Southern NY, Dutchess county and below

[ChickenAl]

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Wow, Al. That really sucks. Hope the neurologist can help. Please, please, please keep us updated.

Yeah, it does kind of suck. I've taken the attitude that I will not let it get me down. We've been down the road with some serious illness a few years back and my wife always says to take it one day at a time. That's what I've learned is best to do. Projecting into the future is only going to make me crazy. Not that I'm not crazy anyways.

 

[ChickenAl]

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Roberta, so did it just go away? We're thinking it cold be autoimmune too because of other issues I have, so that is why the rheumatologist is next on the list. It is nice being chauffeured around though.

 

[stoopid]

We never really did get a "name" of the disease. After a lot of specialists, the only one that was helpful and seemed to know his butt from his elbow was the opthamologist. DH retinas were clouding up, got steroid drops and pills for months, got better.

 

[ChickenAl]

Thanks, Roberta. My opthamologist is the one who has ordered the second scan, sent me to the ENT, and now ordered bloodwork. I'll see what the rheumatologist can add to the situation later today. Very frustrating when trying and waiting to get a diagnosis so you can proceed with treatment. Still, just part of life, I guess.

 

[smkchick]

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Hang in there, Al. Ask lots of questions and take notes. I found these days you have to be proactive about medical things. Sounds like the opthalmologist is on the ball, though. How's your blood pressure?

Just let the big girls out for the day. I wish I didn't have to go to work so I could just sit and watch them for awhile. Gave them some broccoli and red cabbage leaves this morning. I was in the supermarket yesterday thinking about what they'd like. Time was, I did that for my daughter...

I'm already booked for a lot of work next week, which is a good thing.

 

[ChickenAl]

Suzanne, it is funny how we do the same thing at the supermarket. Neither of us admit it, but we do buy veggies with the thought of our girls in mind. Sometimes I think we worry about our pets more than ourselves. Not a bad thing considering how much they give back to us.

Asking questions is what I do at the doctors. Sometimes I take a list with me of questions so I don't forget any. My wife had a very rare and aggresive skin cancer, called Merkel Cell Carcinoma, a few years ago, and I found an internet support group which stressed the importance of taking notes at the doctor visits. I always went with pad in hand and a list of questions with space underneath to record the answers. Most people forget half of what the doctor says as soon as they walk out the office door. We would refer to notes all the time and see something both of us could not remember asking the question to or hearing an answer at the time.

Today, I am one of the administrators of that support group. Been three years since my wife has been cancer free. We take every day as a new one, and are glad we have made it here. We only get our days one at a time, so it is important to live them that way, and to appreciate each and every one.

Sorry to go off on a tangent. BYC has been a welcome diversion on the internet for me. The support group is what keeps me on the computer most of my free time, and being here with all of you has made this a fun experience. Sometimes I stay on the computer waaaay too long, and it can get in the way of doing other chores. But, meeting new people and sharing a common interests does make the time fly and offers a much needed respite.

 

[stoopid]

Al, don't apologize, sometimes being on the internet is the only way of getting a diagnosis.
And not from a doctor, but through other people with the same disease.

 

[stoopid]

And as far as spending money in the produce dept., the first place I go is to the guy doing the trimming. He has a big garbage can on wheels, all the nasty, crooked leaves that will keep someone from buying that particular head of whatever, gets thrown out.
Kind of comical watching me try to get that big slimy bag into my trunk, but it's garbage to them. Gold to me!
Most it has cost me is $5., or a dozen eggs, but they usually give it to me.
Or the clearance rack. A little squishy tomato never looked better to a chicken, especially when I don't have to pay full price.

 

[stoopid]

Al, you never mentioned any rheumatological (sp?) issues. What's up with that?

 

[smkchick]

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I totally agree with Roberta on that!

I learned the importance of being proactive with doctors when I was diagnosed with a heart defect at age 35. The cardiologist called with the results of a holter monitor at 8:30 pm on a Friday. I knew something was up! He told me that the medication of my (now ex-)internist could have killed me if I had started taking it. My heart rate was down to 16 beats per minute and the internist had given me an rx to slow it down before he did any tests. The cardiologist told me I needed a pacemaker immediately. What really scared me was that I couldn't remember the cardiologist's name after that phone call! All I could remember was the word "pacemaker". That's why I brought my mother with me to see him on that Monday. I figured one of us would remember everything!

I'm lucky now to have a group of regular doctors who LISTEN. I've kind of weeded out the ones who don't. And while the internet can have some scary information, it always gives me questions to ask. Webmd is one of my "go-to" sites.