I have a horrible family history. I think I’ll be lucky to live past 55. In fact, I’m so scared of it, that I have NOT gone to a Dr cause I don’t wanna know. My father died in ‘88 of esophageal erosion due to GERD before Nexium came along. It wasn’t curable back then (the 80s) and he was an alcoholic with high stress and ulcers too. The Dr just kept telling him to drink Maalox. I can’t remember a day when my Dad didn’t start the day hacking and gagging and puking. I thought it was normal. He also had high blood pressure.
My mother got high blood pressure when she was pregnant with me and it never went away. In addition to that, she had Diabetes. Then in 1992, a few days after 16 was born and right before Mothers Day, she had to have emergency open heart surgery and had a septuple bypass. So, we could add Heart Disease to that. She came back strong from that, always managed her diabetes and hypertension well with meds, but then was diagnosed in 03 with Ovarian Cancer which she almost beat, but eventually took her from us in 05.
So… which one will get me first? I think I might be diabetic. I can see a spot on my right eye every now and then. I know Diabetes (unmedicated) can present with blindness right before it kills you. I have IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I was never officially diagnosed, but from everything I’ve read, that’s what it is. The only Dr I’ve ever really gone to was my OBGYN. And that’s been 6 yrs ago now.
Well, the last week or so, I’ve had serious neck pain. It started the night I had to work at the kitchen table due to Comcast going out and then the wifi router not working with the modem (btw our internet connection has a new name now when we log onto the wifi – weird). Anyway, I figured it would go away, but the pain has continued, making it hard to drive and sleep and just function. Today, a new issue has arisen, my left arm hurts and my left hand is numb and tingly like it’s asleep and there’s little feeling in my left pinky. So… pinched nerve? Probably. I researched it. It is a presentment of GERD as well. Lovely. Thank God there’s a little purple pill now. I know I need to see a Dr, but honestly… I’m scared to death.
1 Comment
November 19, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Please see a doctor, if nothing else, for a normal checkup. With today’s technology you can fix most things if you catch them early enough—and in the most likely situation that nothing is really wrong, you’ll have piece of mind. (And in rare cases-like my own personal case-you may have your life saved that day.)
I feel those same nerves before every dentist appointment. I know it’s going to be expensive, and I’m going to be nervous and I’m going to get a lecture despite the fact that I can’t change genetics or the tooth-softening medications I take, blah blah blah, but when I walk out of that office I feel great. Like “yeah, got that over with, now the dentist can kiss my pasty rear for the next six to eight months!”