I made it through the night without accident, though I was continuing to clear my bowels as the day progressed at work. Though my stomach was empty, I was still feeling bloated and uncomfortable, yet hungry. I’d checked my weight in the morning and found that I’d lost 10 pounds over the past three weeks, though some of that had to be attributed to the routine of the previous two days. Still, I was happy about that much.
I was thinking I’d do a workout before going for the procedure, but stayed at work too long and got home in time only for a shower and to hop in the car with my sister for the ride to the Digestive Center. Once there, I was quickly escorted into the back for prep by my RN, Kathy. After attaching a blood pressure cuff and something to check my heart, she stood back and observed the readout.
“Do you know you have an irregular heart rate?” she asked, showing some concern.
“I’ve had it my entire life and it’s totally functional,” I said.
Doubtfully, she continued to observe and said, “but it’s bouncing around between 30 and 40 beats per minute.”
“I train pretty hard and my normal resting – when it’s beating all the time – is high forties,” I replied.
The information about training seemed to pacify her somewhat and she began to question what I did. I explained in ways that made me sound like the second coming of Lance Armstrong without the ‘roids. I could tell she was in shape and asked her about her own.
“I run. A lot. And I did my first two triathlons this past year,” she admitted.
She was a competitive 53-year old who, like me, went too far at times and suffered the kind of injuries we suffer. She was dealing with an injury to her metatarsal bone in her foot as I was with my plantar.
“Cycling is the great forgiver. It seems to be something I can do without getting injured,” I said, knowing that a true runner, like her, needed to get back to running at all costs.
The anesthesiologist came in and told me he’d be knocking me out soon. “I woke up the last time and saw that camera going through my colon on the screen,” I said. I was having two procedures done this time and he assured me I would not be waking up. He was right.
Ninety minutes later I was waking in recovery and the doc came over to tell me no ulcer and no h-pylori bacteria, though he had a sample of something from my gut that he had to have biopsied.
“I did take a polyp out of your colon though, and we’ll have that analyzed, too. In the meantime, I don’t know why you’re having the stomach problems,” he concluded.
Great! Still don’t feel like eating and no answers. I went home and had some pea soup and bread. It filled and bloated me and the effects of the anesthesia all acted to knock me out without getting on the trainer first. Well, maybe tomorrow I’d feel better as he had given me an over-the-counter medication for indigestion.
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