Are you serious?

Got a voicemail from the doctor's office last week. Apparently my tTG titers are now higher than before. That's not supposed to happen. It was supposed to be positive reinforcement to continue to eat like a nut case.

This will warrant more investigation. Many possible reasons, including some sort of lab error (it's a send-out, and I went to a different lab...).

I'll keep you posted.

Pun intended.

"Quick" Note

Hi there-

Just had to post. If you know me, you probably know that I can often be the "grammar and spelling police". I'm the kid who inadvertently proofreads the bulletin during church. If I find an error on a test, I have to correct it before I can even reread the question. Of course, you all have to deal with my incorrect grammar on this blog, but it's my prerogative. Like my famous run-on sentences and fragments. And dangling participles. And whatnot.

If any of you are anal like me, I thought you might get a kick out of this blog I just "happened" to find:

Quotations

I laughed out loud. It's so "me". I may not be a grammar expert, but blatant disregard for the English language drives me nuts. Maybe I'll post again on my current favorite/most annoying language issue...

Enjoy!

I fell...

Off the bandwagon, with the coffee thing. I drank some today, after almost a month without. It was alright.

I awoke my coffeemaker from its two month hibernation to find that it had developed a "funk". That musty, acrid smell of coffee buildup. Ick. I had to descale it with vinegar before I even tried to make a cup. I think it helped a little, but my coffee still wasn't quite up to standard. It had a faint taste of moldiness. Nevertheless, it was a nice homecoming, what with the vanilla fake creamer and such.

(Random thought- why doesn't anyone make a flavored creamer product that is actually derived from cream? I can't find any in the grocery stores around here.)

I even had to make a special trip on my way home from work today just to get the creamer. But it was worth it. Even the quizzical look I got from the cashier when I paid for my solitary creamer bottle.

It's good to be back. Now, I'm going to try moderation again and see how that goes...

Coffee coffee coffee!!!

I haven't had coffee in a couple weeks now.

I know, I didn't think I could do it either.

Mom and I had some uh, severe gastrointestinal disturbances after drinking some decaf while we scrapbooked. She blamed it on the coffee, even though it was decaf. From then on, we made a pact to not drink any coffee, caff or decaf.... I was thinking we might try it for a few weeks, but she said three months. Yikes.

I have noticed somewhat of a difference since giving it up altogether. That doesn't mean that I don't miss it though. Pretty much everyone knows that I love coffee. My adorable aunt-in-law gave me a coffee book with gift cards for different coffee shops for my birthday, and I thought it was an awesome idea! (I might steal the idea someday for a friend...) My kitchen rug has coffee cups on it. I used to go hang out at a nearby coffee shop to study before tests, partly for coffee and partly because the rest of my classmates were there to make me feel better about the test. We mostly sat around comparing how little we felt we'd studied.

I wasn't all fanatic about it like my one friend who grinds his own coffee beans and such, but I do love coffee. And I miss it so.

Now I'm off to have some tea...

whoa.

Heh heh heh.... just looked at my ER bill. I'm almost speechless. That's a LOT of money for a set of vitals, a urinalysis, a complete metabolic profile, a CBC, and 10 minutes with a doctor. Holy crap. I was expecting a bill, but NOT like that. Nothing was diagnosed!!! Nothing was treated!!! I can only imagine the medical bills for people who are actually sick. Wow. I'm in shock.

Thank the Lord for insurance. Softens the blow considerably. But still... I'm such a tightwad, so I'm naturally upset at the ridiculousness of it.

Fractions

Just wanted to note that I am now 2/8 done with my rotations! It sounds better, though, if I make it 1/4. I'm 1/4 of the way done with my last year of school!

This month went really fast, especially since we moved back in with my family for the month. I've been unexpectedly pretty busy, mostly with seminar work. Maybe we'll use my break in December as another excuse to take advantage of my parents' hospitality, and I'll have a little more time to enjoy being "home" again. Chances are, that month will fly by just like this one did.

On another note- still don't know what caused my "episode" that landed me in the ER. It's a mystery. Here's hoping it doesn't happen again!

New developments

Well, I was at the hospital until about 5 yesterday.

Unfortunately, I transitioned from student to patient around 11:30.

It was a pretty normal day, I was following the hematologist around for the day. She was incredibly nice, and I was really excited to learn from her. As we were standing in a room of the clinic, talking to a patient about heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, I started to feel really warm. I looked over at the nurse, and she kind of looked at me funny and asked if I was OK. Apparently, I was beet red.

I left the room and went to sit down because I felt a little dizzy. The nurse took my temperature and got me some water, and then the chills started. I was shaking uncontrollably and at that point becoming a little scared. The doctor told me to call my doctor for an appointment and to go home for the rest of the day. I didn't argue. Then, the room kept starting to spin and go black, so I quickly put my head down. Plans changed, and the doctor said to get a wheelchair and take me to ER. So, there I was being wheeled to the other side of the hospital with my head between my knees, trying hard not to panic (and failing miserably). I was really too scared to be overly self-conscious.

ER was pretty uneventful. I was still feeling pretty awful, alternating between flushing and chills, but I didn't have a fever. My blood pressure was sky high, but that's kind of understandable in the situation. I saw the doctor briefly, part of which I remember, but there was nothing extraordinary. After about an hour of laying in the room by myself, wondering if everyone forgot about me (and my request to use the bathroom), I started feeling better. I eventually got up and found the bathroom anyway (they really did forget), peed in a cup, and that's when the frequent trips to the bathroom started, if you catch my drift. I felt pretty much ok after that, other than some nausea that required the acquisition of a barf bucket.

I'm at a loss. I have no idea what happened. My labs all came back normal, with the exception of an increased white count and increased bands. Looks like infection or stress from that. Some sort of gastroenteritis? Mom's been feeling kind of bad, too. Was it the protein bar I ate an hour before I felt weird? Anything to do with Celiac??

I was there for 5 and 1/2 hours. I may have talked to the doctor for a total of ten minutes, had one set of vitals, and one blood draw. It was incredibly ridiculous. Thanks to my husband and Mom for coming to keep me company. Even they were out of words for hangman by the time we left...

I have been feeling funny sometimes lately anyway. I can just be sitting down and my heart starts beating really fast and I feel short of breath. I thought it was just that I need to make sure I eat often enough, so I've been making sure to keep my blood sugar up. I was just going to let it go and maybe mention it to the doctor, but after this "episode", I'm starting to worry.

I took the day off today because I still feel bad, on and off. I've only eaten pudding and some soup. Every time I eat, I get nauseous. No more diarrhea, presumably because I've barely been eating.

I know that worrying about it only makes it worse, but it's awfully hard not to. I've spent more time sick in that past two months that I have well. I'm worried and frustrated.

I thought I was supposed to feel better at some point?!