The endocrinologist visit seems to have been a waste of $35 (my copay.)

He suggested that I try to find a clinical study at a local hospital/university on colon pareisis. He denied any chance that its a throid issue.

I have to make some phone calls to fugure out if anyone else (doctor-wise) can help me.

I had nearly finished writing a heartfelt entry about my trip today with my daughter to find a dress and ensemble for her upcoming First Holy Communion. It was wonderful, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding (if not quite expensive.) The punch line: after many try-ons, we found (and bought) a dress, veil and shoes.

But somehow, in my brain fog, I closed the window and lost the entry. It discussed the importance of this day to me and the rest of my Polish-Catholic family. I talked about ancestors, traditions, and lifetime milestones.

But instead of trying to recreate all that good stuff, my colon is barking at me to give an update on its current status.

Apparently, ladies and gentlemen, The Fudge Factory is closed. Or at least it feels that way! I had not mentioned it publicly, but since November I had been having bouts of excrucitating upper-gastric (ie - in my stomach) pain. These "episodes" would last a few hours, and no medicine seemed to help. I would just try to relax and put a heating pad over the painful area. Of course I went to see the doctor right away, but was not offered any solution.

Since they have a glut of patients, my Gastroenterology group made me wait 6 weeks to get an endoscopy to find the source of the problem. I finally got my test results: liver & pancreatic functions are normal (phew!), the H.Pylori biopsy (the bacteria that causes many ulcers) was negative, but the doctor noted, "stomach shows signs of chronic inflammation. Bile was seen in the stomach."

What all this yukky info means is that apparently the lessening activity of my lower gut has now caused such a traffic jam, that bile from my small intestines is surging back up into my stomach. Bile doesn't belong there, causes massive irritation, and can eventually cause stomach tissue malignancies.

Tomorrow I see an endocrinologist to see if in fact a thyroid(or similar)  issue could be holding up the production line. If not, I have no idea what to do next. "Not eating" doesn't seem to work, and a pure clear liquid diet is pretty tough, too. I'm hoping for some good news after tomorrow's visit. Fingers crossed...

So the other day, I walked into our local "ethnic" market to do some shopping. Upon entering the store, I saw a rack of "today's special" on display.

Mmmm, nothing like some juicy, delicious Cok to start the day!


(Thank you to whomever invented the cameraphone; I stealthily snapped this pic because I knew I just had to share it!)

Considering he had my parish, various friends, plus most of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia praying for him,I wasn't completely surprised when I got a phone call today indicating that baby Mark was discharged from the hospital after the EEG and MRI's indicated NO UNUSUAL events/issues with his brain. He is fine!

The two "events" that were witnessed are now being attributed to "acid reflux" (!)

I am 1.) thankful to everyone for their prayers and well-wishing 2.) so glad everything is ok 3.) exhaling now.

:)

I receieved some bad news today:

My newborn baby nephew, Mark, had a series of strokes last night. Initial radiology reports show some issues with his temporal lobes. He is being transferred to CHOP for further evaluation.

Some good news: he is stable, eating, good vital signs, etc.

Prayers are much appreciated at this time.

I receieved a notice in the mail today that I am GUARANTEED TO RECEIVE A WINNING ENTRY TO THE PCH SWEEPSTAKES WITHIN THE NEXT WEEK!

I, for one, am pumped.

Now, where is that d*mn mailman?

My baby sister had her second son today.

His name is Mark Mitchell (Mitchell was my grandfather's name) and weighed in at 8 lbs even.

Apparently mom and baby are doing fine.

I have gotten into online gaming lately. What with my bouts of stomach pain and all, I've found myself clambering into bed, laptop in tow, and engaging in online versions of...

No, not The Sims, Halo, Resident Evil, or anything remotely related to fantasy/violent/sexy gaming.

My games of choice are Scrabble and Boggle.

(you can stop laughing...NOW.)

I'm not all that good at either but I'm working on sharpening my skillz (which is not a legal word in either game, btw.)

Did you know that "Doh" (minus exclamation point) is a legal word in the version of Boggle I play? Well, now you do...

You can thank me later for imparting that shred of strategerie.

Today it is an uncharacteristic 50+degrees outside so of course I am thinking about how terrible the landscaping looks in my yard. I never realized how great a blanket of snow is for hiding imperfections, like piles of rotting leaves, kid's broken and faded plastic sandbox toys, and patchy pebble-strewn lawn.

Snow: nature's lil' cover-up. Zit-cream for ugly yards. A wig for balding lawns.

I'll not be b*tching about the frozen white stuff anytime soon...unless of course its up to me to shovel it...

For the past 6 weeks or so I have been having randomly-occuring episodes of intense and long-lasting abdominal pain. My GI docs think its duodenal ulcers; I am having an endoscopy next weekend.

Tonight I am in bed again, with just a heating pad to help a bit with the cramping pain. There is no Rx to help with this. It completely sucks, mostly because it is so random and disruptive and there is nothing I can do about it.

So, if I don't happen to "visit" often, its likely because I'm either resting or trying to catch up on the things I need to do when I am feeling ok.