Hepatitis What?!

Well after one look at me, my Doctor and his nurse have taken to calling me the Banana. They do however promise to get me back to being a Peach. It's definitely not Carotene. Time for labs!



They suspect it's Hepatitis, so if it is, it has to be Hep A. I don't sleep with men that sleep with other men (unless there's something my husband isn't telling me), I haven't had a transfusion and I don't use dirty needles (only sterile needles for my drug use:-)!



Now I'm quarantined for a week with daytime TV!!

Projectile Vomiting

After reliving the famous "Pea Soup" scene from the exorcist this weekend, I Email my Dr again and make an appt for Tuesday.

They call me Mellow Yellow...

Well the Jaundice is very pronounced. I Emailed my Doctor and he thinks it is Carotene from the vitamins I have been taking. I tell him that the vitamins I take don't even have Carotene, but he says wait a week and call him if it's not better by next Friday.

Are my contacts dirty?...

I looked in the mirror this morning and noticed that I look like a summer squash! I have morphed into a yellowish looking special effects project.

Maybe I need a shrink??

Follow Up with Allergist. Itching has been somewhat relieved, but is still there. For now, nothing else to do. All labs are still normal.



I'm starting to think I'm developing some weird Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, maybe I need to see a shrink.

Possible Cause of my Hodgkin's Disease...

For the last 8 years I have dealt with numerous afflictions ranging from fatigue to pain. My Doctor's were always saying I had a weak immune system, but couldn't figure out why. For those of you familiar with the movie "A Civil Action" starring John Travolta(for more information, go to our Links page), you may be surprised to know that I spent some of my formidable years prior to age 5 in the same neighborhood where all the kids were dying from predominantly Acute Lymphatic leukemia. Had I stayed, many of these kids would have been my classmates and friends. My husband and I did some research on the chemicals involved with the lawsuit and did find research to support that early exposure to these chemicals can manifest in symptoms in the late teen and early adulthood years. While this is not the cause of the Hodgkin's Disease, no one knows what causes it, the suppressed immune system for so many years is a contributing factor.

I'm getting desperate...

Now I'm desperate! Maybe I'm allergic to something? Off to an Allergist. Same results. Still itching, but he has now added 7 new medications to try! Oh, he also recommends keeping bathing to a minimum except for the 'stinky areas'?! Do these Dr's really want us coming in to see them while we've been keeping bathing to a minimum?!?!?!?

April 2004

Well off to the Dermatologist! She thinks maybe the itching is caused by dry skin except that shouldn't make my palms and the bottom of my feet itch. So basically since my labs are normal, we don't know why I am itching. She tells me to not use dryer sheets, switch to Aveeno and use lotion alot. Also to keep bathing to a minimum (yeah right)! After following all her instructions and taking a course of Prednisone, guess what? STILL ITCHING!

March 2004

Well, still itching. I can't let that bother me though so I load up on Benadryl and Cortisone cream because we are leaving on a long awaited trip to Ireland! Unfortunately, by day 3 of our Ireland trip I am sniffling, coughing and using a box of Kleenex an hour. All this and I can't even track down some NyQuill. Come St Patrick's Day (our 5th anniversary) in the fair city of Dublin, I am absolutely miserable! I can't breathe and the fever is getting out of control. We find a clinic that gives me some flu medicine and that works enough for me to make the best of it. My first day back to work, my cough is so bad, my boss sends me home!

February 2004

The itching was driving me crazy! I started using props to scratch with. My cat's hairbrush was my preferred tool. My Plastic Surgeon's office said this was not normal and any itching associated with the lipo should have subsided by now.