Doctor visit

I woke up with such stomach pain this morning I decided to drive myself to the walk-in clinic where I see my doctor. She was not in but another really nice doctor was. He sent me to have a CT scan of my abdomen.

I actually had to go home and wait for approval, then drink a quart of this semi-weird tasting stuff. I was back by 10:30 a.m. They did a  quick blood test to make sure I could take the 'contrast,' which is given by injection.

The contrast makes you feel really weird. You feel hot, get a strange metallic taste in your mouth and feel like you peed when you didn't. They warn you, lol.

The whole process was pretty quick and definitely painless. The weird metallic taste kept making me think of grammar school. The tech said it reminds him of water fountains that used to be in the city. That was it--I was probably remembering the odd metallic taste of water from a school fountain. Funny what triggers your memories.

So, the diagnosis? I have a 'large hiatal hernia,' which means part of my esophagus is pushing up through the hiatal membrane. It explains a lot, like how I feel worst in the morning and progressively better through the day.

It was suggested I double up on the omeprazole I take every morning. I hope to God that helps. I will probably sleep sitting up in a chair for a few days, as lying down makes this worse. I just have to hope it doesn't kill my back.

I am TOO YOUNG to feel so crappy!

Damn

I feel everything is hitting me at once. Turns out I don't have a UTI, but what do I have? I still hurt. My stomach is still off, although I've managed to keep another headache at bay, thank God.

I get the second root canal taken care of Saturday, and pray that will be that. (It might be in two parts like the other one, but that's okay.)

The  not-UTI might be something more 'feminine' and I am way overdue to see a Gyn, but I don't have a car at the moment. I also want to get my eyes checked. I need new glasses before we head out to Ohio later in April.

RE: the car has been making funny noises and the engine light keeps coming on. We thought it was the gas at first but the tank has been emptied and refilled. So now it is at Erick's garage. I'm not sure when I'm getting it back. I hate driving but it is always nice to have the car available if I want/need to go someplace.

I'm hoping Mike will drop me off and pick me up Saturday morning, but if I get the car back with a clean bill of health, I guess I can drive myself. My appointment is at 9:15 a.m.!

Today, I'm trying to keep busy so I don't think how much my stomach hurts, but I can hardly eat. I get hungry, eat a cracker, then I'm 'full.' I hate this.

Julie again

Another shot of Julie, apres haircut. She is wearing the pink dress I made for her. She looks so tiny, but you can see so much gray in her hair. We forget she is a senior-citizen! (Or at least, middle-aged.)

Julie looks like a puppy

She got groomed tonight and I swear I thought they brought out the wrong dog. She looks so little!

I had a bad day today with a headache and stomach problems, plus my legs were aching. Not to mention the UTI. I gave a sample yesterday and have to wait to see what the lab report says, but in the meantime I'm on some kind of antibiotic. At least my tooth is hurting.

Nick was also sick today. I pray this will be better tomorrow. I frigging hate losing whole days because I can't function.

Plans change...

...whether I like it or not. I had a bad toothache all day yesterday so I made an appointment to have that second root canal done, after all. I go in Saturday morning.

Today I woke up with a damned UTI. I am off to the doctor shortly. Mike is taking me, which is great because my car is making funny noises and the engine light keeps coming on.

I was lucky to get a quick appointment. Even better, I wasn't even put on hold. This rarely happens!

At least my tooth isn't bothering me today.

Root Canal, Part II

The second half of the root canal wasn't near as bad as the first. Most of the infection is gone. I'm told it takes about 6 months for the bone to grow back enough to show on x-ray.

I didn't even take the pain killer when I got home, even though it ached a little. I still have some work to be done but that isn't terribly urgent. Maybe after we go to Ohio in the summer. I have too many other things to catch up on.

Julie has a grooming appointment on Wednesday, then I want to get her to the vet for a checkup.

I need to get new glasses.

Nick has a dentist appointment Friday.

We are going to Ohio next month and again in June or July.

Thirty days or so in a month and I never feel there is enough time.

New Toy

I have had a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer for maybe 20 years now, and really loved using it. But I felt it was time for a newer model. I found one on the clearance rack at Target for $100 cheaper than usual, so I grabbed it.

I realized when I got home this left me with  only $40 in the bank for the next two weeks, so I cashed in a bunch of coins today and put $80 in my account. This was too good a deal to pass up.

Katherine will inherit my old one. I think this one is about 2/3 the size and is certainly much lighter. Hopefully, it will also last me 20 years. LOL, I will be 81 then.

Ready for Spring

I took the heavy Granny-square afghan off the couch and put away all the St.  Patrick's Day pillows. (I have a few St. Pat's around still. It is too early to decorate for Easter.)

The first day of Spring is tomorrow. My couch now has lighter, brighter pillows and a quilt I finally finished today--after maybe 2 years? I'm not one to stick with a project to get it done quickly. It's more fun to jump from project to project, but eventually it does get done.

I also  made all the pillows on the couch. I will keep the darker curtains up until it warms up more outside. It's supposed to be in the 40s this week, still a little chilly for this time of year.

My tooth bothers me but not so much I even need Tylenol. I take the tramadol at night to help me sleep. So far it has not bothered me, thank God.

Tooth problems

I have had some pain for a few weeks in my lower jaw under some front teeth.  Mostly, I was able to keep it down with Tylenol and Anbesol. I had some work done on them but was still hurting. Last night, I was up half the night in pain.

So I went to the dentist today and he said I needed a root canal. I call up the endodontists he recommended and they either weren't in or couldn't see me until next week! So, I found the name of a doctor I'd been to years ago and was able to get in this afternoon.

I have a big infection that I'm sure would not have waited five more days. It was a new doctor named Sanchez and he was soooo nice. Could not have worked harder to make me comfortable. I must have gotten 8 shots before he could work on me without pain. Part of that is the infection that sometimes keeps the numbing medicine from working. But in the end he did what he could today. I am now on antibiotics for a week.

I'm sore from the 8-ish shots and took some Tramadol. I was worried it might 'bind me up.' I have problems with medications because of my stomach. But the pharmacist says I shouldn't have trouble with this. Never did before. I'd hate to think I'm reduced to nothing but Tylenol. Damn stomach.

So I go back for part 2 next Friday. I'm just glad I've done something to take care of this. Not sure how it happened except that the tooth was chipped. Maybe germs got in that way. I have a chipped tooth on top, too, and I plan to take care of that Monday before something else happens to me.

Today is St. Patrick's Day but it was kind of like any day to me. Soon the green stuff will come down and I'll start putting out Spring/Easter. We're expecting a little snow but at least it is in the 40s next week.

So much for 2 feet

No more blizzard! Apparently some warm front came around by surprise and pushed the blizzard conditions sort of to the north and west. We have had snow, sleet, rain and crazy wind since midnight, but they did cancel the blizzard warning. Now it is just gross and wet out there.

I think we ended up with about 3 to 5 inches, instead of the nearly 2 feet they were predicting. Good news for anyone forced to go out today, although I wouldn't want to drive in the icy conditions that will hit when the sun goes down again. 

The really funny thing is to see traffic reports where the Belt Parkway (usually completely red during rush hour) is green from end to end. That's 'cause nobody is on it, lol. 

And to think these so-called experts think they can predict what the earth is going to do 30 years in the future...

Not so bad and a pretty picture

Dr. P didn't even mention an MRI. Unfortunately, I do have to show I have neurapathy before 'they' will authorize marijuana. So I'm going to try a mild form of celebrex and pray it doesn't upset my stomach.

Dr. P says I look like I've lost weight. That made me happy.

BIG STORM coming tomorrow, maybe as much as 2 feet of snow. We are well-stocked with food here. I took a picture of a really pretty icicle formation when I got home today:

Doctor tomorrow

I am seeing Dr. P tomorrow morning. She is my pain doctor. I am going to be firm about not wanting an MRI. I am trying to get medical marijuana for my back pain.Everything else makes me sick. I had stomach troubles all last week because I took Ibuprofen for a toothache. Even Ambien (for sleep, not pain), upsets my stomach. There isn't much else left to try.

Nick and I were supposed to go to the dentist Tuesday. (I went last week for the toothpain but have another broken tooth to fix.) But we are expecting a blizzard--with barely a week left on the calendar for winter! They are looking up to 18 inches.

Katherine said her store was nuts today. She showed me a picture of the front end and it was like Penn Station on a really bad day. I am glad there is plenty of food in my house.