Doc around the clock

[j4]

So yesterday I finally got FED UP of feeling rubbish, and phoned the GP to see if I could get an earlier appointment than next Thursday. Amazingly, they had a cancellation and thus could fit me in at 5pm.

I told the doctor the whole lot, about the ongoing stomach pains and the mood crashes and everything. He still doesn't actually know what's causing the stomach pains, but he's taken a million more blood samples to test for various Bad Stuff, and booked me for an ultrasound to check for gallstones (not as unlikely as you might think, my dad had his gallbladder out in his late 30s and his mum also had gallbladder problems when she was relatively young). It'll probably take a couple of months for me to move up the waiting list for that. He also said that it sounded quite unlikely that it was directly diet-related (though I suppose if my innards are squiffy anyway then eating things might make it worse), but if we can't find anything else then it might be worth trying an exclusion diet. However, he feels (and I'm with him on this one!) that we might as well do the other tests first, if only so we know what it isn't.

Incidentally, he says that if it was stomach ulcers then the first lot of tablets I got prescribed would have knocked them on the head immediately, and they didn't, so he's ruling that out. And he couldn't feel any odd lumps or anything when he poked my stomach ("I'm not poking it, I'm examining it!" -- still felt like a poke though), which is probably a good thing.

He's agreed that it wouldn't be a bad idea to come off the Pill altogether, and he gave sensible and non-patronising advice on contraception (thank goodness, otherwise I might have had to POKE HIM WITH A STICK), including telling me that the GP can prescribe the morning after pill for free (which I didn't know). He said he really doesn't think the Pill is what's causing the stomach pains, but he agrees it's probably at least partly to blame for the moods. So I'm coming off it at the end of this pack (soonish) and we'll see what happens. Hopefully I will magically have normal periods and no more stomach pains or horrible moods, but the doc says that's almost certainly wishful thinking (and he's probably right). It'd be interesting to see what I'm like "normally", i.e. without added hormones, though.

He hasn't prescribed me anything new for the stomach stuff, which is quite a relief both from a financial point of view (prescription charges don't half add up) but also from an OH GOD NOT MORE FVCKING DRVGS point of view. In the meantime, unfortunately, I still feel fairly wretched. I think I had about an hour's unbroken sleep last night, the rest of the night being spent tossing and turning and scrunching and stretching to try to get into a position where my stomach wasn't hurting. At about 4 a.m. I gave up and went to read for a bit and hug a badger and drink some Coke, on the grounds that the fizz might force some of the wind out (and if it didn't the book and badger would hopefully take my mind off things); this seemed to have some effect, at least, I managed to get some more restless sleep. More feeling rotten when I woke up, but after addedentry had headed off to work I made myself get up and drink some more Coke and go to work. (Since doing-nothing doesn't seem to make things any better, I may as well do something!) Have had nothing but Coke and water so far today and the pain is down to a manageable level -- not great but sufficiently reduced that I can sit at the computer and concentrate on stuff (well, as much as I ever can).

Despite the fact that it doesn't seem to make any difference what I eat (last night's fish fingers and chips and peas were nice, and didn't make me any better/worse) I've been dreading trying to eat something for lunch in case it does make me feel worse. But I have to eat something, and frankly I say bollocks to the whole feeling-guilty-about-eating thing -- even the doctor agreed that food is to be enjoyed! -- so I am going to go to the shops and find some tomato soup or BOVRIL or something that will feel like a bit of an invalid-luxury. :-) And if I feel better at the w/e I'll follow atommickbrane's suggestion and make some apple crumble.

Oh, and, the doctor weighed me, and apparently I am only nine stone, which is about a stone and a half lighter than last time I bothered to weigh, and not really very overweight at all, so god knows where that's all gone. If it turns out I've got a tapeworm, do you think they'll give me the choice of keeping it?

Comments

[simont]

"I'm not poking it, I'm examining it!"

God, yes, doctors are terrible for that, aren't they? I'm only mildly ticklish most of the time, but whenever a doctor puts their hands anywhere near my abdomen I start squirming like a mad thing before they even make contact. I don't know what it is about the specific way they prod, but it's definitely something.

[j4.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm. I'm hyper-ticklish, but amazingly the doctor managed to prod my stomach for ages without triggering the tickle reflex -- he was just hurting when he poked too hard.

[rmc28]

Oh yes, the investigative prods. "Does it hurt here? No? Here? No? What about here? Oh, you've screamed, that would be a yes then?"

I do know they have to locate the pain, and pain coming from different bits means different things but *gah*. They even seem to have different ways of poking on certain areas, to see if it hurts more just pushing down, or when they push down and bounce up again quickly.

[cosmolinguist]

I don't know what it is about the specific way they prod, but it's definitely something.

I always thought it was just me being nervous when that happened. But I'm always nervous, no matter how minor or innocuous the reason for the doctor visit.

[my-name-is-anna.livejournal.com]

I don't think 9 stone could be overweight for anyone.
No one over about the height of 4 foot, anyway.

[j4.livejournal.com]

I am only little -- 5'1" -- and the height/weight charts seem to suggest that 9 stone is overweight. Bollocks to that, though! It's all muscle, I'm telling you.

Ideal body weight for women (http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/logout/news_features/idealweight_w.htm)
And another one, not by a weight-loss company (http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/idealw.htm)

[j4.livejournal.com]

However having said that I appear to be within the "normal" range for BMI. [calculate your BMI (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/calc-bmi.htm)] Oh, god, it's all such a load of bobbins! I eat fairly sensibly and can still fit in the clothes I like, beyond that I don't care.

[ghirlracer.livejournal.com]

Heh, the ideal weight thing is rubbish I think - I looked at them just now, thought I was on the low side of "just right", then went and weighed myself only to find I'm a whole stone lighter than I thought I was (figured I'd lost some weight from eating better but didn't realise it was that much), and significantly "underweight" in them all.

It's my natural ideal weight though, as it's just back to what it was before I ate badly for a year or so - I've been eating pretty well for the last year or two, so I don't think I need to aim to put weight back on again! Generally best to ignore those things I think, if you're eating a balanced diet and look alright (ie not a walking skeleton or a blob), it's fine :-)

[my-name-is-anna.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I see what you mean, though it still doesn't sound like enough to be over weight.

Those ideal weight charts are all rubbish - they were put together in the 50s, and average body shape has changed since then eg: people have better nutrition thus are bigger build anyway.

[imc.livejournal.com]

That first chart is complete sloblock; the second one seems to put you within the "ideal weight" range (albeit at the top end).

[missjudas.livejournal.com]

I saw something on the news about BMI not being as important as measurement of the waist. As far as I recall, you have a very skinny waist. I have a feeling that being anything less than 9 stone may make you look ill. Be happy with how you look because you are gorgeous just the way you are.

And I do hope you feel better soon. Nice to hear that you have a sympathetic doctor who is willing to investigate.

[simonb.livejournal.com]

You're probably thinking of the Waist to Hip (http://www.annecollins.com/weight-loss/waist-hip-ratio.htm) ratio. You can work your ratio out by dividing the circumference of your waist (measured just below your navel) by the circumference of your hips (measured where you buttocks are largest). Women should have a ratio of 0.8 or less, men should have a ratio of 0.95 or less.

A lot of these measurement type things don't seem to be very accurate though when it comes to saying if you need to loose weight or not. The only reasonable measurement I can find is body fat percentage and its a pain to get that measured accurately; even then there is a lot of disagreement in the scientific community about what is a healthy body fat percentage of a given person.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

That page has a script for dividing one number by another number. Boggle.

[andrewwyld.livejournal.com]

That's an awfully narrow band (first page).  I am pretty sure healthy weights cover a wider range to either side.

None of these take the width of shoulders, ribcage or pelvis into account, though, which surely must make some difference.

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

My goodness, I think you have found the only sane doctor in the NHS!

Cream of tomato soup, oh yes, definitely. Custard with the apple crumble on the weekend?

If eating has been annoying your stomach and thus you've been eating less, I think we can make a reasonable guess where the extra twenty pounds or so has gone.

[j4.livejournal.com]

But I haven't been eating less, at least, not that I've noticed -- eating doesn't seem to make any noticeable difference for better or for worse, though of course if I'm feeling really rotten I don't feel so much like eating (in that I don't really feel like doing anything at all). But it's only been the last few days that I've felt so bad I just wanted to hide under a duvet. And I ate like a horse all last week when I was on holiday! (Lots of bread and cheese and chocolate, too, so if it was a dairy or wheat allergy I would surely have been writhing by day 3 of the holiday.)

Cream of tomato soup would be good if the Co-op does some that's microwaveable... Bovril might be better value-for-money though as I can buy a big jar and keep it at work for emergency lunch crises. And I really do love Bovril. :-)

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Then have Bovril. ;)

Maybe it's a sudden cheese deficiency?

[j4.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, that's one illness I would like to have: cheese-dependency! "Yeah, if I don't get a decent hit of Gruyere every day I break out in a rash. ROMYOMYOMYOMYOMCHEESE."

[bibliogirl.livejournal.com]

Stilton being prescribed on the NHS... one-a-day Cheddar tablets...

ta for update :-)

[vinaigrettegirl.livejournal.com]

That's so funny: when I saw you I actually thought to myself: ooh, she's about the same height I am but she only weighs nine stone!! That's cool, maybe someday I could do that too!

Then you came up with this 10s 5lb idea and I thought last night: where has she put *that*? Maybe she has the most impossibly massive hips and thighs EVAH, but how come I didn't SEE them? Lead shoes? What??? Tomorrow, I thought, I'll maybe float the idea she gets weighed at the doctor's next time she's there.

Good for you, going hormone-free for a spin. It will be, at the very least, different.

Sooooop of the evening, beautiful soup. Just going off for some now.

[keris.livejournal.com]

I'm doing the fake hormone free thing at the moment, although I was only trying them for a year and a half and got fed of of massive side effects and them keeping prescribing stronger and stronger pills as the answer to those side effects... It's quite nice having my own ones back, in a strange kind of way...

Also, I'd recommend Bisodol indegestion tablets as a good way of helping out with the trapped wind stuff. They're not magic or anything but help me a little bit. They come in rolls of 20 so might be worth trying a packet. But you've probably tried them anyway...

[j4.livejournal.com]

I've tried various different indigestion things (including super-strength stuff that the doc prescribed last time) & none of them have helped... but thanks for the suggestion. If it carries on I'll probably be trying absolutely everything anyway. :-/

[geekette8.livejournal.com]

There are definitely things specifically for trapped wind (as opposed to indigestion) that you can buy OTC from a pharmacy. No idea what they're called but I'm sure a pharmacist would point you in the right direction. Of course it wouldn't be fixing the underlying problem, but it might at least help relieve the symptoms?

[keris.livejournal.com]

Yep, the ones I have are the thing I picked up that said they did trapped wind...

[sparrowsion]

Are you sure you wouldn't have had to EXAMINE HIM WITH A STICK?

[j4.livejournal.com]

*giggle*

> EXAMINE DOCTOR WITH STICK
You can't do that here!

[hsenag.livejournal.com]

prescription charges don't half add up

I dunno if you're anywhere near the level where it'd help, especially since contraceptives are free, but are you aware of prepayment certificates?

From http://www.ppa.org.uk/ppa/ppc_intro.htm:

People who have to pay for more than 5 prescription items in 4 months, or 14 items in 12 months, could save money by buying a PPC. From 1 April 2005, the charge for a single prescription item is £6.50, whereas a 4-month PPC will cost you £33.90 and a 12-month PPC £93.20.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

Yay for competent doctors and a sensible range of options to examine. Also, *hugs*.

I kind of gave up on body mass index things ever being useful in August of 1998, when I looked up the appropriate for my height and build and actual weight, and it told me "Umm... you're dead." [ I was a very thin layer of rysmiel painted over bone then. Used to bruise people with my bones while hugging them. Not going there again. ]

Also, wrt taking care of invalid food, do you do, and can you get in Cambridge, miso soup ? I would think some of the Asian shops on Mill Road would have it, and I've found it an absolute godsend for getting nutrition in when digestion is being balky, and also yummy.

[j4.livejournal.com]

Miso soup is a great idea. I will go and look!

Bovril was good in the meantime, though. Mmmmm.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

I only discovered the wonderfulness of miso soup after moving here, where it's pretty much ubiquitous. To a first approximation I don't like hot drinks, with the occasional exception for light green or white teas [ pai mu tan in particular ] and finding one that actually worked for me was a huge relief.

I've never been able to stand Bovril as a drink, though I used to regularly get it in sandwiches when I was a tiny tot. Frequently with cheddar. It's like some kind of anti-fairy-bread thing, Unseelie bread perhaps ?

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

Pret, if you're not anti-Pret, do Miso soup. S'alright, goes well with their veggie sushi, though I'm on a packed lunch kick at the moment.

[hoiho.livejournal.com]

Al Amin definetely have Miso Soup, for I have some from there, in the cupboard, here.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Yay for your GP. Apart from the poking.

Have you tried fennel tea? Quite good for various windy problems.