Salmonella?

I haven’t mentioned it but I’ve been feeling weird for at least a few weeks. I’ve had less and less energy and feel sort of dizzy/lightheaded. It’s gotten to the point that when I get up to make breakfast, it feels like a major effort that makes me want to crawl back into bed for a nap. And even after 8 hours of sleep, I feel like I can sleep for hours more.

This morning I felt worse than usual so I finally decided to see a doctor recommended by my friend Juliana. Luckily, Dr. Lupita (as she’s known) has an office only about 3 blocks away. I had an appointment at 2:00 but wasn’t seen till nearly 2:30 and felt like I was going to pass out by that point. She examined me (I was happy to find out I weighed 121 which is practically goal) and told me my blood pressure was a little low. Based on my symptoms, she thinks I might have Salmonella (could it be those eggs I’ve started eating?). I was happy to have a diagnosis and found it interesting because my friend Jared (who was in the Peace Corps in Nepal and Paraguay) thought it might be that. If you go online, everything describes symptoms you’d expect from salmonella (vomiting, diarrhea, fever) but Jared says his biggest symptom was the fatigue. The doctor prescribed me Cipro as well as some anti-worm medicine as well as something to increase my blood pressure.

But then I talked to Rebecca and she seemed wary about Cipro being a strong drug and being prescribed something for low blood pressure. It got me wondering too. The doctor had said I could get a blood test to confirm salmonella but both Jared and info online says it can only be confirmed by a stool sample. And researching online, I wonder too if it’s simply dehydration (although I’ve been drinking much more and my urine seems pretty normal) which can lead to low blood pressure.

So now I’m not sure what to do. I hate to take antibiotics if I don’t need too. Yet, I really just want to feel better. And I really hate having that feeling like I can’t fully trust my doctor. She was a very nice person who listened and took her time with me but if she’s misinformed about testing for salmonella, what else is she misinformed about? At least she didn’t tell me I should eat meat; I was half expecting that. She did say I should wash my fruits and vegetables with Microdyn which I will start doing.

Anyway, I think that if I physically felt better, I’d mentally feel better too. I was starting to think there was no way I could get any job, especially not a physically demanding photography job, if I was feeling like I could barely make it through a day of doing nothing without feeling really tired.

Tomorrow I’m supposed to go by a candle store to see the owner who’s looking for help. Don’t know what it entails or how much it pays. But maybe it would be good to make a few bucks for a few hours per week. Just something to get me out, on a schedule, and interacting with people more.