Two weeks ago I was doing pretty good. Not taking great care of myself - drinking iced coffee and mixed drinks socially - but I was doing pretty damn good by all accounts. And then I went in for my annual scopes.
Ordinarily I look forward to my annual scopes. I get to take a planned sick day off of work and enjoy the countdown from ten as the knock-out drugs warm me over on the exam table. But this time I wasn't ready to go back to work the next day. As of today I've been out of the office for almost two weeks with a full-blown flare-up.
At first I thought the preparation was taking some time to wear off. I came home and pigged out immediately after the procedures (I get my colonoscopy and endoscopy done at the same time) and felt well enough, until I tried to go to the bathroom and a river ran through me. The next morning saw more of the same and there was little changed by Friday. At this point I had my doctor paged, as per the instructions on my release forms from the endo clinic, but while he sounded concerned his advice was "if you're starting to feel better you're getting better."
By that Sunday I was getting desperate for some relief so I took an Immodium AD. This stemmed the diarrhea, but started me vomiting. On Monday I called the doctor again and he suggested Pepto Bismol, which struck me as overly-simplistic- I'm not exactly consulting a gastroenterologist for over-the-counter solutions.
So J picked some chew tabs up from the corner store and on Tuesday I stepped out to by the old fashioned liquid and some popsicles, as the puking had turned me off to eating solids. The pepto did indeed help continue to slow the flow of the runs, but it also incited a stomach pain that resulted in a two-day festival of shomiting. Every time I'd sit to poop my gut would contract and I'd shoot liquid out of my face and into the sink.
By Wednesday, exactly one week post-procedure, I was done pussy-footing around with Band-Aid fixes and was ready for a real and actual solution. I was missing not only work but school, and in the middle of finals season to boot. The doc had mentioned there was very slight inflammation indicated on my scopes, but nothing that should make me sick. However, he did admit it was possible that the mere act of scoping me had caused the ruckus I was experiencing. I was eager to confirm this and left a message with his office that morning. I eventually got through to the PA, who always has it together. She was kind enough to call me even though she was out of the office that day, and advised me to come in the next day to be seen, or go to the ER. Well, had I any faith in my local ER I probably would have wound up there that night. I was having spasms every hour on the hour and it was excruciating. At one point I tried to camp out on the bathroom floor because I was so tired of the back-and-forth from my bed to the can. By 3am things began to slow down to the point where I was going every two hours and by 7am I was able to sleep for three hours uninterrupted. I was at my doctor's office by noon, and was given IV fluids, and anti-nausea med and prednisone. So I've been on 40mg for the past two weeks, and just started to taper down to 30 today. I have a slight moonface, but leg pains and sleeplessness are my current concerning side-effects. I've been working a few hours a day from home just to help out at the office, but the thought of commuting back to work on Monday is nothing short of intimidating. My boss and my professors have all been understanding, and I'm hoping to get more into the swing of things by next week.
Ordinarily I look forward to my annual scopes. I get to take a planned sick day off of work and enjoy the countdown from ten as the knock-out drugs warm me over on the exam table. But this time I wasn't ready to go back to work the next day. As of today I've been out of the office for almost two weeks with a full-blown flare-up.
At first I thought the preparation was taking some time to wear off. I came home and pigged out immediately after the procedures (I get my colonoscopy and endoscopy done at the same time) and felt well enough, until I tried to go to the bathroom and a river ran through me. The next morning saw more of the same and there was little changed by Friday. At this point I had my doctor paged, as per the instructions on my release forms from the endo clinic, but while he sounded concerned his advice was "if you're starting to feel better you're getting better."
By that Sunday I was getting desperate for some relief so I took an Immodium AD. This stemmed the diarrhea, but started me vomiting. On Monday I called the doctor again and he suggested Pepto Bismol, which struck me as overly-simplistic- I'm not exactly consulting a gastroenterologist for over-the-counter solutions.
So J picked some chew tabs up from the corner store and on Tuesday I stepped out to by the old fashioned liquid and some popsicles, as the puking had turned me off to eating solids. The pepto did indeed help continue to slow the flow of the runs, but it also incited a stomach pain that resulted in a two-day festival of shomiting. Every time I'd sit to poop my gut would contract and I'd shoot liquid out of my face and into the sink.
By Wednesday, exactly one week post-procedure, I was done pussy-footing around with Band-Aid fixes and was ready for a real and actual solution. I was missing not only work but school, and in the middle of finals season to boot. The doc had mentioned there was very slight inflammation indicated on my scopes, but nothing that should make me sick. However, he did admit it was possible that the mere act of scoping me had caused the ruckus I was experiencing. I was eager to confirm this and left a message with his office that morning. I eventually got through to the PA, who always has it together. She was kind enough to call me even though she was out of the office that day, and advised me to come in the next day to be seen, or go to the ER. Well, had I any faith in my local ER I probably would have wound up there that night. I was having spasms every hour on the hour and it was excruciating. At one point I tried to camp out on the bathroom floor because I was so tired of the back-and-forth from my bed to the can. By 3am things began to slow down to the point where I was going every two hours and by 7am I was able to sleep for three hours uninterrupted. I was at my doctor's office by noon, and was given IV fluids, and anti-nausea med and prednisone. So I've been on 40mg for the past two weeks, and just started to taper down to 30 today. I have a slight moonface, but leg pains and sleeplessness are my current concerning side-effects. I've been working a few hours a day from home just to help out at the office, but the thought of commuting back to work on Monday is nothing short of intimidating. My boss and my professors have all been understanding, and I'm hoping to get more into the swing of things by next week.
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1 comment:
Damn, sorry to hear about your flare! Hopefully the meds will get it under control and you will feel better soon. Make sure to take good care of yourself :)
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