Health notes (mine)

[chanaleh]

Mid March 2026, I woke up one Saturday feeling a little off, but got up and took Ms A to shul with me. Came home feeling rather worse and lay down for the afternoon. When I woke up, I was running a fever of about 101. No respiratory symptoms, negative for covid, no nausea, just some abdominal discomfort. Ended up going in to urgent care Sunday evening where they said "hmm, could be gallbladder, go get an ultrasound and we'll see you next week to review." Negative for covid, flu, UTI, pregnancy (!), and whatever else they tested for.

I got the ultrasound, and when I went back for the follow-up, they said gallbladder was fine but instead they were seeing some evidence of fatty liver. This is apparently common in perimenopausal women, and not always due to alcohol intake, but the first line of treatment is to cut out alcohol and fatty foods. Like, MINOR LIFESTYLE ADAPTATION there. So OK, go forth and follow up with a GI of your choice for further instructions.

I stalled on that for a couple weeks; then had a flurry of adulting and made 2 appointments and got some overdue bloodwork done before the orders expired. Nothing out of range except for fasting glucose (borderline high) and Vit D (borderline low). Also got back my hepatic liver function panel from the clinic, everything within normal range. Went on feeling occasional fatigue and/or tenderness in the abdomen, but nothing really significant.

So in early April I saw the GI, who said "well, everything looks normal." I said "then why did they send me to see you??" "Well, fatty liver causes zero symptoms, so if you're having symptoms there may be something else going on." He offered to do an upper GI scope if I felt I was having symptoms worth investigating further. Oh, while we have you down we could do your colonoscopy at the same time. (I had one in 2022 and recommended follow-up in 2027 so I'm really not due yet.) OK, here are the prep instructions, we can get you in next Friday... whereupon I literally burst into tears from acute failure to cope. "Whoa, whoa, OK, if you're not up for this it doesn't have to happen!" I said let me see my primary care doc next week (the one who had ordered the bloodwork a year ago when I saw her for the first time) and see what she has to say first.

Primary care doc was not at all concerned about my liver function, but noted the glucose and vitamin D levels. So, just like last year, she recommended a low-fat, low-salt diet and regular exercise on general principles, as well as vitamin D supplementation, and sent me on my way.

The upshot since then? I've been making an effort to cut way back on alcohol (from 2 drinks a day to 2 drinks a week), get some morning sunlight, do more stretching, get back to the gym now that Sunday school is over, etc. And so far I feel pretty good. No further abdominal concerns. I dunno.

Oh yeah perimenopause - I am 53 (and a half) and still getting periods at least every couple of months, so it's not over yet. No hot flashes or other hormonal craziness that I have noticed. I am seeing some evidence of frozen shoulder creeping in on the left side, but that's another story.