"white-knuckling" it through this week...

Posted to my LJ on Feb. 15th, 2008 at 11:45 PM


I have had my head down making my way through this week a step at a time. It really does feel like weeks since I wrote that post Tuesday. Saw my doc Tuesday and instead of trying a different med, we are upping the dose for a test period to see if anything changes. Saw my therapist that night. I need to start journaling (privately, sorry) about my sessions so I actually THINK about things during the week. I am realizing that I have this awful habit of talking about stuff that's important and then I don't think about it again until 5 minutes before my next appointment. I do it outside of therapy and have for years. My family did it all the time. Not insidiously, like the white elephant in the room kind of not dealing with it. Just going on and kind of rolling over it like roadkill. Yep, that's the metaphor.

SysAdmin guy at work has been less outright annoying this week. I am taking it at face value. Is he trying to get along better with me and my co-worker? Or is he actually being slightly more personable? Who can tell - the man has the personality of a bag of hair.

I got to configure new laptops for other people this week. I realized I am kind of annoyed that everyone else in IT is getting one except me and my co-worker.

Manager guy was pretty much not around all week because he was in a conference room with a guy from our software vendor all week. That was nice. I hate having two bosses. Fortunately, they don't really give me conflicting instruction, but sometimes the both tell me to do the same thing, which is very annoying. Yes, I know. My other boss already told me.

This week was filled with puppy poop and puppy vomit. My pooches were both not feeling well and took it out on the house. I shall be shampooing some carpet as soon as I am able (again, just did it last week before we got the house appraised.)

The appraiser came Wednesday morning. After it SNOWED THREE INCHES overnight. Which is good, because all the leaves on the lawn were covered. It's good she was not too late, because just an hour after she came, it began POURING RAIN for the rest of the day, melting all the snow. At work, we had that rain on the roof noise all afternoon.

Thursday began the poop explosion, with Storm starting off the poop-splosion. The next morning, she seemed better and ate normally. Then it was Rogue's turn. Coming home to it was not fun for my sweetie. Not at all. Then Thursday night (that would be last night) Storm began the vomiting. She did not eat dinner at all, and began vomiting at about 6:30 and proceeded to do so about 8 times througout the night. She got very listless and lethargic and couldn't get comfortable to sleep for hours at a time. So I was up with her on my chest for several hours last night, stroking her fur, trying to comfort her a little. Then this morning, more diarrhea and so it was time to go to the vet. I could not get her an appointment at my regular vet, so I went to the Emergency Animal Hospital (and I am very happy there IS one here...) and asked the attendant what she thought (after finding out that just being SEEN is over $100 dollars!) We talked about it and she thought she would be okay and was not in an emergency state. So I called my vet and got on the waiting list to go in later today. As it turned out, she slept a few hours and then my sweetie called me and told me she was almost good as new. Playing with Rogue, jumping around the room, very interested in her food again...YAY!!! So I cancelled the appointment, we don't need to go unless she has a relapse.

The kicker to all this poop and vomit is that our washing machine is busted and we are waiting for the tax return to get a new one. So we will have to haul almost all of the bedclothes in the house to the laundromat to get washed! \m/

Went to work and had a nutty crazy day. Then came home and had to yell at the mortgage company for poor record keeping.

And to top it all off, I am getting sick. I have a cough, my chest feels tight and I have been getting achier (more achy?) since I got home. My eyes feel hot and that probably means I have a fever.

This week has been long. Very long.

TMI - too much information post!

It is not fair! I swear, every time I take some medication to relieve something when I am sick, it gives me something ELSE that makes me sicker!

Several years ago, I had this ear infection. So I go to my doctor and he gives me an antibiotic to stop the ear infection. Well, then I get a yeast infection (told you it was a TMI post!) from taking the antibiotic. So I stop the antibiotic and begin to treat the yeast infection with over the counter stuff. The ear infection comes back in full force (with the dizziness and fever, the whole deal.) So I go BACK to the doc, he gives me a second course of antibiotics which causes the yeast infection to come back full force. But I have to finish the course of antibiotics this time. So I end up treating the yeast infection TWICE to be sure I am rid of it.

This time around, I had a sinus infection. This was two weeks ago Friday. I was really good and went right to my doc and she prescribed Augmentin (a powerful antibiotic) and prednisone, and because I had the presence of mind to MENTION that I would have to start taking Acidophilus to avoid getting a yeast infection, she gave me Diflucan (the yeast infection drug) as well! Great, right? I covered all the bases this time, made sure I would not be sicker, that I would get well. Well, one would think so.

About 6 days after I finished the Augmentin and felt a hell of a lot better, I had chinese food for dinner. That night, I went to the bathroom and thought I was going to die. It continued the next day and I thought for sure that the food disagreed horribly with me. I tried to ride it out, as these things usually end within two days or so (if it's really bad.) But it kept going on. So I popped the Immodium Advanced chewables (the miracles of modern medicine!!) and things stopped. Really stopped. Like, those stop me from pooping for about a full day. I thought we were all set, no more problem.

Friday night, I go hang out impromptu with a friend of mine after I finish dinner. We go to get ice cream and stop at the store so she can finish making her dinner as well. We get back to her house and all of a sudden it hits me and I am in the bathroom again. Twice in 20 minutes. So I take my leave, rapidly. Get home and hit the bathroom like 3 more times! I vow not to eat anymore and take more Immodium. Things stop again for a day.

Then last night, it all happens again. It would not be so bad if it were just the runs. But no, this comes with intense intestinal cramping that makes me double over and moan with pain, not to mention the exhaustion afterwards and the feeling like I have just been kicked in the abs a hundred times. After having to hit the bathroom several times last night, I decided I have to see my doctor.

I call today and they get me right in. She tells me that she thinks I have C-Diff, also known as Clostridium Difficile. See, when you take antibiotics, there is that one intestinal bacteria that they don't kill. And sometimes, they end up taking over the place since no one is there to stop them. Add the random factor that I ended up taking some Acidophilus anyway at the end of my Augmentin regimen because I had developed a cold sore (yet another medical annoyance!!) and I think that kick started the growth and hostile takeover of this C-Diff guy (and it is hostile, believe me!!!)

So, now I am on ANOTHER antibiotic to stop this massive intestinal plague I've got goin' on and I have to provide the lab with stool samples. Three of 'em. Thrilling. I am so excited about this I could just pee. In a cup. No, wait, I have to do the other thing...in a cup.

Will this ever end?