Happy Halloween

I feel great today!

I spent the weekend in my pajamas getting over that stomach bug -- and ironing.  Got a lot of ironing done.  This morning when I went into our closet, I was so happy to see all the clothes in there. Till this weekend, there had been a lot of wrinkly clothes being held hostage in my office.

Hey, I saw a tee shirt in a catalog that said:

The opposite of irony is wrinkly.

I love it!

Today we are supposed to have rain showers, and I hope that they do not keep the trick-or-treaters home tonight. Halloween is a lot of fun.

We have a new puppy, though, and we are not really sure what she is going to think about all the little monsters coming up onto the front porch and ringing the doorbell.

Foolish Optimism

I should not have blogged that the Prilosec was working. My stomach was killing me yesterday, and it is killing me again today.  Tums are not helping.

I actually ended up leaving work early yesterday because I just couldn't deal anymore with this stomach pain. At about 2:45PM, I finally finished a huge urgent project that has kept me on high alert for the last two weeks. I had to finish the work, so I ignored the pain and just kept working. But once the urgent project was complete, that was it. I was done. I went home and slept for 3 hours! I felt better when I got up, which is strange. Why would sleep help?

Anyway, this morning the pain is back.

We have plans today, and I don't want them ruined. We're seeing Rock of Ages at the DPAC and then going to dinner at The Magnolia Grill with John and Pat. At least, that is the plan. Lou set a deadline for 11:00AM if I want to back out. He thinks it might take awhile to find someone to give our tickets to. Shouldn't be that hard! Who doesn't love eighties music?!

On Monday morning, I am going to call my primary care physician to report than the double dose of Prilosec is not working.

I am going to try Advil next.

Hey, I tried acupuncture for the first time, and it was awesome, but I am just not in the mood right now to tell you about it. Check back tomorrow...

Bumped

I got bumped!

But I wasn't bumped off a flight by some airline. My CT Scan was bumped into next week.

Dr R called me himself last week to let me know that he needed to move my appointment. Weeks ago, the receptionists at Duke changed the appointments for almost all of his patients so that he could go to Chicago this week for a sarcoma conference.  But apparently three people fell through the cracks, and I was one of them.

I didn't mind at all postponing my CT Scan for a week. No news is good news. Keep me on cancer vacation as long as possible.

So, next Tuesday I will be scanned, and next Wednesday Lou and I will hear the results. Make sure you check back...

I have had a little pain lately, and so I am wondering if the scan will show some tumor growth. There is no reason to worry about that today. I want to enjoy my extra week off.

The last time I posted any news here, it was August and I thought that my stomach pain was gone. Well, I was wrong. My stomach pain actually got worse. My primary care physician sent me to a GI specialist, who stuck a camera down my throat to take a peek at what was happening in my tummy. That was an interesting procedure.

Anyway, the result was confirmation that the lining of my stomach is inflamed (gastritis) but no ulcer, no infection, and no cancer!

So I am now taking Prilosec twice a day. This time, I am really sure that it is helping. The stomach pain has lessened -- which is wonderful, because if I never chew another Assorted Berry Tums, it will still be too soon.

The worst part of the whole stomach pain fiasco was that I wasn't allowed to take any Advil for a few weeks, because they thought that I might have an ulcer resulting from too much Advil. Without any Advil at all, my minor tumor pain got worse and worse, till I could not sleep without a narcotic.  I wasn't happy about that. So I started sneaking Advil, always with food, and the pain immediately dropped to a very manageable level.

It was such a relief when they determined there is no ulcer and that I can take Advil again.