I just read over some of the last few posts, and think I should remind everyone reading this that the posts are in reverse order. That is, the most recent post is first, and the oldest (and first post) is last. So if you're chronologically challenged (i.e. if you're a doofus), then let the page load, and read it from the bottom.

We went to see Kumkum Aunty (Anvita's aunt and gynecologist) the other day. This was after a break of a month - as in, we were a month late; She wasn't happy about that. Finally it seems like the birth is drawing closer. In a nutshell - Anvita's iron has dropped too low, so she's prescribed some iron tablets and syrup to compensate. She's also given her strict instructions to not gain more weight (61kgs/134lbs, compared with 49kgs/108lbs pre-conception). Appointments are now every two weeks, rather than every month. Also the baby seems to have turned as it should around this time, to a head down position, preparing for birth. All systems go. Woo hoo!

We also talked a little about the actual birth and delivery etc. We're planning the delivery at Holy Angels Hospital at Vasant Vihar, where aunty consults. One bit of bad news though - she has to go out of town from the 27th of April till the 5th of May. So if Anvita goes into labour early, Dr. Jayshree will deliver the kid, not Kumkum Aunty. No biggie really, but I know Anvita would be very comfortable with aunty. Apparantly there is evidence to suggest that premature delivery is heriditary. Anvita was premature, Anvita's mom was premature, Anvita's aunts were premature... -heh- I on the other hand was a week or two late, so mebbe it'll balance out!!!

We're very lucky to have aunty involved. She goes out of her way to make us both feel comfortable and gives us special attention. This is something sorely lacking in todays medicine. We've heard stories from all our friends of how they have not been happy with their gynecologists and have changed just prior to birth, etc etc. We're really lucky.

Papa called Dr. Lakhotia (the eye doctor), and fixed an appointment for 2:00, yesterday. We went across, he looked at my eyes, checked my power (it's increased a fair bit in 3 years), gave me a bunch of tests that were like video games, and says that getting the new glasses made should get rid of the pain. He said that odds were that was what was causing the headaches, but we'd know only after I wore them for a few days. He's also prescribed some eyedrops.

I picked up the new glasses this morning, and they're great. The headaches are as before though, so lets wait a few days for that to go away.

I finally feel that I am returning somewhat to normal. I've lost 5 kilos (11lbs) in these two weeks - probably just cuz I've hardly felt like eating anything. My foot is hurting a lot though.

So in a nutshell, after all this ringmarole, I have a tooth half fixed, an ulcer that is being treated, a mysterious headache that hopefully should disappear in a few days, and a sore foot.

I also have an 8 month pregnant wife that has been ignored for two weeks because everyone's being worried about me. Lets talk about her now.

Anvita is getting really big now. Her stomach looks like a basketball! She's definately less moody than she used to be, but is increasingly anxious. Worried about labour, worried about being a good mother, worried about how we'll handle the expenses, worried about things that need worrying over and things that don't. She's having a lot of problems sleeping at night - tosses and turns a lot. Gets a lot of hot flashes. Her feet are swollen by the time bedtime comes around, and her back aches constantly. Giving her back rubs and foot massages is becoming second nature now!

We're both getting really excited now, and wouldn't you know it, time seems to have slowed down to a crawl. It seems like just yesterday when we were talking about starting a family, and now each days passes painfully slowly. We're both at a stage where we can't wait to see the kid. It's like talking about an old friend that's coming over for dinner, and you've been planning every little detail because you want it to be special. It's morning now, and dinnertime is taking forever to arrive.

The baby seems to have settled into some kind of waking and sleeping routine. Seems to wake up at around 6:30am (I can feel her stomach squirming around against my back!), and then again in the night at around 10:00 or so when she's lying in bed reading, he/she starts kicking about again. She says it happens at a fixed time during the day as well. I wonder if that has any relationship to what kind of waking/sleeping hours it'll have after birth. Who knows. We'll see!

So I went to PSRI to meet Dr (Col) Arun Kumar, a retired army doctor, who's speciality is stomach disorders. By this time, my stomach pain is bad, my tooth is still aching, and I've got a weird shooting pain in the back of my head, slightly to the left. The doc listens to me and says that it sounds like an ulcer and he wanted to to an endoscopy to make sure. I haven't been eating much (no appetite at all) and it was a morning where coincidentally I hadn't had breakfast, so we could do the endoscopy immediately. We did, and he was right. I had two ulcers next to one another in my stomach.

Finally we were zeroing onto the real problems, and I felt a lot of relief just knowing that. The doc put me on some medication that has helped tremendously (no pain!), has allowed me to visit office for a couple of hours a day, and has made me rethink my frantic and lightning paced lifestyle.

The dentist visits are continuing for now - it seems that my molar has one root canal with a strange curve in it, that makes the process longer and more complicated. I've had 4 sittings so far, and will have at least one more. But the swelling is reduced and the pain is more or less gone. The gumline is still a little inflamed and sore, but nothing I can't live with.

That weird headache on the other hand is a real killer. The pain comes without warning or precedent, and is overwhelming. I feel like an invalid when it kicks in. As long as it doesn't, I'm fine. Weird. Also inconvenient because I can't plan a normal day till it is taken care of. I can't be sitting in GE with my clients, and suddenly start whimpering and holding my head, you know? But at least I can be at office for a while to keep an eye on things.

I asked the dentist if the headache could be related to the tooth and he said it was unlikely. He, and everyone else I spoke with (including Dr. Tiwari, Anvita's dad), said that it was probably something to do with my eyesight. SO I decided to go meet my Ophthalmologist too (next post).

So I've been sick for a couple of weeks now. My left rear molar began to hurt like hell, and I was in the middle of the RIMC job, so didn't want to take time out for the dentist. Instead I figured I'd take painkillers, and once the job was out, head over to the dentist and let him do whatever he needed to. Crocin (paracetamol) didn't work, to I shifted to combiflam and flexon (paracetamol and ibuprofen) which eased the swelling and the pain substantially - well enough for me to be able to work, in any case.

Then we went to a wedding where I had some fruit juice. The next day, everyone that had that juice fell ill. I too developed extreme stomach cramps and nausea. Assuming the juice was the culprit, I took the usual 'bad plumbing' medicine for a few days. It didn't work. So I went to a doctor. He said I had gastroentritis, and put me on a cycle of antibiotics and painkillers. It didn't work. After a week, he tells us that it was probably related to my tooth.

Full circle.

I then make an appointment with my dentist - my illness by this time had kept me away from office for a week already, so I now obviously had the time. He had a look and says that I have what they call a deep pocket behind my last molar, where food particles get stuck and pus had formed. The pus, by this time, had followed the path of my molar and was deposited in little pools, that the dentists call abscesses at each root of this molar. The nerves going into the tooth carried the infection with them, and the pulp tissue inside the said molar was infected, hence the pain. He also informed me that combiflam and flexon can play havoc with the intestines and stomach, and that was probably where my stomach problems were coming from. He said I needed a Root Canal Treatment to save the tooth and get rid of the infection, and suggested that I see a gastro specialist for the stomach problem.

This was the first time I actually felt that I was talking to a doctor with a brain, so I dutifully took an appointment for the first sitting of the RTC, and resolved to go to PSRI (the Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute - a hospital that specializes in stomach, liver and kidney problems) the next morning.

Ok, about 3 days ago, I updated the blog with a looooong ass update. SO long, that the damn system refused to take it, and I lost the whole thing! So here goes again...

First off, everyone knows I've been sick, but just to make sure you know that's why this blog hasn't been updated for so long. Well not just sick, but busy first, then sick.

First the busy part... We finally got through the RIMC book - what a nightmare. I don't think we'll work with them again. My company isn't so big or so successful that we can pick and choose who we want to work with, but I really don't think the returns from this job were worth the effort or the headaches that we've had dealing with them. I cannot for the life of me understand how someone can increase the scope of the work, and expect to pay the same amount. Anyway, this isn't the place to rant. Suffice to say that my office and me personally were working 3 shifts, day in and day out, to get this job out on time - not for any fault of ours, but because of lapses from their end. But I rant again...

The other thing that has kept me personally busy is the Quadrangle. Between being ill and coordinating the RIMC Annual, even sitting in front of the comp would set my mind reeling, and my head aching, so I had to call on Shashank (god bless him) to come over and help me out with it. As it stands, the files are ready and we're sending it off to print today... the CD's being burnt as I type.

I'm going to upload this bit now, so that I don't lose it all again.