Somewhere I got lost!

Where did I disappear to? Wouldn't YOU like to know!?

Seriously, I lost my way. I got busy and forgot all about getting fit. I forgot how important it is. And, I've paid along the way.

It was relatively easy to stay fit over the summer...swimming, walking, staying active. But, even then work was taking me over.

My job has gotten so demanding in the past few months. Our little team has been stressed to the max, and we're all looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. It may finally be here, but still not holding my breath.

As the months have gone by I have lost control. My eating habits have gone down the tubes. I am not sleeping at night. I've had anxiety attacks...one that ended with a trip in an ambulance to my local emergency room. I was terrified that I was having a heart attack.

Although my tests at the ER all came back good, I also had a Stress Test to determine whether there was anything actually going on with my heart. Thank goodness all was clear. I felt so relieved after that, and my anxiety attacks decreased a bit.

Not long after that a very good friend of ours passed away. I'm not going to elaborate on that right now. I think I want to save it for a post of its own. He deserves that.

I had noticed over the summer that I was also having increasing bouts of heartburn. I ignored it. I am good at ignoring things...especially my own health. If my kids have a sniffle, I am right there dragging them to the pediatrician. I wish I could be that good to myself. I really have no idea why I'm not. Maybe that's one for the therapist's couch. ;-)

By the end of October, the heartburn became too unbearable to ignore. I couldn't sleep unless I propped up on pillows. Even drinking WATER would trigger it. I was miserable. But, I still didn't go to the doctor until I noticed I was having a horrible pressure in my lower right abdomen. It felt like I had to poop ALL the time, but I didn't SEEM to be constipated. Suddenly, I was terrified. What if it was Colon cancer? My grandmother DIED of colon cancer. Would you believe I still put off seeing my doc? Yep, I am out of control.

Then, I started having anxiety again. I started dreaming about death and dying. I would wake up crying at night and cling to my poor husband and sob. He'd just rub my arm or hug me in his sleep, trying to comfort me and not knowing what the heck was wrong with his neurotic wife.

Finally, a couple of weeks later I got an appointment. The doctor examined me and was wishy-washy, which wasn't all that helpful. He said it might be a tumor, it might be a spastic colon, it might be an intestinal adhesion, it might even be referred pain from an ovarian cyst. What he seemed relatively sure of was I have GERD -- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. That was the reason for the horrible heartburn. He gave me Aciphex, which is a proton pump inhibitor, to get rid of the overabundance of stomach acid churning back up into my poor sore esophagus! I was to take it for a two months. Luckily, he was able to supply me with all the drugs I needed, and I didn't have to buy it myself.

The doctor told me to try the meds for a few days and see if the abdominal pain got better. If it didn't, I was to call back.

I waited a week...no change. I still had this constant pain. I called and left a message for the nurse to call me back. She did...after a couple of days when by. I told her what was up, and she had to talk to the doctor and call me back. Don't we just LOVE these fun little runaround games? Another week went by. Finally, I was scheduled for a CT Scan of my abdomen and pelvis. They were able to get me in on Nov. 23, which was a day I took off to travel to Georgia for Thanksgiving. I didn't want to put it off any longer, so we just left late.

The night before I had to drink the Barium Sulfate solution, which was cleverly disguised as a 'berry smoothie'. Let me tell you, it wasn't fooling anyone. Yuck. One bottle was gagged down that night and then I had to drink half of the second one the next morning and the rest of it when I arrived at the radiology clinic.

The CT machine looked like a giant donut. hehe. I was so glad it wasn't like the MRI I had last year for my back. Laying inside that tube just about killed me. I did A LOT of deep breathing. In the CT machine they just slide you through the donut hole and let it scan you in the appointed area. Easy squeezy.

I was in and out of there in 30 minutes. And, off to enjoy my Thanksgiving in Georgia. (Another post)

I also made a GYN appt before I left, which I had when I got back on the 28th. Doc did a vaginal ultrasound...my first experience with that. It was uncomfortable, and I felt like I should have at least been kissed or groped first! LOL. But, everything seemed clear.

The next day I got my CT results. It suggested a cyst on my ovary and also Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but NO TUMORS!!!!!!!!!! Yippee! Not that IBS is something I welcome, mind you, but I hope it is something I can cope with by changing my diet and lowering my stress (yeah, right!).

That's my update. Now, I can post something fun. ;-)