Before I go into my news for last Tuesday, I have to welcome Heidi Rebekah Bartholomay to the world. She is my sister's second daughter. While my sister was busy having a daughter, I was also in the hospital getting an endoscopy. The ironic thing was that due to sleep apnea, I required full anesthesia for a relatively simple procedure, whereas my sister only got local for a c-section.
The reason I was getting the endoscopy was because I have been having issues with swallowing, also know as dysphagia. Basically I would be eating, and then suddenly the food would get stuck before it got to my stomach. I won't go into all the messy details, but sometimes the food would pass the blockage, other times it wouldn't.
This has been going on for quite a while (first time was about five years ago), but it didn't happen all that often. Maybe once a month it would occur, sometimes it would be months between episodes, other times it would happen everyday for a week. There were certain foods that seemed to have this occur more often, but it seemed just as dependent on my stress level and how empty my stomach was.
The first time I went to the doctor with this, he had me get a barium swallow. The barium swallow revealed that I have a hiatal hernia. Since it wasn't happening that often, and didn't seem to be getting any worse, the doctor suggested just eating more slowly.
A couple years after the initial barium swallow, the situation got worse. I had an episode where the food got caught and I was unable to swallow for several hours, not even water or my own saliva. So I went to the doctor again and was scheduled for another barium swallow. This one revealed the exact same thing as the first, with no new information.
A month and a half ago, I had an even more severe episode. This time I wasn't able to swallow the next day and ended up going to the ER to see if they could do anything. They listened to me explain the inability to swallow, then I got to the part about the hiatal hernia and they said, oh here swallow these pills for heartburn. Eventually it cleared up and I went home.
So, another trip to the doctor, and he referred me to a GI specialist. I met with her and she went through the whole history. She seemed stumped, but scheduled me for an endoscopy so they could look down my throat and see if there was a problem. Eventually I got the appointments scheduled. I actually had to appointments, one to see the anesthesiologist and the second to have the actual procedure.
As I mentioned before, because of my sleep apnea, they needed to put me under for the procedure. So the day of the procedure arrived, and I was a bit nervous. The thought of going under didn't really appeal to me. I also didn't have great hope that they would be able to find out what was causing my problems, since everyone seemed stumped. Oh, also the procedure wasn't until the afternoon and I was told not to eat or drink after midnight.
So I met with the doctor before the procedure and explained the situation. He asked me if I had allergies or asthma, I said yes. He said it sounds like Eosinophilic Esophagitis, which is more prevalent in young men and those with asthma and allergies. Just like that.
So eventually they wheeled me into the procedure room and had me turn on my side. The nurse and the anesthesiologist were talking and then the doctor came in. Then suddenly I was asleep. There was no count down, no are you ready, just out. I came to about forty minutes later. It took another five minutes or so to be fully awake. Then there was about twenty minutes of observation and time for my ride home to get there. During the wait the doctor came out and confirmed his suspicion. He also said the lower portion of my esophagus was narrow, as in narrower than the 1/2 inch scope.
He explained that Eosinophilic Esophagitis is a swelling of the esophagus that is probably caused by a food allergy. He gave me a couple of prescriptions and said I should get tested for food allergies. I was a bit surprised that one of the medicines was Flovent. As an asthmatic, I am familiar with Flovent as an inhaled steroid. In this case however, I'm not suppose to inhale the steroid but swallow it. The other medication comes in these little plastic shot glasses. It is pink, a bit chalky and tastes like medicine. It is also annoying because I'm supposed to take it four times a day, and have to take it on an empty stomach (2 hours after a meal and no food for an hour after). This especially makes breakfast tricky.
Anyway, all that being said, it is a great relief to finally have a name for what's going on. Although I have to say it is annoying that no one came up with this before.
On the drive back from the procedure I was talking with David who was kind enough to chauffeur me. He thought it made sense, since people who have food allergies are often picky eaters, which I most definitely am. The thing he brought up is what's left that could be causing this? I suspect that it's a seasoning that I might tolerate eating in small quantities but is enough to trigger this reaction.
But the main thing I want to point out, is that all those times as a child when I was choking down food I didn't like... Maybe I really was choking it down.
23 May 2010
09 May 2010
Mother's Day
It has been many years since I've celebrated Mother's Day, not because I don't love my mom, but because she passed away. When this time of year rolls around, I have acutely felt what I was missing. With distance comes perspective, and from now on, I will endeavor to celebrate what I have instead.
My mom was an educator. After college she was a teacher, then she started a family, which set her on a different career path. But she was still an educator, as she was constantly teaching me and my siblings. She also taught Sunday school, and when we were older she became a substitute teacher. Education was very important to her, and in turn to me. I could go on about this subtopic, but I will just say one last thing. There came a day when my education in math and science far outstripped her own. It was a bittersweet time for her, since while she was proud of me, she recognized it marked a transition in our relationship, a sort of declaration of independence, which to her came all too soon.
Aside from the formal education, my mom sought to taught me other things as well. One thing she was adamant about was manners. I am not saying dinner was a stiff formal affair, but there were no elbows on the table. She also taught me the importance of "please" and "thank-you" and the formalization of those in the form of thank-you cards and hostess gifts.
The real lesson of manners, isn't the set of actions and reactions that have been codified and refined through time. It is the idea of showing others respect and doing things in a way that benefits everyone. Respecting others is one of the lessons my mom didn't overtly try to teach me, but she taught me anyway.
Along the lines of respect, is a lesson I think my mom learned from her mother is to think the best of other people. My grandmother found it impossible to think that other people had negative motivations. My mother was a bit more realistic, but still strove to believe in other people, and wouldn't look down on someone. I remember after college, I had a neighbor who worked as a stripper. I told my mom one day, and didn't quite know what to expect, but I was surprised at what a positive spin my mom put on the girl's choice in career. Even in my twenties my mom manager to teach me something.
Another thing my mom taught me was the importance of honesty. As a child I was often very creative with the truth. My mom told me in no uncertain terms that she might be mad if I did something wrong, but she would not abide my lying about it. I was still rather creative, just not to her. But one day that changed, abruptly, and I went cold-turkey on lying. I don't know if this anecdote had anything to do with it, although I don't think it did, but it's a good story and very telling. My mom organized a surprise birthday party one year for my dad. We were all in on it, and thought it was great fun. When the party finally arrived and we surprised my dad, my mom broke down and apologized, and said that she had never lied to him before and the deception the surprise party necessitated had torn her up inside.
That is not to say that my mom wasn't sneaky. She was just honest about it. One of here favorite ruses was taking us shopping and finding out what we liked. She would then sneak back an hour or day later and buy us that item for a present. She would also put the wrong names on presents under the Christmas tree so that we wouldn't be able to guess what we got. Actually, speaking of Christmas and honesty, we never believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy growing up.
The last thing I will ramble about, that my mom taught me without trying to teach me relates to frugality, but nearly the opposite. I never remember my mom buying something that we didn't need. Things tended to get old and worn out, but they generally had to stop working before being replaced. But when she did buy something, she always went for something of good quality. This didn't mean buying name-brand clothes, but it did mean our first computer had a real keyboard. It also meant that we didn't eat generic Oreos when real Oreos tasted so much better.
I suppose that last lesson I learned from my mom, is an odd one to end with. But not all the things we learn from our moms are terribly practical, or world defining. Sometimes they are as simple as letting your kid lick the bowl.
Happy Mother's Day.
My mom was an educator. After college she was a teacher, then she started a family, which set her on a different career path. But she was still an educator, as she was constantly teaching me and my siblings. She also taught Sunday school, and when we were older she became a substitute teacher. Education was very important to her, and in turn to me. I could go on about this subtopic, but I will just say one last thing. There came a day when my education in math and science far outstripped her own. It was a bittersweet time for her, since while she was proud of me, she recognized it marked a transition in our relationship, a sort of declaration of independence, which to her came all too soon.
Aside from the formal education, my mom sought to taught me other things as well. One thing she was adamant about was manners. I am not saying dinner was a stiff formal affair, but there were no elbows on the table. She also taught me the importance of "please" and "thank-you" and the formalization of those in the form of thank-you cards and hostess gifts.
The real lesson of manners, isn't the set of actions and reactions that have been codified and refined through time. It is the idea of showing others respect and doing things in a way that benefits everyone. Respecting others is one of the lessons my mom didn't overtly try to teach me, but she taught me anyway.
Along the lines of respect, is a lesson I think my mom learned from her mother is to think the best of other people. My grandmother found it impossible to think that other people had negative motivations. My mother was a bit more realistic, but still strove to believe in other people, and wouldn't look down on someone. I remember after college, I had a neighbor who worked as a stripper. I told my mom one day, and didn't quite know what to expect, but I was surprised at what a positive spin my mom put on the girl's choice in career. Even in my twenties my mom manager to teach me something.
Another thing my mom taught me was the importance of honesty. As a child I was often very creative with the truth. My mom told me in no uncertain terms that she might be mad if I did something wrong, but she would not abide my lying about it. I was still rather creative, just not to her. But one day that changed, abruptly, and I went cold-turkey on lying. I don't know if this anecdote had anything to do with it, although I don't think it did, but it's a good story and very telling. My mom organized a surprise birthday party one year for my dad. We were all in on it, and thought it was great fun. When the party finally arrived and we surprised my dad, my mom broke down and apologized, and said that she had never lied to him before and the deception the surprise party necessitated had torn her up inside.
That is not to say that my mom wasn't sneaky. She was just honest about it. One of here favorite ruses was taking us shopping and finding out what we liked. She would then sneak back an hour or day later and buy us that item for a present. She would also put the wrong names on presents under the Christmas tree so that we wouldn't be able to guess what we got. Actually, speaking of Christmas and honesty, we never believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy growing up.
The last thing I will ramble about, that my mom taught me without trying to teach me relates to frugality, but nearly the opposite. I never remember my mom buying something that we didn't need. Things tended to get old and worn out, but they generally had to stop working before being replaced. But when she did buy something, she always went for something of good quality. This didn't mean buying name-brand clothes, but it did mean our first computer had a real keyboard. It also meant that we didn't eat generic Oreos when real Oreos tasted so much better.
I suppose that last lesson I learned from my mom, is an odd one to end with. But not all the things we learn from our moms are terribly practical, or world defining. Sometimes they are as simple as letting your kid lick the bowl.
Happy Mother's Day.
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