Health Bulletin

I received the results of the Hidascan and they are negative for any problems in the ducts between the liver, gall bladder and duodenum.

I'm to see a gastroenterologist next and have an appointment scheduled for mid-July.

Meanwhile I feel awful and bloated pretty much every time I eat. Sometimes not, though, and it' s hard to say why. I haven't been able to see a pattern to it, although it seems fresh fruits and vegetables cause the most trouble. For meals where I have just grains and dairy and rice milk, like my morning oatmeal, it seems I'm OK. Other than that, I can't figure it out.

More later...

The Rodney and Rebecca Reading Club

Did I tell you that Rod and I have been reading together? Well, at least as much as two people can do who live 500 miles apart.

We decided we want to read some of the same books so we can talk about them together. First he picked one of his for me to read, a favorite of his. Then we decided to alternate, so I picked one that we read together, he picks one that we read together, and so on.

This is the list so far:

Becky's Pick: Lark and Termite by Jayne Ann Phillips (Excellent, we both loved it. Different story and characters adn beautiful writing)

Rod's Pick: Crusader's Cross by James Lee Burke (Good one, great author, but Rod says this is not his best)

Becky's Pick: Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Classic - everyone should read and debate this. We spent a lot of time wondering how far the suspension of disbelief can go)

Rod's Pick: The Road by Carmack McCarthy (Excellent, thought-provoking, dark book about a post-apocalyptic world. Not as dark as one would think, though, because of the bond remaining between two human hearts)

Becky's Pick: Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens, which I'm mad about since it was on Masterpiece Theater this winter. But we found it too heavy to do long distance, so we've put it aside until we're in the same home.

Becky's Quick Pick: The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (don't laugh - it's very allegorical! And Rod reads it aloud very well - he got applause from Lucas!)

Beck's Pick: Beach Music by Pat Conroy (Currently in progress, and we're loving it. Jack McCall reminds me of Rod.)

Coming Next:

Rod's Pick: A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham

Beck's Pick: Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

Cute Dog! And an update on me

Dave, my best co-worker, saw a woman walking into the cafeteria today with a dog in her backpack. The noive! But maybe he's a therapy dog. She stopped so Dave could snap this photo.

The dog's name is "Wolf". Is he not the Jack Nicholson of small dogs?

I've been still feeling "bloaty", but OK otherwise. Had the Hidascan yesterday, very uneventful, although I was vibrating from radiation today, still. Waiting for 2-3 days for results.

Meanwhile, my Eastern medicine specialist, my acupuncturist/herbalist, says she'll do everything she can to save my gall bladder, if it comes to that. Eastern medicine has herbal helpers for it and they think the gall bladder is much more important than Western Medicine gives it credit for. It's good to know there may be options other than surgery - if it comes to that. She stuck me full of needles today to help with digestion and the spleen, and to heal the scarring from my cold sores. Yes, they got massive - all seven of them clustered together so proudly on my chin.

Don't know results yet, but will keep y'all posted.

Health Bulletin

A lot of you know that I was very sick when at home in Ohio a few weeks ago.

The history: I was sick within an hour of getting off the plane, but I thought it was just fibromyalgia and a reaction to the weather change. It was in the 60's and rainy, a good 30-40 degrees lower than it had been in Tucson. I got better within an hour after taking some meds. Went back to my friend Katrina's for the night.

Next morning felt rotten so stayed in bed most of that day. Got up, showered, went out with friends, back to Katrina's, yacked with her until midnight, then to bed.

Next morning could hardly walk because of the pain. Went straight to the Urgent Care near her house, found I had a 102.5 fever and a whopping urinary tract infection, both bladder and kidneys. Got a shot of antibiotics plus oral antibiotics, instructions to go to the ED if I got worse in any way - I was near needing hospitalization. Called my parents and they came in their van with a mattress in back and took me home to their place in Quaker City 2 hours east of Powell/Katrina's.

Improved enough to enjoy a family cookout Sunday, then got fever again and went downhill Sunday night. Went to the ER in Cambridge Monday morning and they ran tests, just urine and CBC and found the urine was much, much better, but I have peculiarly elevated liver enzymes - like 4-5 of the measures were 4 times the upper limit.

I talked that all over with my doctor (rheumatologist) Monday in Columbus and he says
that the UTI, none of my drugs, nothing could explain that, it must be completely unrelated, but may account for why I felt so bad. He was puzzled about how I could improve so quickly because he characterized it as an "acute situation" that I need to get checked out right away with my doctor in Tucson. He was going to write her a letter to contribute his 200 cents to the puzzle.

Back in Tucson, they've tested my urine and blood, ruled out Hepatitis A, B, C and ANA Titer (immune system test) was negative for any problems. Still white blood cells in urine. Did an abdominal ultrasound and found I have "sludge" - that's the word they used! in my gall bladder and want to run another test called a Hidascan.

I felt like poo all weekend and laid around the house. Keep getting stomach ache whenever I eat now, and bloating. And I've now had my fifth cold sore outbreak since I've been in Tucson, and previously I'd had 2 my whole life! So that may mean something to the puzzle - who knows. Will keep you posted.

Rebecca

Drugged By My Parents

Got this from a nice guy at work. Love this article. Turns out I was drugged by my parents, too.