A Diary of Maladies

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Senior Citizen, having enjoyed good health all her life, finds luck changing at age 75. Memory is good but perhaps can be boosted by keeping a diary of maladies that have shown up lately. So here goes.

First, frequent insomnia now after formerly being someone who could go off to sleep at the drop of a hat. It's 3:24 a.m.this morning (first day of the change to daylight savings time,) and here I am wide awake. Instead of tossing around in bed with my thoughts refusing to settle, I'm up and on the computer. Usually when I return to bed I get 3-4 good hours of sleep.

Second, since late December I've been twice carted off to the ER around midnight after suffering severe intestinal attacks. Just after Christmas a slight nausea turned into violent vomiting followed by uncontrollable shivering. My primary care physician (PCP) decided I was I was suffering from a virus. A second attack came on Sunday, March 1 when after midnight another series of even more violent vomiting and this timediarrhea as well I was emptied out and left dehydrated and empty. Another trip to the ER resulted in numerous tests including an MRI. The relaxants piped into my veins put me into a deep sleep and I didn't become aware until the next day at 11 a.m. This emergency prevented my spouse from keeping an appointment for lung biopsy surgery in the self-same hospital Two days later, my PCP said he suspected something other than a virus and referred me to a local gastroenterologist (GE). He gave me an appointment for March 6.

On March 6 I woke up with a sore throat, but the GE examined me, asked numerous questions about my medical history and general health. His working hypothesis is that a straying gallstone has lodged itself at a junction preventing the juices flowing properly. This amazed me because my gall balder had been removed in 1974. Other evidence presenting itself at that interview suggested to the specialist that I also may have a liver problem, and he mentioned cirrhosis of the liver.

The upshot was to set a date for exploratory surgery--Monday, March 12.
On March 7 the sore throat was developing into a cold but by Friday, March 9 returned to my PCP who sent me to the hospital for a chest x-ray and gave me a course of antibiotics to take for seven days. (Avelox). I waited at the x-ray center after the pictures were taken and results faxed to my doctor. He called me on the x-ray office phone and said the diagnosis was a lung infection that would become pneumonia if not treated--and I could not possibly have the surgery scheduled for the 12th. The date has since been changed to Thursday, March 22nd.