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Went to see the oncologist today about the "spot" on my pancreas. It is…GONE! All is clear.
He thinks it may have been something left over from my last surgery because the pancreas is underneath the stomach when they do the CT scan so it could have actually been there instead of the pancreas. But, anyhow, dodged the bullet. I won’t have to worry afterall.
Thanks for all the good wishes everybody. I’m positive they were instrumental in this great outcome.
That’s GREAT news. Congratulations.
Similar thing happened to Don and I.
Don had a bleeding ulcer which was discovered before he was to have a gastric bypass. He went for the follow-up a couple of months after treatment and they saw "something" and sent him to UAB hospital in Birmingham which was 3 hours away for a special colonoscopy. Turns out it was nothing but scar tissue.
I have an adrenal gland tumor they discovered in 2000. No surgery unless it causes problems or gets to 4cm and now it’s around 2-2.5. I moved from Chicago to Alabama and the first CT scan I had here to check it the doc said I had a tumor on my kidney and was sending me to a urologist. First I know a urologist is NOT for a kidney problem, I’d go to a nephrologist. I picked up the report for the scan and it didn’t say anyting about the adrenal tumor so I called the hospital and spoke with radiology and had them re-read the scan. Same report so I called my doc and demanded to see him. I told him I didn’t believe this was my scan and wanted it repeated at another facility. He had another radiologist read it and he went to look at it. Turns out it was the adrenal gland tumor. In the mean time I sent the disc with the scan to my old boss at the hospital in Chicago and he had the radiologist there read the scan and compare to my old ones. There was no change from previous scans to that one.
in radiologists. When I had the MRI before my sphinctectomy, it showed everything clear. Then, one week later they go in to do the surgery and find two huge gall stones stuck in the sphincter. The doctor told me they will no longer use that facility for their MRIs.
Oh, I forgot to mention, they also found a kidney stone but the oncologist told me I shouldn’t worry about it that it probably wouldn’t cause me any trouble. He said if I should get any pain in the back (by the kidneys) to investigate then.
Boy, we sound like two of a kind DeeLan. :o)
I’m sooo happy for you and it’s time you got some good news. I know what you mean about some of these docs. My mom’s GP told her she had a mass on her abdomen that looked like stomach cancer. Got the family all worried for weeks until she had an edoscopy that only showed a few gallstones.
That is such wonderful news — the spot is GONE! I believe that God answers prayers all the time. I am so happy for you!!!
Goody
I’m begining to think so. Could we be related in some way and not know it.
I had to doc appointments yesterday and Don had 1. When I was in the hospital for a hysterectomy in September I felt my heart beating out of my chest the morning I was to go home. They did an EKG and the surgeon called in an internist who said I was in Atrial Flutter. My heart rate was fluctuating between 110 and 195. The surgeon had me doing carotid massage on myself to slow down my rate and the internist kept coming in with good news. "you could throw a clot and have a stroke" "we think your having a heart attack". They finally called a cardioligost who I know from her being Don’s doc. She got another EKG and it was normal but they threw me in ICU and put in a PICC line to give me 2 meds and some blood since they stuck me 6 times and could only get 1 IV but needed 3 separate ones. I went home the next day and my regular doc ordered a 30 day event monitor. I sent over 2 events the first week but they were normal. I was just panicking when I felt anything odd. Two days before I took the monitor back I felt my heart beating out of my chest and then it would feel like my heart actually flipped over and the next beat felt like it was in my upper abdomen and when I checked my pulse I’d skip a beat when that happened. My attending only got the first 2 events but not he third. He did feel I needed to see the cardiologist so I went yesterday. Should also say 3 months ago my attending heard a murmur but a 2D echo was normal. The cardiologist called the lab and got my third event and said I was having extra beats or PVC’s which start in the ventricle which is the lower part of the heart and normal beats start in the atrium or upper part. That’s why my heart feels like it’s flipping. She’s starting me on Cardizem.
Don’s appointment was with her also and he’s back in his Atrial Flutter so the med they put him on after the cardioversion last year didn’t do it’s job. He’s now on Digoxin which is a lot more affordable. The Multaq he was on put him into the donut hole last month and it’s a $250+ med so we pay out of pocket. The Digoxin is $3.60 out of pocket so we like that.
I also had to see an orthopedic surgeon because my knees lock and I can’t bend or straighten them. This can happen during the day and I cry trying to sit or stand. Walking is stiff legged and I look like Frankenstein. It also wakes me up at night. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis but the Rheumatologist said the knees is OA not RA which I knew I had severe arthritis from an ortho guy in Chicago who repaired a torn cartilage. The Ortho guy yesterday said my knees don’t straighen all the way and did an x-ray. He came back and said i don’t have cancer so I have choices. Bilateral knee replacements or shots. he said the shots will tide me over but knee replacements are in my future as I have no cartilage left. The reason my legs don’t straighten all the way is because there’s no cartilage in the back at all. I asked about that synthetic synovial fluid they an inject but he said it is used to build up the cartilage so you actually need cartilage for it to work and since I don’t have any it’s useless. He called it ‘end stage arthritis’.
So, I had injections in both knees yesterday. All in all it was a very fun day, NOT.
I think both our parents got "lemons" when we were born!!! (Look how many things we’ve had alike, like the sphincter spasms…how many people have stuff like that?)
Why is it that some people go their whole lives without things like we’ve had yet we seem to get everything you can think of? It’s becoming really embarassing how many stupid adverse medical things happen to me. (Cripes, I’ve had 20 surgeries in my life.) I told the doctor yesterday I feel like my friends may think I’m a hypochondriac but he said, no, you can’t fake the stuff you’ve had. I don’t get things like colds and flu and stuff, I get things like cancer, cardiac problems, ulcer perferations, and insignificant stuff like that. <groan> I tell ya, someone’s really tryin’ to kill me. :o)
As for the PVCs, I’ve had them for years, since my cardiac by-pass surgery. My cardiologist also found a slight murmer which I never knew I had. He told me not to worry about either of them because he will monitor them. No meds or anything. I think it depends on how severe they are. Sometime mine feel like someone hit me on the back with a baseball bat, not painful but it feels like that. I only had atrial fib. badly once when my pulse hit 220. That really scared me and I went by ambulance to the ER. But by the time I got there, it was down to 120. My normal is around 60. I kid you not, the last time I went to the ER, the triage nurse remembered my name!!!
My DIL has the same problem with her knees and she’s only 50. She has no insurance so can’t get surgery. My good friend’s husband just had both his knees replaced very successfully but it was a long recovery. He said he’d rather suffer having them both done at the same time than have to go through it twice. You should consider it because I’ve known several people (including my mom) who had great success and wished they’d done it sooner.
I’m in the process of losing weight so I want to get down about 100 lbs so the recovery is easier for the knee surgery.
I worked with patients who’d had joint replacements and none of them had any problems or complications but Don’s mom had a knee replacement in 2002. She was in PT and couldn’t get her leg up to get on the bicycle so the therapist got snippy and was going to show her how to do it and bumped into her knocking her down. The incision burst open and the docs decided to leave it open to heal from the inside. She quickly got an infection that they couldn’t get rid of. In and out of the hospital on IV antibiotics to be released then back again in a week with another infection and more antibiotics. This went on for months and they decided to remove the joint thinking she was rejecting it. Infections continued and they felt it was in the bone so they amputated above the knee to get rid of it. Infections continued and they wanted to amputate to the hip. She was also needing a valve replacement but they couldn’t do it with the infection going on In 2006 she passed away and they said the cause was MRSA.
I know the replacement wasn’t the cause of the infection but it was the catalyst so that’s in the back of my mind. Don of course is turned off by the mention of a replacement but says if it’s me not walking without extreme pain he’ll support me. I don’t feel I’m at that point yet. I picture people needing replacements are using assistive devices such as cane or walker but I’m not there, just stiffness and discomfort. Or maybe it’s been going on so long I’m use to it.
I’m 53 and talked to great lengths with the surgeon about the joints they use and their life expectency. They use to last only 5-10 years so they waited until you were 60 before considering replacements. Then they got the joints to last longer so they moved it to the 50’s. Now they set the age down to 50 and have done some in the 40’s because the new joints last 40 years.
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