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| I had my gastrointestinal stuff under control for a month or two there, but it's been acting up again for the last few weeks. Bleh!
I guess I never really explained my diagnosis after I posted about the possible diagnoses.
My conditions are (at least) twofold.
1) Hiatal Hernia
"A hiatal hernia is an anatomical abnormality in which part of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm and up into the chest. ... The larger the hernia, the more likely it is to cause symptoms. When sliding hiatal hernias produce symptoms, they almost always are those of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or its complications. This occurs because the formation of the hernia often interferes with the barrier (lower esophageal sphincter) which prevents acid from refluxing from the stomach into the esophagus"
As my doctor explained it, the sphincter between my stomach and esophagus does not close all the way, thus causing my acid reflux. I got to see some pretty nifty pictures from inside my stomach looking back at my esophagus, and sure enough, the sphincter gapes. Weird. Due to this, I have painful reflux, nausea, vomiting, aaaand truly awesome belches.
2) Irritable Bowel Syndrome
"Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not permanently harm the intestines and does not lead to a serious disease, such as cancer. Most people can control their symptoms with diet, stress management, and prescribed medications. For some people, however, IBS can be disabling. They may be unable to work, attend social events, or even travel short distances."
Yup. Cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. I've got the grab bag. IBS is basically diagnosed when you've ruled out the other possible causes. I'm not gluten intolerant and I don't have Crohn's, so IBS is most likely what's attacking my insides here. To help address this condition, I'm trying to consume a high fiber diet and I have some medicine which quickly stops my intestinal spasming when I can feel it coming on (oh believe me, I can feel it coming on). The medicine has some side effects I'm not too keen on, but it allows me to work and attend classes and such, so I'll take it, thanks.
Thinking that I may also have a bacterial imbalance, my gastroenterologist also had me take a series of probiotics to try to get my gut's chemistry back in order. I'm hopeful that maybe if I take another round of probiotics I'll have another few months of peace from my fairly debilitating symptoms. I need to call him tomorrow and see what he thinks. Wheeeeeeeeeee.
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| A hot bath, and half a bottle of sangria later,
I haven't exactly found shangri la.
I'm preemptively mourning.
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| I'm kind of down in the dumps here lately.
A lot of it's due to my health, and waiting for a diagnosis. Luckily I only have to wait a total of 5 days between my appointment at which I was told the 3 likely diagnoses, and the exam in which they'll likely determine which of the 3 it is. I don't know if they'll be able to tell me which it is in the recovery room or if I'll have to wait around for a phone call a week or so later or what.
It's most likely I have 1 of the following:
1. Celiac Sprue
"Celiac disease (CD) is a genetic disorder. In people with CD, eating certain types of protein, called gluten, sets off an autoimmune response that causes damage to the small intestine. This, in turn, causes the small intestine to lose its ability to absorb the nutrients found in food, leading to malnutrition and a variety of other complications."
2. Irritable Bowel Syndrome
"Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder characterized most commonly by cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. IBS causes a great deal of discomfort and distress, but it does not permanently harm the intestines and does not lead to a serious disease, such as cancer. Most people can control their symptoms with diet, stress management, and prescribed medications. For some people, however, IBS can be disabling. They may be unable to work, attend social events, or even travel short distances."
3. Crohn's Disease
"Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), is a lifelong condition in which the lining of your digestive tract becomes inflamed, causing severe diarrhea and abdominal pain. The inflammation often spreads deep into the layers of affected tissue. Like ulcerative colitis, another common IBD, Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complication."
Obviously, I really don't want to have any of these conditions. That being said, they're all treatable on varying levels, and even if the treatment is only somewhat successful, it's got to be better than the total lack of treatment I've been receiving for the 1.5 years I've had my symptoms. Avoiding a proper diagnosis would not be doing myself any favors. I'm anxious nonetheless.
I think the other thing dampening my mood is school. I just couldn't care less about it this semester, and yet doing poorly in my studies just goes against my nature in many ways, so even as I continue to slack off, I feel really rotten about it. I'm pretty sure I'll pass all of my classes even with my minimal effort, but that's coming from the girl who normally has a 3.7, 3.8 GPA. Bleh. None of my professors inspire any sort of interest in their classes. Some of them are just downright incompetent. Egh.
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| Long time no blog, at least on xanga.
Opie proposed a month or two ago (and of course I said yes)! I'll admit I don't recall the date, but I do know it was on a Tuesday. I suspect it was early October, because that's when I got really involved in wedding planning. Maybe later though - I knew he had gotten the ring a while before it became "official." The plan is to get married next October or possibly early November. Fall has forever been my favorite season.
We got a Great Dane puppy right around the same time that Opie proposed. Trajan is 65 lbs of wonderful puppy-love. He's only 4 months old and had a 185 lb father, so he's got lots of growing to do. Poor little (giant) teething pup with monstrous growing pains. He's currently sprawled at my feet with giant paws thrown in every direction. Aww.
I'm doing -really- well at my new school with my new program. Not that I did poorly at my old school or with my business major, but it's so much easier to do well in classes that interest me. Economics was just never my cup of tea. I took Computer Science, its associated lab, Principles of Design, 2D Design, Drawing, and Government this semester. I'm about to start my Spring semester with Digital Imaging, Color Photography, Forensic Biology, some required Humanities class, and the next Computer Science class.
I'm hopeful that I'll be getting an internship with my brother's advertising agency, doing grunt work for their creative department. I really do want to start getting applicable job experience.
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| I haven't updated since May. Eventful things have happened aplenty since then, I just haven't found the time or inclination to write it down.
I'm still working at Starbucks, but looking around for internships and other more interesting things.
My classes start tomorrow. I changed my major, and transferred to a new school. I'm really excited about the new things to come academically, and ultimately the career-type things to come after that. This is going to be so much more.. right.
Things between Opie and me are more and more wonderful everyday. I'm living with him, and have been for quite a few months now. He bought a house a couple of weeks ago. We've been very occupied with stripping wallpaper, painting, moving, cleaning, etc. ever since. The house is in the same neighborhood as my parents' house, which is really very nice, and certainly kind of odd too, particularly since I used to live on this same street. Many of the neighbors are still the same, and I was 9 when I last lived on this street. I walked from this street to the elementary school ten years ago. I played on the fort in the backyard of the house three doors down. I babysat some kids in the house next door. I jumped on the trampoline at the house across the street. I helped a kid down the street onto the bus on his first day of kindergarten. He's probably a senior in high school this year. So yeah, it's weird. And besides the location, I'm a 19-year-old with a house. So that's definitely weird (and hella nice) too.
I think I'll go clean some and hit the hay. I have to get up early for that school-type shtuff in the mornin'.
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