(no subject)
1. I didn't watch the State of the Union, because I already know the State of the Union: we're all fucked. Instead, I went through all my old rehearsal cassette tapes in an effort to find the original studio demo that my high school band recorded; Scott says that he's got access to the equipment necessary to get all our cassettes onto CD, which would be awesome. As it turns out, I couldn't find the demo itself but I did find 3 concerts and, what's more, some 4-track stuff that I had recorded about 4 or 5 years ago that I had absolutely no memory of. There's nothing quite like discovering music you've written and completely forgotten about - especially since there are traces of later songs in them. In any event, it was fun to listen to, and I'm hopeful that some of those ideas might end up useful.
2. I had my physical this morning. It'll go behind a cut, but before I begin, I'm reminded of one of my favorite exchanges from one of my favorite movies, "The Usual Suspects":
Fenster: Man, I had a finger up my asshole tonight.
Hockney: Is it Friday already?
This doctor visit was much better than the last one. For one thing, the first magazine on the coffee table that caught my eye was "DIGESTION" (cover model - Cybil Shepard), and it was kinda funny reading it - every page featured at least one "Hey, that's just like me!" moment, which got me a bit more relaxed. They took lots of blood, so lots of things will get checked out. As we were talking about my recent back problems/constipation, I pulled out a piece of paper which I had written some questions on - he joked, "So, what did the internet tell you you have?" I mentioned some of the stuff that you guys had mentioned - parasites, celiac disease, gluten allergies, diverticulitis - and he was planning on testing for all of that stuff. He FINALLY showed me that he understood that this was a problem that wasn't going away. IBS may be triggered by anxiety, but it's certainly not "all in your mind", and once it's diagnosed, it can be treated. The upshot of this is that I'm having a colonoscopy in March. Also, I've gotta poop in a cup, so I'm hopeful that my constipation will let up enough for that to happen. I'm a little nervous about the colonoscopy - not for the procedure itself, but for the whole "going under" part - I've never gone under, not even for my wisdom teeth, and for whatever reason I've had many nightmares about going under and never waking up. However, I'm a lot more interested in figuring out what's wrong with me, so I'm going to fucking deal with it.
In any event, I'm just grateful that action is being taken. I'm on the service road approaching the road to Wellville, dammit.
2. I had my physical this morning. It'll go behind a cut, but before I begin, I'm reminded of one of my favorite exchanges from one of my favorite movies, "The Usual Suspects":
Fenster: Man, I had a finger up my asshole tonight.
Hockney: Is it Friday already?
This doctor visit was much better than the last one. For one thing, the first magazine on the coffee table that caught my eye was "DIGESTION" (cover model - Cybil Shepard), and it was kinda funny reading it - every page featured at least one "Hey, that's just like me!" moment, which got me a bit more relaxed. They took lots of blood, so lots of things will get checked out. As we were talking about my recent back problems/constipation, I pulled out a piece of paper which I had written some questions on - he joked, "So, what did the internet tell you you have?" I mentioned some of the stuff that you guys had mentioned - parasites, celiac disease, gluten allergies, diverticulitis - and he was planning on testing for all of that stuff. He FINALLY showed me that he understood that this was a problem that wasn't going away. IBS may be triggered by anxiety, but it's certainly not "all in your mind", and once it's diagnosed, it can be treated. The upshot of this is that I'm having a colonoscopy in March. Also, I've gotta poop in a cup, so I'm hopeful that my constipation will let up enough for that to happen. I'm a little nervous about the colonoscopy - not for the procedure itself, but for the whole "going under" part - I've never gone under, not even for my wisdom teeth, and for whatever reason I've had many nightmares about going under and never waking up. However, I'm a lot more interested in figuring out what's wrong with me, so I'm going to fucking deal with it.
In any event, I'm just grateful that action is being taken. I'm on the service road approaching the road to Wellville, dammit.
As for your upcoming "procedure", there's nothing to worry about. I had one last year. The most unpleasant parts are actually before and after. Before: flushing your system with foul tasting super-laxatives. After: Gas like you wouldn't believe.... at least for me. Have some Maalox on hand. And going under really isn't all that bad-- and i'm not sure i was completely under. It may have been "twilight" anesthetic, which just puts you out enough you dont feel or remember anything, but you are conscious-- supposedly. But I woke up minutes after and was up and out about 20 mins after that-- as soon as your head clears. Then you're just a bit groggy and farty the rest of the day.
It's fun!
You may want to get a subscription to Medscape Gastroenterology. It's an online newsletter for docs (you have to lie on the request form, which I did to get my subscription) that talks about the latest research. Get it here. You will need to select "Gastroenterology" as your topic of choice.
Congrats on getting a doc to listen to you.
2. "Jump in, i'll love you..."
That's good to know you're on your way with that.