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Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
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12:18a - Health Stuffs
Today, is has been two weeks since my surgery. In general, things are better. Much, much better. There are ups and downs, but I'm trying to get by without painkillers. And mostly, I can. The malabsorption is also much better, and I'm able to eat properly again. I've been steady at 104 pounds for a few days now. This is exciting. Unfortunately, I still seem to be having pain that's somehow connected to my surgery, so I go back to the doctor later this week to investigate. It's been too long at this point for it to be normal.
I had another breath hydrogen test today. An explanation for newcomers and those who don't remember: since my intestine doesn't know how to move anymore, I often get bacterial overgrowths in my small intestine. It is not fun. So I get breath tests. I have to drink something called lactulose, which is eaten by bacteria and turned in hydrogen. I then have to breath into a bag every fifteen minutes for an hour and a half. They measure the amount of hydrogen in my breath, and if there's over a certain amount, I have an infection. The tests are kind of a drag, but they're not invasive or anything. I've had...five? Seven? of them. I'm not sure how many, but I've only had one that was negative.
I also have to have another gastric emptying test later this month, but I really REALLY don't want to go. First of all, my parents will be out of town, so I have no one to drive me. This doesn't seem like a big deal, except it's all the way in the city, and the test lasts four hours, and there's a follow-up with the NP later in the afternoon. So if I take public transit, it's going to have to be an all-day ordeal. Also, I have to eat eggs. I hate eggs. I really don't want to go. I may chicken out and reschedule.
I still haven't done the 24-hour urine thing for the nephrologist. I haven't seen that guy in ages.
It's upsetting to me that my body is so high-maintenance. Even when I am doing so much better than I was before, now that I am relatively healthy, I still need tests, tests, tests, all the time. I will need them forever. I don't like that.
My gut is misbehaving badly right now. I may have to take a painkiller. I'm in a rare mood where I just want someone to take care of me. I'm usually EXTREMELY resistant to letting people help me out, even a little, much to the chagrin of my friends and family. But right now, things are bad and I'm unhappy and a little scared and I'd like someone to hold me and help me with my Octreotide injection. Then I want a promise that it'll be alright, that this ordeal will be over soon, even if it's a lie. I just want that.
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