Some Blood

Thyroid stimulating hormone, iron, and liver (AST, ALT) tests have come back normal.

Poop

Just got a message that my poop was negative for some infection that my GI doc wanted to rule out. One result down...

Kaiser

I emailed my doctor a couple weeks ago. I was frustrated that, although outwardly healthy, I seemed to be dealing with multiple health issues all at once. When I first received the ulcerative colitis diagnosis, my primary care physician mentioned that there was a possible auto-immune component and that we might consider testing me for AI diseases, like lupus, at some point in the future. I did a little reading on the internet and started thinking that maybe my problems are connected: the colitis, the weird joint pain, the redness across my nose (perhaps a malar rash?). So I emailed my doctor. It turns out she was on leave and the doctor who was covering wanted me to make an appointment. The soonest I could get in was yesterday. My doctor was scheduled to return from leave last week, so the appointment was with her.

I arrived at Kaiser, signed in, and took my seat to wait. Within seconds of taking out a piece of paper to jot down my list of complaints, I was called back to get my vitals and put in a room. This was about 4:15. I was in that room until shortly after 5pm. At no time did I have a lengthy wait - my doctor was very attentive, but she did have to leave and return a few times. Towards the end of the visit, she mentioned that the appointments are scheduled in 15 minute blocks and I shouldn't wait for a bunch of things to be going on before being seen. Funny, because I really wasn't waiting. I'd seen someone (via same day appointment) early in the month, was in communication with my gastroenterologist, and had emailed my doctor a couple weeks ago.

So from there, I hauled ass out of the north building, through the central hospital, and to the south building for blood work. For some reason, most of the Kaiser labs now close at or around 5pm. I ended up at the urgent care lab, but they were kind enough to see me anyways. The tech collected about 6 vials of blood, joking that he left me a couple drops. From the south building, I hustled back to the main hospital to pick up my prescriptions, along with a "procto prep" kit for my upcoming colonoscopy at the end of the month.

By the time I was home, more than 3 hours had passed since I'd left. This morning, I realized that my doctor also ordered a CT scan for my sinuses. So that leaves me awaiting the following:

Results of a stool sample
Results of multiple blood tests (usual CBC, liver function, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc)
Scheduling for CT scan
Colonoscopy

Can't wait to see how it all comes out!

My House is Broken

Ah, the joys of being a home-owner. Last week, upon our return from Vegas, amid the torrential rain, we noticed that the toilets weren't flushing right. The drain in the back yard was flooded and I suggested that there was a link. It was a long shot. The drain in the yard went to the street. The toilets were connected to the sewer. Why would problems with the one affect the other? When the rain let up, the toilets resumed their normal functioning. When the rain resumed, the toilets started acting up again. So last night I called the home warranty and this morning, someone from Contractor's Connection came out to snake the sewer line. He snaked it twice, then said it seemed there was some root involvement, which wasn't covered by the warranty. He recommended sending down a scope, packed up, and left. As he was sitting in front of the house, we noticed that the toilets were worse than they had been this morning. After he left, we noticed the pool of murky water around the drain in the yard. We decided to spend the $225 to scope the line and Fernando returned a couple hours later.

I took a break from the action to get groceries. Upon my return (and Andy's departure for an oil change), and after more snaking via the backyard, it was revealed that that drain is connected to the sewer line and that it uses a p-trap, which is probably where all the mud they kept seeing on the snake was coming from. Right now, at 5:15 PM, a team of guys is jack-hammering the concrete to reach the p-trap in an attempt to remove it and clean the line. I'm told this will take about 5 hours and cost about a grand. Meanwhile, we can't run the water (no toilets, no showers) and we can't go anywhere (we had a birthday party to attend - but neither of us have showered today). Fortunately, our wonderful neighbors across the alley will be home in a couple hours and they said we can use their commode.

Ah, the joys of being a home-owner. I have one question: why is my house broken?

Ear - part 2

Saturday morning, I stuck a Q-tip in my ear and it came out with yellow-greenish fluid on the cotton. An earlier check by Andy had revealed that there was no visible problem in my ear, so the Q-tip was vindication that there really was something going on. Yes, it's trivial, but I'll take what I can get!

Fly

I mentioned I have two cats, but really I only have one. The other belongs to Andy and he refuses to acknowledge that I am Booger's mother, even though I have known the cat for most of his nearly 8 years. But, no, Booger belonged to Andy before we met, ergo Booger is Andy's cat. Fly was my cat when we met; thus, Fly belongs to me. And no matter how I try, Andy refuses to consider Fly his cat. Part of it may be bitterness that I adopted Fly when I was still with my ex. Part of it may be because she clearly prefers her mother (me). Most of it, however, has to do with the fact that Fly prefers to poop and pee al fresco.

At some point in her youth, Fly got a wild hair and decided she didn't want to pee in the box any more. It may have been because I had 4 cats and 1 box and that 1 box didn't get cleaned all that often, so she sought out cleaner pastures. Or it could have been because she is an evil little kitty bitch (this is Andy's theory). The 4 cat household did not last long, but it made a big enough impression on my little girl. So much so that, even when the number of litter boxes matched the number of cats, and the boxes were cleaned every day, she would still periodically pee outside the box.

Every now and then, Fly likes to throw us a curveball by leaving a turd on the floor. It's always on the hardwood and no one has ever stepped in one (except for the time Fly pooped on Andy's flip-flop...but that's another story). And the poop is much easier to clean up than the pee. Naturally, the pee is always on the carpet. But, of course, not on the pee pee pads I bought her.

I don't know why she continues to spite us. She still uses the box (clearly not all the time) and seems to have no medical problems. She was on kitty valium a few years ago, but that didn't help. I clean the boxes EVERY morning. I even give her treats just after she's used the box. So why does my cat continue to do her doodie in the wilds of our living room?

Perhaps my cat is broken too.

My Left Ear

A few nights ago, I was on Day 4 or 5 of using my neti pot to help my sinuses. I prepared the mix, inserted the tip of the pot in my right nostril, tilted my head forward, and started to pour. As the water flowed out my left nostril, I felt pain in my left ear. The neti pot instructions indicate that, if your Eustachian tube is too wide, water will enter it, and you should discontinue use of the neti pot. I think this is what happened. I immediately got clogged up in that ear and felt a great deal of discomfort. Luckily, I was getting ready for bed and didn't have long to suffer while awake; however, the couple times I awoke and moved around during the night, I was immedaitely aware that there was something wrong with my hearing on the left side. The pain was gone, but I still felt a lot of pressure. Some time the next morning, my ear popped and the episode was over. I haven't used the neti pot since.

Almost a week later now, and I'm sure completely unrelated, it feels like something has crawled into my left ear canal and bitten the tissue. It's probably a blackhead. *sigh*