Happy Holidays

It has been a few months since my last post. I was not planning to post, but i was told that i needed to post something even if it was just a simple greeting. i doubt there are many people hanging on any word that i say, but i will will put something up. so, here it is.

as for me physically, tehre is not much to report. i still have tingling. it is erratic and not as bad as it was. i have been getting some mild headaches, but nothing too severe. the worst thing has been my intestines. i am unable to take medication that helped calm my intestines due to my tumor. i have to be very strategic when i am out. i have to know where the bathrooms are at all times. it could be much worse. i am blessed.

i have to say that i am not sad that this year is coming to a close. it was probably the worst year of my life. there were so many changes that took place. it is my hope that this new year is a much better one. it would be difficult to beet 2008. i wish everyone Happy Holidays! Stay warm and positive.

Happy Labor Day Weekend

today i spent most of the day walking the fair. i did not go last year. it was nice to be back. i logged numerous hours eating, smelling and people watching. the fair is a fabulous place to people watch. such a wonderful mixture of people. although going to the fair is fun, it does conjure up memories of my first job as a dishwasher at the pancake house. i should have been the cook, but the job was stolen from me by my best friend Wade. :) i digress, i ate too much fried food. i have to say that pork chop on a stick is delicious! my feet and body are terribly dirty and sore. i am going to chill the rest of the night because my extremities are retaining water. :)

on to the medical stuff. i got the results back from my CT scan. they were negative. Dr. Parry did say that i may still have or could get sarcoidosis for it may not show up on the scan. i guess that is good, but i am still experiencing tingling. they do not know what is going on. the more i spend with doctors the more i see that they are just making educated guesses based on experience. oh well. they will continue to monitor me. i am supposed to check in if anything changes.

i hope you all have a happy labor day

More Tests and Monitoring

well, there is a bit to tell you all. on Tuesday, i played basketball for the first time in 4 months. that was interesting. not that i had skills before the surgery, but whatever i did have has gone along with my cardio. i am so out of shape. biking just does not get it done. well, the rate of speed that i bike is not getting it done. my shot was terrible and my dribbling was off. i have to say i had a great time. i am looking forward to next week

yesterday, i had my appointment with Dr. Parry. his nursing staff were entertaining and funny. Dr. Parry is a kind gentleman and is an international authority in MS and neuropathy. it sounded like he was from Australia or New Zealand, but the accent was so slight. he was exceptionally thorough. i did dexterity tests, hand eye tests, cogitative tests and walking tests. he spent over an hour with me. after all of that, he does not believe i have neuropathy or MS. he wants to check to see if i have Sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis is a disease of unknown origin that cause the formation of nodules/lesions in the lungs, liver salivary glands and lymph glands. my uncle died of complications associated with sarcoidosis. i had a CT scan today (which was quite easy and quick). although it may not show up on the CT scan, it does not mean that i do not have it. so, he will continue to monitor me. the monitoring will somewhat mirror what they are doing with the tumor. i am so glad that i do not have to do a spinal tap. oh the simple pleasures. :)

Have a wonderful weekend. i will let you know if my hoopin' skills return. stay tuned......

OOOOOPS!

i thought that i was supposed to meet with Dr. Perry on Friday of last week. boy, was i wrong. i had the fortune of having another MRI done instead. my visit with Dr. Perry is this Thursday.

i have to say that i do not mind having a MRI. i find it exceptionally relaxing, minus the dye being injected into my veins and the clicking and banging noise. i was in the machine for approximately 45 minutes. waiting to be seen and waiting for the images to be printed took at least an hour.

i am looking forward to my visit with Dr. Perry. i truly hope he will be able to shed light on what is going on. we shall see

Under the Weather

my crohn's has raised its ugly head again. i have been home the last few days struggling for normalcy. i have had a nausea, severe headache and a slight fever. i have never had this wonderful trifecta. i have a doctors appointment.we will see if they can let me know what is going on. i highly doubt it. also, i have an appointment with my new neurologist tomorrow. i hope he can tell me what is going on with the tingling.we shall see.

Sorry for the Delay

i want to apologize for neglecting my blog. i do not know what to tell people. i plan to update teh blog every time i meet with a phsician. i am sure that will be every few months or so. if something else happens around my health, i plan to post it. i have to admit that i am feeling much better. i still have the tingling, but i feel about 89% myself. i plan to play basketball next week. that will be intersting. we shall see

i finally have an appointment to see Dr. Perry. i will see him on July 31st. he is teh head of the neurology department at the university of minnesota. he specializes in ms and neuropathy (sp). now i am working on getting all of my MRI photos to give to him. at least i have my entire file from Dr. Dahlquist.

i am also attempting to schedule my MRI follow up. that has been quite intersting. they were supposed to have that scheduled a long time ago. i called and they said someone would call me back, but they have not. i need to call them again today to see when it will be. crazy!

Stuck @ the Doctors

Last week was a week full of doctor's appointments. i finally met with the cardiologist. i also had an appointment with my neurologist. i am growing tired of visiting them.

the cardiologist told me nothing i did not already know. i new i had a slow heart rate, which he confirmed. it was interesting seeing the rhythm of my heart beat and when it spiked and dropped. it did drop a few times or skipped a beat once or twice during the night. it was cool seeing how it would go up if i exerted myself.

Friday, i spent almost the entire afternoon in the doctor's office. he was running 2 hours late! At least i ran into an old family friend and was able to get caught up with her while we both waited to see him. once i got into the back room, he made me wait for an additional hour. i understand people running late, but his bedside manner is terrible. he is a brilliant guy and does care for me and his other patients, but he does not know how to convey information in a warm way. he stated that he is concerned that i am still having numbness. he ordered additional blood tests. when i have my next MRI, he wants them to take photos of my lumbar. he believes i may have a swollen/inflamed spinal cord. that is difficult to see on a MRI. they took an image of that before, but he said that it might not have shown up and he has seen that happen before. he is worried that it might be ms, myelitis or neuropathy. he is going to refer me to the head of neurology at the University of Minnesota to continue my care. i will see him whenever i can get an appointment. He does not want me to use the drugs that my GI doctor wanted me to take. that is a relief for i did not want to take them. i would have to have a lot of blood drawn and it might adversely affect my liver. i do not need any other problems