Health Issues

Since Sim's birthday, we've had a little trouble on the health front.

The past week or so had me feeling pretty strange. Every morning I'd wake to feeling really around my ribs; then, each time I'd go to the bathroom, I'd burn painfully. I found myself going to pee (not that I'm blushing!) every hour during the night, so by the time we woke up at 9am, I'd still feel really tired. The worst thing was feeling my energy just drain away in a great whoosh every afternoon - making me impatient and generally pretty grumpy. Two nights ago, when I went to the bathroom and realised that I was peeing blood, I thought "time to see a doctor."

So yesterday we found ourselves at Xinguang Hospital in Shilin, northern Taipei City. Our lovely Taiwanese friend Margaret took the afternoon off work to drive us there and back, convinced that the Taiwanese hospital system would be way too overwhelming for foreigners, even with our minimal Chinese. Wow, she couldn't have been more right. The hospital felt more like a market-place, with scores of people in every room. So we were given an immediate appointment to see a urologist, who fortunately spoke great English. The diagnosis? I have a urinary tract infection. The doctor thinks that three days of antibiotics should be enough, but he took a urine sample and I'll be back there on Friday. The only concern would be if it had spread to my kidneys, but without signs of a fever, that's unlikely. I have to drink three litres of water each day for the next few days and stay away from alcohol and coffee (!!). So yes, today I'm feeling a thousand times better, much more energetic (and less grumpy, thank goodness.)

Last night, Sim came down with our first minor bout of food poisoning. He's feeling okay, though a little crampy and nauseous, so last night he had a few gastrolyte tablets. He's well enough to work today, but he's staying away from food. Hopefully by the time he comes home (about 10pm), he'll be ready to eat again.