Have one thing to say.
Pinched nerve in neck and shoulder
Muscle relaxer.
Very relaxish.
Turn off the light when you leave....zzzz
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
March 1, 2013
February 28, 2013
Not our fight
When I mentioned that my word for the year is War, I didn't tell the whole story.
It scared me to have a word like this assigned to me. And then I remembered that the word I got for 2012 was scary too. It was the word Health.
I wasn't sure what to do with or think of this word. Was I expected to work on my health? This is how I understood it at first. So I started out going to the doctor. I'd been having vague but troubling pain and thought it was an ovarian cyst. The doctor, after blood tests, ordered an ultrasound. During the ultrasound the tech couldn't find a cyst on the side I had pain on so I asked her to look at my kidney since stones are my ongoing struggle. She looked....she moaned. I knew. It was full with 3 large stones and lots of little ones.
Two lithotripsies later, I finally did some research on something a friend told me about probably 15 years ago. She had recurring stones and had found out it was her parathyroid that was out of whack and after having it removed, she never had another stone! It seemed too good to be true, but I looked into it 15 years later. I had asked many doctors if the parathyroid could be the problem. They had all said that was very rare and I would have tons of stones if that were the case. So I never doubted them. And I never did my own research on it.
After my blood work in March came back with high calcium again (....always high....never explained), I did not ask my doctor what she knew about the parathyroid. I simply asked her if I could get a PTH blood test to see if my parathyroid hormone was too high. And she did order the test because I told her about the research I had done. This PTH hormone triggers a release of calcium from bones and teeth and sends it into the blood stream. It also causes a LOT of other symptoms that I never would have put all together with the same root cause. You can read about it on the Parathyroid page if you're interested. It is a lot more common than doctors have been educated to think and it is so easy to diagnose with that blood test.
My main symptoms were the stones (although not everyone has kidney stones with this) and also a growing depression and lethargy that was so alarming by summer that I seriously had the thought in the back of my mind that I was dying. I didn't know then that this was because of the hormone overload.
I put off seeing the surgeon until after my daughter's wedding in late October, but I wish I'd had it as soon as I knew my levels were high because I felt SO much better after the surgery. The wedding pictures showed me with heavy eyelids and looking very tired and worn. And that's how I felt. Three weeks later I had a simple out patient surgery to remove just one of my four parathyroid glands. They are normally the size of a grain of rice. The doctor said mine was the size of a peanut M&M, then remembering it was Thanksgiving time, he changed that to the size of a cranberry. ;)
Now I'm feeling great and don't run out of energy by noon. I can barely remember that dreadful feeling of lethargy and apathy. And it wasn't until I was wondering about a word for 2013 that I realized that last year's word was something completely different than I had imagined. Health wasn't something I was supposed to achieve on my own.
I do think we should work to be healthier, but I'm saying my word for the year wasn't like that. It didn't depend on me. It was given to me as a gift! And I may not have picked up on God's intervention in it all if it hadn't been for my word of the year being health. He knew the journey I would be on this past year.
Realizing this helped me to understand the 2013 word War better. Spiritual warfare is active, it's a tool for us to use (every day). But it's a gift too. We don't do the fighting. We ask God to fight for us and for our loved ones, for our country and our world. And He is faithful and will hear our cry and answer us.
This year has been a time of waking up for me. I am so much more aware of things to pray about and people to pray for. I only hope I am faithful to keep alert to it because we frail humans tend to fall back to sleep so easily. Lord, keep us sharp and in tune to Your leading.
It scared me to have a word like this assigned to me. And then I remembered that the word I got for 2012 was scary too. It was the word Health.
I wasn't sure what to do with or think of this word. Was I expected to work on my health? This is how I understood it at first. So I started out going to the doctor. I'd been having vague but troubling pain and thought it was an ovarian cyst. The doctor, after blood tests, ordered an ultrasound. During the ultrasound the tech couldn't find a cyst on the side I had pain on so I asked her to look at my kidney since stones are my ongoing struggle. She looked....she moaned. I knew. It was full with 3 large stones and lots of little ones.
Two lithotripsies later, I finally did some research on something a friend told me about probably 15 years ago. She had recurring stones and had found out it was her parathyroid that was out of whack and after having it removed, she never had another stone! It seemed too good to be true, but I looked into it 15 years later. I had asked many doctors if the parathyroid could be the problem. They had all said that was very rare and I would have tons of stones if that were the case. So I never doubted them. And I never did my own research on it.
After my blood work in March came back with high calcium again (....always high....never explained), I did not ask my doctor what she knew about the parathyroid. I simply asked her if I could get a PTH blood test to see if my parathyroid hormone was too high. And she did order the test because I told her about the research I had done. This PTH hormone triggers a release of calcium from bones and teeth and sends it into the blood stream. It also causes a LOT of other symptoms that I never would have put all together with the same root cause. You can read about it on the Parathyroid page if you're interested. It is a lot more common than doctors have been educated to think and it is so easy to diagnose with that blood test.
My main symptoms were the stones (although not everyone has kidney stones with this) and also a growing depression and lethargy that was so alarming by summer that I seriously had the thought in the back of my mind that I was dying. I didn't know then that this was because of the hormone overload.
I put off seeing the surgeon until after my daughter's wedding in late October, but I wish I'd had it as soon as I knew my levels were high because I felt SO much better after the surgery. The wedding pictures showed me with heavy eyelids and looking very tired and worn. And that's how I felt. Three weeks later I had a simple out patient surgery to remove just one of my four parathyroid glands. They are normally the size of a grain of rice. The doctor said mine was the size of a peanut M&M, then remembering it was Thanksgiving time, he changed that to the size of a cranberry. ;)
Now I'm feeling great and don't run out of energy by noon. I can barely remember that dreadful feeling of lethargy and apathy. And it wasn't until I was wondering about a word for 2013 that I realized that last year's word was something completely different than I had imagined. Health wasn't something I was supposed to achieve on my own.
I do think we should work to be healthier, but I'm saying my word for the year wasn't like that. It didn't depend on me. It was given to me as a gift! And I may not have picked up on God's intervention in it all if it hadn't been for my word of the year being health. He knew the journey I would be on this past year.
Realizing this helped me to understand the 2013 word War better. Spiritual warfare is active, it's a tool for us to use (every day). But it's a gift too. We don't do the fighting. We ask God to fight for us and for our loved ones, for our country and our world. And He is faithful and will hear our cry and answer us.
This year has been a time of waking up for me. I am so much more aware of things to pray about and people to pray for. I only hope I am faithful to keep alert to it because we frail humans tend to fall back to sleep so easily. Lord, keep us sharp and in tune to Your leading.
June 16, 2010
Get Real
Okay this is interesting. Maybe...my entertainment value perceptiveness may be a little off lately due to blandness. ;)
If you believe Wikipedia....people write all kinds of explanations on there and you never know if it's fact or not. I know....cynical. I'm becoming more and more disestablishmentarianist in my midlife. ha!
Here is an article on everything you really didn't want to know about Cool Whip in Wired Magazine. Scary.
It says that one of the lesser ingredients in Cool Whip is:
Sorbitan Monostearate
Disgusting. But it's so perky and light that we just keep topping everything with it.
I think I'm going to go real people. Real whipped cream! (after I use the 2 containers of Cool Whip in my freezer)
Cool Whip is a brand of imitation whipped cream named a whipped topping by its manufacturer. It is used in North America as a dessert topping and in some no-bake pie recipes. It is generally described as "non-dairy" as it contains no cream or milk and no lactose; however, it does contain the milk derivative casein. -Wikipedia
If you believe Wikipedia....people write all kinds of explanations on there and you never know if it's fact or not. I know....cynical. I'm becoming more and more disestablishmentarianist in my midlife. ha!
Here is an article on everything you really didn't want to know about Cool Whip in Wired Magazine. Scary.
It says that one of the lesser ingredients in Cool Whip is:
Sorbitan Monostearate
Chemists call this stuff synthetic wax, and it's sometimes used as a hemorrhoid cream. It's one of the magical substances that keep Cool Whip from turning to liquid over time in the fridge.
Disgusting. But it's so perky and light that we just keep topping everything with it.
I think I'm going to go real people. Real whipped cream! (after I use the 2 containers of Cool Whip in my freezer)
July 29, 2009
A vacation story (not for the faint of heart)
Everyone is asking how our vacation was, so I need to write this before I can accomplish much else, since retelling the story is making me feel overwhelmed. ;)
We left Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, leaving behind our daughter Beth, 19, who had a sore throat. The first day went off without a hitch. We arrived in Cortez, Colorado around midnight and checked into a local motel and collapsed. The next morning we drove up to Telluride area to find a camping spot, but after cruising through all known camp grounds and driving through the bumper to bumper, crowds of people everywhere town of Telluride, we decided to drive around the mountains and go to our dearly loved area near Silverton. It took a while so we didn't arrive at South Mineral Creek campground until late afternoon. Thankfully they had one spot open, someone had left early and we grabbed it. After setting up tent and stashing cooking utensils and camping supplies in convenient places we decided to go on a drive from the campground up to Crystal Lake. It is a 4 wheel drive only road and ends up at a beautiful natural lake above tree line at about 12,000 feet elevation, filled with only snow melt. It was beautiful. But we only stayed a few minutes because Charles had started feeling a little altitude sickness setting in.
When we got back to camp it was getting worse and he could not catch his breath. He went to talk to the camp host and I walked up while they were in mid conversation. As I walked up I heard, "...well if you're having chest pains too, I think you should get that checked out." I'm like, CHEST PAINS? I thought he was only short of breath. The host called in to Silverton EMTs who told us to come in and get checked out by paramedics. We all jumped in the car and headed to Silverton as the sun went down and it became dark. A police car met us there and escorted us to the fire station where their EMT staff was waiting for us. He was still short of breath and hurting. (he did not think it was his heart, but his lungs, worried it was a blood clot) They did not take chances, though the readings were normal, so they said they needed to drive him to Durango in the ambulance.
Sounds simple, but the only way from Silverton to Durango is a windy mountain road, often edged with a sheer drop off on one side and a mountain on the other for almost 60 miles. The ambulance driver was so concerned about ME driving behind him that he went about 30 miles an hour the whole way, keeping me right behind him so no animals would jump out in front of me. And they did! Deer were all over the place, just running out in front of the ambulance and dashing off the side of the road. I think it happened 8 or 9 times, along with other animals doing the extreme road crossings in the middle of the night.
Finally reaching Durango hospital, it took about 20 minutes for them to decide that it was indeed altitude sickness and partly a panic attack due to not being able to breathe. The doc said that the only way to get acclimated was to spend a couple of nights sleeping in the high country to regulate your body to the altitude. Thanking the Lord that is was only altitude and not anything to worry about, we headed out to the car, only to find a totally flat tire. We stood there, mouths open, eyes staring unbelieving at the tire. Emma gave way into sobs after the traumatic time thinking her dad was possibly seriously ill. Charles went to work digging out the jack to change the tire. A jack in the car....so smart. Eh, only smart if you have a handle with which to work the jack. He went into the ER again to ask if anyone had a jack. The lady who was the receptionist handed Charles her keys and told him to take her car and get what he needed at a 24 hour Walmart down the street. One trip to Walmart, a jack, a tire pump, and a can of fix-a-flat later and we were on our way, profusely thanking the wonderful receptionist who fully trusted us and blessed us with her generousity.
By now it was 1:30am. As we drove through Durango there were no motels that seemed to have any vacancies. I did NOT want to drive up that mountain road again, so we finally found a dingy old motel (the kind you can actually live in) and fell into bed in our clothes. We had left everything at the campground. But it was good to sleep.
The next morning we called home to find out Beth had gone to urgent care and that she had a pretty bad case of strepp throat. ehn She managed to get to the doctor then to the pharmacy herself and then collapsed at home, very sick and very sad. It was like a huge swirling end to a nightmare of running and not getting anywhere. But she said she was fine and we decided since she already had the medicine and was able to stay home and rest, we should continue our vacation in search of relaxation. And by the time we got home on Saturday, she was able to be back at work and was gone constantly with her friends running around having fun. So I think we made the right decision, even though it was a hard few days for her!
After getting our tire fixed for $15 and retrieving our camping set up from Silverton, we found a very nice, lower campground on the east side of Durango by Lemon reservoir called Florida campground. Very nice, camped by a rushing stream, Maggie found a very good friend to play with and we stayed there the rest of the trip. We took 4 wheel drive only trips on mountain roads and read, had campfires and took walks the rest of the time and the first 2 days of the trip seemed like a surreal, distant memory. The patched tire held up, as good as new, even on the rough mountains roads we took.
We are thinking there are probably a lot of lessons to be learned, character to be gained from such experiences, but we are still learning what they might be. We still have no idea why all of this happened or what we've gained, but we are thankful that God took care of us in each little thing....even driving down the mountain with a leaking tire! And we're also thankful for the people He put in our path to help us. The kids had good attitudes and were true troopers, working hard to set up our camp, take down and set up again and not freak out on us.
Mostly I think we are all thankful to be home again. ;)
Slide show of the trip to follow.
We left Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, leaving behind our daughter Beth, 19, who had a sore throat. The first day went off without a hitch. We arrived in Cortez, Colorado around midnight and checked into a local motel and collapsed. The next morning we drove up to Telluride area to find a camping spot, but after cruising through all known camp grounds and driving through the bumper to bumper, crowds of people everywhere town of Telluride, we decided to drive around the mountains and go to our dearly loved area near Silverton. It took a while so we didn't arrive at South Mineral Creek campground until late afternoon. Thankfully they had one spot open, someone had left early and we grabbed it. After setting up tent and stashing cooking utensils and camping supplies in convenient places we decided to go on a drive from the campground up to Crystal Lake. It is a 4 wheel drive only road and ends up at a beautiful natural lake above tree line at about 12,000 feet elevation, filled with only snow melt. It was beautiful. But we only stayed a few minutes because Charles had started feeling a little altitude sickness setting in.
When we got back to camp it was getting worse and he could not catch his breath. He went to talk to the camp host and I walked up while they were in mid conversation. As I walked up I heard, "...well if you're having chest pains too, I think you should get that checked out." I'm like, CHEST PAINS? I thought he was only short of breath. The host called in to Silverton EMTs who told us to come in and get checked out by paramedics. We all jumped in the car and headed to Silverton as the sun went down and it became dark. A police car met us there and escorted us to the fire station where their EMT staff was waiting for us. He was still short of breath and hurting. (he did not think it was his heart, but his lungs, worried it was a blood clot) They did not take chances, though the readings were normal, so they said they needed to drive him to Durango in the ambulance.
Sounds simple, but the only way from Silverton to Durango is a windy mountain road, often edged with a sheer drop off on one side and a mountain on the other for almost 60 miles. The ambulance driver was so concerned about ME driving behind him that he went about 30 miles an hour the whole way, keeping me right behind him so no animals would jump out in front of me. And they did! Deer were all over the place, just running out in front of the ambulance and dashing off the side of the road. I think it happened 8 or 9 times, along with other animals doing the extreme road crossings in the middle of the night.
Finally reaching Durango hospital, it took about 20 minutes for them to decide that it was indeed altitude sickness and partly a panic attack due to not being able to breathe. The doc said that the only way to get acclimated was to spend a couple of nights sleeping in the high country to regulate your body to the altitude. Thanking the Lord that is was only altitude and not anything to worry about, we headed out to the car, only to find a totally flat tire. We stood there, mouths open, eyes staring unbelieving at the tire. Emma gave way into sobs after the traumatic time thinking her dad was possibly seriously ill. Charles went to work digging out the jack to change the tire. A jack in the car....so smart. Eh, only smart if you have a handle with which to work the jack. He went into the ER again to ask if anyone had a jack. The lady who was the receptionist handed Charles her keys and told him to take her car and get what he needed at a 24 hour Walmart down the street. One trip to Walmart, a jack, a tire pump, and a can of fix-a-flat later and we were on our way, profusely thanking the wonderful receptionist who fully trusted us and blessed us with her generousity.
By now it was 1:30am. As we drove through Durango there were no motels that seemed to have any vacancies. I did NOT want to drive up that mountain road again, so we finally found a dingy old motel (the kind you can actually live in) and fell into bed in our clothes. We had left everything at the campground. But it was good to sleep.
The next morning we called home to find out Beth had gone to urgent care and that she had a pretty bad case of strepp throat. ehn She managed to get to the doctor then to the pharmacy herself and then collapsed at home, very sick and very sad. It was like a huge swirling end to a nightmare of running and not getting anywhere. But she said she was fine and we decided since she already had the medicine and was able to stay home and rest, we should continue our vacation in search of relaxation. And by the time we got home on Saturday, she was able to be back at work and was gone constantly with her friends running around having fun. So I think we made the right decision, even though it was a hard few days for her!
After getting our tire fixed for $15 and retrieving our camping set up from Silverton, we found a very nice, lower campground on the east side of Durango by Lemon reservoir called Florida campground. Very nice, camped by a rushing stream, Maggie found a very good friend to play with and we stayed there the rest of the trip. We took 4 wheel drive only trips on mountain roads and read, had campfires and took walks the rest of the time and the first 2 days of the trip seemed like a surreal, distant memory. The patched tire held up, as good as new, even on the rough mountains roads we took.
We are thinking there are probably a lot of lessons to be learned, character to be gained from such experiences, but we are still learning what they might be. We still have no idea why all of this happened or what we've gained, but we are thankful that God took care of us in each little thing....even driving down the mountain with a leaking tire! And we're also thankful for the people He put in our path to help us. The kids had good attitudes and were true troopers, working hard to set up our camp, take down and set up again and not freak out on us.
Mostly I think we are all thankful to be home again. ;)
Slide show of the trip to follow.
May 11, 2009
I spent today waiting....
Hannah arrived safely in northern California. She is there this week checking out a school of ministry with a friend.....and she may be moving there for a year this August. I am trying to take it in stride....but it's actually freaking me out.
Charles bought a treadmill today! We sold our pop up camping trailer a couple of months ago and used that money to buy a used Nordic Track treadmill from Craig's list. It's monstrous! But I don't care.....I've been wanting one for 13 years now! It has programs you can choose from to do different work outs. I have to do some major studying of the manual so that I can get the most out of my monster.
Saturday the glands under my right jawline started going crazy and are now so sore that I stayed home from work today. This morning, after sitting, waiting for 3 hours to get in an examining room where I waited another half hour, the doctor at urgent care didn't think it was an infection because I have no fever and my tonsils are not swollen. (how does that rule out an infection in your glands?) She gave me an rx and told me to wait and see if it got worse before I used it, but if it gets worse I will probably need to rip it out of my neck before the meds would kick in. So I filled the script (we walked around shopping while we waited in Walgreens for over half an hour for it....but it's easier to wait if you're with your Charles). I took one tonight. So much for being an obedient patient.
I also had a urologist follow up apt today. So I went to get an xray taken of my kidneys. The radiologist department had just moved into their brand new building today, so it was a little disorganized. The staff and techs all had new computers and machine to use for the first time. So after sitting and waiting for another hour, I walked out with xrays in hand. My report? The sand-like debri is still hanging around in the bottom of my kidney....looks like more upsidedownishness is in store for me. And more tests for kidney function (for another day, not today). We're trying to see if there is an underlying problem that causes me to make stones.
And now....I am watching the season finale of House. And I haven't minded sitting here for an hour at all....
Charles bought a treadmill today! We sold our pop up camping trailer a couple of months ago and used that money to buy a used Nordic Track treadmill from Craig's list. It's monstrous! But I don't care.....I've been wanting one for 13 years now! It has programs you can choose from to do different work outs. I have to do some major studying of the manual so that I can get the most out of my monster.
Saturday the glands under my right jawline started going crazy and are now so sore that I stayed home from work today. This morning, after sitting, waiting for 3 hours to get in an examining room where I waited another half hour, the doctor at urgent care didn't think it was an infection because I have no fever and my tonsils are not swollen. (how does that rule out an infection in your glands?) She gave me an rx and told me to wait and see if it got worse before I used it, but if it gets worse I will probably need to rip it out of my neck before the meds would kick in. So I filled the script (we walked around shopping while we waited in Walgreens for over half an hour for it....but it's easier to wait if you're with your Charles). I took one tonight. So much for being an obedient patient.
I also had a urologist follow up apt today. So I went to get an xray taken of my kidneys. The radiologist department had just moved into their brand new building today, so it was a little disorganized. The staff and techs all had new computers and machine to use for the first time. So after sitting and waiting for another hour, I walked out with xrays in hand. My report? The sand-like debri is still hanging around in the bottom of my kidney....looks like more upsidedownishness is in store for me. And more tests for kidney function (for another day, not today). We're trying to see if there is an underlying problem that causes me to make stones.
And now....I am watching the season finale of House. And I haven't minded sitting here for an hour at all....
March 31, 2009
Upside downish
I've been feeling very upside down lately.
That is because I'm trying to jumble up the kidney stone fragments in my left kidney. My check up and xray recently showed that the stone I had was sufficiently crushed, but it's all still in there. They all settled down into the lower part of the kidney. But I'm trying to give them the boot out of there. So in the evenings I lie with my hips on the couch and hang off of it onto couch cushions on the floor.....and watch television all sideways. Oh and I drink tons of water because it slushes them out, which leads to lots of little trips down the hall.
It seems to be working, but just a few fragments come through each night so this may take a while. I've done searches on ways to get them to pass and this seemed the most reasonable to me. More reasonable than drinking a 2 liter bottle of Coke and a cup of asparagus puree within 2 hours, which causes a great big chemical 'reaction' supposedly. More reasonable than jumping up and down, landing hard, as to jolt the stubborn things into moving.
Our dog likes the upside down mom. She likes to explore and poke me all over my head, neck and face, which is cute at first but then just ends up being irritating.
I can't find a way to type when I'm hanging off the couch all upside downy but I am hoping my need to type thoughts out there into cyberspace will kick back in sometime in the near future. I'm sure you'll notice when it does. ;)
That is because I'm trying to jumble up the kidney stone fragments in my left kidney. My check up and xray recently showed that the stone I had was sufficiently crushed, but it's all still in there. They all settled down into the lower part of the kidney. But I'm trying to give them the boot out of there. So in the evenings I lie with my hips on the couch and hang off of it onto couch cushions on the floor.....and watch television all sideways. Oh and I drink tons of water because it slushes them out, which leads to lots of little trips down the hall.
It seems to be working, but just a few fragments come through each night so this may take a while. I've done searches on ways to get them to pass and this seemed the most reasonable to me. More reasonable than drinking a 2 liter bottle of Coke and a cup of asparagus puree within 2 hours, which causes a great big chemical 'reaction' supposedly. More reasonable than jumping up and down, landing hard, as to jolt the stubborn things into moving.
Our dog likes the upside down mom. She likes to explore and poke me all over my head, neck and face, which is cute at first but then just ends up being irritating.
I can't find a way to type when I'm hanging off the couch all upside downy but I am hoping my need to type thoughts out there into cyberspace will kick back in sometime in the near future. I'm sure you'll notice when it does. ;)
March 23, 2009
Day by day
I'm trying to get back to my normal pace of doing things here lately. But I find my limits are kicking my legs out from under me. Hopefully I'll find blogging fun again soon and not so much another chore to finish. I do feel good and strong again until hitting some limit that I didn't know was there. So I am thankful to have some energy and drive back in my body again.
I had a check up at the doctor's today. They took an xray and my left kidney is still full of fragments of kidney stone. I'd appreciate prayer about those moving on out. It was discouraging to see so much still left in there.
Today was our first day back at school after Spring Break and I was in bed by 7pm! I watched a television show, then turned it off to drift in and out of dozing for an hour. Now I am surrendering.
I had a check up at the doctor's today. They took an xray and my left kidney is still full of fragments of kidney stone. I'd appreciate prayer about those moving on out. It was discouraging to see so much still left in there.
Today was our first day back at school after Spring Break and I was in bed by 7pm! I watched a television show, then turned it off to drift in and out of dozing for an hour. Now I am surrendering.
March 12, 2009
It's nice to be smiling as you drift off
In at 6am, home before noon, that is how a good lithotripsy goes.
And I had a good lithotripsy today. Every part of the morning went great except for the IV nurse. She failed....twice! I fear IV's so bad because I have deeply hidden veins that are hard to 'thread'. The anesthesiologist numbed me first....wow, why can't a nurse think of that! And then he just slipped it in, all while talking to himself....very quirky. They wheeled me into the litho room before sedating me at all. Usually when you have a 'procedure' they sedate you and THEN wheel you into the sterile room with big lights and busy people. It was a little unnerving, but ended quickly after the anesthesiologist said I'd feel pressure in the IV then I would relax. Then just...
night night.
I do remember him talking to his vials of meds before I went away. He was saying (to himself or the vials, not sure, didn't have time to ask) "Okay, no nausea *clink*, we want a nice light sleep *clink clink shuffle*." Then I smiled and knew nothing until I was being asked to cough the breathing tube thing up when it was over. I barely remember it, but know it was a breathing tube because my voice is shredded for today.
Otherwise, I am lying on my side to let gravity filter out stone debri, no need for pain meds yet and I am drinking liquids til I slush.
March 10, 2009
Update
Lithotripsy is Thursday, then Spring Break. We're almost through this little crisis and with a week off at that!
The photo is what a lithotripter operator sees as he gets ready to shoot.
February 25, 2009
I got bombed today (with get well cards)
*singing* I got out of the house today.
It was good for my mental health I think. My sister took my mom and me to lunch and then we went to visit my other sister whose little smidge of a boy was sick. (he just turned 3!)
When I got home, Maggie was there and handed me a big envelope. She said her teacher gave it to her to give to me. I told her to put it on the table and she said, "No you're going to want to open this." So I did. Here is what was inside.
I think I've been love-bombed by second graders!!! I read each one, got all teary, and fought the urge to correct spelling or grammar or spray them with Lysol.
It was good for my mental health I think. My sister took my mom and me to lunch and then we went to visit my other sister whose little smidge of a boy was sick. (he just turned 3!)
When I got home, Maggie was there and handed me a big envelope. She said her teacher gave it to her to give to me. I told her to put it on the table and she said, "No you're going to want to open this." So I did. Here is what was inside.
I think I've been love-bombed by second graders!!! I read each one, got all teary, and fought the urge to correct spelling or grammar or spray them with Lysol.
February 20, 2009
The stone of contention
....and it really is a con·ten·tion.
(kn-tnshn) n.
1. The act or an instance of striving in controversy or debate.
2. A striving to win in competition; rivalry:
The teams met in fierce contention for first place.
3. An assertion put forward in argument.
There is a fight I have been contending in for about 21 years now. After the birth of our first daughter, Hannah, I began having seriouser, seriouser pains in my side. A girlfriend in NJ once saw me digging my right fist into my side. She said, "Oh you have kidney stones, don't you?" I was shocked. "I have no idea!" I said. She gave me her Urologist's name and that was the beginning of a very long, very arduous battle. Three lithotripsies and one shrinking kidney later, I have learned to live with them (until I actually have big ones again, mostly after each pregnancy) and loath them.
For a few years now I have only had minor annoyances with the evil things (the stones). But on Monday the boulders (yes) raised their heads above the peaceful scenery and attacked full force. A disguised attack. I went to the doctor to try to see if we could get rid of this cough I've had for 4 weeks. But in order to talk to the doctor about anything you have to have your blood pressure taken.
Mine was 240/150. She told me I was not allowed to leave except by ambulance. I begged to get my husband to come take me and it was agreed upon under the condition that we go straight to the ER. They asked all kinds of questions, took an EKG, took blood, and eventually did an angiogram...yeah, I was like, am I 70 or what? It all came back fine, but I had mentioned the fact that I've had some killer stones before so the very smart ER doctor sent me for a CAT scan of my head (just in case) and my abdomen. I'm sorry to have to use this kind of slang, but they were totally like, "Dewdette! You have some huge kidney stones in there!"
After 4 days in the hospital, having angiogram, EKGs, blood work twice a day, 2 IV's, being kept in critical care unit, they did decide that the high blood pressure was caused by the stones. Then I had a laser treatment for the stones. And also trials and observations on which kindS of meds they wanted to put me on for blood pressure (slightly high normally) and cholesterol (again slightly high).
If you don't feel sorry for me and aren't cringing in your computer chair by now, you are heartless and should immediately quit reading my blog (like say if you're my mean cardio doc).
I came home yesterday. Apparently no one did a very good job of informing my kids that I wasn't going to die because that is what they all thought. I had several tear soaked hugs. By the way, no one else (including Charles and I) knew exactly WHAT was happening, so there is no one to fault. And my dear dear husband stayed with me through the long days and 2 long nights of being in the hospital in critical care. And my younger sister stayed in the evening with my children, made sure they had yummy suppers and that the little one took her shower. My older sister stayed in the hospital with me for a day and a night and every time I coughed (the cough was neglected by all doctors and staff) she sat up and said "Are you alright? Do you need something?" It got quite comical. It was such a comfort, you just can't even imagine! Of course other visitors came too and a woman from our church was in the room just down the hall fighting her own battle. God bless us every one!
But there were dinners in the fridge and shortly on our table (Cheryl's chicken pot pie cures all) and I have a new plush toy type of heating pad (the only true way to manage stone pain) and I was able to sit up and be around my kids and husband all evening yesterday.....memories of the hospital only remaining as a sore body, arms that look like a junkie, and little tapes I keep pulling off during the day.
....oh and the pain of finely lasered stones filtering down through my body making me love my cute heating pad all the more and my family infinitely.
And now....I can just say 'refer to the blog' when people ask me what happened. This will be much more convenient than the full body tattoo I was going to have done explaining it for me. ;)
(kn-tnshn) n.
1. The act or an instance of striving in controversy or debate.
2. A striving to win in competition; rivalry:
The teams met in fierce contention for first place.
3. An assertion put forward in argument.
There is a fight I have been contending in for about 21 years now. After the birth of our first daughter, Hannah, I began having seriouser, seriouser pains in my side. A girlfriend in NJ once saw me digging my right fist into my side. She said, "Oh you have kidney stones, don't you?" I was shocked. "I have no idea!" I said. She gave me her Urologist's name and that was the beginning of a very long, very arduous battle. Three lithotripsies and one shrinking kidney later, I have learned to live with them (until I actually have big ones again, mostly after each pregnancy) and loath them.
For a few years now I have only had minor annoyances with the evil things (the stones). But on Monday the boulders (yes) raised their heads above the peaceful scenery and attacked full force. A disguised attack. I went to the doctor to try to see if we could get rid of this cough I've had for 4 weeks. But in order to talk to the doctor about anything you have to have your blood pressure taken.
Mine was 240/150. She told me I was not allowed to leave except by ambulance. I begged to get my husband to come take me and it was agreed upon under the condition that we go straight to the ER. They asked all kinds of questions, took an EKG, took blood, and eventually did an angiogram...yeah, I was like, am I 70 or what? It all came back fine, but I had mentioned the fact that I've had some killer stones before so the very smart ER doctor sent me for a CAT scan of my head (just in case) and my abdomen. I'm sorry to have to use this kind of slang, but they were totally like, "Dewdette! You have some huge kidney stones in there!"
After 4 days in the hospital, having angiogram, EKGs, blood work twice a day, 2 IV's, being kept in critical care unit, they did decide that the high blood pressure was caused by the stones. Then I had a laser treatment for the stones. And also trials and observations on which kindS of meds they wanted to put me on for blood pressure (slightly high normally) and cholesterol (again slightly high).
If you don't feel sorry for me and aren't cringing in your computer chair by now, you are heartless and should immediately quit reading my blog (like say if you're my mean cardio doc).
I came home yesterday. Apparently no one did a very good job of informing my kids that I wasn't going to die because that is what they all thought. I had several tear soaked hugs. By the way, no one else (including Charles and I) knew exactly WHAT was happening, so there is no one to fault. And my dear dear husband stayed with me through the long days and 2 long nights of being in the hospital in critical care. And my younger sister stayed in the evening with my children, made sure they had yummy suppers and that the little one took her shower. My older sister stayed in the hospital with me for a day and a night and every time I coughed (the cough was neglected by all doctors and staff) she sat up and said "Are you alright? Do you need something?" It got quite comical. It was such a comfort, you just can't even imagine! Of course other visitors came too and a woman from our church was in the room just down the hall fighting her own battle. God bless us every one!
But there were dinners in the fridge and shortly on our table (Cheryl's chicken pot pie cures all) and I have a new plush toy type of heating pad (the only true way to manage stone pain) and I was able to sit up and be around my kids and husband all evening yesterday.....memories of the hospital only remaining as a sore body, arms that look like a junkie, and little tapes I keep pulling off during the day.
....oh and the pain of finely lasered stones filtering down through my body making me love my cute heating pad all the more and my family infinitely.
And now....I can just say 'refer to the blog' when people ask me what happened. This will be much more convenient than the full body tattoo I was going to have done explaining it for me. ;)
September 27, 2008
Tomorrow
There is a new button in my sidebar at the upper right corner. It is one of those ribbons you see everywhere, in all sorts of colors. It symbolizes that there are people out there who are fighting for a cure for Alzheimer's and Dementia, a cause I really would love to see become reality.
If breast cancer ran in my family, I'm sure I would have a pink ribbon for you to click. But it so happens that Alzheimer's and Dementia run on my dad's side of the family. He died from dementia 2 years ago. His oldest sister died less than 6 months after him. She had Alzheimer's disease for over 20 years before dying in her 90's. He suffered just a few years. I can't imagine 20. His other sister Ruth is in the beginning stages and has had to move to an assisted living center.
Sadly Alzheimer's disease is a slow process of losing your mind along with physical problems. It is usually a long road of suffering, helping, exhaustion and feeling alone. If you have a loved one with any kind of dementia disease, there are very good resources on this webpage, Caring.com. Two years ago even, there were not half the resources that there are today for people caring for loved ones with dementia. Eventually I feel like it will touch almost everyone's lives in western civilization. I hope and pray that they can find a cause, a cure, a reason, an answer, anything. It is such a devastating thing.
If you would like to make a button for your blog or website, click my ribbon. The steps are very easy. Mom, if you want help doing it, I'll help you soon. ;)
One day at a time we walk through this life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But we can live fully and well today. Don't let busyness make your days fly by without doing important things and knowing the One who gave it to us.
I was going to add Matthew 6:25-34 here and found it with fresh insight in The Message. As well as dealing with tomorrow's difficulty, it is also a very telling insight for the financial crisis our country is in right now. So I'll post the whole thing.
If breast cancer ran in my family, I'm sure I would have a pink ribbon for you to click. But it so happens that Alzheimer's and Dementia run on my dad's side of the family. He died from dementia 2 years ago. His oldest sister died less than 6 months after him. She had Alzheimer's disease for over 20 years before dying in her 90's. He suffered just a few years. I can't imagine 20. His other sister Ruth is in the beginning stages and has had to move to an assisted living center.
Sadly Alzheimer's disease is a slow process of losing your mind along with physical problems. It is usually a long road of suffering, helping, exhaustion and feeling alone. If you have a loved one with any kind of dementia disease, there are very good resources on this webpage, Caring.com. Two years ago even, there were not half the resources that there are today for people caring for loved ones with dementia. Eventually I feel like it will touch almost everyone's lives in western civilization. I hope and pray that they can find a cause, a cure, a reason, an answer, anything. It is such a devastating thing.
If you would like to make a button for your blog or website, click my ribbon. The steps are very easy. Mom, if you want help doing it, I'll help you soon. ;)
One day at a time we walk through this life. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But we can live fully and well today. Don't let busyness make your days fly by without doing important things and knowing the One who gave it to us.
I was going to add Matthew 6:25-34 here and found it with fresh insight in The Message. As well as dealing with tomorrow's difficulty, it is also a very telling insight for the financial crisis our country is in right now. So I'll post the whole thing.
Matthew 6:25-34 (The Message)
25-26"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
27-29"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
30-33"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
34"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
August 25, 2008
Good medicine
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 22
I was reading another blog today and the writer was telling about the biggest laugh they've had this week. And I have had several, so I decided to share.
I love to laugh. I laugh a lot, even when I'm not supposed to. An overactive imagination helps when having to wait in a line or do a dull task and often I have to stifle a laugh because I'm all alone and someone might call the funny farm. ;) And just so I know I'm not the only person so easily amused, just look here. nyuck nyuck nyuck
Saturday night my friend Kelly and I went to the movies. We saw Mama Mia. We were laughing so hard, tears were squirting out our eyes and I heard a couple of snorts....I'm not saying who, there was a whole theater of ladies in there. Some of the things we laughed at were not even meant to be funny. heh
Then we had to pick up Kelly's poodle from the groomer on the way home. She had asked the groomer to leave a little Foo Man Choo type of beard on the dog. So we laughed all the way there 'discussin' it and all the possibilities. I'm glad Kelly can actually see when she's in hysterics (she was driving) because my eyes slam shut and squirt out tears. Oh, it was silly.....and cathartic! There is nothing like a good hysterical laughing session to not only clear the mind and anxiety of the day, but it clears your sinuses too. ;) We picked up poor Joey....poor Joe man Choo! Poor silly looking thing! His little beard was 2 inches long, at least. I hope she took a picture.
Sunday I had lunch with my mom, 3 sisters and grown niece. There was another hysterics session. We were there talking from about 2pm until after 6pm.
And then today! Today I was eating lunch by myself. All my lunch buddies have different schedules for lunch than I do this year. So I was reading an Avon catalog when I heard this huge "bbbbbbbbbbppppfffft". It turns out that a substitute teacher who was an our school today had fallen asleep in a chair, his chin on his chest, his chest puffing in and out, snoring his uvula out!!! Everyone who came into the lounge stopped, looked at me, then looked at the man and we all cracked up! I would just lift my eyebrows and send the person into hushed chortles. It was quite unexpected, quite at an unsuspecting person's expense and quite entertaining! Oh, I love rare times like that when things fall together in a great cosmic flubba dubba, goof up or oopsie. ;)
Oh and it turns out laughter is good medicine!! Check out that link!
May 5, 2008
Um, ouch.....
It is hard to write an entry here without coming to what is really on my mind. When something is on your mind day and night for 8 days straight, it's hard to concentrate on anything else.
I'm in pain.
Last Monday I woke up with extreme pain in my lower back and it has gradually gotten a smidgeon better and now taken a turn for the worse again the past 2 days. I have awakened before with back pain, but this time it is unlike anything I've ever experienced. So after missing 3 days now of work and taking countless ibuprofen tablets, I made a doctor's appointment. I expect it will be some kind of disk problem, but it is definitely something. And it is not getting better on it's own.
There is no comfortable position except lying flat on my back. But if I do that for more than 15 minutes, my lower back stiffens and when I get up it feels like a muscle spasm in my right hip and back. When I sit, there is a feeling that my spine is squishing all the nerves in my back between the vertebrae. When I walk around it does not exactly hurt, but the pressure in my back feels like it is becoming a black hole, sucking in all matter, or at least all my muscles into it's extremely tight hold. If I am too mobile, there are shooting pains and strange nerve distress feelings of twinges, twangs and throbs all over my lower body and legs.
And now that I have written about what is on my mind, I probably won't mention it again, but your prayers are so very welcome. Thanks! And I do have a doctor appointment on Wednesday at 3pm.
Side note:
I am addicted to that cat video from my last entry now. I have watched it dozens of times in the past few days. It makes me feel happily sleepy.....and a little cheeky.
January 30, 2008
Special of the day
The other day I was browsing the recipe section of a women's forum I go to. My friend who will remain nameless unless she just really wants me to link back to her with this info, said she was making a "Mammogram Special" for supper. I asked why it was called that, did she pound the chicken flat?
She said, "Just baking chicken and serving it with summer squash. I made it up in honor of the mammogram I probably need to schedule."
My dense nature had kicked in and suddenly the word picture of it hit me, "Oh I get it....with summer SQuASH on the side...yes, that makes it more mamogrammish."
By the way, have you had yours?
Kelsey at Holy Mama! has a monthly prize drawing for ladies who do their BSE. Just go to her blog on the 17th of every month, its called, Club 17, and leave a comment that you've done your BSE and be put in a drawing for the prize.
And hey, the real prize could be finding something early and living a longer, healthier life with your family. Think about it.
June 9, 2005
I like green
I have sliced my finger tip (pointer finger, left hand) so I won't be real wordy for a while...at least until the stitches come out in 8 days. (It is really hard to type without your r, t, f, g, v, b finger.) While trying to 'fix' the dishwasher, I found something wedged in the spinner, drainish thingie and it turned out to be a piece of broken glass. Waaaa, owwwwie! Amazing, you don't realize how many nerves are in the tip of a finger til you try to slice a chunk out of it.So here is one of my all time favorite songs, by one of my all time favorite songwriters, Rich Mullins. Spring comes late here in the mountains...we live at nearly 7,000 feet in elevation, so it is a song about Springtime. As it mirrors our spiritual seasons, nature has many lessons and illustrations for our lives. I have just finished decking my gardens with annual flowers and have been enjoying the greening up of the yards and scenery around here. It is a gift God gives us each year...the earth coming back to life, dressed in it's lovely colors. We always know it's coming, but are always in awe of the colors of Spring once again after the long winter. =)
And the moon is a sliver of silver
Like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop
Every house must have it's builder
And I awoke in the house of God
Where the windows are mornings and evenings
Stretched from the sun
Across the sky north to south
And on my way to early meeting
I heard the rocks crying out
I heard the rocks crying out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise
And the wrens have returned and they're nesting
In the hollow of that oak where his heart once had been
And he lifts up his arms in a blessing for being born again
And the streams are all swollen with winter
Winter unfrozen and free to run away now
And I'm amazed when I remember
Who it was that built this house
And with the rocks I cry out
Be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
Suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
Look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
Blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise
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