My leukemia's back.

[lazy gardener]

Yes! Yes, they do! I think Trader Joe's does and so does Grimaldi's in Florida at certain times.


And Walgreens!


But has anyone had dark chocolate covered potatoes chips?!!!??? Those are dangerous!

Those Brookside chocolates are awesome. They make pomegranite, and other flavors as well.

 

[donrae]

Things are going good. I'm feeling so much better, but again have to be careful not to get over tired. It's amazing how bad you can feel and not realize it when it happens slowly.

I'm having a bit of a trust issue with my local hematologists, though. Last year when I saw my labs trending down and was concerned about relapsing, I felt I was disregarded and patted on the head. Had the university doc review my labs and sure enough, I was right. Now, I'd been running fevers and feeling crappy for 3 weeks, no one caught on I had low-level blood poisoning. I'm also concerned about my labs trending down now. I know fighting infection can cause your white count to do funky things, but mine is getting pretty low, and my platelet levels have staggered also. I've phoned up to OHSU again and asked them to review and advise. I'm just not trusting the local docs to catch things, I guess.

I've decided to slow down on the chicken front until next year. I have so many cockerels that are going to need to be processed this year, and 14 more eggs in the incubator. I may pick up a half dozen barred Rock pullets when the Grange has them this fall, other than that, no more incubating or chicks. I need to be more confident of my health before I add more responsibility on to my guys.

 

[N F C]

If you aren't 100% confident with the local docs, then by all means Rachel have things double-checked with ones you do feel good about.

@3goodeggs you said Amish cheese didn't you? Amish cheese is definitely worth a train trip for...if for no other reason then so he can send it home to mom & dad!

 

[ronott1]

Things are going good. I'm feeling so much better, but again have to be careful not to get over tired. It's amazing how bad you can feel and not realize it when it happens slowly.

I'm having a bit of a trust issue with my local hematologists, though. Last year when I saw my labs trending down and was concerned about relapsing, I felt I was disregarded and patted on the head. Had the university doc review my labs and sure enough, I was right. Now, I'd been running fevers and feeling crappy for 3 weeks, no one caught on I had low-level blood poisoning. I'm also concerned about my labs trending down now. I know fighting infection can cause your white count to do funky things, but mine is getting pretty low, and my platelet levels have staggered also. I've phoned up to OHSU again and asked them to review and advise. I'm just not trusting the local docs to catch things, I guess.

I've decided to slow down on the chicken front until next year. I have so many cockerels that are going to need to be processed this year, and 14 more eggs in the incubator. I may pick up a half dozen barred Rock pullets when the Grange has them this fall, other than that, no more incubating or chicks. I need to be more confident of my health before I add more responsibility on to my guys.

It is important that you watch your labs. Last week my DW had a parathyroid tumor(adenoma) removed. Instead of being the size of a grain of rice, the gland and tumor were the size of the last joint on the surgeon's finger. A series of doctors and endocrinologists ignored the bad labs and symptoms for ten to twenty years.

It took kidney stones and two trips to the emergency room to get to a Urologist and then a new endocrinologist. After the new tests, including osteopenia and a radiology scan showing the tumor, her Dr. for the last 8 years said that he still did not think she needed surgery--he would treat with Vitamin D.(vitamin D will not solve a problem caused by an endocrine tumor--the spit out hormones in large un regulated quantities).

The surgery was a success and her bone pain was gone overnight. Her other symptoms will get better over the next two months and the bone density should be back to normal in 2 years.

 

[N F C]

@ronott1 that was a long road but I'm glad you're DW is ok (or will be soon).

 

[lazy gardener]

Things are going good. I'm feeling so much better, but again have to be careful not to get over tired. It's amazing how bad you can feel and not realize it when it happens slowly.

I'm having a bit of a trust issue with my local hematologists, though. Last year when I saw my labs trending down and was concerned about relapsing, I felt I was disregarded and patted on the head. Had the university doc review my labs and sure enough, I was right. Now, I'd been running fevers and feeling crappy for 3 weeks, no one caught on I had low-level blood poisoning. I'm also concerned about my labs trending down now. I know fighting infection can cause your white count to do funky things, but mine is getting pretty low, and my platelet levels have staggered also. I've phoned up to OHSU again and asked them to review and advise. I'm just not trusting the local docs to catch things, I guess.

I've decided to slow down on the chicken front until next year. I have so many cockerels that are going to need to be processed this year, and 14 more eggs in the incubator. I may pick up a half dozen barred Rock pullets when the Grange has them this fall, other than that, no more incubating or chicks. I need to be more confident of my health before I add more responsibility on to my guys.

Wise move on both fronts. Never trust the Doc when they pat you on the head and tell you, "I'm the Doc, you just let me worry about that!" And the last thing you need is more responsibility on your plate now. Time to just sit back, enjoy where you're at and focus all your energy on resting just as much as you need to, listening to your body, and getting well.

It is important that you watch your labs. Last week my DW had a parathyroid tumor(adenoma) removed. Instead of being the size of a grain of rice, the gland and tumor were the size of the last joint on the surgeon's finger. A series of doctors and endocrinologists ignored the bad labs and symptoms for ten to twenty years.

It took kidney stones and two trips to the emergency room to get to a Urologist and then a new endocrinologist. After the new tests, including osteopenia and a radiology scan showing the tumor, her Dr. for the last 8 years said that he still did not think she needed surgery--he would treat with Vitamin D.(vitamin D will not solve a problem caused by an endocrine tumor--the spit out hormones in large un regulated quantities).

The surgery was a success and her bone pain was gone overnight. Her other symptoms will get better over the next two months and the bone density should be back to normal in 2 years.

So glad your wife kept on top of things. Sorry she had to suffer so long and so much to finally get a correct diagnosis and treatment. That's why they call it "practicing medicine".

 

[donrae]

Ron--sorry your wife had to go through that, but so happy she's not feeling better

. I feel for folks with hard to diagnose problems---you start feeling you're crazy after a while, or overly obsessed, or something else. But your gut is telling you something's wrong with your body, and since no one else lives there you're the best one to know.

 

[ronott1]

Thanks to the three of you!

It was a lot of work but worth it.

 

[hbhoffman]

ronott1- Thanks for sharing! That sounds so similar to a friend's issues! Hmm. May need to ask her if she has had her thyroid levels checked.

Wise move, Rachel, on both counts! Love on your family too! They need you as well.

Yesterday we went to a small county fair. My special girl learned how to drive the bumper cars! She had a good time with her friends and we all went out to eat authentic Chinese food!! So good! This week our large fair starts. We put in to show our new tolbount polish chick in the 4-h pet show for prettiest head. I did not want to take too many risks this year in bringing something home with us. So it will be go with the chick to show in the a.m., change clothes and shoes, bring it right back home to isolate from our flock (that's at my friend's house) for a bit before finally joining our flock. Will post photos next week.

 

[ronott1]

ronott1- Thanks for sharing! That sounds so similar to a friend's issues! Hmm. May need to ask her if she has had her thyroid levels checked.

Wise move, Rachel, on both counts! Love on your family too! They need you as well.

Yesterday we went to a small county fair. My special girl learned how to drive the bumper cars! She had a good time with her friends and we all went out to eat authentic Chinese food!! So good! This week our large fair starts. We put in to show our new tolbount polish chick in the 4-h pet show for prettiest head. I did not want to take too many risks this year in bringing something home with us. So it will be go with the chick to show in the a.m., change clothes and shoes, bring it right back home to isolate from our flock (that's at my friend's house) for a bit before finally joining our flock. Will post photos next week.

Parathyroid is not thyroid. What needs to be checked is calcium level and parathyroid hormone. Oddly the calcium test is based on the average for your community not what is bad for a person. Calcium numbers over 10 are bad. For example, Woodland California says 10.5 is normal. Vacaville California says 10.2 is normal.

If you have calcium levels at either 10.2 or 10.5 something is wrong and you are being killed by the extra calcium(too much calcium kills within 25 years). Nearly 100% of the time it is a tumor.

In the picture, you can see the four parathyroid glands next to the thyroid:


Usually one of the glands has a benign tumor that takes over the function of the gland.

Important: Know your blood calcium number! Do not let a Doctor tell you it is normal or just a bit high. If it is high, figure out why even if it means going to a different Doctor.