short update
Haven't posted in a very long time, have I? Nothing substantial anyway.
Got sick over Labor Day weekend. Bad bad bad stomachache. I thought when I woke up Sunday morning with a bellyache it that it was just from eating nothing but chips and nacho cheese all day Saturday and it would go away if I ate something with some nutritional value, so I got an egg and cheese sandwich at Dunkin' Donuts. That didn't help. It just got worse, but I just figured the nacho cheese must have been bad the day before and it would go away by the next day.
Monday, I still had a stomachache. But my boss was having a cookout so I went and I ate what he had available. It was healthy (very healthy for a cookout with chicken instead of burgers, and corn and vegetables) but my stomach hated it. Monday night was the worst. Stomach hurt so bad it took until after 3 to finally fall asleep.
Tuesday morning, though, I was feeling relatively better, so I went to work. Stomach still hurt, was still running to the bathroom every two hours, but it was bearable. Wednesday went much the same as Tuesday, but it wasn't going away and the porcelain throne was doing nothing to reassure me. I called my doctor and got an appointment for the next morning. Saw my regular doctor first thing Thursday, went to the lab and got samples taken, and I was referred to the gastrointestinal specialist. Friday, I had a colonoscopy.
The colonoscopy actually helped. The prep completely emptied out my system and the worst of the stomachache has been gone since then. It still hasn't gone away completely, but it's easily ignorable for the most part. I was on a bland low fiber diet for the next few days. I called up the doctor on the following Wednesday. I was told there was inflammation but no bacteria. They put me on fiber pills, asked if I was feeling alright (I was, for the most part), said they had no idea what was wrong and the best thing to do was wait and see and they told me they'd see me in a month. The appointment is tomorrow afternoon.
There was a brief relapse when I simultaneously skipped dinner, forgot to take my pills, and started my period, but that passed within 24 hours and I mostly blame the latter for it. I missed two or three weeks of fencing from all this (depending on if you count the first week of introductions and demos, which I was probably going to skip anyway) because my stomach was (and still is) tender to pressure and I was afraid of getting hit there but I started it up again about three weeks after I first started feeling ill and it's been going pretty well lately.
For now, though, I'm feeling mostly normal. Not tip top condition, and I'm avoiding caffeine, mayonnaise, and really greasy food as much as possible, and I've taken to drinking ginger ale, but I can eat pretty much whatever I want without causing major issues.
On happier notes, this weekend should be fun. I'm going down to my parents for two very special occasions. The first one (chronologically) is that it is my darling sister's birthday today and she'll be up from Virginia, so I'll get to see her. The second and probably more notable one (no offense to Cindi) is that my cousin is getting married on the 21st. (Must remember to bring my dress home.) Mike is a really cool guy and I wish her the very best. She's the first on Dad's side and the second of my cousins to get married. Congratulations to Laura.
Got sick over Labor Day weekend. Bad bad bad stomachache. I thought when I woke up Sunday morning with a bellyache it that it was just from eating nothing but chips and nacho cheese all day Saturday and it would go away if I ate something with some nutritional value, so I got an egg and cheese sandwich at Dunkin' Donuts. That didn't help. It just got worse, but I just figured the nacho cheese must have been bad the day before and it would go away by the next day.
Monday, I still had a stomachache. But my boss was having a cookout so I went and I ate what he had available. It was healthy (very healthy for a cookout with chicken instead of burgers, and corn and vegetables) but my stomach hated it. Monday night was the worst. Stomach hurt so bad it took until after 3 to finally fall asleep.
Tuesday morning, though, I was feeling relatively better, so I went to work. Stomach still hurt, was still running to the bathroom every two hours, but it was bearable. Wednesday went much the same as Tuesday, but it wasn't going away and the porcelain throne was doing nothing to reassure me. I called my doctor and got an appointment for the next morning. Saw my regular doctor first thing Thursday, went to the lab and got samples taken, and I was referred to the gastrointestinal specialist. Friday, I had a colonoscopy.
The colonoscopy actually helped. The prep completely emptied out my system and the worst of the stomachache has been gone since then. It still hasn't gone away completely, but it's easily ignorable for the most part. I was on a bland low fiber diet for the next few days. I called up the doctor on the following Wednesday. I was told there was inflammation but no bacteria. They put me on fiber pills, asked if I was feeling alright (I was, for the most part), said they had no idea what was wrong and the best thing to do was wait and see and they told me they'd see me in a month. The appointment is tomorrow afternoon.
There was a brief relapse when I simultaneously skipped dinner, forgot to take my pills, and started my period, but that passed within 24 hours and I mostly blame the latter for it. I missed two or three weeks of fencing from all this (depending on if you count the first week of introductions and demos, which I was probably going to skip anyway) because my stomach was (and still is) tender to pressure and I was afraid of getting hit there but I started it up again about three weeks after I first started feeling ill and it's been going pretty well lately.
For now, though, I'm feeling mostly normal. Not tip top condition, and I'm avoiding caffeine, mayonnaise, and really greasy food as much as possible, and I've taken to drinking ginger ale, but I can eat pretty much whatever I want without causing major issues.
On happier notes, this weekend should be fun. I'm going down to my parents for two very special occasions. The first one (chronologically) is that it is my darling sister's birthday today and she'll be up from Virginia, so I'll get to see her. The second and probably more notable one (no offense to Cindi) is that my cousin is getting married on the 21st. (Must remember to bring my dress home.) Mike is a really cool guy and I wish her the very best. She's the first on Dad's side and the second of my cousins to get married. Congratulations to Laura.