chlamydiarama
Guess what I have, you guys! Chlamydia!
Here's the part that amazes me most: Dr. Brandon is going to prescribe me a single dose of two tablets of an antibiotic -- Azithromycin, which, apparently, is used to treat a wide array of bacterial infections -- and that, he says, will cure the infection. So easy! I have been advised not to have sex for one week after treatment, though, "to make sure the infection is gone." Presumably he just means sex with other people. I don't think my right hand is going to create any complications.
He also said, "Please also notify partners from the past 2 months, if you are able to, that they should be tested." Hahahaha, as if I even know the names of those people! Well, except for Shobhit, who is advised also to take a dose of two tablets, just in case.
Anyway. This was inconvenient timing if ever there were any. My checkup appointment with Dr. Brandon was on Tuesday, when I felt fine. But I did all the STI screening and swabs he recommended. The first test results came via Virginia Mason in email yesterday: syphilis and HIV screen, both "nonreactive." I essentially interpreted this as being out of the woods, not paying enough attention to the doctor's note that included "other tests pending."
And guess what? Just yesterday I started experiencing semi-intense heat while urinating. Increased frequency, less volume each time, but evidently denser than usual, as it appeared to sink lower than the regular toilet water; definite discomfort. I had no idea what it might be and basically hoped that whatever it was might just pass. Why this only manifested the day after my appointment with Dr. Brandon is beyond me. I haven't even had any encounters with anyone besides Shobhit since July 2, and even then nothing penetrative; that's not been since June 21 -- five weeks ago! I googled this and it said many people never experience symptoms at all, but when they do, it's usually 1 to 3 weeks after exposure. So, I'm a little mystified.
So the follow-up email came today with a surprising subject line: Test Result + - treatment needed. Throat and rectal swabs were tested for both gonorrhea and chlamydia, so that's four tests: three were negative, but the rectal swab tested positive for chlamydia.
I did write back to Dr. Brandon asking a few questions about this, and instead of writing back, he actually gave me a call. Another point for Dr. Brandon! I really like this guy. He gave me detailed answers to all my questions, and predictably, said this is why he recommends my coming in for swab testing every three months -- I was already thinking, Fine, I guess he's right about that recommendation. The positive test came from the rectal swab, but he explained about the peeing that "It can sort of spread" and that pretty much explains what started yesterday. He also said I can definitely pick up the medication on my way home from work, which I was glad to hear -- naturally both Shobhit and I want to take these pills as soon as possible.
I just realized I still haven't seen an email with any test results for the urine sample I left on Tuesday. Maybe that one is still pending? I don't know. I wish I had noticed that before Dr. Brandon called. But whatever, we already know what I have and what I need.
This is likely the second time I've contracted this, actually. I once posted a LiveJournal entry in early April 2013 which I titled, "It Hurts When I Pee," and I remember Gabriel once commenting on how he couldn't believe I would write so openly about that. That was five years ago! He probably won't even notice today's post; every time I see him lately he comments on how he can't even remember the last time he looked at my "website" as he now likes to call it. His mother will see it though, she reads this every day! Maybe she'll call him up and say "Guess what, Matthew has chlamydia!" Okay, probably not. She probably wouldn't be likely to call him up with an update on Matthew unless it was truly huge, like if my mom died or something. Oh right: I'll get to my mom in a minute.
Anyway, back in 2013, I posted another update four days later, indicating that the swab tests I got done then actually tested negative for both syphilis and chlamydia, but the doctor I saw back then prescribed treatment for both of them anyway -- and it seemed to make the burning urination go away right quick, so, whatever. This time we know for sure which one it is.
Side note: I'm weirdly proud of today's post title, "chlamydiarama." Even though it makes me think of mashing up the words "chlamydia" and "diorama," which makes me think of a large boxed 3-D model (diorama) of chlamydia. I just did a Google Image Search for "chlamydia diorama" but nothing very satisfying turned up. I suppose the more appropriate spelling for that would swap the middle A for an O, though: chlamydiorama. "Chlamydiarama" and "chlamidiorama" are two very different things, you see. Except they do both have much to do with chlamydia.
Okay, so. My mother. I keep forgetting to mention that, A) Mom finally came home from the rehabilitation center on Tuesday last week; and B) I called Mom at home on Friday evening and talked to her for 20 minutes while helping Shobhit prep for dinner with Lynn and Zephyr on Sunday. She wound up wanting to get off the phone as she was going to watch a movie with Bill and Christopher and Tristen, but that was fine. I got the information I needed. So here are the salient details:
First off, I must mention that Mom sounded great -- as in, practically back to her normal self; way better than she's sounded since before all this recent rash of medical appointments and hospital visits began. To clarify, I guess I should say "back to her normal post-stroke self," which she'll never be better than. The key point here is that any communication challenges she has are barely perceptible now, which means, basically, she's back to her peak capacity without the constraints of any of these recent medical issues.
The primary issue seems to be really just the over-dosing of her blood pressure medication, the results of which simply caused a cascade of issues that took some time to get over. She was in that rehabilitation center for five weeks, which seems insane to me. And, as she said on the phone on Friday, "You never called me!" The honest truth is that it never even occurred to me that I could call her there -- and I suppose it really should have. I just kept asking Christopher for updates. Okay whatever, I was talking to her now! If she ever winds up in a place like that again, though, I'll take care to call her there.
And after that conversation, I feel much further away from worrying about my mother's imminent demise than I have in weeks. I mean, she could have another stroke or another accident or whatever at any moment; she's still far from the healthiest person in the world. But she sounded so close to normal that for once, after weeks of worrying about it, it felt again like she'll be okay for plenty more years. That's about as reassuring as I could hope for.
Shobhit is really going all out for Morgan's birthday dinner tomorrow night. Prepping began on Tuesday, and this seems to be the week's prep schedule:
Tuesday: Chop vegetables and potatoes
Wednesday: Chop vegetables, start the base mixtures for shahi paneer (my favorite!); garbanzo beans; and samosa filling
Thursday: Blend shahi paneer mixture; start the base mixtures for eggplant squash (my second favorite!) and okra (I won't eat that shit); probably mix up the breading dough for both samosas and parathas
Friday: I imagine we'll deep fry the samosas (if we don't do any of that tonight, which may also happen) and fry the parathas in the afternoon before the party arrives around 6pm; we'll also need to prepare rice
I'm touched that Morgan asked to spend her birthday with Shobhit and me, and have Shobhit cook for it. Danielle texted me asked how he reacted when he found out it was what she wanted -- she apparently thought Shobhit would be "honored," although I wouldn't call that quite the right word. It's certainly accurate to say he's happy to do it. He loves to cook, and he's certainly fond of Danielle and her kids. This will make the fifth dinner we've hosted and cooked for so far this year, and Shobhit has easily done more food planning for this one than he has any of the others, including for my birthday (because we expect more for tomorrow's party than we had for my Birth Week dinner). Kind of by default, that makes this the one he regards as the most significant of them all, so far at least.
. . . And last but not least: I just got back from lunch with Karen down at the Six-Seven Restaurant at the Edgewater Hotel, which of course explains my later than usual posting time for this entry. It's so nice doing these lunches during the summer, when I can just hop on my bike and get down there in half the time. This was our first lunch in nearly a month, since the one we had scheduled at the beginning of this month she wound up having to cancel due to something coming up at work.
We timed our arrivals with unprecedented perfection today, as she pulled up in her van right at the moment I walked up after locking up my bike. She still needed to get into her chair and down the ramp out of her van before having it valet parked, though, so she suggested I go get us a table, as "I'm going to be a minute." I needed to use the rest room anyway, and the guy in the toilet stall next to mine was clearly engaged in an extended period of vomiting. So that was a nice, appetizing pre-lunch experience.
Karen was seated when I got out. Just as another person had told her, I was told the new menus they have now have everything they previously offered. Not so, technically: the truffle macaroni and cheese was nowhere to be found on it. "We can still make it," the waiter said. Hooray! So we split one order of that.
And then? They brought it out for us in two separate dishes -- something they never did before, any of the many other times we've split this dish. Usually they just brought us an extra little plate. In fact it looked to me like they just brought out two full orders; the side salads were certainly the same size as the one that we usually split in the past. When I asked about it, the waiter assured me it was still one order and they just split it. Umm . . . okay then! I think there really was less macaroni in each dish than is usually put in just one for one order, but I also think we each had more than what is typically half.
I deliberately gave this guy a big tip. I was going to tip him 25%, but I wanted my total to come out to $14 even, so his tip wound up being 22% instead. Hey, it's still generous, okay?
[posted 1:41 pm]