Comprehensive health update
Jan. 27th, 2012 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_andyGoing back to the doctor next Friday to talk about my reflux. While I'm on 2 omeprazole a day it's not bad, just a little ache or tingle. But the times I went off it (stopped during the gum surgery and again when I ran out of my prescription) the pain became pretty bad. And since my pain is deferred to the left side of my chest most of the time, even though I know better I still freak out over it being heart problems. And though the medication is keeping it tolerable I want to make sure there isn't any long time damage being done by what I do still feel (my dad's reflux was probably responsible for some throat polyps he had removed when I was in high school).
I've been keeping a food diary (most boring thing in the world), but I haven't made any interesting discoveries. Either my reflux going haywire isn't cause by something I eat regularly or (more likely) the drugs keep everything so mild I don't notice any food related swings. Though I think the spicy bacon cheesesteak from tonight might be an aggravating food. Too bad, I'll suffer for that sweet sandwich.
And the other reason I'm going in is because of all the freaking I've been doing recently. When the heartburn gets painful I get horrible anxiety, which doesn't help an acidic stomach. My anxiety doesn't care that my brain knows it's reflux, the anxiety knows it's my heart and if I don't go to the ER now Chris will be calling an ambulance by the morning.
I've always had some anxiety, but it used to be more manageable. My trip anxiety was bad, but only during the getting ready to go part of the day, so I could suck it up and be better by the time we were at the airport. Though my anxiety about the car breaking down (which it did several times, all when I was driving) got so bad that since we weren't using the car much anyway we just got rid of it rather than get it repaired the last time.
Now that I am back at 2 pills a day the anxiety is gone, but I think that's only because the pain is staying below the freakout threshold. It could be back at any time, maybe if I eat the wrong thing and have a flareup, or maybe the threshold will lower over time. Either way, I think I'd like to bring it up. Oh, and stress and anxiety is probably the root cause of that tingling that sent me to the ER at the beginning of December.
So, I think that's everything. Oh, my gum surgery seems to have healed well, I have just one more follow up.
I've been keeping a food diary (most boring thing in the world), but I haven't made any interesting discoveries. Either my reflux going haywire isn't cause by something I eat regularly or (more likely) the drugs keep everything so mild I don't notice any food related swings. Though I think the spicy bacon cheesesteak from tonight might be an aggravating food. Too bad, I'll suffer for that sweet sandwich.
And the other reason I'm going in is because of all the freaking I've been doing recently. When the heartburn gets painful I get horrible anxiety, which doesn't help an acidic stomach. My anxiety doesn't care that my brain knows it's reflux, the anxiety knows it's my heart and if I don't go to the ER now Chris will be calling an ambulance by the morning.
I've always had some anxiety, but it used to be more manageable. My trip anxiety was bad, but only during the getting ready to go part of the day, so I could suck it up and be better by the time we were at the airport. Though my anxiety about the car breaking down (which it did several times, all when I was driving) got so bad that since we weren't using the car much anyway we just got rid of it rather than get it repaired the last time.
Now that I am back at 2 pills a day the anxiety is gone, but I think that's only because the pain is staying below the freakout threshold. It could be back at any time, maybe if I eat the wrong thing and have a flareup, or maybe the threshold will lower over time. Either way, I think I'd like to bring it up. Oh, and stress and anxiety is probably the root cause of that tingling that sent me to the ER at the beginning of December.
So, I think that's everything. Oh, my gum surgery seems to have healed well, I have just one more follow up.
