Up My Nose

It was rough. I loved the woman who ran the 24-hour ph study for acid reflux and she needed all of her experience and skills working with me. First, she squirted numbing gel up my left nostril, which helped numb my throat. After lubricating the larger cord, she tried to stick it up my nose, down my throat and into my stomach while I sipped water through a straw. Nope. Not going to work. It kept coming back into my mouth, which caused my gaging reflex and eventually I vomited up all the water. We tried it three time.

She switched to the right nostril. Numbed it. The darn thing slipped right in, down my throat, past my surgery site and into my stomach on the first try. Apparently, there is a problem with my left nostril!

Once it was in, I had to lay down at a 30 degree angle and sip a specific amount of water every minute ten times without swallowing any other time. No problem. Then, I sat up and she pulled the cord out while asking me to cough.

The whole process was very uncomfortable.

But wait! There's more! The reason for the first cord was to measure where to place the second cord attached to a computer to monitor my acid reflux for the next 24 hours. It was time to stick the smaller cord up my nose and into my stomach but since it is smaller, it could get tangled and not break through my surgery site. Thankfully, it was in the first try.

My nose and sinus area was sore and aching, the cord down my throat made it dry and irritated and it was really not a lot of fun.

After the cord was in, she attached it to a small computer, which was to hang across my body with buttons to push when I take medication, food, sleep and cough or burp or...

I drove home to welcome Lee and Jeff, who were here on the coast to escape the horrible heat where they live. I think they brought the hotter weather with them! It was warmer than expected and muggy! We chatted then I took them to the brewery where I have played with the Irish Fiddling group because I knew Jeff would like the amazing beer. We then took them to a fantastic fish restaurant right on the ocean for a perfect dinner. I really didn't want to eat but needed to so I could produce acid reflux. I had my favorite Monterey sardines over vegetables but Michael had the huge Lobster Roll. Lee and Jeff loved it and they had pasta and fish dishes.

They are due here in a hour, Lee will be heading to our mom's to take her to see her lawyer at 10:00 while Michael and Jeff take a walk along the beach. I will be hanging out here alone until 10:00 when I leave to begin the long drive into the city for my noon appointment to have them yank this cord out of my stomach. All of us are going to meet at the Cheesecake Factory near mom's for a noon lunch, except I will be a bit late but will get there as soon as possible!

Tonight, the Irish Fiddlers are playing the organic market in town. While I am there, Lee, Jeff and Michael are going to have some fish tacos and cheesy garlic bread covered with fresh crab for dinner. Oh yum!