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| I'm so incredo-sick of my hiatal hernia. At this point, I've kind of gotten used to my IBS. Yeah, I spend a lot of time in the bathroom, but whatever. I just bring a book to get my mind off of it. When I actually get my painful spasms, that sucks hardcore and often results in me needing to leave work/school/whatever (which is becoming less and less possible with my greater responsibilities at work) but I do at least have my anti-spasmodic medicine to stop the spasms before too long. Sure, some of the side effects are uncomfortable, but far less so than my intestines spasming like crazy. Egh.
But my hernia.. Grr! I'm going to need to actually do something about it. When it was diagnosed, I was just having kind of secondary problems from it, essentially GERD. I've been on meds to reduce my stomach acid production and such for several years, so essentially just fighting my symptoms, but not doing anything about the hernia itself, which wasn't discovered until about 6 months ago. Well, for the last several months, the hernia itself has been hurting. It started out where it would just hurt when I'd be mopping or doing heavy lifting, or other things that actively strained it. Well, now it aches almost 24-7. It's rarely a sharp pain, but always a nagging discomfort. An odd pressure. A shortness of breath. I feel like Napoleon, constantly pushing at my ache, despite the fact that it's internal and I can't ease the pain in any way by doing so.
I got dropped off of my mom's insurance when I got married (and was hesitant to have any specialist appointments, procedures, etc. for a while before since I wasn't technically a full-time student for a little while there and thus wasn't actually eligible for coverage) and while I technically have coverage with Opie's company dating back to the day of our wedding, his HR is taking their sweet-ass time getting the necessary paperwork to us. Essentially, I'd have to pay out of pocket for everything and then get reimbursed later. And I'm sure they wouldn't drag their feet as much as possible with said reimbursement. Ha. Soooo despite the fact that I had a checkup with my gastrointerologist scheduled for last week that I've been looking forward to for ages, I had to reschedule to avoid paying out the butt, and naturally can't get in again until after Christmas. Blah. Naturally, in the meantime, I'm constantly needing to mop, run trashes to the dumpster, etc. all day at work. I wonder if one of those brace things that janitors wear around their abdomen would help in any way. I'm trying my best to get other people to do the things that make me hurt, but I hate doing it. I imagine some of my coworkers think I'm a hypochondriac or something. I have a lot of issues that give me pretty chronic pain, but I work through it to the extent that people disbelieve me. Yay, pain tolerance/determination/work ethic.
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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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