Flu Again???

Hello my lovelies. It has been a month since I wrote, honestly so much has happened, the act of even writing it seemed overwhelming. But I have a question, so as usual, I turn to you. Has anyone had the flu twice? Earlier in the year, I woke up early one Saturday morning. My husband was already up, as usual. I was in terrible pain, everywhere. When I took a step it hurt to put my foot down. I was quickly making the bed when he walked in and he saw something wasn't right, and I said that I had to go to the doctor, right now. I put on a sweatsuit of his, the only thing I could bear for comfort and warmth and we went. There is a local walk-in clinic, called the Infirmary (Ann, this may come in handy for you), that is never crowded unlike all the other doc in a boxes in town. They don't file insurance claims, but will prepare your claim for you and even put it in an addressed envelope. So you have to pay up front and that is what keeps people away and gets you seen almost as soon as you walk in the door. The doctor is awfully nice too. He told me the test for influenza would be "uncomfortable" and proceeded to stick a foot long Q-tip up my nose and stabbed my brain. It wasn't uncomfortable, I cried out loud. My sinus cavity was already on fire. I guess I should have known better than his proposed discomfort when he told me not to push him away. So he told me it would take their equipment 10 minuted to read the results and was back in 2 minutes. It had revealed Influenza Type A H1N1, and he stayed as far away from me as possible in that tiny room. I am not kidding, he was backed into the furthest corner from me. So he gave me Tamiflu, and I just suffered it out for a week or so. I found out from other people that had gotten it they had been given pain medication...not me. Those walk-in clinics may be more cautious about that sort of thing. Either way, I got by on aspirin and Nyquil, I wanted to sleep as much as possible. It was my only escape.

Once that was over, I was back in Mobile helping out. My poor sister is so overwhelmed and hanging on by a thread. But my husband began complaining about my frequent absenses...so there, I'd feel guilty about him, here I'd feel guilty about them. He says he understands but I guess he just gets lonely. I don't know. I always ask him to go with me, there is plenty of room and we could always use another set of hands, but he always refuses. He doesn't like staying in someone else's house, but who does? We are all much more comfortable in our own home.

So a little over three weeks ago I went to a gynecologist...for the first time in 15 years. I know, I know...stupid. The last pap I had I was 32 years old. I had always hated them terribly, but I know most people do of course. There were not a lot of female options back then, so I went to the same one I had been to many times. He was always very flirtatious, but to be honest I was flattered, and also felt he was trying to put me at ease. I sweat buckets under extreme stress, and I always soaked the gown as well as the paper covering the table. He always did the pap first, then the breast exam. That last time I sweated so much it pooled on my stomach. I didn't have this belly then and when I laid back my stomach dipped, was concave. When he saw it he got a towel and sopped it up,, maybe he was wondering if he had made me more nervous as usual, he had. During the exam "down there" I had my arm raised up lying over my eyes, trying to hide in some sort of way. A nurse was in the room but I don't know where she was or what she was doing as I had my eyes closed and covered. "That" part was done, but he was still at the foot of the table. Then, I felt something, I think it was a thumb, go too high, to an area not involved in the exam. I hope you know what I mean...I just can't say it. Well, I lifted my arm and looked down, and he was staring at my face, we actually made eye contact and he was smirking. I remember in my peripheral vision I could see the nurse was still in the room, but her back was turned and she was working on something. I closed my knees and covered my eyes again. I decided then I was done. No more gynecological exams. It was too much to put myself through anyway, and now THIS??? Nope, I am fine.

Then my sister's 38 year old partner got breast cancer. I, at 47, had never had a mammagram. So I decided it was time to take back my power, overcome my discomfort, and go for the whole shebang. I asked around for recommendations for a FEMALE gynecologist, and one came highly recommended by several people. Good enough, I made an appointment. This was 3 weeks ago. It was SO EASY! If anyone neglects these things, I am telling you, ask your friends for recommendations for a female doctor. It is so much easier and less humiliating than with a male. As a matter of fact, I don't believe I felt any humiliation. I got a bit worried that my uterus was elarged and she said she felt fibroids. She asked me to come back to have an ultrasound. They told me they could do the mammagram that day on their standard equipment, or I could pay a little more and schedule an appointment to use their new 3D mammagram imaging. Since I had to go back anyway for the ultrasound of my uterus, I asked for an appointment to have both procedures done. A few days later, I got a call stating that my pap results had come back abnormal and Dr. Pennington wanted to do a colposcopy, where she looks at my cervix with a special microscopic lens and if she sees anything unusual she will remove tissue samples from my cervix to be dianosed. That through me for a loop. For about 3 or 4 hours I was scanning the internet, terrified.

So I went in last Wednesday for my procedures. The mammagram was uncomfortable, but at least not embarassing because the technicians were women. The ultrasound did indicate multiple fibroids, my uterus is full of them, and one growing outside of my uterus, a huge one as big as my uterus. She recommended that if I could bear the symptoms, and i can, that we just keep an eye on them because when I go into menopause they will shrink anyway. Menopause HAS to be coming up soon!! She did see unusual changes in my cervix, so she cut out samples from 3 sites to be sent off to lab for diagnosis. Yesterday, Friday, the office called and told me the radiologist wanted another mammogram on my left breast and an ultrasound of that breast...So, another few hours on medical websites, and worry. Possible cancer in my breast, possible cancer in my cervis, and absolutely nothing I can do except wait. The soonest they could get me in for the 3D mammogram was 2 weeks, 2 weeks from yesterday, March 16th. 

Then, I woke up this morning in extreme pain again. I googled "Can I get the flu twice?", answer, absolutely. It could be another strain, I had Influenza Type A H1N1, or it could even be possible that virus has already mutated enough, I could have it again!!! This time, I have the body pain and nauseau, no other cold symptoms. I don't want to go back to the doctor. It hurts so much, I just don't feel like it. Plus I read that Tamiflu isn't the be all end all everyone thinks it is. It shortens the time you are sick, but could be as little as one day. Has anyone reading this had it twice? Or know someone who has had it twice?

This year has been tough so far, physically anyway. I have never gotten sick a lot...but I ignored my health for a long time, just thinking I was fine. If not for the gynecologist visit I wouldn't have known about my potential problems. I have changed my diet, over three weeks now. I am eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet. It's not that hard, the hardest thing for me is having to cook so much because I am not used to it. I believe in this lifestyle wholeheartedly. I am committed to not consuming any animal products, because I love animals and also because of the health benefits. It began when I watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives", and then did a lot of research and realized it was the lifestyle for me, and I can't wait to get my next blood panel done to see how it's improved. I am losing weight quickly without hunger, and hopefully improving my health. I just hope it's not too late!!!