Slipping through the Cracks in the World of Fast Food Healthcare - Part 1
I pray that a doctor will read this, or at least someone like me who has experienced first-hand the travesty that now passes for healthcare.
It began in the Spring of 2017, shortly after my uncle passed away. It was sad and stressful for the family. During this time, I began to experience what I wrongly assumed was a stress triggered flare-up of my ulcerative colitis, a condition which I have lived with for decades and which had largely been in remission.
When I went to my gastroenterologist, he also wrongly assumed it was a routine flare-up. I was prescribed a steroid. When the condition began to worsen after starting the treatment, I ended up in an urgent care facility. An abdominal CT-Scan was done and the doctor there determined that I had some sort of infection. I was told to stop taking the steroid and given antibiotics.
The condition began to get better, but a few months later, the symptoms returned. I returned to my gastroenterologist, I did not get to see my actual doctor, but instead saw one of his Physician's assistants (PA). The PA ordered a stool kit and a week or so later, I learned that I had a serious bacterial intestinal infection called Clostridium Difficile (C. Diff) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_difficile_infection) and was given a strong antibiotic called Vancomycin to treat it.
Now you would think that finding out what was really wrong with me and getting the proper treatment would be a good thing and resolve my issues, but you'd be wrong. Instead, the treatment of the C. Diff. infection led me on a horrible journey that I never expected. I will continue the story in a Part 2 post as this has gotten rather lengthy.