I haven’t blogged much this weekend, and might be a little slow to blog this week, because I’m attending a conference of genetics counselors. I’ve got lots to share on that front, but I’d like to be more awake and feeling a bit better when I blog about that. Right now I’m feeling sort of yucky and very tired.
So, we’ll catch up.
Friday was my KUMed day. Whenever possible, I try to schedule all my appointments with different specialists on the same day so I don’t have to miss multiple days of work or pay multiple cab fares etc.
I saw my GI doctor early in the morning. To be honest, I’d almost cancelled the appointment because I felt like I was doing better. But, since I had other appointments and things to accomplish at KU, I decided it couldn’t hurt to touch base with the GI doctor. I’m so glad I didn’t cancel the appointment.
I really like my GI doctor. I mentioned that since I started taking the reflux medication, I haven’t had as much “second sampling” of my food, but I’m still burping all the time. Sometimes at really embarrassing and inappropriate moments a whopper burp – the kind little boys do to be grosse – comes out. He looked at my symptom log and noted that while my diarrhea is improved, it isn’t gone either. So, he wants to do a test for bacteria in my small bowel. If they find something that shouldn’t be there, it’s just a course of antibiotics to fix. No biggie. He said it was common for people who have had ostomies for a long time to sometimes build up bacteria in the small bowel.
So, we’ll be having that test soon I suspect. I still have to schedule it.
Next it was on to my PCP – or rather the person I could get an appointment with at the clinic since my doc wasn’t available. I needed to follow up on the high blood pressure issue, and I didn’t want to make a second trip. It was a great visit. Although the doc I saw had never seen me before (not an ideal follow-up situation) he was very thorough and we seemed to communicate well.
We decided to check my thyroid again to see if the dose increase has made any difference.
I also told him that when my blood pressure really spiked they had told me to stay home, and I’d need a note for my file at work. To make that happen, he needed to consult with my old doctor, who happened to be in that day, as he was the one who had dealt with me that day.
As I sat at the lab waiting to get my blood drawn, down the hall comes my old doctor. He came right up to me, brought me the letter, gave me a hug, and we had a very nice little chat.
He said that some of the responsibilities that were keeping him out of the clinic would be up soon, and it might be easier to get an appointment with him again. I was thrilled. I just really like him. He asked all about how things were going with the HPS Network, and the clinical trial etc.
After I’d sent my e-mail about a year ago, I’d never heard anything back. I had sort of worried that maybe I’d offended him when in actuality I just wanted to let him know what was going on and why I was seeing someone else after he’d spent so much time learning about HPS. It wasn’t that I was unhappy about anything he did – I just couldn’t get an appointment and I felt like I needed some continuity of care.
So, after we had this chance to chat, I just felt so much better about everything. He had understood. Everything between us was okay, and soon I can start seeing him again if I like. I’m a happy camper on the doctor front.
Then I went to visit Annette. She’s doing very well and improving. I was so thrilled to hear it, and to see her looking so much better after everything she’d been through in recent weeks.
So, we’ll catch up.
Friday was my KUMed day. Whenever possible, I try to schedule all my appointments with different specialists on the same day so I don’t have to miss multiple days of work or pay multiple cab fares etc.
I saw my GI doctor early in the morning. To be honest, I’d almost cancelled the appointment because I felt like I was doing better. But, since I had other appointments and things to accomplish at KU, I decided it couldn’t hurt to touch base with the GI doctor. I’m so glad I didn’t cancel the appointment.
I really like my GI doctor. I mentioned that since I started taking the reflux medication, I haven’t had as much “second sampling” of my food, but I’m still burping all the time. Sometimes at really embarrassing and inappropriate moments a whopper burp – the kind little boys do to be grosse – comes out. He looked at my symptom log and noted that while my diarrhea is improved, it isn’t gone either. So, he wants to do a test for bacteria in my small bowel. If they find something that shouldn’t be there, it’s just a course of antibiotics to fix. No biggie. He said it was common for people who have had ostomies for a long time to sometimes build up bacteria in the small bowel.
So, we’ll be having that test soon I suspect. I still have to schedule it.
Next it was on to my PCP – or rather the person I could get an appointment with at the clinic since my doc wasn’t available. I needed to follow up on the high blood pressure issue, and I didn’t want to make a second trip. It was a great visit. Although the doc I saw had never seen me before (not an ideal follow-up situation) he was very thorough and we seemed to communicate well.
We decided to check my thyroid again to see if the dose increase has made any difference.
I also told him that when my blood pressure really spiked they had told me to stay home, and I’d need a note for my file at work. To make that happen, he needed to consult with my old doctor, who happened to be in that day, as he was the one who had dealt with me that day.
As I sat at the lab waiting to get my blood drawn, down the hall comes my old doctor. He came right up to me, brought me the letter, gave me a hug, and we had a very nice little chat.
He said that some of the responsibilities that were keeping him out of the clinic would be up soon, and it might be easier to get an appointment with him again. I was thrilled. I just really like him. He asked all about how things were going with the HPS Network, and the clinical trial etc.
After I’d sent my e-mail about a year ago, I’d never heard anything back. I had sort of worried that maybe I’d offended him when in actuality I just wanted to let him know what was going on and why I was seeing someone else after he’d spent so much time learning about HPS. It wasn’t that I was unhappy about anything he did – I just couldn’t get an appointment and I felt like I needed some continuity of care.
So, after we had this chance to chat, I just felt so much better about everything. He had understood. Everything between us was okay, and soon I can start seeing him again if I like. I’m a happy camper on the doctor front.
Then I went to visit Annette. She’s doing very well and improving. I was so thrilled to hear it, and to see her looking so much better after everything she’d been through in recent weeks.
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