Dripping Shit, the plumber's tale

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, there came a dripping at the ceiling's tile. Right. Enough Poe, I agree.

So about six months ago, I found a small water-stain in my living room ceiling, about the size of a nickel. It looked old, so I ignored it, and then finally painted it over. No big deal. Or so I thought. Hadn't heard anything since.

A week-and-a-half ago, I was sitting in my living room, watching TV. Anyway, I was having at the time a bout of Montezuma's Revenge. I had to have another bout of it, so I went to the bathroom. Being a creature of habit, I went upstairs to use mine as opposed to the guest unit. I conducted the affairs of state, and returned to the TV and I kept hearing a drip noise. Slow but steady and it finally stopped without me being able to locate it. I swore it was coming from above but that made no sense, so I assumed it was the drain pan in the fridge, which I checked but that wasn't it. Then I noticed, after a second bout of the Revenge, a spot on the ceiling in the same space.

Realization hit. Measurement confirmed it. It was directly under the upstairs toilet. Flush = drip. The plumber came today and said it was probably the seal under the toilet and he'd replace that, but the only way to be sure it was fixed was to rip out the ceiling and check everything. I was opposed to that option based on the destruction it would cause. So we replaced the seal (2-1/2 hours and $270). No we're waiting to see if that fixes it or not. I'll be honest, I'm skeptical right now. I keep hearing this drip noise every 5 or 6 minutes but I've only been able to hear it -- not see it. I know where to look though so I keep checking. Pray for me.