Tales of Anemic Girl... Still Here
hi everyone, i’m still here. i thought i’d give y’all an update on my current condition.
today was the first day (after twelve) that i didn’t wake up with a fever. as i mentioned in my last post, i came down with a fairly nasty UTI (urinary tract infection for those uninitiated to this lovely afflliction).
i had probably had the infection for awhile, and i just didn’t recognize the pains because they were different from my last one. five days of antibiotics turned into 7, which in turn, turned into 10, but to no avail. (well, with the pain, anyway.) to top it off, i had diarrhea (sorry, gross!) for a good deal of those days, which hampered my efforts of drinking tons of water, since you’re not supposed to eat or drink anything if you have that.
what also sucked, besides the searing pain in my right groin, side and back, was even though my heart is well enough that i’m able to sleep on my sides, and having slept on my back for the better part of two months (i’m a side and stomach sleeper), i couldn’t.
i went for testing (blood, urine, abdominal ultrasound) last week in Lake Jackson, but the results were either negative or inconclusive. i even went for a CT scan on Monday (for which i had to drink the nastiest banana-flavored barium suspension the night and morning before), which only showed scar tissue from my appendectomy 21 years ago.
i also had my follow-up appointment with my hematologist, and he confirmed that i had Alpha Thalassemia Minor, which is a type of anemia. the only treatment for it is to take folic acid, watch who I marry and have kids with, and to be careful with getting infections, since my baseline hemoglobin is much lower than that of the average person.
last night, Karen suggested that i take a hot bubble bath in her Jacuzzi tub. that, coupled with a Celebrex (which is used for arthritis and inflammation) WORKED WONDERS. in a short amount of time, i could feel my pains dissipating and was able to sleep on my side again.
so... the upshot of all of this? my immune system is still betraying me, but i’m not going to let it, if i can help it. it seems like every time i get sick in the future, the corresponding body part or organ will become inflamed. if that’s the case, i really hope i can fight back, either with medicine or some other therapy.
on friday, i’ll be boarding a plane for San Francisco so i can box my things and move back to Texas for good. i bought some Airborne that i fully intend to take before then. i’ve also procured a surgical face mask for the flight so i don’t get infected. call me paranoid, but quite frankly, i’m tired of being sick.
today was the first day (after twelve) that i didn’t wake up with a fever. as i mentioned in my last post, i came down with a fairly nasty UTI (urinary tract infection for those uninitiated to this lovely afflliction).
i had probably had the infection for awhile, and i just didn’t recognize the pains because they were different from my last one. five days of antibiotics turned into 7, which in turn, turned into 10, but to no avail. (well, with the pain, anyway.) to top it off, i had diarrhea (sorry, gross!) for a good deal of those days, which hampered my efforts of drinking tons of water, since you’re not supposed to eat or drink anything if you have that.
what also sucked, besides the searing pain in my right groin, side and back, was even though my heart is well enough that i’m able to sleep on my sides, and having slept on my back for the better part of two months (i’m a side and stomach sleeper), i couldn’t.
i went for testing (blood, urine, abdominal ultrasound) last week in Lake Jackson, but the results were either negative or inconclusive. i even went for a CT scan on Monday (for which i had to drink the nastiest banana-flavored barium suspension the night and morning before), which only showed scar tissue from my appendectomy 21 years ago.
i also had my follow-up appointment with my hematologist, and he confirmed that i had Alpha Thalassemia Minor, which is a type of anemia. the only treatment for it is to take folic acid, watch who I marry and have kids with, and to be careful with getting infections, since my baseline hemoglobin is much lower than that of the average person.
last night, Karen suggested that i take a hot bubble bath in her Jacuzzi tub. that, coupled with a Celebrex (which is used for arthritis and inflammation) WORKED WONDERS. in a short amount of time, i could feel my pains dissipating and was able to sleep on my side again.
so... the upshot of all of this? my immune system is still betraying me, but i’m not going to let it, if i can help it. it seems like every time i get sick in the future, the corresponding body part or organ will become inflamed. if that’s the case, i really hope i can fight back, either with medicine or some other therapy.
on friday, i’ll be boarding a plane for San Francisco so i can box my things and move back to Texas for good. i bought some Airborne that i fully intend to take before then. i’ve also procured a surgical face mask for the flight so i don’t get infected. call me paranoid, but quite frankly, i’m tired of being sick.
posted by sightofstars | 10:26 PM
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