Hello everyone! This entry is a follow-up to the ER visit last month.
About a week after that, I went in for an upper endoscopy. This is when they insert a tube with an optic camera down your throat/esophagus/stomach to see what's up when you've had some issues in those areas. My test result showed some slight esophagus damage (from the gastritis episode that sent me to the ER) plus a small hiatal hernia. This is a hernia (bulge) in your stomach that's usually near the esophagus, and sometimes bulges through into it. The doc said that the irritation I noticed in my upper abdomen area while using the recumbent bike could have been caused by pressure on the haital hernia area, perhaps exacerbated by the slightly enlarged liver.
While there is a surgical procedure to 'fix' a hiatal hernia, mine is not severe enough to warrant that. So there are two things to do:
1. Take a 14-day course of Prilosec. This is unlike ant-acids as it can actually help heal some damage caused by gastritis. Since I haven't had that problem before this, and the damage looked slight, hopefully this will minimize it.
2. Reduce/eliminate acidic and spicy foods (coffee, tomatoes, citrus, vinegar-based, etc.).
I started both immediately, cutting back to smaller portions and less acidic foods (like coffee, which I quit drinking and miss!). So the upside to the whole event is that despite not being back on my exercise program yet, I lost 4 pounds last month, for a total of 17 pounds so far. It's a start. I'm finding that it's a bit easier to modify my eating habits with the motivation for NO MORE GASTRITIS! (as opposed to simply wanting to look and feel better). Seriously, if that 12 hour event was a mild case of gastritis, I hope never to experience a severe case - it was painful!
Which means that swimming is back on the schedule, although I'm sort of waiting out the last of winter, as driving on the snow/ice is problematic right now, especially since I've had massive car problems in the last few weeks. I've had the following problems in the last 30 days:
1. Failed power steering (twice!)
2. Sputtering/stalling engine.
I've been under warranty on the power steering issue since last August when the pressure hose was identified as the culprit. Only it turns out that wasn't the problem, although they didn't figure that out until they'd replaced it again. Then they decided it was the power steering pump, only as it turns out it was actually a leak in the rack and pinion! The sputtering/stalling problem was dealt with by another mechanic (a corporate entity like the first, which I will forever more think of as Alien Pepboys vs Predator Firestone). They replaced an engine sensor, wiring, and an engine gasket set for a whopping total of almost $1000, which then went up to over $1400 when they identified a loose ball joint. So now a third mechanic (a family operated business) is doing the last work - the rack and pinion - and in the process of trying to get it aligned, found that a control arm needed to be replaced to do the alignment. As it turns out the control arm is attached to another ball joint, which, while not loose, is quite rusted, and will (so they say) soon be loose.
Long story short, I've been without a car on and off for the last few weeks, and not confident about driving it while I had it, but have hopefully now addressed all the critical issues (I sure hope so, since I paid out $2500 for all the work!). Anyway, hopefully the car is fixed (will find out tomorrow), the snow will melt/spring will arrive, and I'll be back on my swimming schedule sooner rather than later.
I saw my Oncologist last week, and we decided to delay the annual tests until August, since she was pretty happy with how I was doing over all. Normally this would be a PET scan, but new rules limit PET scans to 4 in a life-time, effective last June. I've had over a dozen since my Lymphoma was first diagnosed, and luckily my last one was last April, so I still have the four allowed left. Still, she wants to save these for when they're absolutely needed, so the PET scan in August will be replaced with both a CT scan and a bone scan. Neither of these would catch a blood cancer, like Lymphoma, but they could catch other cancers (transplant patients have a bigger chance of experiencing other cancers due to the high levels of chemotherapy and radiation they undergo during the transplant itself). If I have symptoms of lymphoma, we'll schedule a PET scan, but not before.
Whew, what a winter!
Writing Update: I finished about 1/3rd of book 3 (first draft) but then decided I needed to reorganize the material in those 12 chapters, so it needs to be reworked before continuing on. I have everything outlined, though, and fairly close to finished with the outline for the last book (book 4), so that's exciting.
Also exciting (to me) news: Queen (the iconic band) just announced a North American tour this summer, with Adam Lambert fronting. I'm thrilled because I love Queen, and if anyone can fill in for Freddie Mercury, it's Adam Lambert. They announced 19 dates for June/July in both the US and Canada, so I'm thinking of going if I can get tickets. Chicago is the closest to me, and it's just a 7 hour drive (although that freaks me out a bit given my recent car history!). If the tour in North America goes well they may expand it globally, and it seems that Asia, South America and western Europe nations all want them to perform there. They did a small tour across the UK and Eastern Europe last year and had fantastic reviews. I'm not sure I want to endure the rigors of a big arena (this is an arena tour), but I'm definitely considering it.
That's it for now. Take care everyone, especially if you're experiencing a cold and snowy winter, as we've gotten here in Minnesota this year. I also have some Ukrainian readers of the blog, and I hope they are safe during this time of unrest.
P.S.
A big happy birthday to my sister-in-law Mindy, and congratulations on an 'alls-clear' test to my sister-in-law Peggy.
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