Marriage wouldn't be any fun if I didn't have anything to nag you about.
I have written my opinions on nagging before, and I really feel like I have gotten better about it (I think Paul would agree), so the above comment was a teasing one. We are reading through The Love Dare, and the last two dares have involved unity. We were talking about how we feel we are pretty unified and see eye-t0-eye on things. We have lots of similar interests and friends, but we still are two individuals - I am not "married to myself". That conversation is preceded the quote above.
Yes, I realize it's supposed to be 40 days, and we're pushing 4 months. I'll write a review here when we finish it. We just finished Day 31.
Incidentally, Justin..... (I know you read this.) What was that comment during Sunday morning's rehearsal that I told you I was going to put on my blog? Email me.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Spoke Too Soon
After 36 hours on these antibiotics, I announced to Paul: "I think maybe I'm not going to get the metallic-taste-in-your-mouth side effect."
Definitely spoke too soon.
It's not a gross taste, it's just.... Annoying. Like my teeth have a flavor. Or I need to brush my teeth. The nurse warned me not to use mouthwash (or any alcohol) to try to get rid of it - it will make it horrible.
And another thing about these drugs - one says, "May turn urine red." The other says, "If you experience red urine, contact your doctor immediately." Hmm.....
Only 6 more days of them. So far I haven't forgotten.... Three a day of one, two of the other. It really is hard for me to remember.
I researched things to avoid if you have diverticulitis. What the doctor mentioned and most websites, I was fine with... Seedy foods (strawberries, raspberries), nuts, and popcorn. I enjoy all of those, but can live without them. Then one website mentioned tomatoes.
I think I might die if I can't eat tomatoes.
Definitely spoke too soon.
It's not a gross taste, it's just.... Annoying. Like my teeth have a flavor. Or I need to brush my teeth. The nurse warned me not to use mouthwash (or any alcohol) to try to get rid of it - it will make it horrible.
And another thing about these drugs - one says, "May turn urine red." The other says, "If you experience red urine, contact your doctor immediately." Hmm.....
Only 6 more days of them. So far I haven't forgotten.... Three a day of one, two of the other. It really is hard for me to remember.
I researched things to avoid if you have diverticulitis. What the doctor mentioned and most websites, I was fine with... Seedy foods (strawberries, raspberries), nuts, and popcorn. I enjoy all of those, but can live without them. Then one website mentioned tomatoes.
I think I might die if I can't eat tomatoes.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Diverticulitis - So much for my iron gut.
Ugh.
I had my first ever non-baby hospital stay this week. Also my first trip to the emergency room (for myself) that didn't involve an injury - I haven't been to the emergency room for myself since I was like 15.
It's been a great few days.
Sunday night I started having pain in my right side. It was uncomfortable, but not horrible. It was still there Monday, but I continued on. I didn't feel bad, except for the persistent pain just below my ribs. I chalked it up to the weekend's combination of grilled meat and ham (have caused a bit of digestive issues before) and some different food that we had at our church's Seder supper.
I realized in the afternoon though, that I was unconciously hunching over because of the pain. If I stood straight, it hurt worse. We went for a drive that evening, and every bump we hit in the road was like a knife. I decided I probably should go see the doctor in the morning.
As the evening went on, I hurt worse and worse. I just figured it was because I was tired. But then I started having diarrhea. And then I puked. I hate puking.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, my period started about that same time.
I went to bed about 11 Monday night. After 3 hours of not being able to sleep because of constant pain and trips to the bathroom, I got out of bed. I suspected my appendix, so I looked up symptoms. Everything listed sounded like what I was experiencing - except where the pain was.... Appendix pain is in the lower right side. But the information said very rarely (1 in 500), the pain could be near the ribs, rather than near the hip. I figured I would be the 1 in 500, with my luck.
I was miserable, and near tears from the pain. I have a very high pain tolerance - I willingly went through two natural childbirths, because I didn't think the pain was that bad, if that tells you anything. I needed to throw up again, but couldn't. Finally, about 3 AM, I went and woke up Paul and told him I thought we should go to the emergency room. (I was trying to let Paul get some sleep - he'd only had about 5 hours since Sunday afternoon, due to working Sunday night, and then getting up to help me with the boys so I could lay down.) If it was my appendix, I was at 30 hours since the pain had started, so I thought I could be pushing my luck. If my appendix burst, I'd have an even bigger problem. Paul called his parents; they came to stay at the house with the boys, and we headed in.
I threw up again right before we left, and that did help ease the pain, but not enough to make me want to wait until morning to see a doctor. The emergency room was blessedly empty, but that didn't help with speed of service. I mean, I don't expect everyone to drop everything and come running to serve me, but it seemed like things should have moved a little quicker.... It seemed like every step took an hour.
Check in, draw blood for lab.
Wait an hour.
Tell me a CT scan is ordered. Drink nasty stuff.
Wait an hour. (I realize they can't rush that process as the drink has to light up my insides or whatever it does.)
Get scan.
Wait an hour and twenty minutes.
Get results of scan. (Something going on in the area of my gall bladder, but it could be my colon.)
Wait an hour.
Admitted to hospital and moved to a real room.
The overnight nurse was very kind and attentive, but I never was examined by a doctor (she kind of felt my belly while I was sitting in a chair), and after the shift change (7AM), I really didn't see a nurse. The "bed" was horribly uncomfortable, and by the time we got upstairs to the real room, my back hurt worse than the pain in my side. I was so tired from not sleeping all night that I was totally emotional.
Once I was admitted to the room upstairs, the "resident" doctor's (he's the surgeon, but alwo was assigned to me, for some reason) nurse practicioner came in and told me that based on my age, the symptoms, where the pain was, and how quickly my symptoms came on, they were suspecting my gall bladder was the culprit. She said it usually took surgery to resolve. I was fine with that. I just wanted the pain to go away! (Think childbirth pain, with no breaks, and no happy end result.) My white blood cell count was elevated, so they gave me antibiotics, and said that I would have a sonogram of my gall bladder to see what was going on there. So I was just supposed to rest and wait.
I was put in a room with a woman who had just had her hip replaced. She was kind and considerate, but snored horribly (due to drugs I'm sure), and between doctors, nurses, and therapists coming to work with her, and doctors, nurses, and technicians coming to see me, the phone ringing (the room phone; I had turned my cell phone off), and all the sounds of a hospital, I didn't sleep. Twice I asked for pain drugs, just to relax me so I could sleep, and both times just as I was drifting off, someone came in. Sigh.
At the end of the day, the doctor came in again to visit with me. My gall bladder was fine. I had a condition called diverticulitis. Basically tiny pockets can form on your colon, and the obviously nasty stuff that resides in a colon can get in there and get infected. The reason everyone was confused was because it normally doesn't happen to people younger than 50, and it usually happens in the section of your colon that's on the lower left side (mine was in the upper right). The good news was I wouldn't have to have surgery, the bad news is there's a good chance it could happen again. I almost would rather have the surgery, I think. They told me as long as I could handle foods (because I'd have to take an oral antibiotic), I could go home the next day.
I asked for something to help me sleep that night. I knew I needed sleep to get well, and given the afternoon's attempts, I didn't have much hope for the night. They gave me a Tylenol PM, and a Benadryl. (It's worth noting that I don't take medicine hardly ever - I take one regular Tylenol when I want to relax to go to sleep.)
I slept good.
There were nurses in a few times during the night. I woke up, closed my eyes, and konked right back out. The nurse was pretty alarmed when she came to check my vitals at like 4 AM, and my blood pressure was like 89/47. She didn't seem to understand the notion of my body ceasing all but the most vital functions because I was so tired - 48 hours without sleep while in constant pain and fighting infection.... Yes, that does bring on what one would call "the sleep of the dead."
I felt much better in the morning and was excited about the prospect of real food for breakfast - it had been a day and a half since I'd eaten anything. And they served me.... Broth. Jello. Juice. Yum. While my roommate got a plate full of sausage links! Mid-morning, they did bring me a muffin and crispy rice cereal. That was better. Then I got a hamburger, fries, and a milkshake (such as it was... ) for lunch - and it was delicious! (Not really, but even a cafeteria hamburger tastes good given the right circumstances!) Mid afternoon I got my oral antibiotic, and after 2 hours and no problem with vomiting any of it back up, the doctor released me to go home. It took two hours to process the paper work, and another hour waiting at Walgreens to fill my prescription (because it was 20 minutes after the downtown much faster pharmacy closed). By 8, I finally got HOME.
I couldn't get to sleep when we went to bed last night. Jacob couldn't stay asleep and ended up in our bed for 3 hours. Paul went ahead and went to work today. But I really feel pretty good. A slight pain still in my side, but I don't feel weak, and surprisingly not tired (even though I'm going to take a nap here in a bit). I still don't feel hungry - yes, I want to eat, because I enjoy the flavors and textures of food, but my stomach isn't hungry. And honestly, nothing really sounds that great anyways.
In reading more about diverticulitis, I'm even more baffled as to why I have it, because it apparently happens people older than 50 (I'm 28), to men 3x more often than women, who don't eat enough fiber (I eat tons!), and don't drink enough water (I generally drink a gallon a day). The "culprit foods" are popcorn, seedy foods (berries and tomatoes), and nuts. I had had maybe 5 strawberries (all my sons would allow me) over a few days last week, so it's possible that was the cause, even though I've never had any problems before.
Also, even though high fiber is the way to avoid this happening again, high fiber is not the way to recover from it.... You're supposed to eat a low fiber, low residue diet. GAH!
I think I'll just go crawl in a hole and eat Ramen noodles until I feel normal again.
Anyhow. Thanks everyone for their prayers. Pastor Carrier and Alene came to see me Tuesday afternoon, and Pastor encouraged me with this verse:
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
It was just exactly what I needed to hear, and I have no doubt God used him to encourage me. It went over and over in my mind while I was in the hospital, and it still is. I'll write more later about why it was perfect - not just for this situation, but for what else is going on in our lives right now.
Sorry so long. Aren't my adventures always long?
You can read more about diverticulitis here, if you're interested.
I had my first ever non-baby hospital stay this week. Also my first trip to the emergency room (for myself) that didn't involve an injury - I haven't been to the emergency room for myself since I was like 15.
It's been a great few days.
Sunday night I started having pain in my right side. It was uncomfortable, but not horrible. It was still there Monday, but I continued on. I didn't feel bad, except for the persistent pain just below my ribs. I chalked it up to the weekend's combination of grilled meat and ham (have caused a bit of digestive issues before) and some different food that we had at our church's Seder supper.
I realized in the afternoon though, that I was unconciously hunching over because of the pain. If I stood straight, it hurt worse. We went for a drive that evening, and every bump we hit in the road was like a knife. I decided I probably should go see the doctor in the morning.
As the evening went on, I hurt worse and worse. I just figured it was because I was tired. But then I started having diarrhea. And then I puked. I hate puking.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, my period started about that same time.
I went to bed about 11 Monday night. After 3 hours of not being able to sleep because of constant pain and trips to the bathroom, I got out of bed. I suspected my appendix, so I looked up symptoms. Everything listed sounded like what I was experiencing - except where the pain was.... Appendix pain is in the lower right side. But the information said very rarely (1 in 500), the pain could be near the ribs, rather than near the hip. I figured I would be the 1 in 500, with my luck.
I was miserable, and near tears from the pain. I have a very high pain tolerance - I willingly went through two natural childbirths, because I didn't think the pain was that bad, if that tells you anything. I needed to throw up again, but couldn't. Finally, about 3 AM, I went and woke up Paul and told him I thought we should go to the emergency room. (I was trying to let Paul get some sleep - he'd only had about 5 hours since Sunday afternoon, due to working Sunday night, and then getting up to help me with the boys so I could lay down.) If it was my appendix, I was at 30 hours since the pain had started, so I thought I could be pushing my luck. If my appendix burst, I'd have an even bigger problem. Paul called his parents; they came to stay at the house with the boys, and we headed in.
I threw up again right before we left, and that did help ease the pain, but not enough to make me want to wait until morning to see a doctor. The emergency room was blessedly empty, but that didn't help with speed of service. I mean, I don't expect everyone to drop everything and come running to serve me, but it seemed like things should have moved a little quicker.... It seemed like every step took an hour.
Check in, draw blood for lab.
Wait an hour.
Tell me a CT scan is ordered. Drink nasty stuff.
Wait an hour. (I realize they can't rush that process as the drink has to light up my insides or whatever it does.)
Get scan.
Wait an hour and twenty minutes.
Get results of scan. (Something going on in the area of my gall bladder, but it could be my colon.)
Wait an hour.
Admitted to hospital and moved to a real room.
The overnight nurse was very kind and attentive, but I never was examined by a doctor (she kind of felt my belly while I was sitting in a chair), and after the shift change (7AM), I really didn't see a nurse. The "bed" was horribly uncomfortable, and by the time we got upstairs to the real room, my back hurt worse than the pain in my side. I was so tired from not sleeping all night that I was totally emotional.
Once I was admitted to the room upstairs, the "resident" doctor's (he's the surgeon, but alwo was assigned to me, for some reason) nurse practicioner came in and told me that based on my age, the symptoms, where the pain was, and how quickly my symptoms came on, they were suspecting my gall bladder was the culprit. She said it usually took surgery to resolve. I was fine with that. I just wanted the pain to go away! (Think childbirth pain, with no breaks, and no happy end result.) My white blood cell count was elevated, so they gave me antibiotics, and said that I would have a sonogram of my gall bladder to see what was going on there. So I was just supposed to rest and wait.
I was put in a room with a woman who had just had her hip replaced. She was kind and considerate, but snored horribly (due to drugs I'm sure), and between doctors, nurses, and therapists coming to work with her, and doctors, nurses, and technicians coming to see me, the phone ringing (the room phone; I had turned my cell phone off), and all the sounds of a hospital, I didn't sleep. Twice I asked for pain drugs, just to relax me so I could sleep, and both times just as I was drifting off, someone came in. Sigh.
At the end of the day, the doctor came in again to visit with me. My gall bladder was fine. I had a condition called diverticulitis. Basically tiny pockets can form on your colon, and the obviously nasty stuff that resides in a colon can get in there and get infected. The reason everyone was confused was because it normally doesn't happen to people younger than 50, and it usually happens in the section of your colon that's on the lower left side (mine was in the upper right). The good news was I wouldn't have to have surgery, the bad news is there's a good chance it could happen again. I almost would rather have the surgery, I think. They told me as long as I could handle foods (because I'd have to take an oral antibiotic), I could go home the next day.
I asked for something to help me sleep that night. I knew I needed sleep to get well, and given the afternoon's attempts, I didn't have much hope for the night. They gave me a Tylenol PM, and a Benadryl. (It's worth noting that I don't take medicine hardly ever - I take one regular Tylenol when I want to relax to go to sleep.)
I slept good.
There were nurses in a few times during the night. I woke up, closed my eyes, and konked right back out. The nurse was pretty alarmed when she came to check my vitals at like 4 AM, and my blood pressure was like 89/47. She didn't seem to understand the notion of my body ceasing all but the most vital functions because I was so tired - 48 hours without sleep while in constant pain and fighting infection.... Yes, that does bring on what one would call "the sleep of the dead."
I felt much better in the morning and was excited about the prospect of real food for breakfast - it had been a day and a half since I'd eaten anything. And they served me.... Broth. Jello. Juice. Yum. While my roommate got a plate full of sausage links! Mid-morning, they did bring me a muffin and crispy rice cereal. That was better. Then I got a hamburger, fries, and a milkshake (such as it was... ) for lunch - and it was delicious! (Not really, but even a cafeteria hamburger tastes good given the right circumstances!) Mid afternoon I got my oral antibiotic, and after 2 hours and no problem with vomiting any of it back up, the doctor released me to go home. It took two hours to process the paper work, and another hour waiting at Walgreens to fill my prescription (because it was 20 minutes after the downtown much faster pharmacy closed). By 8, I finally got HOME.
I couldn't get to sleep when we went to bed last night. Jacob couldn't stay asleep and ended up in our bed for 3 hours. Paul went ahead and went to work today. But I really feel pretty good. A slight pain still in my side, but I don't feel weak, and surprisingly not tired (even though I'm going to take a nap here in a bit). I still don't feel hungry - yes, I want to eat, because I enjoy the flavors and textures of food, but my stomach isn't hungry. And honestly, nothing really sounds that great anyways.
In reading more about diverticulitis, I'm even more baffled as to why I have it, because it apparently happens people older than 50 (I'm 28), to men 3x more often than women, who don't eat enough fiber (I eat tons!), and don't drink enough water (I generally drink a gallon a day). The "culprit foods" are popcorn, seedy foods (berries and tomatoes), and nuts. I had had maybe 5 strawberries (all my sons would allow me) over a few days last week, so it's possible that was the cause, even though I've never had any problems before.
Also, even though high fiber is the way to avoid this happening again, high fiber is not the way to recover from it.... You're supposed to eat a low fiber, low residue diet. GAH!
I think I'll just go crawl in a hole and eat Ramen noodles until I feel normal again.
Anyhow. Thanks everyone for their prayers. Pastor Carrier and Alene came to see me Tuesday afternoon, and Pastor encouraged me with this verse:
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
It was just exactly what I needed to hear, and I have no doubt God used him to encourage me. It went over and over in my mind while I was in the hospital, and it still is. I'll write more later about why it was perfect - not just for this situation, but for what else is going on in our lives right now.
Sorry so long. Aren't my adventures always long?
You can read more about diverticulitis here, if you're interested.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Overheard:
Need-to-know: Dallas is 5 years old, the older of the two boys I used to babysit.
Nathan:
"Dallas likes to pick up chicks."
After a moment of, "What?" and "Where the heck did he learn that phrase?" I realized Nathan was literally talking about picking up chicks. As in, baby birds. We had ran into Dallas, Andrew, and their dad at Orscheln yesterday. They had come to see the baby birds, and all 4 boys enjoyed picking them up and petting them.
Nathan:
"Dallas likes to pick up chicks."
After a moment of, "What?" and "Where the heck did he learn that phrase?" I realized Nathan was literally talking about picking up chicks. As in, baby birds. We had ran into Dallas, Andrew, and their dad at Orscheln yesterday. They had come to see the baby birds, and all 4 boys enjoyed picking them up and petting them.
Taco Pasta
A few days ago, for some reason, Paul and I were talking about him cooking. I mentioned a dish he made and brought to me at work when we still lived in the apartment. He apparently thought a lot about it over the next few days, because when I came home from band practice to find him scouring my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for that recipe. He finally found the one he had made - Chili Pasta Skillet - and decided to go to experimenting.
So really, this "food win" is all Paul's.
Basically, brown a pound of hamburger. Add a jar of undrained tomatoes (which would be about equal to 2 cans), a can of drained/rinsed beans, and a packet of taco seasoning. (I later added another half packet, because I like things with some zest.) Bring that all to a boil, then add 3 cups of pasta (we used cavatappi). Reduce the heat, and simmer until pasta is tender (10-15 minutes). Top with cheese, and - yummo!
Paul can add this one to his "Daddy's night to cook" list. It's also going to be really good for those times when we decide to have tacos, really start to crave them, then realize we have no tortillas.
So really, this "food win" is all Paul's.
Basically, brown a pound of hamburger. Add a jar of undrained tomatoes (which would be about equal to 2 cans), a can of drained/rinsed beans, and a packet of taco seasoning. (I later added another half packet, because I like things with some zest.) Bring that all to a boil, then add 3 cups of pasta (we used cavatappi). Reduce the heat, and simmer until pasta is tender (10-15 minutes). Top with cheese, and - yummo!
Paul can add this one to his "Daddy's night to cook" list. It's also going to be really good for those times when we decide to have tacos, really start to crave them, then realize we have no tortillas.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Note to Self:
While considering the obvious places to apply sunscreen (face, shoulders, back of neck), remember your not-so-obvious places as well. Like under your shirt, just above your waistline. Because when you are bending over pulling weeks for 3 hours on a windy day, your shirt will not stay over your pants and your back will be exposed to sunshine.
And sunshine is not kind on your lily-white behind.
(And yes, siblings, I know I do this every year. Because I seriously do forget. Do you think I enjoy being in pain??)
And sunshine is not kind on your lily-white behind.
(And yes, siblings, I know I do this every year. Because I seriously do forget. Do you think I enjoy being in pain??)
Friday, April 8, 2011
Priviledge?
Nathan's "lovey" - his stuffed animal that he has to take to bed with him is a Beenie Baby white tiger, seriously sun-faded from spending the first 5(+) years of his life on the dash of my husband's truck.
Well, last week, Cat sprung a leak. I started finding the little plastic "beans" around the house. It took me three times of inspecting to finally find the hole on his paw. So earlier this week, we did "surgery" on Cat and sewed up that seam - with blue thread, on the request of Nathan.
While I had my needle out (a rare occurance), I decided to sew up the shirt that Cat wears, too. It's a red shirt that says Tractor Supply Co. that actually was originally on a stuffed Donkey they gave away as a promotion (Aunt Sissy brought some home for the kids at Christmas). The donkey never made it home, but the shirt did.
As I was sewing, I got to thinking - what a privileged country we live in! Not only can we afford to have stuffed animals for our children to play with, but we can afford to have clothes for the stuffed animals. And a step beyond that - there is enough money in this country that businesses can afford to give away stuffed animals wearing clothes!
I'm not saying that our country is evil for us being able to afford these things. It just makes me grateful that we have all these priviledges, when in some countries their children don't even have clothes or enough food.
Well, last week, Cat sprung a leak. I started finding the little plastic "beans" around the house. It took me three times of inspecting to finally find the hole on his paw. So earlier this week, we did "surgery" on Cat and sewed up that seam - with blue thread, on the request of Nathan.
While I had my needle out (a rare occurance), I decided to sew up the shirt that Cat wears, too. It's a red shirt that says Tractor Supply Co. that actually was originally on a stuffed Donkey they gave away as a promotion (Aunt Sissy brought some home for the kids at Christmas). The donkey never made it home, but the shirt did.
As I was sewing, I got to thinking - what a privileged country we live in! Not only can we afford to have stuffed animals for our children to play with, but we can afford to have clothes for the stuffed animals. And a step beyond that - there is enough money in this country that businesses can afford to give away stuffed animals wearing clothes!
I'm not saying that our country is evil for us being able to afford these things. It just makes me grateful that we have all these priviledges, when in some countries their children don't even have clothes or enough food.
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