Recently, a doctor told me I might have to give up on finding a diagnosis for my medical problems, but I’m not giving up.
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Just Jot It January is ending with a whimper for me.
I had to visit the urgent clinic yesterday evening and barely managed not having to report to the emergency department at the hospital. I need to follow up with my primary care first thing this morning, though, so I’m getting this post out just in case I do wind up needing further treatment in the light of day.
Thanks for all the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers you have been sending my way.
Joanne
To join in on this last day of Linda’s Just Jot It January, visit here: https://lindaghill.com/2025/01/31/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-31st-2025/
Yesterday, I had a bilateral cerebral CT angiogram.
It went…okay-ish?
There were some less-than-optimal parts, like needing three attempts to get an IV started in the right location, getting twice the usual dose of sedation meds and still not really being sedated enough, and having a bizarre side effect afterward that involved seeing brightly-colored geometric shapes in my peripheral vision that weren’t there.
The doctors performing the procedure said they didn’t find anything abnormal, which was upsetting when I thought I was finally going to get an explanation for what has been going on for almost a year now. I realized today, though, that I don’t have the full results yet because those will come from the radiologist who has to review all the CT images.
So, maybe, tomorrow or later this week, there will be some answers?
Here’s hoping…
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Following up from yesterday’s post, my specialist appointment is resulting in an order for the next step toward diagnosis, an angiogram to evaluate the blood vessels in my neck.
I’m not sure how long it will take to get on the schedule but I’ll let you know when I have more information.
*****
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I have a sound in my head.
Well, maybe just in my left ear.
I was hearing a thrumming sound and I thought it was from wall vibrations from our radon removal system but that is fixed now and the sound is still there.
If it doesn’t resolve soon, I’ll contact my doctor…
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is to use a word that ends with “ound.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2024/04/12/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-13-2024/
One of the many things that got deferred in 2019 while we were dealing with the final months of my mom’s life and the first months without her was going to the doctor for a check-up. I wasn’t being totally health-delinquent as I had other reasons to visit the doctor’s office, but I didn’t have the standard wellness exam that someone my age would usually have every year.
Next month, I am going to have a check-up, though, preceded by lab work so we can go over the results at my appointment. I may also need to have a bone density scan. I have crossed over into a diagnosis of osteopenia, which isn’t surprising. At 59, I don’t expect to have the same bone density as a woman in her twenties. I’m hoping that I can avoid taking Fosamax or some other bone-builder medication, at least for now. I prefer to save that until I actually develop osteoporosis, if I ever do. One can only take those types of medications for a limited amount of time and I don’t want to use up my quota too soon.
I also know that I should be thinking about getting a new shingles vaccine. I have had a bout of shingles and have had the older vaccine, but the new one is supposed to be much, much more effective. I will probably need to wait longer to get it, though, because, in the next few weeks, B, T, and I are all scheduled to participate in a coronavirus vaccine trial. The trial is supposed to last for two years, but I’m sure there will be a window for me to get the shingles vaccine at a time when it won’t interfere with the trial.
I’m sure I’ll be posting about the trial when it begins.
2019-2020 SoCS Badge by Shelley
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “check/cheque/Czech.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2020/07/24/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-july-25-2020/
Today is my parents’ (Nana and Paco here at TJCM) sixty-fourth wedding anniversary.
And it is snowing, which is a bit odd for us here in the Northeast US on April 19th.
My parents married on this date for two reasons. It was Easter Monday during a time when Catholic weddings were prohibited during Lent. (While not currently prohibited, they are still discouraged.) It was also Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts where they lived, so it was a day off work for my dad and many other workers. They thought that they would always have their anniversary off work, which they did until the Monday holiday bill was created, moving holidays from their actual dates to a nearby Monday. (Patriots’ Day commemorates the battle of Lexington and Concord which began the Revolutionary War.)
Today’s celebration will be quiet.
[Three days pass.]
I started this post on the 19th. The plan was for me to spend most of the day at home until late afternoon when we would pick up dinner to bring to Nana and Paco. I was hoping to get this post out and do some other catching up and errands, but Paco wasn’t feeling well, so I went up to Nana and Paco’s apartment mid-morning to assess the situation and call the doctor’s office.
Later in the morning, Nana’s hospice volunteer visitor arrived. She brought a pink gerbera daisy with two blossoms as an anniversary gift from her and a gift bag from hospice with a bottle of sparkling apple juice, two glasses, a rose made of cloth, and an angel figurine. It was so sweet of her to visit and lift Nana’s spirits; we were sorry that Paco was napping and not well enough to be with her when she opened their gifts.
When I hadn’t heard back from the doctor by early afternoon, I called again and they decided to fit him into the afternoon schedule. I took him to the office, fortunately nearby to their senior living community, leaving Nana under the care of her aide. The doctor made some medication changes and Nana and Paco both got afternoon naps.
My husband B and daughter T arrived at about five with food from a favorite local Italian restaurant. We set up their tray tables side by side on the couch with lasagna for Paco and bucatini for Nana. Nana and Paco got to enjoy their 64th anniversary dinner, topped off with sharing carrot cake for dessert.
They got to hold hands.
They reminisced about their honeymoon in New York City, seeing Bob Hope and the Rockettes at an 8 AM show.
And we had the privilege of being there.
I am grateful that they had this anniversary together, one more precious moment in their long life together. The precariousness of the day underscored that the much-discussed “quality time” is a gift that appears in our lives, sometimes planned and created, but more often appearing at an unexpected time or in an unforeseen way. A cuddle from a toddler who is usually too busy to stop her activity. An important discussion with a teenager during a routine car ride. A walk in the woods when troubles temporarily recede and clarity and peace return.
A time when holding hands means the world.
Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, which began with 8 AM Mass. I knew that daughter E would be cantoring, but found out on arrival that her spouse L was singing with her and that the handbell choir was ringing for the last time before their summer break. It was heartwarming and joyful to hear E and L sing together in public in the weeks before their first child arrives. Our friend music director Nancy said that she could feel L’s breath supporting E, although I think that even into her ninth month of pregnancy, E’s breath control is better than mine.
Unfortunately, the rest of the day was more subdued. We wound up needing to take Nana to the walk-in medical clinic and then to the emergency room for some tests. She had made some gains and started outpatient physical therapy instead of having in-home therapy, but, in the last week, she has gotten weaker and more fatigued. This morning, we have a follow-up appointment with her primary care physician.
Sometimes, it is two steps forward, one – or more – back.
My mother – known as Nana here at Top of JC’s Mind – needs a diagnostic heart catheterization as follow-up to this fainting episode and likely prelude to heart valve replacement surgery.
The date of the heart cath was supposed to be June 28.
The week before, she had to have blood work done and the cardiologist didn’t like some of the numbers, so he cancelled it.
After weeks of doctor visits and tests, she was cleared to proceed.
The next date was August 17.
Unfortunately, the day she had to have the pre-procedure blood draw, she developed shortness of breath and wound up in the hospital overnight with a new diagnosis of congestive heart failure. She was discharged from the hospital and sent home to rest, waiting for the planned procedure on the 17th.
Except that the doctor’s office, looking at the pre-hospital rather than post-hospital blood work, cancelled it again.
I was very, very, very, very, very upset. After consulting with her primary care, the cardiologist promised to fit her in next week.
And then proceeded to give us the date of August 31st.
Which is not next week.
I’m still pretty upset, especially because the delay is what I feel got her into the diagnostic category of heart failure.
But, deep breath, and all that…
Fortunately, she is doing quite well now, although she has to take it very easy.
We are waiting for August 31st.
Third time’s the charm.
At least it better be.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “date.” Join us! Find out how here: https://lindaghill.com/2016/08/19/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-aug-2016/
Grandma has developed a trigger finger. It’s a cute name, but not a cute condition. Basically, the tendon rolls over the bones in the knuckle at the base of the finger down where the fingers meet the rest of the hand. This makes the finger bend down and catch so that it can only be straightened by taking the other hand and prying it out of the bent position.
And it hurts!
I brought her to see the orthopedic who had done a prior hand surgery for her – and who had done shoulder/arm surgeries on both my husband and me. He is the best person in our area to see for hand and arm things because he has done advanced fellowships.
He injected cortisone into the tendon sheath and, after a couple of days, the pain was gone. After a couple of more it would occasionally catch, but could be unbent without having to be pried open with the other hand.
In a few days, we have a follow-up with the doctor. I’m not sure what he will recommend. The original finger is still catching once in a while and now another finger is getting in on the act. He can do an in-office surgery, which may be necessary to have a permanent solution to the problem.
Trigger finger – not just a gangster term.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “finger.” Join us! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2016/02/05/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-616/
Joanne Corey 