Friday 10 October 2003

Pic of the day: To protect the innocent, here's a totally unrelated picture late at night when fog has settled like a sea at the bottom of the valley.

Seeing the doctor

This should only interest a very few, but I guess it may interest some of them very much, so I write it anyway. In short, there is nothing new yet. You probably want to skip the rest of the entry unless you are next of kin or somesuch, since it contains blood, urine and feces. Not to be taken with meals.

***

The appointment was early in the day, so I went straight from home to Tangvall where the local medical center is. Then I sat waiting for an hour and a half. It felt somehow longer, even though I had an issue of Scientific American with me, as well as my pocket PC. I could not really concentrate on my reading when there was a call for someone every couple minutes or so. People came and went, and I wondered if I had got the appointment wrong, when it was finally my turn.

(Why is this? These people have computers, they could use an electronic day planner easily to manage their appointments. They probably do. So why the overbooking? Sure, it would be really bad if a couple patients did not show up and the doctor had to just sit there twiddling his thumbs; they are still a scarce resource here in Norway, despite the recent rush to educate more medical personnel abroad. So I can see why they would not want to just sit there. But they could have had three patients in a row fail to show up and still not take a pause. What's up with that? Is it in order to make the patient feel pathetically grateful to finally be allowed into the august presence of the great and mighty healer? Or do they just suck at time management?)

The doctor did not recognize me, and said so. Not as if he doubted my identity, he just commented on the fact that he thought we had never met before. We had, but only once, and it was not a very memorable meeting. I had come because of my right arm, wrist & hand. He had not been much help then. He first prescribed mild painkillers; then reconsidered because of my stomach problems ... evidently most painkillers do unspeakable thing to your stomach lining. I thought that was just the classic Aspirin type painkillers, while the newer paracetamol based types damage the liver and then only when used regularly. In the end, the doctor sent me to a physical therapist, mostly a waste of money. But that was then, not now.

Now, the doctor gradually remembered seeing me before, after looking up my data on the screen. This is perfectly normal and I would probably have reacted similarly. I don't remember faces well, but I remember cases. Anyway, I explained my position in the same way I have done here: For more than two months, I have had recurring pains in my lower right side, but no fever or throwing up. Stool was looser than before, but no blood. He also surprisingly mentioned the possibility of a kidney stone, and asked if anyone in my family had kidney or gall bladder stones. My mother had, gall bladder, pretty bad if I remember correctly. It's many years ago. In this case however he was mostly concerned about wandering kidney stones in the urinary tract, but I have seen no hint of blood in the urine either.

The doctor was as puzzled as I, if not more so. He also poked my abdomen for a while, but of course this day of all days I had no pain. Well, not until later. So he decided to fish with a net, arranging for a battery of tests. I got a set for fecal samples, to test for microblood. (What do they pay the people who work with those samples? Not enough, I bet.) I am supposed to take samples for 3 days and hand them in on the first coming Thursday, along with a morning urine sample. They will also draw blood samples of me then. I can come at any time on Thursday, but I must eat nothing until after the blood samples, so they probably expect me in the morning. ^_^ Finally, I got a requisition for an ultrasound scan of my abdomen on a specialist center in the city. They are particularly instructed to eliminate the possibility of kidney stones.

I am kinda surprised that I don't have kidney stones, since I seem to drink less than humans. As long as I am healthy, I don't feel thirst. Only if I have serious problems like diarrhea or throwing up, will I feel intense thirst. Otherwise I just drink as an alternative to eating if I don't feel too hungry. Also I don't feel weak from not drinking – again, if I am otherwise healthy. It's been like this for as long as I can remember, but I've never seen any kidney stones. To be honest, I did not know that kidney stones could hurt in your side, either. I thought kidneys were in the back, and the urinary track mostly stayed deep in the body. Then again, I don't know what else is hanging out in that particular part of my body either. I should have read more physiology, but then I would probably be even more sick. ^_^*

***

Anyway, these are the news. Nothing has been decided, although the doctor really did not think it could be appendicitis without fever. He did say however that in case I did develop fever along with pains in my right side, I must seek help within 12 hours. "Never let the sun set or rise over an inflamed appendix!" was presumably a proverb in his trade. I sympathize with that, believe me.

So, I don't feel any different. I still don't know if anything will ever be done. But at least I have done something. I hope y'all are happy with that.