08/07/2024
The Ulcer Odyssey: A Comedy of Crohn's and Car Trouble
What a year these past couple of days have been! It all started Friday night when I got a migraine that felt like my brain was throwing a rave without inviting me. The night was a blur of throwing up, chills, and sweats – basically, a really bad first date with myself. Sleep? Who needs it!
By Saturday, my throat decided to join the party, swelling up like it was trying to win an award. My gums were screaming in protest, and I was pretty sure this was Crohn's making its dramatic upper GI tract debut. Did I go to the ER? Nope! Bella-time is sacred, and I’m stubborn like that. Besides, I had an appointment with my gastroenterologist on Monday, so I figured I’d tough it out.
Fast forward to Monday, and my mouth, throat, and esophagus were hosting an ulcer convention. Imagine a burning sensation that gets worse with every sip of water. I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since Sunday, so I was basically running on fumes. My diet? Tylenol, ibuprofen, Mylanta cocktails, and Orajel spritzers. Mmm, delicious!
My doctor had his own agenda: convince me to take biologics for the umpteenth time. This time, I caved. I mean, clearly, my DIY approach wasn’t cutting it. Enter Rinvoq, a pill that’s supposed to work by day two. No needles – just how I like it. Dr. Siegel also sent me to get tested for strep, which came back negative, but my heart was racing like it was trying to win the Indy 500. Off to the Concord ER I went!
The ER was a seven-hour nightmare of not knowing what was happening. Finally, a resident popped by to tell me my labs were “send away labs” and would take a few days. Great, thanks for the info after holding me hostage all day!
Today, I had to drive to Lebanon to pick up the Rinvoq. Easy peasy, right? Ha! On the way, my car decided to be dramatic too. A tire was losing air faster than my patience. While using my car air compressor, my hair got too close and – you guessed it – got sucked in. I had to rip it out. Fabulous.
A nice kid at a garage in Andover took a screw out of my tire and patched it, but the car still felt off. So, I called in backup – my stepdad – to get me to Dartmouth. What a fiasco! I was weak, feeling like death warmed over, but determined.
The doctor says the meds should start working by Thursday. Fingers crossed, or else someone might just have to face the my wrath!
