I've Had Worse

Add another doctor to the list. I guess this is to be expected as one ages. Things simply start wearing out. There are doctors for this and doctors for that. Add a chronic illness and I've got doctors for X subset A.

The diverticulitis combined with the RA means a gastroenterologist needs to see me. For someone who, for years, didn't get sick, even with a cold, all of this is jarring. I don't know how I would do if I had cancer. Health care is the fastest growing segment of the economy and it never saw a recession during the Great Recession. Expansion of hospitals and the construction of buildings dedicated to specific illnesses on hospital campuses kept our office going. And, in adding this doctor to my list, I'm contributing to that expansion.

Prior to this upcoming visit, I needed a CT scan of my abdomen. The doctor needs to look at the diverticula and assess whether I have completely healed or if there is something still to worry about. You know what a full scan means? My choice of beverage is not my own.

Well, it's not the worst thing I've ever consumed.

I guess, in years past, it was akin to drinking ground chalk. I was to put it into the fridge and that was to make it more palatable. It was berry flavored which made the chalkiness less apparent.

I had to drink this full container the night before. That was tough. There's a lot in this. I felt full after I'd consumed half of it. In the morning, I could have a "light" breakfast, but when the technician couldn't give me an example of a "light" breakfast and kept vetoing what I proposed, I gave up the idea of actually eating before the test. My test was at 4:00 p.m. so that day was hunger-filled. As I was bemoaning my fate, I realized that some people don't get a meal every day. I needed to shut up and endure. We can be such babies sometimes, blind to the realities of other people's lives. An hour before the test, I drank 2/3rds of a second bottle and finished off the rest while sitting on the table at the image center. When I got home, I ordered a large sausage, bacon and double cheese pizza and ate 2/3rds of it.

I now have a CD for the doctor with images of my colon. They were going to write up a full report and send that to my primary physician. I don't know if I will hear about the results or if that will come from the specialist. There hasn't been another attack of diverticulitis, thank goodness. The worst thing going on, right now, is the sheer volume of travel I've had to do to get work done. That's making me tired and with excessive tired comes achy joints. It's nothing I haven't experienced before.

Another step down the road of health care. As good as I feel most days, this reminds me that all is not 100% and I need to be proactive to keep going.

Beverage:  Dr Pepper

Deb