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And so Medical Procedure-Palooza '08 (a.k.a. The "Welcome to your 40s" Co-Pay Tour) comes to an end... we hope.

I have been having abdominal pain off and on since November, and when that pain intensified in April, we knew we had to be more aggressive finding its cause. My GP had ordered blood tests and ultrasounds, and I had tried several rounds of prescription drugs. The drugs provided some relief, but we still didn't know why I hurt. Basically, if I let myself get really hungry, I hurt. If I got stressed out (me? STRESSED?!), I hurt. The pain hasn't been nearly as bad lately, but I still followed through with the gastroenterologist's recommendation and had an upper endoscopy (EGD).

And how weird is that procedure? They sedate you and induce this strange "twilight sleep." Besides the IV stick, I really didn't feel any pain through the whole thing: AWESOME! I was still aware of what was going on, though, not really caring that a tube was winding its way down my digestive tract: WEIRD! Next thing I know, I'm squinting at some freaky pictures of my duodenum: BEYOND WEIRD! (Talk about pictures you'll never see on this blog!) The best part? The nurse ordered me to go home and take a four-hour nap: FANTASTIC!

Brett was my hero, patiently listening to my nervous banter in the prep room, calming my nerves, and he was right there when I woke up in recovery. Besides that, he was so good to take care of me on those awful days when I'd come home from work doubled over because the pain was so bad. What a prince!

I also gained an even greater appreciation for my sweet mom. Usually I'm the one in the waiting room while she's having procedure after procedure done. I've seen her handle her discomfort and anxiety with such grace. She's always super nice to everyone she comes in contact with, even when she'd rather be anywhere besides that hospital bed. As I lay there today, I couldn't stop thinking about her amazing spirit.

So now we know the "-itis" names for my condition, and we know that I did have an ulcer that has mostly healed. We know I'll be on an acid reliever and off NSAIDs (like my beloved Excedrin Migraine, which may be the source of my troubles). In a few days, we'll know the results from the biopsy, and we're praying for good news there.

In any case, I know I'm glad to have this procedure is over!