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Recent events and my absence...
JackN
<font color=#99FF99>Lightwave Alien</font>
in Zocalo v2.0
I'm not posting this for sympathy or pity, just to let those who want to know what has been up with me in recent times.
The last few months (hell these last few years) have been a medical rollercoaster for me.
I often work long hours and much OT on this job of mine, but it is a job that is hard to find in these parts for the pay, so I don't complain. It also is my source of health insurance which makes it doubly important for me to keep.
Past:
2004 - Bell's Palsey
2007 - 4mm Kidney Stone
Currently:
(1.) I have an inflamatory arthritic condition which I have been dealing with for many years now because it has in recent years gotten worse when it flares up. The Rheumatologist has tried several things but they make me feel worse and so I deal with the pain.
(2.) I have been diagnosed with depression (finally stopped denying it), and now take Cymbalta (which has helped immensely).
A year ago (July 16th) I had to make the horrible decision to put "Tater" down for his quality of life. This put me in one of the lowest cycles I have ever went through since the time I was at Foundation Imaging and the loss of my job and our beloved project at Sierra. I'm not suicidal by any means (and never will be), but if death were to have knocked on my door, I would have welcomed it.
Because of my faith and a past event in my younger years I am not afraid of death itself, but I'm no fool either. I do worry about how it will happen sometimes and how fast it will occur. :)
Recently I took in a Free Puppy from a Wal*Mart parking lot. Best thing I could have done for my therapy. Her name is Sadie, and she is a Black Lab / Rottwieler mix (mostly Lab traits so far...). Wonderful animal. :)
(3.) I have three (3) herniated cervical discs in my neck between c4-c5, c5-c6, and c6-c7. About 4 months ago after an MRI of my neck, I completed a session of conservative therapy which inlcuded six (6) weeks of Physical Therapy and three (3) Epideral Surgical Steroid Injections.
(4.) I am also diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea which is a rarer and more serious type of Sleep Apnea. When doing the Sleep Study I was told I was the second worse case they had seen. Percentage of Oxygen should never drop below 95%, or you clinically have Sleep Apnea. My percentage was at around 85%. I now use a CPAP machine at night to breath correctly.
(5.) I have an as-yet-unknown condition with most of my Lymph nodes. A few months back I nearly collapsed at work, was dizzy, nausiated, hard to breath, and weak. I was taken to the ER of the local hospital and among other things was peeing brown. Liver enzymes were wrong, I had a Pleurisy in two (2) locations in my left Lung, blood chemistry was off, etc. X-Ray showed a lesion on my right femoral, and the CT scan showed all kinds of crap, like an irregular shaped liver, enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, and an unknown mass (not a tumor) under my left lung.
The follow up appointment with my Pulminologist (for the Sleep Apnea), found him ordering a follow up CT Scan, Renal Ultrasound, and X-ray, as well as more urine and blood tests. He was very unhappy with the CT results and then ordered a PET scan. After the PET scan in which all my Lymph nodes lit up like a XMas tree, as well as some other areas that shouldn't be active, he ordered a localized Biopsy, when I went to that appointment the surgeon postponed the biopsy in favor of a full surgical biopsy from which I returned home from today.
So, now I wait to see if it is just one of several kinds of virii that can do this, or if I am going for round two of some kind of Lymphoma.
The preliminary quick labs showed no cancer, but I'm not out of the woods yet. Hopefully a virus that can be killed and left inert in the body.
The last few months (hell these last few years) have been a medical rollercoaster for me.
I often work long hours and much OT on this job of mine, but it is a job that is hard to find in these parts for the pay, so I don't complain. It also is my source of health insurance which makes it doubly important for me to keep.
Past:
2004 - Bell's Palsey
2007 - 4mm Kidney Stone
Currently:
(1.) I have an inflamatory arthritic condition which I have been dealing with for many years now because it has in recent years gotten worse when it flares up. The Rheumatologist has tried several things but they make me feel worse and so I deal with the pain.
(2.) I have been diagnosed with depression (finally stopped denying it), and now take Cymbalta (which has helped immensely).
A year ago (July 16th) I had to make the horrible decision to put "Tater" down for his quality of life. This put me in one of the lowest cycles I have ever went through since the time I was at Foundation Imaging and the loss of my job and our beloved project at Sierra. I'm not suicidal by any means (and never will be), but if death were to have knocked on my door, I would have welcomed it.
Because of my faith and a past event in my younger years I am not afraid of death itself, but I'm no fool either. I do worry about how it will happen sometimes and how fast it will occur. :)
Recently I took in a Free Puppy from a Wal*Mart parking lot. Best thing I could have done for my therapy. Her name is Sadie, and she is a Black Lab / Rottwieler mix (mostly Lab traits so far...). Wonderful animal. :)
(3.) I have three (3) herniated cervical discs in my neck between c4-c5, c5-c6, and c6-c7. About 4 months ago after an MRI of my neck, I completed a session of conservative therapy which inlcuded six (6) weeks of Physical Therapy and three (3) Epideral Surgical Steroid Injections.
(4.) I am also diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea which is a rarer and more serious type of Sleep Apnea. When doing the Sleep Study I was told I was the second worse case they had seen. Percentage of Oxygen should never drop below 95%, or you clinically have Sleep Apnea. My percentage was at around 85%. I now use a CPAP machine at night to breath correctly.
(5.) I have an as-yet-unknown condition with most of my Lymph nodes. A few months back I nearly collapsed at work, was dizzy, nausiated, hard to breath, and weak. I was taken to the ER of the local hospital and among other things was peeing brown. Liver enzymes were wrong, I had a Pleurisy in two (2) locations in my left Lung, blood chemistry was off, etc. X-Ray showed a lesion on my right femoral, and the CT scan showed all kinds of crap, like an irregular shaped liver, enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, and an unknown mass (not a tumor) under my left lung.
The follow up appointment with my Pulminologist (for the Sleep Apnea), found him ordering a follow up CT Scan, Renal Ultrasound, and X-ray, as well as more urine and blood tests. He was very unhappy with the CT results and then ordered a PET scan. After the PET scan in which all my Lymph nodes lit up like a XMas tree, as well as some other areas that shouldn't be active, he ordered a localized Biopsy, when I went to that appointment the surgeon postponed the biopsy in favor of a full surgical biopsy from which I returned home from today.
So, now I wait to see if it is just one of several kinds of virii that can do this, or if I am going for round two of some kind of Lymphoma.
The preliminary quick labs showed no cancer, but I'm not out of the woods yet. Hopefully a virus that can be killed and left inert in the body.
Comments
I've been taking care of myself too over these last months which certainly proves that we are not getting any younger. I hurt my back over the last Christmas holiday season and it's only now that the pain has faded away, but I know it's only one wrong move or heavy lifting away. I also lost some weight (or mass, for the picky ones) and while it's probably a healthy decision, I do not really feel happier for it, but I guess I now need to find other means to compensate for the lack of this culinary pressure valve.
I'm amazed by all the conditions you seem to have all at once, this does seem to indicate you may have been exposed to something really bad and perhaps it's not all biological, it could also be the medication or chemicals in your home. Who knows?
BTW...where are the pics of the puppy!
Jake
We should smoke one together sometime!
Sorry to hear about your medical and other problems. Having a dog as a companion is one of the best things that can happen to someone. It's is wrenching when you lose them.
Regarding Duloxetine and mixing it with other depression alleviating drugs shouldn't be done without medical consultation. I’m not aware of any clinical studies yet conducted but then that is not my field of expertise.
Fingers crossed that your health improves soon.
\Lurk
Now to find out what type and where I got em from? :s
Glad to hear its not the 'C' word!
Month or two of these Anti-fungal pills. There are still some unanswered questions such as why my urine was full of proteins, although they suspect dehydration was severe when I went to the ER. The fungal thing makes sense of the Liver Enzymes.
So anyway, I will see the Infectious Disease doctor next Wednesday then my Pulmunologist on the 11th. Will know more then.
;)
That's actually true, I've read about that only recently but I didn't make the connection. It's one of the symptoms of dehydration.