Pigalina's Palace: Health and wellness

I'm Going Slightly Mad

Wed, 30 May 2007 11:15:42 GMT

Mr Pigalina has me a bit paranoid. For about 3 months now he has been mentioning that I have been forgeting things (how to format a disk, minor details about his work and I forget what else). I don't forget interesting things though so maybe if things around me weren't so mundane I would be more inclined to commit them to memory. The final straw that has cemented in his mind that I am losing the plot was "The Heater Incident." We came home earlier this week (I have actually forgotten which day) and discovered that the bathroom heater had been on all day.

Of course I was accused of forgeting to turn it off. However this is not the case as I distinctly remember pulling the string to turn it off. The string though is very temperamental and sometimes it does not do as you require. This time I mustn't have pulled it hard enough and therefore the heater remained on. You could have burnt the house down I was scolded. (Let us not fail to mention that I am 90% positive that Mr Pigalina entered the bathroom AFTER I had left, yet failed to notice that the heater was still on and it is ME that is apparently a bit mental).

At least the bathroom dried out for once.

Now to use this to my advantage to get lots of bed rest...

Pigalina Has Bronchitis.

Thu, 29 Mar 2007 01:47:03 GMT

When I started my new job all of my new colleagues warned me that I would get ill. I work on the reception desk at the social welfare office, so you can imagine that some of the people I encounter may be a bit germy.

On Monday I awoke with a sore throat and a slight headache. I was in bed by 8pm that night. This gradually progressed over the next two days until last night I whiled away the hours in a feverous state which caused Mr Pigalina to become quite concerned as I thrashed around trying to get the blankets off me. Usually I can't get enough blanket and will gladly wrap myself up so that I am snuggly as can be. The night was also punctuated by loud honking, phlegmy coughs that caused Mr Pigalina to think I was vomitting everywhere. Poor Mr Pigalina did not get a full night's beauty sleep thanks to my carry on.

So, on doctor's orders I am to spend the next few days in bed, guzzling liquids, anti-biotics and paracetamol. I am currently in bed with Ricky Gervais and Ade Edmonson for company. Mr Pigalina said that I wished such lazy time upon myself after seeing what a great time our friend Rodney was having off work nursing a broken thumb. Tis true I did comment that it looked like he was having a great time but I failed to remember that to be off work requires some form of painful accident or illness.

Missing Milk

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 10:13:11 GMT

Pigalina is on a 10 day no dairy diet. After going to the hospital today the specialist said I am to trial no dairy for 10 days and see if it improves my stomach situation at all. If it does I am to cut it out for good. No milk! No cheese! NO CHOCOLATE! I love all three of these things. Milk is in so many products I have to become one of those people who read all of their food labels. I am so glad I am not having to give up gluten - that would be hideous.

We went to the supermarket to stock up on chocolate soy milk and dairy free chocolate (which is rather yum but VERY expensive). Mr Pigalina refused to let me buy eggs insisting that they are dairy. Despite my protests he would not relent. I didn't resort to lying on the floor and kicking my legs, but I wanted to.

My work days are going to be quite difficult, working in an office with three chocolate fiends. Plus my 4 cups of tea (with milk) and the odd hot chocolate will have to change to black tea and cold chocolate soy milk.

The doctor said that I am to have an abdominal ultra-sound next month and in three months, if my blood tests and no dairy show nothing, I am to have a camera down into my stomach. They are also going to take biopsies which sounds rather uncomfortable. I managed to get out of a rectal exam today thank goodness. I said that I hadn't "mentally prepared". Tee hee. The doctor said I have to have one if my biopsies don't show anything. I hope so much that my biopsies show something.

Well, this was my first half day. I had a burger with no cheese for my tea and have had a black tea and some dairy free chocolate. Not too hard, lets see how I am after 10 days.

Looking Forward to Going to the Hospital

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 00:45:30 GMT

As you may know, those of you who have been with me for some time, I had a fabulous time last year with nausea and what-not and a lovely helicobacter pylori infection (which did no go away despite a round of 4 antibiotics twice a day for a week. I am still not sure it is gone after my second lot). Alas after a year I am still having trouble. Not as bad as it was but I still feel queasy a lot of the time and had to take to my bed with the sick bowl last night, which is why I am not at work today.

All this nausea is quite a problem, it has seen a small fotune spent on pregnancy testing kits. I am off to the hospital tomorrow to talk about having a camera put down my throat. No need to talk about it! Just shove it down and take a look! I could have all sorts going on in there and the sooner it is caught the better. But no, we must do things the long way, discuss what will happen with all involved, have I any questions, that sort of thing. Then I will have to wait around for a few more months until I can finally go and (hopefully) find out what is really going on. Goodness, they make everything so difficult don't they? It's been over a year now since this all started. I dread to think how people waiting on new organs and other important operations must feel.

Student Dentist Worries

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:23:22 GMT

I am off to the dentist this afternoon. I quite like going to the dentist, I certainly don't have a fear of going like some people do. Well, I didn't until today. I am a kindly soul (and a cheapskate but let's pretend I didn't say that) so I let students practise on me when they need to. I have free haircuts and let the students do whatever they want. Usually it turns out pretty well. I let students sit in when I had an operation even though it was on my womb area and they would get to see all my girl parts. They have to learn.

However, today I am going to the Dental School. I went a couple of weeks ago and a very nice girl checked out my teeth and today I have to go back for some x-rays. Being in charge of my own nutrition has played havoc with my teeth. Damn working across the road from a supermarket. Whenever I felt the need for fizzy or chocolate I would have it. When I was little I had lollies only on Fridays and my teeth were lovely. I had no fillings until I was 15. That is pretty good going. Now it is a different story and I need at least 2 more. One tooth is apparently so bad the whole lot is to be scooped out and filled with whatever it is they use.

The big worry is, last time I was there my dentist girl asked her friend "We've done those on models haven't we?" Yes, poor Pigalina is to be the first human guinea pig for fillings and drillings and resin caps. It doesn't help that I have NEVER had an injection in my mouth. I have always been too tough, I laugh at the pain when the dentist hits a nerve with his drill. (Or is it that I am too scared to have a needle shoved into my gum?) I think I will opt for the injection this time but my oh my I hope she can do it!

Fingers and toes are firmly crossed for a drama free visit.

Tags - Fear, Dentist, Dental, Dentistry, Dental School, Dental Student

Helicobacter pylori bacterium

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 04:26:35 GMT

Ah, Helicobacter pylori bacterium, that's what's making me ill, who'd have thought? Not me that's for sure because I had never heard of it until today.

It seems that the reason I almost puked on Mr Pigalina today was not due to his state of dress but this little bug.

Octopussy

"Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that infects the mucus lining of the human stomach. Many peptic ulcers and some types of gastritis are caused by H. pylori infection, although most humans who are infected will never develop symptoms. This bacterium lives in the human stomach exclusively and is the only known organism that can thrive in that highly acidic environment. It is helix-shaped (hence the name helicobacter) and can literally screw itself into the stomach lining to colonize."

Hooray for me. Or, as my Mum so kindly put it: "Trust you to get it." Yes, trust me, chalk it up in the list of my weakling body's ailments. Hopefully it should all be cleared up in about a week, I have some pills to take. I went to a different, far more competent Doctor. Dr Ann Horner, of Broadway Medical Centre. Hooray! At least it isn't anything outrageous and I hope it doesn't turn into an ulcer before I can get rid of it.

Out vile, Triopus.

The Danger of the Internet and Medical Student Friends

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 08:07:13 GMT

(Violins at the ready)

I have been having some pains in my abdomen this past week. Prior to that I had felt queasy a lot, especially after eating and was getting exhausted in the middle of the day. It got so bad that on Monday I felt like sleeping all before lunch and then after eating felt like puking, had a slight headache and felt weak. Then after I had eaten my tea I lay on the sofa, tears welling in my poor little eyes feeling as if my stomach had turned into a hard ball and someone was squeezing it.

I thought I was pregnant at first but didn't take a test despite my manager mentioning it everytime he caught me scoffing chips in the store room between customers. I just thought that if I was I would find out soon enough and would save myself $20 for the kit. However, after the night on the sofa I decided to go to the doctors. I am not pregnant. I was actually a little disapointed as it could mean something sinister lurks within. I had to have blood taken to screen for problems with my liver, thyroid, pancreas and goodness knows what else.

After getting back from my appointment I was chatting with my workmate, who is about to begin PhD research and has just completed an anatomy degree. She loves to hear about what is wrong. Trouble is, now I am paranoid that the doctor may have missed things. So very paranoid. My friend said to me that I may be pregnant but it may be ectopic - where it is growing outside of the womb. Apparently the stuff detected by pregnancy tests is made by the placenta but ectopic pregnancies don't have them. Aaargh! Did the doctor get this tested for in your blood test? (No) Then she made me worried that the doctor didn't take a scraping from under my yellow toenails as they might be infected and not just dyed by the red tights I wore at the weekend. Freak out!

I looked up Pancreas on Wikipedia as I didn't even know what it was. It is an organ that makes enzymes to break down food. I am convinced now that there is something wrong with mine. According to the diagram it is on the side that hurts the most and my digestion has been dodgy. Damn the Internet! Damn clever friends! Life for the patient was much simpler when you just had to sit back and wait for the doctor to tell you what was wrong and you couldn't worry about rare illnesses you had just Googled or come up with wild images of babies bursting forth like on Alien.

(Interesting fact: Did you know that Sweetbread is the Pancreas of a calf, lamb or pig?)