Waiting On Tests Results

As we all know psoriasis is a hard disease. We deal with the plaques on your body, we work through the mental issues it brings. However, having psoriasis also means that there are other health issues that psoriasis can create.

Facing the comorbidities of psoriasis

If you have been reading my articles, you know I have been dealing with such a thing. The doctor was thinking that I could have ulcerative colitis. As I always say psoriasis is that one gift that just keeps on giving. This was not a gift I wanted.

To make things worse, when the pandemic hit, tests were delayed that would prove or disprove the doctor's theory. How do you handle having psoriasis and facing a diagnosis that could make things so much worse? The delay was driving me crazy.

Psoriasis and ulcerative colitis

Let me take this story a step backward. Back in January of this year, I started having pain in the lower right part of my stomach. It really concerned me that it could be my appendix so I made an appointment with my primary care doctor.

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It was my shock when he said he didn't think it was my appendix at all. What he said next floored me totally. I do not know what I was expecting him to say but it definitely was not ulcerative colitis. The more research I done into what ulcerative colitis is and what it could mean to my overall health the more concerned I became. I advocate strongly on the side of someone knowing their disease and what it can mean for their health.

Delay after delay

My primary care doctor referred me to a general surgery specialist. He orders a gallbladder test as well as a colonoscopy to be done. Well, I was lucky enough to have the gallbladder test done before the pandemic started. I shouldn't use the term lucky in that the test was not comfortable at all. Two hours of laying on a hardboard while they watched dye travel was excruciating.

I bet you can already guess where this is going. Delay after delay after delay. That's right. The colonoscopy got delayed so many times. Fast forward six months later it literally took me and my doctor calling to get the colonoscopy scheduled. The funny part of all that is that I had never seen my doctor so mad that the test had not been done already. I felt for that scheduler honestly.

The final test results

I am happy to report that the colonoscopy is done. Even happier still is the fact that they found no signs of ulcerative colitis. Months worth of worrying about a test result and it turns out I had nothing to worry about other than my psoriasis flaring from the stress.

In my case it was good news all the way around. The final diagnosis is irritable bowel syndrome. My primary care doctor has not dismissed the fact that it could still be my gallbladder but the pain has stopped at least for now for which I am grateful. I know I cannot be in this boat alone waiting on a result that I should have gotten months ago.

Dealing with the pain, worrying, itching because the psoriasis was responding to it all causing a flare. I will be glad when things are back to normal so we can get in to see a doctor when we need to or have tests done when we need to. That is my hope for the future. An even better hope is that sooner rather than later a cure is found for psoriasis.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The PlaquePsoriasis.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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