Posts Tagged ‘Health’

The latest and greatest

October 14th, 2009

I had my latest doctor’s appointment this morning, and it didn’t go nearly as planned. Going into it, I had expected one of two outcomes:
a) I’d be put on enzyme therapy, my feeding tube would be removed, and I’d be free to start eating food again.
b) I’d be put on enzyme therapy, my feeding tube would NOT be removed, but I’d have a follow-up appointment scheduled for another week or so if all goes well.

I wasn’t expecting a third possible outcome: none of the above. More specifically, or vaguely if you prefer, the outcome was:
c) I don’t know what’s wrong, but let’s just wait 2 more weeks and see if it goes away.

If this was the first time I’ve heard this, I’d be ok with it. Instead, I’ve heard this same line pretty much every time I’ve seen this doctor for the past two months. I probably could’ve had my endoscopy scheduled for a month ago and the same result mild scarring would’ve been found. At that point, waiting two weeks to see if I got better would be an acceptable and viable option. At this stage, however, I am not going to continue to just idly wait while nothing seems to be improving. Especially if the only thing wrong with me is that I have scar tissue on my pancreas that is causing the discomfort — when was the last time you saw a scar heal itself in two weeks?

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And the endoscopy says…

October 9th, 2009

This past Wednesday, I trucked into El Camino Hospital to get an endoscopy to find out what the heck is going on down there in my pancreatic region. The procedure was quicker and more painless than I had remembered from the last time I had one of these (10+ years ago) and I’m scheduled for an appointment on Wednesday to discuss what the results mean.

Basically, they found that there is some permanent damage to my pancreas. This likely means some pretty dramatic lifestyle changes from here on out, which is to be expected. I think the biggest question that comes to mind, however, is how long I may have had pancreatic issues.

I’ve been struggling with digestive problems (lactose intolerance among other things) for over 10 years. I remember back in Boston just after I graduated college, that I had spent several months going to a gastroenterologist going through various tests (colonoscopies, endoscopies, barium swallows, and other fun things) to try to identify the cause of these issues.

Nothing was conclusive, and the doctor said it was likely just a bad case of GERD (acid reflux) and we’ve left it at that. The daily doses of Protonix have helped keep the stomach pain to a minimum over the years, but this case of pancreatitis very well may have been the last straw.

I’m obviously speculating here. What surprises me the most about this condition is that it’s most likely linked to alcohol. In my case, over the last 10 years, I rarely drank over the medical recommendation for alcohol drinks for a male (14 drinks/week). This does not necessarily mean that the alcohol could not have impacted this. If I had a pre-existing condition, even small amounts of alcohol may have made this worse. This in combination with my high cholesterol could very well have led to gallbladder issues and other digestive problems.

That said, regardless of what got me here — it looks like I’m going to be managing this condition for the rest of my life. I will most certainly know more once I talk to the doctor on Wednesday. I’m just hoping for some kind of path to short term resolution of the immediate symptoms (ie. NOT EATING) and being able to get back to work and my life. I miss being around people and this entire situation is wearing on my patience.