Doctor visit

Had an ENT visit today for our boy.

Good news.

Right ear is completely healed. No more need to use protection on that ear.

Left ear has the tube out and still needs protection when swimming and what not. The tube should come out one of these days.

NO MORE NOSE SPRAY at night. WOOT WOOT!!!!

Our household :)

So yesterday I went to the doctor.

She has put me on a couple of different meds.
She has also referred me to a gastroenterologist specialist in London.

she had a look of perplexity on her face so she's trying to figure out just what is going on with my stomach/esphagus and such like.

Ever since I was a teen I've been having reflux issues but was basically told not to worry about it as a teen. By the time i was a young adult I worked up the nerve to ask my doctor (at the time) about it, and she did tests and said I don't have acid reflux, but what I have is 'a wonky valve'. Just what that is technically I cannot recall. It's never really been an issue as it hasn't been painful, just an inconvenience.

Ever since taking the nexium to control what my current doc thought was gastritis, when I have reflux now it is distinctly painful when it occurs. I have a constant ache in my chest and a feeling of something in my throat. I am fortunately not as tired as I have been in the past three months, but do run out of steam by end of day and only want to sit and play on my computer (much to Jim's chagrin). I find it wearing.

Jim is back to work full-time.

He is not quite back to full-speed yet with who HE is. Takes him longer to prepare a sermon, has difficulty reading out-loud, and doesn't 'catch' things as quick. BUT we expect that he'll make a full recovery over time.

it's been a bit

So I thought I'd give an update.

Jim seems well on the mend.
he's started back to work part-time this week.
He's "having fun" reading the labels of everything. Do you know how hard it is to find low sodium foods? when the doc said make food from scratch, he literally meant... make things from scratch so it's a bit of a challenge! Thought I had it in the bag this morning with the pancakes I made...only to learn that white flour isn't what he wants/needs right now... so it's like okay.... AH!!! :) we'll do them differently next time.

Anyone have a good pancake recipe NOT using white flour???

Me... my health seemed to improve but now I feel like I'm back at square one. Rather frustrating that. Trying to figure out what I should do next. Jim says call the doc, but I"m somewhat skeptical that it will do any good to do so.

Our son...a happy, friendly, learning lad. He's a good lad overall, and tries hard to please, though sometimes.. well... he's four. :) On Tuesday he had his three month ENT appointment. He has some congestion in the right ear, but his hearing is good. His left ear will probably need a patch on it sometime, his tonsils have gone from large to medium! We can now move from two sprays of nasonex down to one in each nostril and he has a follow up appointment in three months again.

Perkiness is good!

So almost a week on the acid reducer.

I have ENERGY AGAIN!!!! :)

so nice to not be in pain ALL THE TIME.

I don't have heaps of energy all day long, but today it lasted until about 3 p.m. when I just petered out.

BUT I got ALOT done today.
1. laundry ALL OF IT!
2. vaccuumed the entire upstairs. Jim helped by picking stuff off the floor in our bedroom.
3. cleaned the boy's room.
4. organized the book room
5. carried a chair up to the book room
6. played with the boy - trains, chase, tickle me, pounce, read books together
7. worked through a work book with the boy .. he now knows what the letter "H" is and is very proud of himself knowing how to spell an "F". :) he is intrigued that there are big letters and little letters.
8. read a chapter in a book just for myself :)

AND I didn't sit in front of the computer for most of the day. YIPPEE!!! I have energy again!!!!

I do still have some pain in my throat constantly.
I do occasionally feel pain in my mid-chest...particularly today as I forgot two days in a row to take the acid reducer.

BUT I FEEL PERKY!!!!!!

Another health update

Jim is frustrated.
He is chomping at the bit to go back to work and the doctor has said "No".
He is to take another month off.
He doesn't want to.

I expect he'll not preach for the month of February, but that he will start doing some work related things, such as the picky stuff of orders of worship. He might try to get starts on sermons done and what not. He will also, I'm thinking, do some phone visits, write emails/letters to people, and such like. He still needs to be alert to catching illness from people until he's all better so I imagine he'll be limiting his visits in person for a bit yet.

I'm not surprised that she said no work yet, when I see how easily tired he gets at this point, I think he needs more time to get back into things. I wasn't expecting a month, I was expecting two weeks, but hey...I'm not the doc. I don't get paid the big bucks. It's just a difficult thing for him right now.

Justin is at Oma and Papa's today. Jim has a funeral today, I have work, and I couldn't find a way around either for providing child care for him. He wasn't happy about it, but I know that he is safe and he is loved where he is. I HATE leaving a crying boy behind.

Me... I have an appointment at the hospital for a barium swallow. The doc wants to see if we can figure out why my wonky valve is being wonkier lately. Who knows... maybe it's turned into acid reflux disease (with it's issues), maybe I've gotten myself an ulcer or ???? I don't know. I know that since getting the acid blocker that I'm feeling that my pain levels are a lessened a bit though my tiredness continues all day until about 9 p.m. when suddenly I feel perky! I am hopeful that eventually I can eat fruit, drink hot lemonade and such like again. Would be nice. Time will tell.

Me and the doctor today

Went to see the doctor today for myself.

She has a tag-a-long today...a 3 year med student. So I got to do everything twice.

I still retain my cough. I don't worry about that too much. I figure in time it will go away. Since it is now a productive cough, the doctor isn't too concerned either.

She gave me a script for an acid blocker because I'm in constant pain lately and she's concerned that I might be working on an ulcer. (oh fun). To be taken once a day unless it's not working by day three and then I get to double the dose.

She took blood because I'm constantly tired and she'd like to know why. I suspect pain has something to do with that and she agreed but added that I might also have a bleeding ulcer that might be causing the problem as well. (I felt mildly put in my place) LOL

I'll get the joy of doing a barium swallow at some point.

So it's just a case of never ending joy at our house lately. :)

On a positive note:

Justin seems more himself lately as daddy continues to get a bit better.

Jim's BP seems to be pretty good at this point. He continues to monitor it closely. He continues to get tired easily. He's happy that we have dad's exercise bike to use for the winter. 5 minute stretches biking work well at this point. :) And since it's in the living room, I'll use it for a while at night as well.