Of my many appointments, one was to see the ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doc for my six month follow-up for sinus surgery. I didn't post about my sinus surgery cause I was still deeply entrenched in my unhappy phase, but I will tell you now that I had my sixth sinus surgery in July. It was a bit of a shock that I needed surgery as I had JUST had surgery in March of '09, but I suppose that is another post. So I saw the ENT doc and told him that I was still getting sinus headaches, rather annoying as the relief surgery gives me usually lasts for more than a few months. He looked up my nose and, besides some boogers, said that everything generally looked good. The doc decided I was perhaps suffering from something called neuropathic mid-facial pain...or something like that, it was too many words to remember....and the answer was to put me on an anti-depressant! I had to laugh at the irony of it all, seeing as I spent the majority of 2010 in the dumps but was feeling much better when I saw him. Apparently, the drug I am now on started its life as an anti-depressant but it was found that in small, not enough to un-depress you doses, it can help with all sorts of pain. Though it must be said that not being in pain is a reason to be happy and less depressed. Thus, I am on it to try and prevent headaches and it does seem to be helping, as I have had fewer headaches. So good call Doc, you have improved my life. *Gives cheesy thumbs up to thin air*
I think I had a some more appointments with the GI docs to discuss my reflux but nothing new came up and the decision stands that I am to see the surgeon to get his opinion on matters. I did try several times to ask whether or not the doc had a gut (ha ha,"gut," get it?) feeling about whether or not I needed stomach surgery, but got nowhere. If you are wondering, I did actually say that to the doctor and then laughed at my own joke. In fact, I have said it to several doctors, cause once I think I have found something funny I insist on saying it several times. Any who, you can find me at the surgeon's office on the 4th of Feb.
Chest-wise, I have actually managed to stay off IV's for two whole months! Before the oh-so-hellish year that was 2010, I never thought I would be excited to say that. Though at an appointment right before Christmas, I did ask the doc to send me home with some orals as I have a notorious habit of getting sick on Christmas Eve. Plus, I knew I was spending lots of time with family that had been on a plane and had a tiny tot, otherwise known as a small and very cute germ incubator. So the second I suspected I coughed one time too many, I immediately started on the orals. I finished the drugs last week but now am very suspicious of how phlegmy I am. So I am keeping an eye on myself and lungs because 2010 showed that me and my lungs can not be trusted to stay well. We're a rather shifty lot, after all.
Now you have read three rather long paragraphs and are wondering what the 'Hernia Harris' stuff is about. What? You are not wondering? Well you should be. Didn't your teachers teach you anything about getting to the point? No. Me neither, apparently. But I am getting to the point in my next sentence. After Christmas and before New Year's Eve, I noticed that I had a pain around my belly button when I coughed, moved funny, or when I pressed on it. You know when somebody presses on something and asks, "Does this hurt?" Well, I did that too myself and it did hurt. However, I decided I was much too busy to pay this pain much notice as New Year's was coming up and if I spent time analyzing every new pain I had, then I would be a very busy woman indeed. So I celebrated the arrival of 2011 and my motto for the evening was, "See you later 2010, you sorry excuse for a year! Don't let the door hit you on your big, horrible ass on the way out!!!" Now I should have known that if I was gonna be rude to 2010 and say nasty things about it that it was gonna find out and retaliate. And retaliate it did, because....
On the first day of 2011, I decided I finally had time to think about the niggling pain. This involved me sitting around my in-law's table and repeatedly poking my belly button, saying "ow', over and over again and then asking anyone who would listen what it meant when if it hurt when you pressed on your belly button. No one had an answers, but they did have a lot of funny looks to cast my way, so when I got home I asked my trusty friend Google what the problem might be. First Google tried to tell me I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but not finding that a suitable or nice answer, I asked Google what else it had. Google then told me that perhaps I had an umbilical hernia. For you non-medical folks, that is a hernia (weakening of muscle so your innards push through) in your belly button. So I proceeded to spend a lot of time staring at my belly button and trying to see what happened when I coughed or generally did something that created pressure in my abdomen. What happend was that half my belly button, which looks a whole lot like a little bum, popped up like a bum cheek on steroids. I could then press the little bum cheek down and feel a little click. Now I know Google doesn't always know best, but feel I do (on this occasion) as this my third visible hernia (don't forget I have the hiatal hernia but can't see it). Surely three hernias makes one a hernia expert, so I have diagnosed myself officially as having an umbilical hernia.
The good news is that it must be realllllly small. Let's be serious, only half my belly button pops up, how bad can it be? The bad and obvious news is that 2010 managed to give me one last mark to remember it by as I shoved it out the door. Still, I am very happy to see 2010 gone and am most pleased that it is 2011. I will leave you with a not particularly great picture of me and hubby ringing in the new year.
Oh, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!! I hope it is a good one for all of us!
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