Hang in there. I hope that your appt tomorrow goes well, answers more questions than it raises, and that this new doc is in tune with you and your problem.
Seth
Calvin, I was going to recommend that you were Snickers Deficient, a rare disorder I know, but this is a bad problem and you need to take care of #1. No one here can know fully what is happening because no one here has your Hx and charts.
I hope your second gets you toward a quick and painless recovery away from this. I had one of these once when I was 17! Fortunately, it spontaneously disappeared…just like that. Best wishes to you.
Thanks – all of you.
Went to another doc at GTown and he was fabulous. Really. He said my ulcer is really, really large and that’s just one of the strange things about it but he upped my Nexium dose and I’ll have another EGD in a few weeks. Not too much has changed but I feel so much better having a doctor who actually listens to me! YAY!
Are you on Carafate, too? I had an enormous stomach inflammation that never quite graduated to an ulcer, and four weeks of Carafate (and giving up dairy -boo!) really helped. Of course, it was a pain in the behind–fitting 3-4 doses of a med that requires an empty stomach AND stomach acid to work, so you have to work it around the proton pump inhibitor, too.
Anyway, I wish you great fortune and rapid healing. I was never so happy as the morning I woke up and realized I hadn’t had flaming coals in my stomach for a whole week.
I am on carafate (4x per day), Nexium (80 mg 2x per day) and Zantac (2, 2x per day). If this doesn’t work, well, I am not pro-surgery but I am getting really tired of this ulcer! Go away already!
Yikes! When you fit in the carafate and eat, too? My hat’s off to you, and you have my sympathies and best wishes.
It’s not fun. 
I don’t know about you, but I know that when my peptic problem creeps in, like it did during this semester with all the stuff being covered, I felt sooo lethargic. I hope you aren’t that way because it is really aweful. At least I can manage mine by backing off the coffee addiction and drinking tea’s or powerade.
No, I’ve been pretty tired most of the time. 
My new doctor called me this morning with some new tests he wants to run to get a better idea what is causing this, then he thinks there might be a better way to treat it. Keeping my fingers crossed about that.
Alyson don’t forget your anemia is going to make you feel pretty tired… although your Hgb & Hct are on their way back to normal levels, your body suffered quite a shock with that blood loss a few months ago and it is going to take awhile to recover.
That’s a good point, had not thought of that. Kinda figured since my numbers were up, that problem had resolved itself…
Allyson,
I am pulling for you…sorry to not have followed/read this thread previously. I have tended to not be thorough in my perusing of OPM lately. However, you need to follow your physician’s orders to the letter on this. Bleeding ulcers can be very very dangerous - they are nothing to play with! If you begin bleeding again, vomit coffee ground-like material or pass melanotic stools - go straight to the ER!
Keep us updated. We all care about you & are concerned about your health.
Your friend & debate partner,
OMD
Well, I had the stomach surgery that I was avoiding. They did a gastric sleeve resection last Wed at Georgetown. Was in there from Mon - Sat but am home now and am starting to feel a little more normal. Soup is my best friend at the moment, though the pain meds that let me sleep last night were a close second.
Calvin - sounds like the surgery is helping. Take it easy during your recovery – give it as much time as everything needs to heal. Plus hopefully you’ll be all healed up and can make it to the conference in 2-1/2 months. Oh my gosh it’s getting close.
Let me know if I can help in any way.
Seth
Hey Alyson,
Glad to hear that you are on the mend. If you feel like a vacation, come on down to “Surgery Camp” here at the VA. Baseball season starts in a couple of days and this place is just plain beautiful. There are lots of flowering trees (not quite as lovely as the Cherry Blossoms) and open spaces. The campus is just gorgeous this time of year with the monutains (really hills) in the background.
Just give me a call if you need anything. I will probably ring you on Saturday when I get to Arlington. We are sending my step niece off to Japan in royal style so I am driving up. She will marry there and have to stay for at least 2 years with her new husband Shingo.
Natalie 
Japan – wow.
I can’t yet tell if the surgery has helped but I hope it has. All I wanna do is sleep.
Greetings.
Spent yet another week at GTown with an infection. If any of you are as sick of this as me, sorry. Am out and actually feel a little better (knock on wood!). You all have no idea how great it is to eat again.
Thanks for listening.
Sorry to hear you were back in, but glad to hear you are out! Food is a great thing when you can tolerate it. Keep your strength up and get better soon.
Seth
A few things.
This thread feels really self-absorbed and I wanted to thank everyone for being so nice and supportive throughout all of this.
It has made me think about a lot and made some decisions of late. My recent hospitalizations have caused me to miss a lot of class and it looks like I am dropping orgo. I may be able to do it w/o getting a W, it may (keeping my fingers crossed!) just be a question of dropping. I see the Dean next week about it but I have all this paperwork from my doctor’s office and think even a W would be better. My advisor said to mention it in my personal statement but that I have a valid reason so it shouldn’t be too bad (I hope!).
Of course, to be honest, I am less worried about all of that right now. People keep saying they are sorry I have had such a crappy spring – and I appreciate that, A LOT – I am not so sorry this has happened. I mean, being sorry about it changes nothing so I can’t really see the point in being sorry.
The thing is it has put a lot of things back into perspective. I want to get into medical school and all but it isn’t the end of the world if I don’t. I feel like just being is a good thing at the moment.
I dunno, maybe I am just rambling (sorry) but I needed to share that.
The other good news is I feel so much better than I did and maybe (fingers crossed for this, too) I am finally getting over the infection.
Thanks again for listening.
Allyson,
Hope you are feeling better. You have had a really tough Spring. I find its been that way for many people, for whatever reason…maybe the boob in office…(just kidding)
Kathy