Good news, everyone

[dreamer_easy]

Had a great old chat with the gastroenterologist. The last time I saw him, ten years ago, I was a trembling little creature who panicked at the thought of needles or operations. This time we were both "Bring on the -oscopies!" He wants to have a good rummage around in my innertubes and see if he can find out what's broken: I'm having what the professionals apparently refer to as a "top and tail" on the 25th inst. Holy flaming cow!

"Let's get you sorted out, Kate," he said. Blimey. I've been on Questran for more than half my life. I've never been told exactly what's wrong with me. The doc says this is because so many conditions are subtle and complicated and so difficult to diagnose. I reckon it's also because I've been running away from anything to do with medical procedures for decades. It's only in recent years that I've even started reading online about it, and you know what a research junky I am.

Frankly, I'm petrified. It's not the despair, it's the hope!

(Gods, I'm getting tough in my extreme old age. Got option-clicked at by a couple of superior white anti-racists today, and was merely annoyed, instead of being reduced to terrified snivelling. Hell of a change from two years ago. Tho I am now curious about opportunities to discuss racism with POC IRL.)

Comments

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

Poor you! I'm sure it will be ok.

Let me tell you about my weired medical experience today.
I needed some blood test and xray for a residence permit. So first to the first counter with no distinguishable queue in front of it. A completely covered up woman (guess it was one) shouted for my matial status and contact telephone number. Then I was pushed to another room with many counters, only three of them open. About 90 minutes later I had paid a bit of money and was registered at that state clinic. Then someone also completely covered up took a blood sample which went fast. And then I was pushed into an xray room totally filled with women, without any instructions. OK, most of them were wearing a hospital thing over their trowsers so I located the only dressing room, undressed the upper body inbetween women complaining that they needed to unveil and whatnot, put the weired thing on and stood in a row for another hour. After the photo I squeezed into the dressing room again, untangled my clothes from a big pile, dressed up and went home.

That's Qatar *eek* I'm sure Australia cannot be that bad. So all the best :)

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Good grief! I can only hope things will be a little more organised here. :) Although the instructions do say to "bring some reading material"...

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you have a good gastro, yay you.

*fingers crossed*

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

What is an 'option-click'?

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I also wondered this. Banninating?

[tavella.livejournal.com]

Me too!

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

GREATEST ICON EVER

Dear oh dear. Sometimes I speak in a language only I can understand. The ladies in question were picking out keywords from my comments, then regurgitating responses they'd seen elsewhere. It's the kind of non-thinking non-argument I remember non-fondly from the heady days of soc.men. Anyway, I was thinking of the Clone Stamp tool in Photoshop. :)

[redrose999.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

Good luck. My sister had that done, and I'm due for it this fall. Always good to get the internal plumbing checked out. :)

[fizzixrat.livejournal.com]

I had mine done in a gastro clinic in spring 2008 and it didn't reveal anything really out of the ordinary. (My gut is weird, but not unhealthily so, I guess.) To my surprise, the doc I expected to do the procedure wasn't there, and the doc who was replacing him was the fellow who did the post-gall bladder removal endoscope procedure (ERCP) on Dr. K at the local hospital in Nov 2006. When I mentioned this to him, something in his brain clicked and he remembered us. :)

Oddly, I'm not at all traumatized by that procedure under anesthetic, but still have little bits of trauma from the 20 minute hole in my mind from wisdom tooth removal surgery when I was 16.

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

I'm having what the professionals apparently refer to as a "top and tail" on the 25th inst.

the doctor who did mine called it a 'double dip'. which makes me think of ice cream, and just...no. :P anyway, best of luck! i made them use the smaller sized scope on me (the one they use for children) when i went in, and that probably made some difference. here's hoping they find whatever ails you! :)

(btw, the 25th of inst? never heard of that month before...though now i want there to be one, just because the date sounds so cool)

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

It must be an old usage - it's in Compton Mackenzie's book Whisky Galore, when a bar in the Western Isles of Scotland receives a snippy letter, couched in very bureaucratic language, upbraiding them for defeatist talk overheard by their informant during a time of whisky shortage. "Inst" and "ult" are used, much to the locals' confusion.