Wacky Day.

I've been without home access to the internet intermittently for weeks. The cable guy came over and assured me I had connectivity, so the problem must be with my computer. He suggested I defragment my drive, something I already have the computer do automatically every week.

I did, however, do some extra "cleaning up," did a re-start, and presto! I'm on.

I'm home today as I had some minor complications following yesterday's colonoscopy. (It's true what they all say, that the prep is far worse than the actual procedure.) The results are that I probably have irritable bowel syndrome, and some polyps were removed for biopsy. They are looking for celiac sprue, essentially a reaction to gluten. The result? I have to give up at least the following: caffeine, carbonated beverages, nicotine, and spicy foods. In addition, I may have to watch what kinds of wheat products I eat.

My MRI results on my neck and brain came back. The neck (and the surgery from 2006) looks great, no problems. The Chiari malformation seems unchanged. The issue is with the blood vessels in my brain-- some sort of "abnormalities." Doctor has ordered an MRA (the nurse described it as "just like an MRI, but using a different software package"). Things they might be looking for: AVM (this is what Nate Fisher had on "Six Feet Under"), aneurysm, or any kind of "hardening of the arteries." Sheesh.

Just shoot me already.

Meanwhile, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal emailed me, as she found my post about using Zabasearch.com to find out info on the then-new boyfriend. She found the post hilarious, and wants to interview me for a story about internet searching for the WSJ! How fun is that?

Wacky day.

Unmitigated Gall.

So, tomorrow morning I go to the hospital for a HIDA scan. I was just doing a little research on it. I mean, I knew basically what it was, but I wanted a little more info.

I have had abdominal pain for about 6 months. Nothing major... about once a month I would get a sharp pain just under the rib cage on the right side. Eventually I started feeling almost a cold sensation on the inside of my upper rib cage, on the back right side. This sensation came every time I ate. It's grown more and more annoying, and the sharp pain under the rib cage has become more frequent.

I am the only one of my siblings to still have my gall bladder. My mom has hers, but Dad does not. So my doctor ordered an ultrasound back in May, and it came back negative. When I returned to him a couple weeks ago, he suggested the HIDA scan, which would give a more definitive answer than the ultrasound. Apparently, if there is sludge in there (his word-- sludge), it will be more apparent via the HIDA scan.

They insert an IV (okay, ouch but I can handle it) into the arm, then get this radioactive stuff flowing. Then I drink something (berium, I assume) and they watch how it travels through the liver and gall bladder. The test will also detect tumors. Lovely. They asked me to remain available throughout the day, as they may want to follow up later in the afternoon by taking a second look.

I'm not really worried. I'm planning on hearing that my gall bladder is a mess and needs to come out. My bigger concern is that with all that nuclear stuff in me, the airport security folks will assume I am a threat and not let me board the plane to New York on Tuesday.

That would suck.