Achoo!

I'm sitting here sniffing, sneezing and wiping my eyes. I seem to have come down with a lil sumptin'. Yesterday I woke with a swollen throat and itchy eyes. I wrote it off to allergies, even though I've never really had allergy issues. I rationalized that maybe I had developed something since the relocation. Imagine my dismay when I awoke this morning with the runny nose and coughing and sneezing. I'm guessing I've run up on an old fashioned cold. It'll be fine as soon as it runs its course.

Earlier this week---Tuesday--I went to have some blood work done for my physical on Friday. I checked out my test results online. I don't know what the acronyms mean but I could tell things are looking good because in one column they'd list stuff like >40 and my actual reading was 42. Or if it said a normal reading is <140 mine would be 120. So like I said, I'm on the right side of all the stuff for which they examined my blood. I know one of them had something to do with cholesterol.

While I was there I decided to pick up the STD results I had done last month. I ended up going to the doctor because I had a swollen lymph node in my groin on the right side. I was bathing one day and ran across a lil lump. My first instinct was to check the other side of my groin to see if I had a matching lump on that side. I did not. I instantly had a Highlights moment (remember that magazine?). I knew this didn't belong in the picture. I made an appointment to go find out what was up.

The doctor told me it was a swollen lymph node caused by a bacterial infection. He let me know that it was not uncommon. My major concern was to make sure that it wasn't cancerous or a cyst or something like that. He gave me some amoxicillin and said it should be fine in a few days. I half took the prescription that was supposed to last me 10 days. I was supposed to take 2 pills per day 12 hours apart but ended up taking pills when I remembered. I still have probably 10 pills in the container and started the prescription February 18, 2009. Yeah, so as you can see, I didn't exactly follow doctor's orders, but fortunately I'm fine.

Because of the nature and location of my health concern, the doctor recommended a full STD screening. I agreed and gave them all the blood and urine that they needed. So fast forward to Tuesday of this week. After I gave blood for my physical I went up to medial records to get the results from the previous month's screening. I was a little nervous. You know how in those moments before you review the documents you have that silent time to replay the tape? You start thinking about everything that you've done and all the what ifs. Anywho, everything checked out fine. No herpes, syphilis, HIV, gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc. I was relieved.

Good health. You are why I find pleasure in the simple things in life.

In Recovery

My niece noticed two red bumps on my forearm during my visit home for Christmas. I hadn't noticed them myself, but I did think them odd. Over the next maybe 8-9 days more of them appeared. It was at this point that I became concerned because I didn't know what they were or from whence they came. (Check that Bible-esque language.) I left work early yesterday to go see the doctor. The bumps did itch, but just ever so slightly and not all the time. They are on my chest, arms, legs and stomach. I waited in the doctor's office for what seemed just short of an eternity, because before the doctor was to see me he got an emergency call and had to step out. He took a quick look at the bumps, reared back in his chair and listened to me answer the questions that he asked and finally gave me a diagnosis. He said they were mulluska something or 'nother. He told me they can come from children or adults--anyone whose skin with whom you have come in contact. He gave me a two prescriptions. The first one is prednisone which had a laundry list of side effects, but is supposed to be very effective. The other thing he gave me is Zyterc, an antihistamine and to quell the itching. I'm hoping by next Friday, at least the bumps will be all dried up/gone away. I'll keep you (all one of you) informed. In other health-related news, I tried a colon hydrotherapy treatment today. The initial sharp pain of the tube insertion subsided within seconds and let's just say the flood gates began to open. The realism is that the initial insertion was so momentarily uncomfortable that as reflex I grabbed the lady because I was out of sorts. It's all good though. I left with my dignity and manhood intact.