Dear Friend,
I slept till 11:00 this morning, I was really exhausted from yesterday. My daughter and I had to go see the doctor and that took up the bulk of the day. She drank a lot of water, for her, last night and today, so they were able to get blood samples for testing from her this time. My MRI was in and I didn't follow it all, but it basically said that my shoulder is all the heck messed up and I do have a tumor there. This is probably part of,the pain since it is likely pressing on nerves, etc. The report says it may be a lipoma, but I suspect it's probably one of the fibrous/fatty tissue tumors the Ehlers-Danlos creates. My doc doesn't know other doctors here so I going to have to look for a physical therapist and a prolotherapist and she'll call,them to vet them. I also still have to find a foot doctor. She tested me today for uric acid to see if I could have gout. She looked over my original blood work as she went over my adrenal glands test results and found that my dhea is all messed up. There was a whole lot foot in my blood, but almost none in the salivary test, which is the most accurate. So apparently my dhea supplement is not getting metabolized correctly, which is another thing that causes fatigue. And my cortisol is going up in the evening which is part of the problem with not being able to go to sleep.
We went to see the Stephen Hawkings movie tonight and it is definitely worth the money and the two hours.
I got no work done today, didn't even get the dishes done tonight. But we don't have to go anywhere or do anything tomorrow, so I'm planning on being all kinds of efficient!
Oh, my doctor called the dysautonomia clinic in nyc today to set up an appointment for me since her staff had not taken care of it, as I was pretty sure they didn't. Sweet, sweet young women. But they are not good at the business end of their jobs. Oh, I can get saline infusions with B vitamin panels and B-12 weekly for $75. I already get a certain. Number of treatments free because I paid the money and signed up to be a functional medicine patient. So, I'll have to get that all figured out.
Oh, and she says that the awful weakness I had Thanksgiving is because I ate the oatmeal with almond milk ... Both of which I am very allergic to now. So I was having an immune system crisis. Good to understand at least!
Cheers!
Lisa
Friday, November 28, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Day 207 - Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Friend,
Today ran a pretty full gamut ... gamet ... hmmmm. Spell check has no comment on either. I'm going to go with gamut of feelings
First, getting up at 5:30 was awful!
Second, the train was late! Not only that, but apparently the senior engineers had the day off and this was a newbie because he stopped the train too,soon and we had to walk a bit to it, which was kind of funny.
Three, we took a cab to the building from where we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. New experience, kind of fun, a little boring. I had some oatmeal while I was there and maybe I am allergic to it because I felt weak and not great afterwards, almost like I had net eaten anything. We left and it was snowing and so my daughter and husband decided to walk to Grand Central. I didn't object because I knew how much they were enjoying it, but my blood pressure dropped and my blood sugar dropped and I literally barely made it to the train. Police officers were checking everyone's tickets and one of them saw my face and looked real concerned and asked if I was ok. I was awful. We got hme and I ate two packages of Pirate's Bootie because it had more salt than potato chips and went to sleep.
For dinner we went to a really nice restaurant right on the Hudson and had a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
And now, it's time for the complaints.
1. My arm is killing me. I did have the MRI finally on Wednesday at least
2. On the same arm I now have an infection where they removed that place on my arm and it hurts.
3. My toe is killing me. I haven't even told you about it, have I? I think it's trying to die or something. I have a referral to a podiatrist, I just haven't made the appointment yet.
Tomorrow begins my next round of How Do I Improve My Life contemplations. If I don't finish my study tomorrow I'm going to go crazy!
If I don't pick out my hall chandeliers tomorrow I'm going to go crazy!
I want to pull up one box of Christmas and do just the tiniest bit of decorating.
Till then. I hope you had a delightful day. And ... may I add that we have got to be clamoring for a true investigation of what happened in Ferguson and a full disclosure. I think a lot of white people are as upset about this as black people are. I almost had it out with a woman on a friend's post today!
Cheers!
Lisa
Today ran a pretty full gamut ... gamet ... hmmmm. Spell check has no comment on either. I'm going to go with gamut of feelings
First, getting up at 5:30 was awful!
Second, the train was late! Not only that, but apparently the senior engineers had the day off and this was a newbie because he stopped the train too,soon and we had to walk a bit to it, which was kind of funny.
Three, we took a cab to the building from where we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. New experience, kind of fun, a little boring. I had some oatmeal while I was there and maybe I am allergic to it because I felt weak and not great afterwards, almost like I had net eaten anything. We left and it was snowing and so my daughter and husband decided to walk to Grand Central. I didn't object because I knew how much they were enjoying it, but my blood pressure dropped and my blood sugar dropped and I literally barely made it to the train. Police officers were checking everyone's tickets and one of them saw my face and looked real concerned and asked if I was ok. I was awful. We got hme and I ate two packages of Pirate's Bootie because it had more salt than potato chips and went to sleep.
For dinner we went to a really nice restaurant right on the Hudson and had a delicious Thanksgiving meal.
And now, it's time for the complaints.
1. My arm is killing me. I did have the MRI finally on Wednesday at least
2. On the same arm I now have an infection where they removed that place on my arm and it hurts.
3. My toe is killing me. I haven't even told you about it, have I? I think it's trying to die or something. I have a referral to a podiatrist, I just haven't made the appointment yet.
Tomorrow begins my next round of How Do I Improve My Life contemplations. If I don't finish my study tomorrow I'm going to go crazy!
If I don't pick out my hall chandeliers tomorrow I'm going to go crazy!
I want to pull up one box of Christmas and do just the tiniest bit of decorating.
Till then. I hope you had a delightful day. And ... may I add that we have got to be clamoring for a true investigation of what happened in Ferguson and a full disclosure. I think a lot of white people are as upset about this as black people are. I almost had it out with a woman on a friend's post today!
Cheers!
Lisa
Monday, November 24, 2014
Day 210 - Not Surprisingly, This was Not a Good Day
Feeling pretty sick. Called the vet this afternoon. She was shocked and horrified that Stella died. It seems like she made a couple of bad judgment calls treating her, which just hurts. She says that Stella's stomach didn't feel bloated and that it did not seem to be painful when she examined it. She did listen to her and heard nothing alarming, but admitted that you can't hear a tortion. She took some blood and commented that her blood was thick and hard to get out and kind of clumpy. Now ... Don't you think that should have alarmed her? Stella could have been given anti-clotting medicine. She said her blood was like that because she was dehydrated, but I looked at the report and she wasn't seriously dehydrated. Also, her weight was normal. For the dehydration she talked about sending her to an emergency hospital for the weekend. I could only imagine what that would cost and was hesitant about it. So she took Stella to the back and came back and said they were going to do saline injections under her skin that would be absorbed by her body, taking care of the dehydration. She mentioned that she had suggested getting IV therapy at the hospital and I said yes, but then she came back out and said she had decided to do saline injections so I assumed that she had decided that that was enough. She agreed that she had thought it would be enough.
A blood clot fits everything better than anything else. So I was researching blood clots in dogs, and it turns out that pancreatitis causes blood clots. So, maybe she was right with her diagnosis of pancreatitis and blood clots didn't occur to her.
But another thing I noticed was that her RBC count and her hemoglobin levels were too high. That opens up a whole other set of problems that she may have had. Another thing is that she was regurgitating, not vomiting, the fluids. I didn't know there was a difference, but there is. Vomiting is heaving and all of what we usually associate with vomiting. Regurgitating is just -- poof! -- out it comes , sometimes surprising the dog as much as you. Stella definitely was not vomiting because she would throw u in the room without us even knowing until we saw her. What I read is that this usually indicates a problem with the esophagus ornate sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach.
I'm not a doctor, or a vet. But give me one area and I am able to research it into the ground until I figure it out. I don't know how far I'll follow this. But I would really like to better understand. I've read several things about what to do with acute vomiting of mucous and fluids, and we did exactly what everything says.
It hurts so bad. I'm not angry with the vet. You can't think of everything all the time. But if she had let Stella's thick, clumpy blood make her think of a blood thinner or anti-clot or anti-coagulation medicine, we might have this sweet puppy still.
I was pretty much a basket case last night. I was hiding from the pain as hard as I could. I got up after a while and went down and just got online on my husband's computer and looked for things I need for the house still. I think he woke up and came and got me around 2:00 am.
I held together better today. I thought of Jesus saying, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ..." and I thought that this sort of thirsting should impact how I live each day. So I tried to live the day more purposefully and less aimlessly and to let grieving undermine me less than it did the day before.
But our daughter was very upset today. Her computer quit working, her phone is broken, and her dog was dead and it was just too much for her, so I had to get her out of the house. We found a place in our village that fixes Macs, so we took hers there. The we got some chips and cokes at a shop and sat outside in the nice weather. Then we found an AT&T and tried to get her number out on an old phone of mine, but it turned out it was too old and it couldn't be made to work somehow. And then I learned that she erased everything on it!! I had a ton of pictures on it! Aaaargh.
We went into the most darling hardware store where she got paint samples for fixing up the room that will be her studio in the basement. Then we got coffee at a coffee shop right there. And then we drove out to a Sherwin Williams where she looked at paint samples. Got caught in AWFUL traffic coming home because of, apparently, a big wreck that they had set up a big detour around. Finally got home and made a crazy good shrimp and bacon dinner salad with some gluten-free baguettes. And now I'm in bed, and it's not even 11:00!
I'm getting this place cut off my arm FINALLY tomorrow! Thank goodness.
I was determined to pick out the new light fixtures I am putting up in our two hallways. I absolutely HATE what they have. Some sort of low-voltage, hideous things. I also need to pick out the sconces and mirrors I'll be putting up in my bathroom after they wallpaper. I can't go overboard because I have four sconces and two mirrors. I'm using a woman's blog as a guide. I think it's called my frenchcountrycottage.
Well, that's it for me tonight. It was warm today and I REALLY needed to work outside, but I decided to take care of my daughter instead. It worked. She was much more cheerful when we got home and even helped me make dinner. I think it's supposed to be warm tomorrow, so she needs to be in a good mood because I'm working outside and getting my shed unloaded and reorganized and everything put u for the winter no matter what. I hope!
I'm never getting another Sheltie. Someone stole my first one when I was one month pregnant with our son. Absolutely broke my heart horribly. I got another Sheltie before he was born, a glorious bi-colored blue Merle, which means she was white and a shimmery gray. Just beautiful. Then she got two forms of cancer and, according to my vet, offed herself to protect her pack ... us. She disappeared one evening and I couldn't find her. A huge thunderstorm broke out and I gave up hope that she was alive. The next morning my son and I started going through a creek that ran around our property and I found her dead in the water at the bottom of a twelve foot cliff. I went completely hysterical and almost didn't ever get over that. I had my Jack Russell before she died, because I knew it would kill me when she died and so I had another dog in place to help me bear it. And then she went and died so horribly! But the Jack Russell was so wonderful and became our favorite family dog. We had her alone until the two wild puppies showed up, and then my husband told our daughter she could get a puppy for her 18th birthday and that's how Stella entered our hearts and our world.
Later.
Lisa
A blood clot fits everything better than anything else. So I was researching blood clots in dogs, and it turns out that pancreatitis causes blood clots. So, maybe she was right with her diagnosis of pancreatitis and blood clots didn't occur to her.
But another thing I noticed was that her RBC count and her hemoglobin levels were too high. That opens up a whole other set of problems that she may have had. Another thing is that she was regurgitating, not vomiting, the fluids. I didn't know there was a difference, but there is. Vomiting is heaving and all of what we usually associate with vomiting. Regurgitating is just -- poof! -- out it comes , sometimes surprising the dog as much as you. Stella definitely was not vomiting because she would throw u in the room without us even knowing until we saw her. What I read is that this usually indicates a problem with the esophagus ornate sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach.
I'm not a doctor, or a vet. But give me one area and I am able to research it into the ground until I figure it out. I don't know how far I'll follow this. But I would really like to better understand. I've read several things about what to do with acute vomiting of mucous and fluids, and we did exactly what everything says.
It hurts so bad. I'm not angry with the vet. You can't think of everything all the time. But if she had let Stella's thick, clumpy blood make her think of a blood thinner or anti-clot or anti-coagulation medicine, we might have this sweet puppy still.
I was pretty much a basket case last night. I was hiding from the pain as hard as I could. I got up after a while and went down and just got online on my husband's computer and looked for things I need for the house still. I think he woke up and came and got me around 2:00 am.
I held together better today. I thought of Jesus saying, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ..." and I thought that this sort of thirsting should impact how I live each day. So I tried to live the day more purposefully and less aimlessly and to let grieving undermine me less than it did the day before.
But our daughter was very upset today. Her computer quit working, her phone is broken, and her dog was dead and it was just too much for her, so I had to get her out of the house. We found a place in our village that fixes Macs, so we took hers there. The we got some chips and cokes at a shop and sat outside in the nice weather. Then we found an AT&T and tried to get her number out on an old phone of mine, but it turned out it was too old and it couldn't be made to work somehow. And then I learned that she erased everything on it!! I had a ton of pictures on it! Aaaargh.
We went into the most darling hardware store where she got paint samples for fixing up the room that will be her studio in the basement. Then we got coffee at a coffee shop right there. And then we drove out to a Sherwin Williams where she looked at paint samples. Got caught in AWFUL traffic coming home because of, apparently, a big wreck that they had set up a big detour around. Finally got home and made a crazy good shrimp and bacon dinner salad with some gluten-free baguettes. And now I'm in bed, and it's not even 11:00!
I'm getting this place cut off my arm FINALLY tomorrow! Thank goodness.
I was determined to pick out the new light fixtures I am putting up in our two hallways. I absolutely HATE what they have. Some sort of low-voltage, hideous things. I also need to pick out the sconces and mirrors I'll be putting up in my bathroom after they wallpaper. I can't go overboard because I have four sconces and two mirrors. I'm using a woman's blog as a guide. I think it's called my frenchcountrycottage.
Well, that's it for me tonight. It was warm today and I REALLY needed to work outside, but I decided to take care of my daughter instead. It worked. She was much more cheerful when we got home and even helped me make dinner. I think it's supposed to be warm tomorrow, so she needs to be in a good mood because I'm working outside and getting my shed unloaded and reorganized and everything put u for the winter no matter what. I hope!
I'm never getting another Sheltie. Someone stole my first one when I was one month pregnant with our son. Absolutely broke my heart horribly. I got another Sheltie before he was born, a glorious bi-colored blue Merle, which means she was white and a shimmery gray. Just beautiful. Then she got two forms of cancer and, according to my vet, offed herself to protect her pack ... us. She disappeared one evening and I couldn't find her. A huge thunderstorm broke out and I gave up hope that she was alive. The next morning my son and I started going through a creek that ran around our property and I found her dead in the water at the bottom of a twelve foot cliff. I went completely hysterical and almost didn't ever get over that. I had my Jack Russell before she died, because I knew it would kill me when she died and so I had another dog in place to help me bear it. And then she went and died so horribly! But the Jack Russell was so wonderful and became our favorite family dog. We had her alone until the two wild puppies showed up, and then my husband told our daughter she could get a puppy for her 18th birthday and that's how Stella entered our hearts and our world.
Later.
Lisa
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Day 211 - My Dog Died Today
Dear Friend,
my Sheltie died suddenly today. She threw up more water during the night so I called and got a 1:00 appt with my vet. She thought she had pancreatitis even though the blood work did not confirm it. She didn't do an X-ray. She said that my dog was severely dehydrated so she injected water under her skin for it to be absorbed slowly by her body. And she gave her a strong anti-nausea pill. She said she would sleep a lot from the pill. We brought her home and laid her on her bed in the den. She watched me while I mopped up her watery vomit which was everywhere. I had only covered it up with paper towels earlier ... I just couldn't deal with it at the time. I wasn't being super-solicitous because I thought she was just sick and that the dehydration was the most significant part of her problem and the skin injections would help with that, the anti-nausea med, would stop the vomiting, and the vet was having me change her diet to a lower fat one that wouldn't aggravate her pancreas. She said we could offer her food later in the evening, and could offer her water after a couple of hours, but that if she didn't take anything it was okay, because that would let her pancreas rest. After mopping everything and cleaning the mop and bucket, I was worn out and my torn up arm was hurting badly. So I went and laid down until my husband got home. We were supposed to go out to eat with our daughter and to a movie, but we decided we didn't want to be away from her that long. So we went to a burger place where I can eat in a nearby village (about ten minutes away) and then I ran into a grocery store very quickly for some things we needed for breakfast. We came back home and ... I'm a little confused, because I think I looked at my dog and she seemed to be panting. It was time to offer her water, so I went to get a plastic dish with some, but when I walked up to her, my daughter and I both realized that her eyes were glazed and her mouth seemed frozen. Had I imagined the panting, or did she die right then? She was laying on her bed and had not vomited or had diarrhea or anythingl. I picked her up and sat her in my lap and some gas gurgled up out of her mouth that smelled really bad. I desperately hoped the medicine had put her in a coma so I persuaded my husband to drive us to an emergency vet clinic. They told me that she was dead, but that there was a twist in her gut and they could hear the trapped air. Hat is supposed to be very painful, and the one time I had an intestine swell shut from a reaction, it was awful!! But she never seemed to be in pain. She just acted like she was sick and didn't feel well at all. The ER vet asked me if the vet x-rayed her and seemed dismayed when I told her that she had not. So I feel like she dropped the ball and failed to recognize what was happening and didn't do the simple test that would have told her. Or, the other possibility is that she died from the anti-nausea med, there have been some reports of that. Or, she could have died of shock, hypovolemic shock, where there is not a enough blood plasma. The vet said that her blood was very thick and dark when she took,some. So,it seems like she should have out her on an IV of saline or something.
I've been really badly torn up over losing her. She was probably the most beautiful sheltie you would have ever seen.
It hurts so bad. My daughter is using anger at the vet right now to offset her grief. I doubt that that will last her very long. I'm old enough to not be mad because I realize that people make mistakes in spite of their best intentions.
It's hard to put a pet you love into the cold ground, even if you do wrap her up in a blanket. At least it's not raining.
That's all for now.
Lisa
my Sheltie died suddenly today. She threw up more water during the night so I called and got a 1:00 appt with my vet. She thought she had pancreatitis even though the blood work did not confirm it. She didn't do an X-ray. She said that my dog was severely dehydrated so she injected water under her skin for it to be absorbed slowly by her body. And she gave her a strong anti-nausea pill. She said she would sleep a lot from the pill. We brought her home and laid her on her bed in the den. She watched me while I mopped up her watery vomit which was everywhere. I had only covered it up with paper towels earlier ... I just couldn't deal with it at the time. I wasn't being super-solicitous because I thought she was just sick and that the dehydration was the most significant part of her problem and the skin injections would help with that, the anti-nausea med, would stop the vomiting, and the vet was having me change her diet to a lower fat one that wouldn't aggravate her pancreas. She said we could offer her food later in the evening, and could offer her water after a couple of hours, but that if she didn't take anything it was okay, because that would let her pancreas rest. After mopping everything and cleaning the mop and bucket, I was worn out and my torn up arm was hurting badly. So I went and laid down until my husband got home. We were supposed to go out to eat with our daughter and to a movie, but we decided we didn't want to be away from her that long. So we went to a burger place where I can eat in a nearby village (about ten minutes away) and then I ran into a grocery store very quickly for some things we needed for breakfast. We came back home and ... I'm a little confused, because I think I looked at my dog and she seemed to be panting. It was time to offer her water, so I went to get a plastic dish with some, but when I walked up to her, my daughter and I both realized that her eyes were glazed and her mouth seemed frozen. Had I imagined the panting, or did she die right then? She was laying on her bed and had not vomited or had diarrhea or anythingl. I picked her up and sat her in my lap and some gas gurgled up out of her mouth that smelled really bad. I desperately hoped the medicine had put her in a coma so I persuaded my husband to drive us to an emergency vet clinic. They told me that she was dead, but that there was a twist in her gut and they could hear the trapped air. Hat is supposed to be very painful, and the one time I had an intestine swell shut from a reaction, it was awful!! But she never seemed to be in pain. She just acted like she was sick and didn't feel well at all. The ER vet asked me if the vet x-rayed her and seemed dismayed when I told her that she had not. So I feel like she dropped the ball and failed to recognize what was happening and didn't do the simple test that would have told her. Or, the other possibility is that she died from the anti-nausea med, there have been some reports of that. Or, she could have died of shock, hypovolemic shock, where there is not a enough blood plasma. The vet said that her blood was very thick and dark when she took,some. So,it seems like she should have out her on an IV of saline or something.
I've been really badly torn up over losing her. She was probably the most beautiful sheltie you would have ever seen.
It hurts so bad. My daughter is using anger at the vet right now to offset her grief. I doubt that that will last her very long. I'm old enough to not be mad because I realize that people make mistakes in spite of their best intentions.
It's hard to put a pet you love into the cold ground, even if you do wrap her up in a blanket. At least it's not raining.
That's all for now.
Lisa
Friday, November 21, 2014
Day 212 - Great Doctor's Appointment!
Dear Friend,
well, first off let me just say how glad I am that I did not go to the game! It was bitter cold and my husband says I would not have been able to handle it at all. He said something about the bleachers that I didn't quite catch, but he said he wound up standing almost the entire entire time, which wouldn't have worked at all. He ran into terrible traffic coming home and was really tired when he got here, but he got here safely.
I saw my doctor and got my prescription for Klonopin. Thank goodness, because today's was my last dose. With anxiety nipping at my heels so much, I'm glad I didn't have to go two days without it altogether.
But more importantly, she is referring me to that neurological disorders clinic in Manhattan. She also went over my food allergy tests, the one I told you abut that showed 52 things, and another one that tests a different response by the blood when exposed to something. If I understand right, the first one examines what a white blood cell does when it is exposed to some substance. Does it swell, does it change in someway, etc. the other tests if you actually produce IgG then exposed to something. Bear in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about here! Anyway, she showed me how the two tests completely contradicted each other on a whole lot of foods. And then she asked me to go through and mark the foods that I don't actually eat. And a ton of the foods I test as being very allergic to are foods I don't ever eat at all! So he can I be allergic to it? She said that she thinks i do stool have a leaky gut. Lemons and onions are both shown as being allergens, and she said those two things almost always mean a leaky gut because they break down tiny in digestion and so, if your villi are loose, these particles easily slip through and your body recognizes them as "stranger danger" and forms antibodies to attack them. So, the goal is to help the gut heal, which will cause the villi to tighten back up and not let food particles out into the body. So, she put me on some maximally heavy-duty probiotic and L-Glutamine ... I don't remember what that does. Let me see if I can find that real quick. Hmmm well, bunches of stuff. Anyway, the third one was really interesting because it is digestive enzymes. I'm supposed to take two or three with each meal and what it does is it enables yr body to digest the foods down to eensy-weensy (sorry for the technical, medical jargon!) pieces so that, even if they get out of the gut, will be so small that your body won't pick up on it and make antibodies and all of that. I forgot to ask, but I think this protocol goes on for about six months.
So, after looking through all the tests,,she said I can kiss dairy goodbye for the rest of my life. It just isn't coming back, period. I react too strongly to all of its components in every test. I can't remember what she said about eggs, but she said there is a faint possibility that I might be able to reintroduce wheat at some point. Slim to no chance ... but still, a possibility. So, for now, I am to completely eliminate all dairy, all grains including oats, corn, turkey ... and I can't remember the rest. But it was easily doable. I'm also scheduled to see their nutritionist next week.
We talked abut the saline IVs , and those are easily doable. No problem. I read some more about it as a treatment for dysautonomia and I found A LOT of stuff about using it to treat hypovolemia, the loss of blood volume. Down in Australia, though, they won't let you get it unless you are pretty much unconscious and have to go to the ER, and then they charge you $350 for a one-liter bag of salt water! I know this because I came across a blog by a woman down there who has an extremely funny, dark humor about dealing with dysautnomia. She captured so well the frustration of one day being fine, and the next day being barely able to function. She has two teenage sons and she said of them that each day she spins the personality wheel hoping it lands on just "sullen" and not on "spawn of Satan"! It made me laugh so hard.
I called my former doctor's office this morning to be sure they had faxed over the information they were supposed to since they hadn't sent it when I last went in. They told me they sent it on November 6, but the doctor didn't have it. I had hoped to go over the cortisol test, but we spent a much time on the allergies that there really wasn't times. But I asked the girls in the office about it. They are very sweet Korean girls, but none of them have any medical training and not much office training either. Because the office manager pulled out a big stack of papers and started going through it and finally found my test results at the bottom! Oh, boy. That's not good!
Well, that's it for me tonight, I hope you have a great weekend. I plan to lock myself in my study and not let myself out until it is finished!!
Lisa
well, first off let me just say how glad I am that I did not go to the game! It was bitter cold and my husband says I would not have been able to handle it at all. He said something about the bleachers that I didn't quite catch, but he said he wound up standing almost the entire entire time, which wouldn't have worked at all. He ran into terrible traffic coming home and was really tired when he got here, but he got here safely.
I saw my doctor and got my prescription for Klonopin. Thank goodness, because today's was my last dose. With anxiety nipping at my heels so much, I'm glad I didn't have to go two days without it altogether.
But more importantly, she is referring me to that neurological disorders clinic in Manhattan. She also went over my food allergy tests, the one I told you abut that showed 52 things, and another one that tests a different response by the blood when exposed to something. If I understand right, the first one examines what a white blood cell does when it is exposed to some substance. Does it swell, does it change in someway, etc. the other tests if you actually produce IgG then exposed to something. Bear in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about here! Anyway, she showed me how the two tests completely contradicted each other on a whole lot of foods. And then she asked me to go through and mark the foods that I don't actually eat. And a ton of the foods I test as being very allergic to are foods I don't ever eat at all! So he can I be allergic to it? She said that she thinks i do stool have a leaky gut. Lemons and onions are both shown as being allergens, and she said those two things almost always mean a leaky gut because they break down tiny in digestion and so, if your villi are loose, these particles easily slip through and your body recognizes them as "stranger danger" and forms antibodies to attack them. So, the goal is to help the gut heal, which will cause the villi to tighten back up and not let food particles out into the body. So, she put me on some maximally heavy-duty probiotic and L-Glutamine ... I don't remember what that does. Let me see if I can find that real quick. Hmmm well, bunches of stuff. Anyway, the third one was really interesting because it is digestive enzymes. I'm supposed to take two or three with each meal and what it does is it enables yr body to digest the foods down to eensy-weensy (sorry for the technical, medical jargon!) pieces so that, even if they get out of the gut, will be so small that your body won't pick up on it and make antibodies and all of that. I forgot to ask, but I think this protocol goes on for about six months.
So, after looking through all the tests,,she said I can kiss dairy goodbye for the rest of my life. It just isn't coming back, period. I react too strongly to all of its components in every test. I can't remember what she said about eggs, but she said there is a faint possibility that I might be able to reintroduce wheat at some point. Slim to no chance ... but still, a possibility. So, for now, I am to completely eliminate all dairy, all grains including oats, corn, turkey ... and I can't remember the rest. But it was easily doable. I'm also scheduled to see their nutritionist next week.
We talked abut the saline IVs , and those are easily doable. No problem. I read some more about it as a treatment for dysautonomia and I found A LOT of stuff about using it to treat hypovolemia, the loss of blood volume. Down in Australia, though, they won't let you get it unless you are pretty much unconscious and have to go to the ER, and then they charge you $350 for a one-liter bag of salt water! I know this because I came across a blog by a woman down there who has an extremely funny, dark humor about dealing with dysautnomia. She captured so well the frustration of one day being fine, and the next day being barely able to function. She has two teenage sons and she said of them that each day she spins the personality wheel hoping it lands on just "sullen" and not on "spawn of Satan"! It made me laugh so hard.
I called my former doctor's office this morning to be sure they had faxed over the information they were supposed to since they hadn't sent it when I last went in. They told me they sent it on November 6, but the doctor didn't have it. I had hoped to go over the cortisol test, but we spent a much time on the allergies that there really wasn't times. But I asked the girls in the office about it. They are very sweet Korean girls, but none of them have any medical training and not much office training either. Because the office manager pulled out a big stack of papers and started going through it and finally found my test results at the bottom! Oh, boy. That's not good!
Well, that's it for me tonight, I hope you have a great weekend. I plan to lock myself in my study and not let myself out until it is finished!!
Lisa
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Day 213 - 37th Wedding Anniversary!
Dear Friend,
37 years have gone by since I married my husband. 37 years with more pain and heartbreak packed in them than we could have imagined. I don't thnk, I know, that I could not have survived them without him holding me. There has been great joy and happiness throughout the years as well, joy that the two of yours have always shared. Life is long, life is short, but it always has the same end. I only hope that at my end, I am in his arms.
I am having a pretty good panic attack right now. He will be going to Pennsylvania tomorrow to see our girls play in the NCAA and expected me to go with him. Last I remember, tough, was hm saying he had to check his schedule to see if henhouse get away, and then I forgot all about it. I'm pretty worn t right now from the game last Sunday and all the work getting ready for the luncheon ... was that only yesterday?? And then handling the furniture being delivered and a lot of work that had to be done for that. Plus I have a 1:00 doctor's appointment and I have to get my klonopin refilled then. And I'm just sometimes. Didn't get much sleep,last night. But I hate to disappoint him and I want to be with hm land mosylunimeorrynaboutnhm being on the road by himself. Whch of curse means I am saying that he has to have me with him to be safe, last time I checked I was not God, and I'm pretty sure that status has not changed! Plus ... the high where they are going tomorrow is going to be 34! I wouldn't even be able to be outside in that cold. So I told him I really didn't want to go, and he immediately said that was fine, but I feel guilty enough about it to be in a panic over it.
I had wine at our celebratin dinner,mop so I'm super tired. And my feet are burning and itching for some reason. Never a dull moment!
Have a great day tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I will feel conflicted!
Lisa
37 years have gone by since I married my husband. 37 years with more pain and heartbreak packed in them than we could have imagined. I don't thnk, I know, that I could not have survived them without him holding me. There has been great joy and happiness throughout the years as well, joy that the two of yours have always shared. Life is long, life is short, but it always has the same end. I only hope that at my end, I am in his arms.
I am having a pretty good panic attack right now. He will be going to Pennsylvania tomorrow to see our girls play in the NCAA and expected me to go with him. Last I remember, tough, was hm saying he had to check his schedule to see if henhouse get away, and then I forgot all about it. I'm pretty worn t right now from the game last Sunday and all the work getting ready for the luncheon ... was that only yesterday?? And then handling the furniture being delivered and a lot of work that had to be done for that. Plus I have a 1:00 doctor's appointment and I have to get my klonopin refilled then. And I'm just sometimes. Didn't get much sleep,last night. But I hate to disappoint him and I want to be with hm land mosylunimeorrynaboutnhm being on the road by himself. Whch of curse means I am saying that he has to have me with him to be safe, last time I checked I was not God, and I'm pretty sure that status has not changed! Plus ... the high where they are going tomorrow is going to be 34! I wouldn't even be able to be outside in that cold. So I told him I really didn't want to go, and he immediately said that was fine, but I feel guilty enough about it to be in a panic over it.
I had wine at our celebratin dinner,mop so I'm super tired. And my feet are burning and itching for some reason. Never a dull moment!
Have a great day tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I will feel conflicted!
Lisa
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Day 214 - First Party Is a Hige Success!
Dear Friend,
Things went great today. I think we had around 350 people come! The tent to was an absolute essential! I stayed at the door the entire time greeting people as they came and telling them goodbye as they left, but I understand that people were everywhere! We definitely need to figure out a better way to handle coats! We had two hat racks upstairs and about three or four ladies taking coats, giving claim tickets, and running the coats upstairs to hand up, but it still got backed up a good amount. The cleaners didn't show up! I called the owner and she nearly had a heart attack. She sent two teams out right away and had one person stay to help clean up. She apologized profusely and I, sure it won't happen again.
The furniture is scheduled to come tomorrow sometime between 8 and 10 am. Qu'elle nightmare. I don't know why I didn't reschedule and see if they could do it Friday instead. I have to look good in the morning, because the last time my decorator was here I looked like absolute death! She liked one of the tables I picked out for the vestibule, but didn't like any of the ones I picked for the foyer.
I went to sleep after the party and slept for three hrs. A few minutes after I woke u I started hearing my dogs back from the front yard! So I jumped up to go get them and slipped in some vomit ... Went flying and landed ON my shoulder with the torn deltoid, rotator cuff, etc! Wowee wow wow! It hurt so bad! One of our dogs has a sensitive stomache and doesn't lie stress, so I'm guessing who it was. And, my daughter got downstairs sooner than I did, obviously, and found that out front door was wide open! While we were both upstairs asleep!
Our son may have a job! A community college in the town sphere he is needs to hire an adjunct professor real quick!! This would be so AWESOME GREAT for him!!
Well, I'm off to sleep. I'm not going to get enough sleep, but I can sleep later if I need to. We watched a House tonight and it was the final one with him in the mental institution and it left me pensive from when I was in a mental palace for suicide prevention for two weeks. Not a fun time, but it does lend a certain depth to my life now.
Well. Dying for some sleep.
Cheers!
Lisa
Things went great today. I think we had around 350 people come! The tent to was an absolute essential! I stayed at the door the entire time greeting people as they came and telling them goodbye as they left, but I understand that people were everywhere! We definitely need to figure out a better way to handle coats! We had two hat racks upstairs and about three or four ladies taking coats, giving claim tickets, and running the coats upstairs to hand up, but it still got backed up a good amount. The cleaners didn't show up! I called the owner and she nearly had a heart attack. She sent two teams out right away and had one person stay to help clean up. She apologized profusely and I, sure it won't happen again.
The furniture is scheduled to come tomorrow sometime between 8 and 10 am. Qu'elle nightmare. I don't know why I didn't reschedule and see if they could do it Friday instead. I have to look good in the morning, because the last time my decorator was here I looked like absolute death! She liked one of the tables I picked out for the vestibule, but didn't like any of the ones I picked for the foyer.
I went to sleep after the party and slept for three hrs. A few minutes after I woke u I started hearing my dogs back from the front yard! So I jumped up to go get them and slipped in some vomit ... Went flying and landed ON my shoulder with the torn deltoid, rotator cuff, etc! Wowee wow wow! It hurt so bad! One of our dogs has a sensitive stomache and doesn't lie stress, so I'm guessing who it was. And, my daughter got downstairs sooner than I did, obviously, and found that out front door was wide open! While we were both upstairs asleep!
Our son may have a job! A community college in the town sphere he is needs to hire an adjunct professor real quick!! This would be so AWESOME GREAT for him!!
Well, I'm off to sleep. I'm not going to get enough sleep, but I can sleep later if I need to. We watched a House tonight and it was the final one with him in the mental institution and it left me pensive from when I was in a mental palace for suicide prevention for two weeks. Not a fun time, but it does lend a certain depth to my life now.
Well. Dying for some sleep.
Cheers!
Lisa
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