Doctor

I went to the doctor yesterday to find out what was wrong with my stomach and also why I had a rash.  They drew blood to check me for a bacteria called H. pylori. They'll call back and let me know if that's it or not. They put me on a medicine to decrease stomach acid. If it is H Pylori, then I have to take antibiotics until all the bacteria gets killed. If not they'll have to do an endoscopy and look at my stomach from the inside to see if I have an ulcer or something worse. I called my boss and told her what's going on and she said that it's the same symptoms she had when she had gall bladder problems. They would do an ultrasound to check for that.

The rash is most likely something called pityriasis rosea. Experts don't know what causes it. It should go away in 6 to 8 weeks. They prescribed me a stronger hydrocortisone cream to reduce itching.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to go back to work.  I'll have to wait until my stomach gets better.  Also I lost 5.5 pounds last week from not being able to keep food down.  It is never healthy to lose that much in one week.  Thankfully I have found some foods that I can eat now without getting an upset stomach.  I can eat bland foods like hard-boiled eggs, plain noodles, and plain white rice.  I can also eat foods that help with stomach issues.  I found on the internet that bananas reduce stomach acid and ginger snaps help nausea, so I tried them and it works.

At this point the most important thing is to try not to lose more weight by eating bland foods and to stay hydrated.

Why Does My Stomach Hate Me?!

For a few months now, every time I eat something, my stomach has been in a lot of pain, and quite often makes me puke.  This is not fun by any means and it has progressively been getting worse.  It doesn't even matter what I eat anymore, because everything does it.  Spicy foods, coffee, and fruits and veggies cause the worst pain.  This morning I woke up with the stomach pain and hadn't even eaten anything.  What's worse is that I had planned to go give my resumes to lots of different shops but now I can't do so because I'll either be grimacing in pain or burping a ridiculous and embarrassing amount.  Luckily for me, G is wonderful and very compassionate.  He holds my hand and even eats in the kitchen when my stomach hurts to the point where I can't eat so I don't have to smell or see the yummy food.  I think that I probably have acid reflux but I don't know for sure because doctors don't see people who can't pay them, and right now I am a person who can't pay both a doctor and my rent, so I choose rent.  To make matters worse my Grandpa was diagnosed with acid reflux before and then they learned that it was actually stomach cancer by the time that it was stage 4 cancer.  This is always at the back of my mind and I try not to think about it.  I know that I probably don't have cancer but I have also always been extremely prone to worry.  G would say that I'm catastrophizing.  I'm also very tired of the people in my building asking if I'm pregnant when I'm sick to my stomach.  No I'm not pregnant; stop asking.  I would just like to be better for Thanksgiving, because I am spending it with G's family again and don't want to have to hide in the bathroom and hope they can't hear me burping, or just suffer in pain.

Update: I have thankfully been put back on full-time at work for now, so I set up a doctor's appointment at the neighborhood clinic for poor people for next Wednesday.

Why This Can't Possibly be Appendicitis

But first, the word of the day is agrarian. I'm not sure why. It's just the first word that popped into my head. I won't even bother to define it because I feel like my stomach is trying to commit suicide. It hurts like it did when I had appendicitis. There's the reason that this can't possibly be appendicitis: I had it before.  I got my appendix removed, so unless I had two appendixes (appendices?) and they just didn't tell me, this can't possibly be appendicitis.  I'm drinking a Sprite and hoping that it will help even a little bit. I have to study because my finals are both tomorrow. I need to be able to concentrate and this pain is making it very difficult.  Not that studying really helps since I have test anxiety and forget everything that I studied anyway.  At least if I study before the test, when I forget everything, I at least know that I know it and just can't remember. This is me signing off until January. I'll be back if my stomach doesn't explode or spontaneously combust or eat itself.