psychoscoot

So 2 years ago I had this surgery, an ileocolonic resection, which saw that a very important part of my small intestine was removed.  That part was the ileum, which is the section of the intestine that absorbs B12 into the body.



So, basically, I don't have this part anymore.  4 very important inches...  gone.

My GP asked me to go get my B12 levels checked last week and now wants to see me again - likely because my levels are low and I'm enjoying the wonderfully positive effects of a B12 deficiency (so much sarcasm in there I can't stand it!)  I'm tired a lot, lack energy, can't focus on much - which really sucks at work - and have been crying a lot lately even though I know I shouldn't be (I miss Ben, but not to the point of crying anytime I think about him, I ain't no sissy girl.  :P )  I was starting to wonder what the hell was wrong with me - the over crying being the big tip off.  So now I know.  No ileum = no B12 .... B12 = health and sanity!

Good to know my GI doctor was right on top of this before I started showing symptoms (more sarcasm, can't you just feel it!?)  Prolonged effects, after 3-5 years of no B12, are irreversible and can cause all sorts of nasty things - brain and nervous system dysfunction, anemia, spinal cord degeneration, mania, suicidal depression...

Hopefully I'll start feeling better and more energetic once I start getting poked with needles on a monthly basis.  Until then, if you notice me showing any of the above symptoms, don't be alarmed!  I am getting help!  :)

In case anyone is interested in malabsorption and malassimilation of vitamins and minerals I've found a great site with tons of info (mostly gastro-intestinal but still covers all bases) - First Principles of Gastroenterology - Chapter 7.9 - Maldigestion and Malabsorption:  The Malassimilation Syndromes.

I'm wondering if I also need to boost my riboflavin...

God I love the human body, just not mine!

In the past month I've been down south a couple times.  I'm actually in Hollywood, California as I write this.

I was in Cuba last month, on a short vacation in Havana.

I'm not sure which I prefer - the clear, gorgeous, sunny skies of Havana with it's invisible, horrible smells of deisel exhaust and urine (well, the belching smoke from the old cars is visible but it soon disappears in the gorgeously clear caribbean air) - or the smoggy, gray, polluted skies of Los Angeles which don't seem to smell bad at all.  I'm torn.  

It is overcast today, so maybe my opinion will change once the skies open up and I see the sun - which I'm certainly hoping for.

I can seriously understand now why so many people say that Vancouver is such a gorgeous city.  If LA is any sort of measure for big American cities then Vancouver is definitely Heaven in comparison.  Leaps and bounds!

I wandered down the street a bit, I'm staying on Hollywood Blvd, right at the Kodak Theatre and Grauman's Chinese Theatre.  I walked over David Bowie's star and many many others.  I wandered over the hand and foot prints in front of Grauman's.  Frank Sinatra's look so old and worn.  the mass number of people dressed up like famous actors/characters is crazy.  I walked past SpongeBob SquarePants, a really good Captain Jack Sparrow, a really bad Cruela DeVille, A Storm Trooper and Darth Vader as well as various other costumed actors making money from tourists for pictures.  Jimmy Kimmel Live is filmed in the building accross the street.  The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D is playing accross the street too.  i might go see it!

Well, off I go for dinner.  Maybe I'll write more later.

I am eating pepperoni for the first time in what must be 4 years.

It tastes good.

I'm trying to go through all of the LJ posts I've missed since leaving for BM but I just can't.  I got back 200 posts adn it was still only sept 4th!  I hope I didn't miss anything too important.

Well, BM was alright - I think I was far too jaded this year and didn't find the event as wonderful as I have in years past.  The awe factor just wasn't as there this year.  I am very happy that partianskeey had a good time and that our campmates enjoyed him - that's all that really mattered to me, and I certainly had a good time with him too.  It was a good 2 weeks away from home.

I had a pretty eventful time there - altitude sickness for 2 days, a migraine, a very painful encounter with a cyclist and his fork necklace, as well as a disasterous tent destroying wind/dust storm.  The people were fantastic, the weather was the best I've seen, and the trip there and back was calm and pleasant.  Thank you sispille for the time in Portland, it was fabu!

I love the piggies!