If it's not one thing it's another, but it's ALWAYS something!

Hang in there. These days it always seems they make a bigger deal out of things than they should... It's called "CYA". (NO, not "YMCA"!)

Back from DR - again

Well, here's the scoop:

I have a tumor on my spine. :0

I just read the MRI to my nurse friend and she mildly freaked when I got to this part:

"There is an intradural extramedullary mass projecting in the left side of the neural canal, extending from the level of C7-T1 down to the level of T1-T2. This mass measures 9 x 15 mm in maximal transverse diameter and 17 mm along its superior-inferior direction. There is approximately 50% compromise of the spinal canal with marked displacement of the cervical cord to the right."

So I have an appt with a neurosurgeon and the soonest I could get in is May 15th. :(

I'll try to relax and not think about it until then. Yeah, right!

The surgeon said I have a schwannoma on C7. I gotta tell you, I laughed at that one!! All I could think of was a schwantz!! ROTFLMFAO!

7DEEZ

7DEEZ

OK, I can relax...a little

I just spoke w/the DR's office and they said the (1 of 3) MRI showed an "abnormality in my spine" which could be causing my arm pain so they want me to see a neurosurgeon ASAP.

PHEW!!

Not anything with the lymph node. I can relax now. Bones are easy, lymphatic systems are not. :D

Is it time to panic yet?

OK, it's not bad enough that I got a message from the surgeon's office to "discuss the results of my test" but my Primary Care physicaican just called ast 8:30 p.m. to talk with me and ask me if I needed her help finding a specialist!!!

So what do I do when I'm stressed? I EAT!! Fkk this $hit...give me chocolate!

I slept until noon today...

Oh my gosh!!

I am going nutso around here!

Apparently, my DR ordered THREE MRI's!! So after the second one yesterday--which, by the way, I didn't get out of until after 6:30--I was asked to come back on Monday at 5:45!! The technician told me that I'd have to lay in a weird position for about 45 minutes so he thought he'd give me a break and asked me to come back on Monday. Probably asked me to come back since he didn't want to do it & there were MORE people waiting.

OH BROTHER!

I just gor back from the Ultrasound and ONE MRI!!

Apparently, whoever scheduled it didn't write that I needed two MRI's, so the guy thought I could wait until after his next patient. Apparently, MRI's are popular today so he asked if I could come back at 5:45!! It's a beautiful day & the kids got home at 2:30 & I'd like to spend SOME time with them!

Anyway after the Ultrasound, the technician had the radiologist look at the films & she said that it looks like a cyst on my lymph node. :( Or something with my lymph node, which is what the surgeon thought & why he ordered the MRI's.

Guess I'd better start researching lymph nodes...

Back from doctor

I'm back from my rheumatologist's appt.

She has a new fellow, so it took s while, which is good. :) She asked lots of questions & found the lump under my arm. Luckily, I remembered that Elmhurst gave me a copy of the x-rays on a CD so I took it with me & gave it to her.

The DR opened it, then requested copies of the reports from all my tests. She came back into the room and said:

Tell your surgeon that your rheumatologist wants that lump removed right away!

So I told her that he said it'd probably have to come out but he didn't want to do any surgery until he saw more, hence the Ulterasound & MRI this afternoon. Then she said, "Just take it out & send it to pathology. That's why they're there!"

My response: Um...OK...

Then she said:

Sjogren's & Lymphoma go hand-in-hand (WHAT??!?), so you need to have this diagnosed right away!

Um...OK?

She said not to worry since they have very good treatments now for lymphoma & leukemia.

So she left the room & I thought that I'd better call Park & tell him. Lymphoma??

Before I could turn on my cell phone, she came back. Then she asked me if I've been losing weight. And I said "Well, no actually I've been gaiaing" and she said "THAT'S GOOD!!"

Since when is THAT GOOD? I asked. She said that if I'm gaining then I don't have Lymphoma.

Um...OK

She then got copies of the reports and said, "I'm UNWORRIED". yes, she said UNWORRIED!

Um...OK?

It's not lymphoma.

PHEW!!

She thinks I either pulled a tendon or have a cyst on my tendon. Then she said that she already diagnosed the osteo-arthritis in my neck--where was I for that one??--and that's what she thinks he's seeing in my x-rays & what he'll see in today's MRI.

But she wants to be copied on the reports. No problem, I was going to anyway. Oh, and I have to TRIPLE my daily Iron intake--which will put me @ 1,000 mgs! Blood count was way too low.

So PHEW!!

Wonder how high my blood pressure jumped for THAT one??!?

SNAFU

...so what else is new?

I've had the worst PMS of my life for the past 11 days now.

I didn't sleep last night.

Haven't been sleeping at night since I'm too hot, even with the A/C on.

MRI & Ultrasound for left arm are tomorrow afternoon and I get to see my rheumatologist tomorrow morning. I haven't seen her since before the pain got unbearable.

I'm going back to bed.

Back from DR

not good news

ordered an MRI asap...and ultrasound

probably need to see a neurologist since my arm's getting weaker

said i have nodules in my left lung & dense masses in my left breast which weren't there before

said i'll probably need surgery to remove the lump in mt armpit but he says it's deeper than he originally thought & he doesn't want to go in w/o knowing more. still doesn't think it's the underlying cause of arm pain. :(

also said no exercising--at least my left arm

although both he & my regular DR say it's not cancer since that wouldn't shown up in blood tests months ago

:((

I think that today's workout was the most painful I've ever had. I mean, I was actually crying during the downward & upward dogs. And I've done PHH Stretch hundreds of time, so it's not like it's a new routine for me. I tell ya, if they don't figure out what's wrong with my arm soon, I'm just going to take myself to the ER!

SOS

Arm still hurts...no word from DR

Can I get an "OH BROTHER"??

Well, my stress level is up again. :(

Went to the hospital for the "deeper" mammogram and she took more than ten different x-rays, mostly with the paddle. No it doesn't hurt--it only hurts if you're flat-chested. ;)

Anyway, after having been in there an hour and ten x-rays later, she came back and told me that they need to do an ultra-sound now but they couldn't do it right then so they have to send a letter to my DR to tell him that they couldn't get deep enough with the x-ray so they suggest the ultra-sound for which he has to write an order, then I have to schedule it!

Can I get an OH BROTHER?!?!?

*ROLLS EYES*

So they had both tests scheduled for today until yesterday, when one location called to cancel to tell me that they couldn't perform the procedure at that site so they had to reschedule it at the hospital. OH BROTHER! The test I had this morning was a CT scan with IV contrast and I think the contrast didn't agree with me since I felt queasy and light-headed before lunch. Of course that could have been from not eating, too.

I have to wait until Wednesday for the secod test, but the DR may call me before then to order an MRI if the CT scan doesn't show anything.