for December to 10 pounds gone. After a bit of discussion and looking at where my numbers were the week before, it was decided that I needed to do a double scope: and endoscope (where they go from the mouth) and a colon scope (you get the picture as to which direction that goes). We just had to wait until the first week in January to actually get it done. I was put on a restricted diet, asked to keep up the fluids even more if I could to combat the dehydration that was already starting to become evident, and more blood draws were taken. That was #2 since the middle of December. As if I wasn't losing enough blood when going to the bathroom, 4 full vials plus 3 half vials were taken. Apparently they wanted to run my numbers again and compare them to the visit before. "Something seems off" is what my doc said. He has always listened to me and my wishes when it came to doing things in a holistic manner.
I'm not a fan of most western medicine practices and I am happy to have a Primary Care Physician who actually listens to that and works with me in that regard. Sometimes we butt heads with ideas on stuff, but we are normally able to come to a consensus that benefits us both. As much as I wasn't a fan of the idea of a scope being done (either direction), I wanted answers . . . and boy, were we going to get answers that none of us liked.
Comments
Post a Comment