Theresa Misses Nathan

My family and friends know that Nathan has been in Japan now for more than one week, and thankfully he will be home on Tuesday. I am quite supportive of Nathan traveling and networking. This most recent trip has been difficult for me as I have been quite ill. Though we are able to communicate regularly through emailing, SMS, and video chats, it still is not the same thing has having your loved ones there when you are in an urgent care clinic getting an IV.

For the last 2.5 months, I have been taking some form of antibiotics. It began in January when I had been complaining about pelvic pain that I had been experiencing for about one month. Eventually I decided it was time to see my primary care practitioner to find out what was happening. Oddly I had developed a case of cervicitis, so my PCP prescribed Doxycycline. When I returned to her in three weeks, I still had it, and additionally I had developed a yeast infection. This time, she prescribed Metronidazole and Fluconazole. Around then, my pelvic pain returned, but it was now closer to my abdominal range as if I had an upset stomach.

Over the three weeks while I was taking the Metronidazole and then recovering, my GI tract started giving me trouble. Diarrhea episodes were increasing to as often as five times a day, so my PCP requested that I do a stool sample to test for C Difficile. Unfortunately, I had it, and thus I began the third round of antibiotics. Vancomycin is one tricky pill to swallow (bad joke, I know) as the dosage is 125 mg, four times a day. I took it for two weeks last month. The co-payment was $200; I feel terrible for people without insurance.

I have not been able to have more than one week of consistent improvement. What happens is that I think I am getting better, and then another flare-up comes, and then I miss work for another two days. Last weekend, for example, I was feeling strong enough that I even bicycled the north end of Lake Washington for two hours. Unfortunately three days later, I was in the urgent care clinic requiring an IV since I had experienced six cases of diarrhea before 9 AM that morning at work. I cannot make predictions about my energy level, even on a week-to-week basis. I am on FMLA so I can use intermittent leave as needed. This has come in handy as I am in constant contact with my PCP, and now I have an appointment scheduled with the Infectious Diseases clinic this week. I am now on a pulse-taper of Vancomycin for four-six weeks. When that is complete, I hope to have an appointment with the Gastro clinic as I am strongly considering a fecal transplant to cure this acute illness.

My belief is that as the patient, I should have a say in my treatment plan. My fear is that by taking Vanco too often, it will convert all of my GI flora into resistant organisms. Even though I am consuming probiotics, I must be killing the good bacteria faster than I am intaking it. I'm aware that the relapse rate increases with each separate round of antibiotics, and further more, the cost is prohibitive. I think that the antibiotics are only repressing it and not curing it.

I am thankful that I have good friends out here who have been caring for me this last week. Friends drove me to and home from the clinic. Friends let me stay at their home to recuperate. Friends brought me food and drinks when I was too weak to go to the grocery store. Friends took me out for many pho lunch trips. I am tired of consuming a BRAT diet exclusively, and I am eager to resume eating roughage. I have been craving fruits and vegetables for weeks. I miss exercising, having a nice cocktail, going to the movies, and most of all I miss Nathan.