Explaining Stuff to the Doctor
So, folks, I'm still alive. I know that some of you are cheering. Thank you. You will be getting a Christmas card this year, be assured.
After the rash, I developed just one more strange symptom. On Sunday morning, I woke up with this new, stranger rash on just my shoulders. It looked like I had scratched myself all over my shoulders...except that the rash isn't itchy anywhere, let alone on my shoulders. I have these dark red "scratch" marks with no explanation. They are under the skin, not raised. Very weird.
Neighbor Jen asked me if our house is haunted. Which is strange, because during one of our frantic (her more than me) phone calls, Mom asked me if I thought maybe there is something under the apartment building. I said "Like what, dead Nazis?" After I said it out loud, she admitted that it was extremely far-fetched, but that sometimes her imagination just gets the better of her. Oh, so that's where I inherited that oh-so-useful trait!
And now I get to worry that dead Nazis are going to come knocking on my door.
Not to get offtrack here, but Hans and I watched the worst film ever the other day: Troll 2. Worst. Film. Ever. It was so ridiculous and mockable, though, that I laughed harder during it than I have laughed at any movie in a long time. Seriously. Rent it. I guarantee you will laugh. I kept waiting for Mike Nelson's silhouette to appear...someone should notify the Mystery Science Theater folks about this little jewel, shot in 1990--such a great year. The teenage daughter has a Garfield nightshirt. Sweet.
Anyway, so...I went back to the doctor today and donated a little more blood. Then we had a little consultation. He is going to send my blood in for the Lyme Disease test, but apparently it has to be sent all the way back to the States, so it's going to take a couple of weeks. We decided that I would take the prescribed course of antibiotics in the meantime, just in case it really is Lyme Disease. He really doesn't know, but he does know that my taking the antibiotics won't be harmful and then we'll have a head up on treatment if it does come back positive.
Then he made a statement about how he was looking back through my record and saw that a few of my blood tests had come back with strange results. The dates in question? May 20, 2004. February 16, 2006. October 2003. July 2005. He was very concerned about these slightly "off" blood tests.
Luckily, I was able to put his fears to rest when I explained that I had just birthed babies on the first two dates and the other two dates were my first OB appointments when I was pregnant with Josiah and Annika.
Does he think that happens to be the case now? No. We're just not entirely sure what this thing is, but the bottom line is that I am 98% better. I'm still feeling a little tired, but my appetite is back and my energy level is much, much higher. The aches and pains are gone, though my joints are still just a little stiff. The rash is gone, though the mysterious "scratches" on my shoulders are still there. Doc advised me to take it easy for another week and see what next week brings. He said that these viruses need two weeks to work their way through, so if I'm still feeling under the weather next week, I should come back in and see him.
Otherwise, I take these disgusting-looking green horse-pills and wait for the blood tests to come back.
After the rash, I developed just one more strange symptom. On Sunday morning, I woke up with this new, stranger rash on just my shoulders. It looked like I had scratched myself all over my shoulders...except that the rash isn't itchy anywhere, let alone on my shoulders. I have these dark red "scratch" marks with no explanation. They are under the skin, not raised. Very weird.
Neighbor Jen asked me if our house is haunted. Which is strange, because during one of our frantic (her more than me) phone calls, Mom asked me if I thought maybe there is something under the apartment building. I said "Like what, dead Nazis?" After I said it out loud, she admitted that it was extremely far-fetched, but that sometimes her imagination just gets the better of her. Oh, so that's where I inherited that oh-so-useful trait!
And now I get to worry that dead Nazis are going to come knocking on my door.
Not to get offtrack here, but Hans and I watched the worst film ever the other day: Troll 2. Worst. Film. Ever. It was so ridiculous and mockable, though, that I laughed harder during it than I have laughed at any movie in a long time. Seriously. Rent it. I guarantee you will laugh. I kept waiting for Mike Nelson's silhouette to appear...someone should notify the Mystery Science Theater folks about this little jewel, shot in 1990--such a great year. The teenage daughter has a Garfield nightshirt. Sweet.
Anyway, so...I went back to the doctor today and donated a little more blood. Then we had a little consultation. He is going to send my blood in for the Lyme Disease test, but apparently it has to be sent all the way back to the States, so it's going to take a couple of weeks. We decided that I would take the prescribed course of antibiotics in the meantime, just in case it really is Lyme Disease. He really doesn't know, but he does know that my taking the antibiotics won't be harmful and then we'll have a head up on treatment if it does come back positive.
Then he made a statement about how he was looking back through my record and saw that a few of my blood tests had come back with strange results. The dates in question? May 20, 2004. February 16, 2006. October 2003. July 2005. He was very concerned about these slightly "off" blood tests.
Luckily, I was able to put his fears to rest when I explained that I had just birthed babies on the first two dates and the other two dates were my first OB appointments when I was pregnant with Josiah and Annika.
Does he think that happens to be the case now? No. We're just not entirely sure what this thing is, but the bottom line is that I am 98% better. I'm still feeling a little tired, but my appetite is back and my energy level is much, much higher. The aches and pains are gone, though my joints are still just a little stiff. The rash is gone, though the mysterious "scratches" on my shoulders are still there. Doc advised me to take it easy for another week and see what next week brings. He said that these viruses need two weeks to work their way through, so if I'm still feeling under the weather next week, I should come back in and see him.
Otherwise, I take these disgusting-looking green horse-pills and wait for the blood tests to come back.
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