Sorry for those who may think they are reading something really interesting. This is my way of processing all the information that I received in the last 24 hours.
Went up to San Francisco again and had an MRI appointment in the a.m. followed by an appt. with my neurosurgeon, Dr. Aghi. Well of all his patients for the day the MRI's were already on the computer for him, but of course mine were not. So no input given from the current MRI. He said they are just looking for anything unusual like bleeding and of course would call me if they come back with something. At this point in the process, the fat they placed on my pituitary gland is disintegrating as scar tissue is building up. This is the nasty smell that I have in my nose. He would like me to come back somewhere between the three month and six month mark for a more accurate MRI as the scar tissue should be developed and I think this would be my baseline MRI for them to reference in the future.
His opinion on the Diabetes Insipidus is that in most cases if it has not reversed by now, it most likely will not, but he has seen it take as long as 6 months. He said my tumor came back from the lab as benign and prolactin secreting; just as they had suspected. He wanted to know how I was feeling. I told him good, and some days just more tired and still congested, but the congestion is moving down. He said that was normal and again could take up to three months for this to all go away. He said, if it feels too heavy to lift, don't do it. If I need to lay down a while, then do it. I should listen to my body and do what it needs.
I told him that sometimes my breasts still feel like they are full, but I am afraid to squeeze them to see if milk comes out. I asked if this was normal. He said that it is and that my prolactin level can fluctuate throughout the day and the tissue in my breast areadjusting and not really knowing what to do as it has been use to my prolactin level being high for so long.
Today I saw Dr. Blevins my endocrinologist. He said that is is still likely that my Diabetes Insipidus will reverse as he has seen most of them reverse. I guess with two doctors, you have two opinions. Dr. Blevins told me that post-op they took my prolactin level and it was 5 and back in April with my dx. it was 71. He said the very low number meant I was cured and that was good news. They drew my prolactin level again at this visit and we will wait and see what it is now. Dr. Blevins did not have much to say at all. It was actually a really weird appointment where I wondered why I was there. He sent me for my Cortisol test and Thyroid and Growth hormone. Apparently the Thyroid and Growth Hormone were other things that could have been damaged during the surgery. The cortisol is what my adrenal glands produce and the steroid is what I am taking to assure that my adrenals are function well. If my cortisol test comes back ok, then I will be able to stop taking the steroid. I am hoping to hear something back this week, but know that I may have to wait until next week to find out.
One other thing I found out is that I can take my hormone for the Diabetes Insipidus every twelve hours as needed and that is helpful if I am going to be going somewhere, as it can get very annoying later in the day as the hormone wears off.
Everytime I step foot into that hospital or clinic I am reminded of how precious our health is. It is amazing to see some very sick people in the clinic, including a lot of children. Not only that, but I am so greatful for the doctors who take the time to go to school and learn all that they do to help people. It is a very emotional experience for me and really puts life into prospective. This helps me take each momment of every day and appreciate the little things in life. It is about what we do with what we have each and every day and really no further than that.
Much thanks to my aunt and uncle who housed us again and saved us more money. We also got some greatly appreciated babysitting from Hillary and her dad on Monday as they took the kids to the zoo. God is good!
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2 comments:
It was pretty great to hear you process and wrap the whole thing up with the gratefulness you have. I'll keep praying the diabetes gets overwith.
Hillary babysat, huh? Wow - I'll have to hear more about that sometime.
Yeah, it may sound a little weird, but I think it worked out very well. Hillary's sister and husband live in Los Gatos and so we met them on Sunday for dinner with Hillary and her dad. It is a long story how it all worked out and it did not work out as it was planned, but I think it worked well for everyone in the end. Her mom was supposed to be there, but she was sick. Due to the year it has been for us, we have not made it up to Chico this year and this seemed to work for everyone. Her sister Sarah had a baby in April and it was fun to see Alyson's (cousin). She looked very much like Aly at that age, it was a little emotional for me, as I miss my little "baby" girl.
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