This morning, for the very first time, I actually commuted during rush hour. My appointment with the gastroenterologist was for 9am, so I rode the B train for three stops and walked over to the GI office. The subway stations were packed; there were lines to get on and off the stairs in the subway station. I was quickly reminded how much I do NOT miss morning commuting on the train and am grateful for the ability to work from home, even if that means I do far less socializing than I did before.
The highly sought after gastroenterologist that I got a referral to see was quite down to earth and lovely. I generally always know that I will like a doctor when we first meet ,and s/he introduces herself by her full name, as opposed to “Dr. X.” We talked about my previous experience getting sick in Australia/New Zealand, the silent reflux I got diagnosed with that left me with my larynx swollen, red, and awful. She came to the conclusion pretty quickly that this was, fortunately for me, NOT a GI issue, but rather an issue of a cough that gets unwieldy and needs to be controlled, likely with some level of codeine, before it gets hacky with phlegm and vomity. She saw no potential issues with GERD or acid reflux. And so she had two suggestions: go back to my ENT doctor to see what his thoughts were and if he could prescribe something stronger to help my cough from getting too unwieldy (or even give a recommendation for an OTC medication that would control how debilitating the cough gets), and/or see a pulmonologist. Since she’s a GI doctor, she had no recommendations or knowledge of pain killers or cough medications that could be prescribed, but suggested lightly that I lay low, drink lots of hot/warm fluids, and suck on lozenges to keep my throat happier.
She was really kind and personable. I enjoyed meeting with her. I guess as she says, I should be happy that this is NOT a GI issue because if it was, it would likely mean a lot of changes in my lifestyle. I just wish she could have prescribed me SOMETHING to help me.
Yet, after I got home, I realized quickly that I had a weird bump on my lip. I also noticed that my throat was getting quite sore and painful, and after shining a light inside and self examining, I realized part of the back of my throat had turned white. And around the same time, Kaia’s daycare sent a notification to all parents of her classroom that a kid had been diagnosed with hand foot mouth disease.
You have got to be kidding me… Is HAND FOOT MOUTH what I have again, on top of being sick for the last two weeks? WHAT the actual FUCK? How can my luck get any worse than being sick for the last 2+ weeks…?!!!! If anything, this explains my body aches from yesterday!!