Where I'm At

Had the scope today. They need to do another one because my belly was still full of food even though I fasted all day. She said that this is evidence of delayed gastric emptying and that we'll talk more about it in the appointment. She wants the other one after a longer fast to rule out helicobacter infection* or anything else (on top of the delayed emptying. This doesn't come as a surprise, because delayed gastric emptying was my GP's working diagnosis. It's nice to have some physical evidence of it. And, also, so bloody nice to have a diagnosis that I haven't had to suggest and that people know what it is. That's not to say that it's common or well-understood or anything like that - just that people have at least heard of it. It's nice to know that I've been going down the right path in terms of management.

The procedure itself was not pleasant, but it's quick and the doctor and nurse in with me were really good - telling me that I was doing well, to keep breathing, not to panic etc. I was a  bit worried about how to handle the bendiness and autonomic nonsense, but when I said 'so I dislocate easily' and she pointed at my jaw and said "don't you dare" and then chuckled, I knew it'd be alright.

All in all it feels like a positive step, although once again with a new answer, comes a new reality that makes life day-to-day just that little bit harder.

We shall see where it all goes from here.

*helicobacter is a very cool bug, look it up