It all started around the age of 18, one morning after I awoke from staying at a friend’s house. We were Planning a trip to Sydney as I was going to be a model for her photography assignment, however we had to make a detour, my friend had to stop multiple times on the way up due to me being physically sick. The vomiting got so bad she ended up dropping me off at St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney. The plan was for my parents to come and collect me from there.
While in the waiting area of the hospital, the lady at the reception desk noticed I wasn’t well, after all I did ask her for a bag or something I could vomit into. She ended up calling a nurse and I was wheeled into a room with a bed.
The doctors came and went, multiple blood tests, urine test, X-rays and more were performed and all came up normal. They put it down to a bad case of gastro and pumped me with fluids, then they sent me on my way home.
The next day I was tired, but fine. However, that didn’t last long. Every day I would wake up vomiting, and have absolutely no appetite. My parents were becoming worried as we had a family history of eating disorders and depression, so they took me to a doctor nearby for further testing.
The doctor I saw sent me for a test for Helicobactor Pylori (a bad stomach infection). The test involved me swallowing a special pill, waiting for around 10 minutes and then blowing air through a straw into a silver balloon. After sending it off for diagnosis, the results came back positive. I remember the doctor telling me if I had H.Pylori, the levels in my blood would be at 50. When reading the results, the levels I had were at 200. Luckily she seemed highly knowledgable about the infection. “A quick answer to this problem, that’s good” I thought to myself, as it was only 2 courses of strong antibiotics and self-care to get rid of this and be well again. If only I were to be so lucky.
Little did I know this was the start of something else. Something that won’t be cured with pills. Something that would really, (as little as I realised at the time of diagnosis) would change my life drastically.
A Chronic Mind; 