Since I blabbed about this earlier in the week, guess I better post the update, since I just got off the phone with the doctor's office. Things are a bit better, but I'm not out of the woods yet, it seems. Yesterday, when I had the consultation with my doctor, it turned out that my Feb. lab results came back with elevated white blood counts in the kidneys and liver, with blood in my stool. That last bit is not as bad as it sounds, however, as it likely is just an anal fissure (yes, you get to learn about the state of my anus here - thrilled?), but if there continues to be blood there, I'll have to have a check of my colon in the next couple of weeks.
Kidney bit is due to dehydration and I'll be trying to drink more water to see if it'll help. The liver part is the most worrisome. Either I have begun developing Fatty Liver Disease, or I might have contracted Hepatitis A (I'm vaccinated against B and I've had no known contact with blood/bodily fluids of a person infected with C) somehow. Will know the results of that on Wednesday or Thursday of next week, as my local hospital isn't equipped to do those tests and my blood sample was mailed off to Nashville for further testing.
Guess it's nice to know what I'm facing, even if it isn't all that pleasant, huh?
Update to the Update: They managed to get the lab results back today already. Negative for all hepatitis variants. However, I have to have an ultrasound done of my liver on Tuesday afternoon. Not going to be fun going without water/food for over 12 hours, but I want to know what the problem is ASAP.
The Empirical Approach to Learning
1 day ago
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8 comments:
Hey, anal fissures are no joke; they can ruin lives, you know! Oprah had a whole special on it at one point (I swear, that I know this is purely coincidental), where she interviewed several fat women now unable to work due to this terrible distress. I believe the treatment recommended by their house "expert" was long baths in water mixed with skin-smoothing oils. Mmmmm, that part doesn't sound too bad actually... =P
Good luck!
Ha! While I'm overweight at the moment, I don't think I'd be needing to have long baths with water/oil mixtures! That would be...unmanly :P
Been thinking a lot about you since you first posted about your health, and sending you healing thoughts (that's what we atheists do, since we don't pray). It's funny how much you can start to care about a complete stranger whose posts you read regularly on the internet, isn't it? I really, really want you to get better, and soon -- hope you do....
Thanks for the well-wishes, Terry! And I like to think that as we come to realize that there are actual people on the other side of the screen, we begin to see the best parts of human society emerging.
I should be well soon. To be honest, what I have is asymptomatic. If I hadn't had a blood test, I wouldn't have known, so I consider it a blessing to know now rather than later :D
Hope you get better soon. Surely blogging is good for your health?
I have to say, anal fissures are not my area of expertise. If you have to have a colonoscopy, while they are not pleasant, at least, they give you Versed and you won't remember a thing. Bring a driver with you who has a sense of humor, so they can relate back anything you do or say while coming off of it. ;D.
Mary C RN
Ha! :P I remember IMing while I had accidentally taken too much hydrocodone syrup a few years ago. The comments were...amorous? :P
Good luck!
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