1/9/19

An auspicious start, I suppose?

1/7/19- I went to the gastroenterologist for the very first time. I am 33, 5'7", and weigh *gulp* 245lbs when I first went to the doctor back in December.
After a very rough year of losing a job I loved, being unemployed, temping, and finally getting hired in October, my insurance kicked in I was able to FINALLY see a doctor. I haven't been in years, because being underemployed and uninsured has been something I've excelled at, even if I succeed at little else in life. Enough whining. I'll go into a specifics later, but the TL;DR version is that my shit is fucked. Literally. Best described as pudding consistency for the majority of last year. I've basically been counting the days down until I had healthcare and access to money for treatment, and suffering since May of 2018. I've already been diagnosed with celiac disease 10 years ago, and what I was experiencing was not the same.
Suffice to say, the doctor listened to me, and basically their response was "Your shit is too fucked for us to handle here, so we are referring you to a psychiatrist and a gastroenterologist. They'll be able to help you narrow it down and you'll get your bipolar/adhd treated (again, a decade long diagnoses I don't dispute, but haven't been able to treat for a few years)." In summary, either my head is full of shit (obvious) or my gut is (also obvious). If you want a positive blogger, you may want to skip out, because if it's not self-deprecating, it ain't me.

So- the gastroenterologist visit, which I will detail later, went well. I saw the medical assistant, who was a very sweet blond who looked/reminded me of someone I went to high school with at Rockwall High School, and for all I know I did, but was very friendly and nice and had the most awesome glittery nails I have seen yet. I mentioned being dissatisfied with my weight, and towards the end she very gently suggested I exercise and recommended thoughtful, gradual weight loss "no crash dieting" and told me to "make 2019 [my] year." I'm doing my best. And then she prescribed me with the inevitable FODMAP diet I knew I'd end up having to do, and a battery of tests to get done Friday. I've always been a writer, and writing helps anxiety, so if anyone out in the internet ether wants to keep up, I'm going to document this journey here.