The good folks at the Hotline profiled me today. Scroll down to the Red State Balloon, and it starts there.
In other news, just got back from another Dr’s. appt., and we still can’t figure out what is wrong with me ( I have been having consistent stomache/ chest pains for a year now, which we initially attributed to GERDS). Ruled out the heart and lungs, though, so that is good.
Tomorrow we do the ultrasound of the gall bladder/liver, and I get scoped in a week or so. This is really driving me insane, and it isn’t so much the pain, it is the mental health aspect of it- chronically wondering what the hell is wrong with you and why nothing fixes the pain.
Geek, Esq.
Get well, JC. Here’s hoping the pain in your side goes away, so that you can focus on being a pain in the ass. ;)
Mark Wilson
I would recommend you insist on getting an ERCP if that is not already on the agenda.
John Cole
What is ERCP?
rilkefan
ppGaz, you still stiking pins in that voodoo doll?
Good luck getting this fixed, JC, looking forward to a less care-worn Juice.
Mr Furious
Sorry to hear it, John. good luck and feel better.
erez
I can relate! I have no freaking clue about what is wrong with me either, though my girlfriend keeps telling me she will gladly give me a list.
Anyway, best wishes and I am knocking on wood for ya!
mark
maybe Bush is giving you agita. :-) seriously, hope they figure out what is wrong soon.
over it
I may be totally wrong on this, but, I think that an ERCP is basically a colonoscopy. Whatever it is, it is one of the things my grandpa had done recently(they had him under so they pretty much poked and scoped everything).
Do get well quickly. :)
over it
My dad says that I am wrong. Ignore my above attempt at being a doctor. :P
pmm
My fiance is from Summersville, WV and a WVU graduae. She swears that sofa burning is a traditional method of celebrating Mountaineer wins, losses, and ties. Perhaps you’ve ingested too much second-hand ‘school spirit’?
Seriously, best of luck and here’s to a speedy recovery!
over it
I was kinda close though…..just at the wrong end of things. ;)
Is it us John? Are we giving you ulcers? Should we run a test of our own? Say….like….we all agree to agree with EVERYTHING you post for a week…and then see if you feel any better? ;)
Again, whatever it is that is ailing you….do get well soon.
srv
It’s not a profile if there’s no picture.
Sorry for the illness – chronic is something you expect to see older folks go through and don’t really fathom. At 39, I had a flu go to pnuemonia to a mono-rehash over 3 months. Dr’s were always a step behind, and couldn’t figure it out. You’re absolutely right – the not knowing really is the worst of it. At times you’d just wish they’d come back and tell you you had cancer. At least then you can make a plan. Heck, I have three relatives with cancer and they’re all doing fine.
Diet-wise, I went mostly organic (not a vege) and stopped all cheeseburgers and sodas. It’s amazing how much better food tastes now and the gastro-intestinal system is much happier.
Mark
John, I had similar symptoms, went through a bizillion tests, and I finally got a tip from a friend to check for celiac disease (an strong immune system response to wheat gluten). That was it. It’s a simple blood test, but most doctors don’t think to do it.
ppGaz
I own no voodoo dolls. Magical thinking is for Republicans, not Democrats :-)
John, I hope it all turns out in the best possible way. I wish you the easiest and fastest and cheapest return to health possible.
John Cole
Hrmm. I sprinkle and add wheat germ to a shitload of foods.
Andrei
Having myself went through five years of serious chronic heart and stomach pain (one felt like I was having minor heart attacks, the other like my stomach turning inside and out), and having subjected myself to every test known to man with my doctors to find out what was wrong with me (including a tube down my throat to view inside my stomach), the pain got so bad I even tried alternative methods like accupuncture. None of it helped, and I thought I was going to die the pain was so bad.
Then the elderly Chinese man who treated me told me after 6 months of treatment that I didn’t need medicine or pills, I needed a girlfriend.
He must have been right as the pain went away the moment I met my wife. Five years now without it, and it only comes back when she and I have the rare all out heated argument over something entirely minor.
Not to say that what might be afflicting you is not serious, but from the tone of your rants and such on this blog, I’d be willing to bet t least some part of it has to do with good old pain inducing stress you put on yourself mentally. Mine was all work and focus on a job that I put above all else, as I’m not one who likes to fail. My wife balanced out my life and my stress is largely gone (even though as is obvious from my contributions on this blog, I still to learn how to chill out.)
Anderson
Good luck, John. Back in my uninsured days, I had terrible acid reflux trouble & had no idea what was wrong. There’s no pain like stomach pain.
Maybe smarter Republicans in office would help with that, too. ;)
John Cole
It isn’t the pain, per se. The pain is never more than a 1-3 on a scale of ten. Ever.
It is just a persistent presence, sometimes feeling like an event, other times feeling like an open sore, sometimes feeling like I am having a heart attack. But it is always there, to some degree.
What is the problem is the mental health aspect- constantly worrying about it, thinking that you are dying of a heart attack, etc. It is constantly on your mind. And driving me insane.
srv
Andrei, I already suggested that when he had his Lemon Pledge Domestic Incident.
I wonder – is there a blogger who tries to hook up other bloggers?
Kidding aside, alot of my 30/40-something peers have a real hard time mentally detaching from work. Now that I work remote and go back to the office every 6 months, I’m stunned at the changes I see even in 30 year olds…
Marcus Wellby
Good luck with the Doc, John. Whatever you do — STAY AWAY from any website with symptom descriptions. I once convinced myself a mole I had my entire life was skin cancer — I spent months worrying only to be almost laughed out of the dermatologists office.
Dan Spartan
John, just flying by to post again, but want to wish you the best and hope they find and correct whatever is causing you problems.
All The Best.
jobiuspublius
Butt, what if they’re intelligently designed?
Get well soon Mr. Cole. That’s an order.
rilkefan
“stiking”
Stupid impossible-to-spell ridiculous language. Can we switch to German, please?
Marcus Wellby
I don’t know about that ppGaz, a lot of us thought Kerry had a chance at winning :)
ET
John please be persistant over this.
My father was sick for months before he went into to a doctor with low level annoyance pain – they eventually diagnosed him with something, went into fix it after an acute attack – only to discover it was too late – all his internal organs were dead or failing. Turns out it was a blod clot that had been sitting there for months causing low level problems that cascaded to the point it was to late.
Don’t want to overly scare or gross you out but…..
Blue Neponset
Hope you find out what is wrong and start feeling better John.
They forgot to print your turn on’s, turn off’s and your sign in that profile. Please fill in the blanks.
Otto Man
Heh, what Geek said. Hope you’re on the mend soon.
Krista
Maybe it’s that ad for Ann Coulter’s new book…I know it’s making my stomach hurt.
In the meantime, get thee some acidopholous (sp?). It’s the live culture found in good yogurt, but you can buy it as a stand-alone product. My bf had an ulcer and bad GERD, and as long as he takes that stuff, he’s fine. You might want to try eating smaller meals more frequently too. And yeah, cut out the wheat for awhile to see what that does.
Jim Allen
I went through a year and a half of tests for gall bladder/liver problems — symptoms included serious acid reflux and pain after eating (which got worse and worse as time went on). Ultrasounds, HIDA tests, stress tests, tests for h. pylori, all sorts of lovely procedures. Finally doctor ordered an upper GI — the simplest test of all. Drink the nice chalk-flavored milk shake, hop up on the x-ray table and smile for the camera. I hadn’t even had the chance to climb down from the table when the radiologist told me I had a para-esophageal hernia (basically, my stomach was folding itself in half and crawling up through my diaphragm), which was corrected with surgery a few weeks later.
It’s amazing how many different ailments share the same set of symptoms.
Joey
I know what you are going through John. I went through eight months of that, until they finally took my gall bladder out. They thought that it was my gall bladder the whole time, but I was only 16 at the time, so they were hesitant to do surgery. It was very frustrating.
skip
I have the same two ailments. Maybe irritable bowel (with divertculitis/osis).
Change of diet works with time (look at WebMD),
Andrew J. Lazarus
I’m all in favor of yesterday’s Nobel to the guys who figured out antibiotics cure ulcers. With treatment, I was pain-free in three days, and only one recurrence in six stress-filled years.
Tim F
I had wicked GI distress after a particularly bad month of exams, projects and GREs during my junior year in college. Didn’t sleep for most of the month, and then when it was over the acid and ulcer-in-training wouldn’t let me sleep.
Two things worked about equally well for me – strong antacids (duh) and yoga. For a year or so I never had to take a single pill, but eventually laziness won and I’m back to the occasional antacid. Not a big deal unless I get in a fight with my wife or Republicans win an election.
BTW, from your profile it encouraged me to see that like you, I never read porn in the dead-tree format unless I find it lying around in a restaurant.
ppGaz
Take it from one who knows. When you are “dying of a heart attack”, you will know it. If you never believe anything else I tell you, you can believe that. And yes, I am speaking from personal experience.
What you’ve described definitely does NOT sound like angina, or heart-attack-like pain. So try to at least get some comfort from that.
Many have made good suggestions here. The only thing I can add is: When did Darrell start posting here?
Krista
Good point. However, one also has to ask: when did you start posting here, ppGaz? :) I’m sure you’ve given John more than one headache…coincidence?
Stormy70
Good luck and I hope they find it soon. Maybe you can start taking one item out of your diet, like the wheat germ and see if your body reacts. I’m no doctor, so that advice only costs $5.00. I’ll bill you.
ppGaz
I think about 5 months ago. But it seems like longer.
JUST KIDDING. Actually I have enjoyed almost every minute of it. I hope I’m not the cause of John’s discomfort.
DougJ
John, I hope you’ve tried prayer. It always works for me when I’m feeling ill.
ppGaz
Oh, you’re bad.
DougJ
I know that was a smart ass thing to say about John’s illness, but, hey, that’s my persona: insensitive smart ass.
ppGaz
Trying to horn in on my territory ……
Bruce Moomaw
There isn’t any remote chance of its being gastric reflux, is there? (I mention this because my mother has it and now I’m getting it, and it has a surprising multiplicity of symptoms.)
DougJ
I was thinking the same thing Moomaw. I have a friend who has that and it is indeed strange how many symptoms it has.
JPS
ppGaz:
“I hope I’m not the cause of John’s discomfort.”
John’s, I wouldn’t know. Mine, definitely. (Gnashed teeth.)
Hope you feel better, John.
dlnevins
FYI: an ERCP is a procedure where they inject dye into the common bile duct to check its patency.