What the Hell Is Wrong With That Boy?
Thursday, December 4, 2025
I’m overwhelmed by the medical information I’ve been receiving over the past week. All of it is fascinating, but it doesn’t stop my coughing. I try to emphasize the importance of my coughing fits, but new information raises additional issues, and now I feel the medical team has lost interest and would rather focus on the latest shiny details about what makes me ill.
After two months of intense coughing, my body is pretty beaten up. The cough monster has not spared any muscle in my body, and it seems to have a passion for bringing its cough magic just as I try to fall asleep at night. I remain in bed, hoping to pass out, but eventually I have to get up and go to the living room. It seems I have something beyond GERD. For most people, they cough up acid or bits and pieces of food, but for me, it is just coughing—along with night sweats and the rapid loss of weight. As I write, I’m 140 pounds; a month ago, I was 148 pounds. I never gain weight; I only lose it.
My mood these past two months has been pretty good. I have distanced myself from my body, in which it becomes a YouTube episode. It seems I’m entering the world of anemia. I feel like a war child from wartime France or England. On my typical day, I feel dizzy and exhausted. There are moments of normalcy, and that is when I’m on my laptop. I talked to good friends last night in a Zoom call. Throughout the meeting, I felt great, even… normal. The meeting was set up a week ago, and I really looked forward to this group chat. My voice was strong, and I didn’t cough in front of the computer screen. If you were there, you would think I’m a healthy lad.
But what the hell is wrong with that boy? I had a CTI scan, and a procedure where a camera goes down the throat, and other tests. And I also took the ultimate blood work test, and I’m still getting reports on that session. More and more questions, more specialists, and, of course, through the health system, there is always the two-week wait for answers.
Oddly enough, I’m not bummed out by all of this. Life kicks sand in your face, and you get up and wash your face.
I'm sorry to hear about your health issues. I also had tummy issues in the past few months and my doctor put me on a low dose anti-acid reflux for the whole month, and it did improve a great deal. I lost 18 pounds because I was not eating much. I was associating food with pain. His advice was eating small portions especially at night (4 hours before going to bed). I'm managing it now. Maybe you need to talk to a dietician too. Sending you positive thoughts.
I'm sorry to hear you're going through this curious patch of health issues, Tosh. I'll keep you in my thoughts for a resolution soon.