Water

You know, it's taken me 47 years to get it right.  I never did drink much throughout the day.  I did manage to acquire a Coke habit - Coca Cola that is, Classic.  About 3 years ago, I got a nasty virus, and ended up badly dehydrated and had to have IV fluids.  A couple of bags later and I'm feeling better, although it was days before I was over that virus.  I drank cranapple juice while I was sick.  I realized that I hadn't had a Coke in a few days, so I thought I'd see if I could go a week.  I found out that Coke dehydrates you instead of hydrating you.  You have to drink two glasses of water to even things out.

And just three or four months before the virus,  I'd been admitted to the hospital to get re-hydrated, I knew I needed to make some changes.

I made the week without coke and thankfully without the caffeine withdrawal.  I tried for two weeks and reached that goal, then I went for a month, two months, and well, you get the picture.  I made it a year, and now, it's been three years since I've had a Coca Cola.  Like any addict, sometimes I long for that taste, but I have managed to stay strong.

I replaced Coke with cranapple juice, but the problem with that was that I didn't increase the volume much.

Chronic dehydration started causing all sorts of problems for me.  After my back surgery in 2010, it delayed me being released from the hospital by 3 days because they couldn't get me hydrated.  What was supposed to be a 2-3 day admission stretched into 6 days.  My neurosurgeon later commented that I had done great with the actual surgery, he just couldn't get me well from a medical standpoint because of the dehydration.

During my recovery, I started passing out, or nearly passing out.  Dehydration they told me.  Some tummy problems - dehydration again.  I stayed dizzy all the time and found myself holding onto things to keep from falling over when I'd get a wave of dizziness.  Fighting that feeling of knowing you're about to faint isn't fun.  Being dizzy all of the time isn't fun.

I had to have a tilt table test because of all of this.  Turns out - chronic dehydration was causing the symptoms.  The doctor told me that 99.9% of his patients were told to avoid salt, but he wanted me to add salt, to everything.  And to increase my water intake.

Still, it's hard changing life long habits.  I tried, I really did, but I was failing pretty miserably.  On top of failure, I was still fighting the dizziness.  However, I did notice that I wasn't as dizzy all of the time.  For the first time, I was feeling a little encouragement.

It was frustrating to not be able to stand for very long before the blood starts to pool in your ankles and because of your dehydration your heart can't pump it back very well, and the resulting dizziness causes the near fainting. 

My GI doctor told me that he believes it is POTS syndrome.  Dr Google agrees - reading the information about POTS was like they wrote it for me.  Guess what the treatment is?  Yep, water and salt.  He said that finally for him, the years of trying to deal with my crazy GI symptoms - now everything falls into place.  Several years ago, I had a very bad episode of what turned out to be ischemic colitis - which they describe as a heart attack in your intestines.  They were all surprised that I actually had it, I did not fit the profile of someone who gets IC - I had none of the risk factors.  They just scrathed their heads, but the biopsy confirmed it.  He had a light bulb moment at my last visit and for him, the chronic dehydration was the culprit, the last puzzle piece.  He said he felt comfortable to release me from further follow up with him unless something comes up in the future and I need him.

So,  what I took away from that last visit with him - water and salt.  Go figure.

Finally, after having it pounded in my head, I knew I needed to do something.  I don't know why it was such a struggle to drink the water, but it was.

So, I had to come up with something that I could stick to.

Four 16.9 oz bottles of water would get me the minimum amount of fluid a day that I needed.  So, in order to keep track of what I was drinking.  I would stop and grab 4 bottles of water a day and put them on my desk.  I won't leave work for the day until all 4 of them are gone.  I did it the first day, and the second day, and every day since.  Sometimes, I go grab a 5th bottle. So, when I get home, anything else I drink is gravy.  On the weekends, I put four bottles on the kitchen table, Chris knows that's my hydration station and leaves those bottles alone.

I've really been successful, and over the past few weeks, I've noticed a pretty significant decrease in my dizziness.  Talk about encouragement.

I helped out at a car show yesterday, and was on my feet for most of the day.  Once I got home, I realized that I hadn't been dizzy all day.  I didn't have to sit down because of dizziness, not once!  I did have to rest my feet and back though.  I would take a break and go sit in the car and turn on my heated seats, because it was so cold and windy and raining, but I didn't have to take a breather for being dizzy.

Water.  Who knew?

The question has been answered

So, referring back to my post To bx or not to bx in August of 2009 - after a lot of consideration, I decided to not do the lung biopsy and just follow the protocol of having CT scans of my chest for 2 years.  They stretched the frequency back from 3 months to 6 months, and then out to a year.

I had my last CT about two weeks ago and went for the results on Thursday.  I got a little nervous just from the doctor's mannerism, and then his statement "this was supposed to have been your last CT", and I felt my stomach flip.  I told myself to concentrate on what he was saying.  He said there are changes on the CT, the nodule has enlarged and is irregular in shape.  He told me I need to have it excised, but that I need to have a PET scan first.

I associate PET scans with cancer.

I managed to ask some semi-intelligent questions.  I managed not to fall apart.  I did start shaking as soon as the doctor left the room to get the PET scan scheduled.  I texted Chris, then we talked.  He is concerned of course, and now we are both ready to move on, get it done, but as with all things medical, you have to WAIT.  I have to wait a week to have the PET scan, then wait a week to see the doctor for the results, and then I have to wait for the surgery to be scheduled and then I have to wait for biopsy results.

My parents and family and friends are all obviously concerned.

Even though I have to wait - I do have some things on my side, other than God who has me in his hands, I work for 3 wonderful cardiothoracic surgeons.  2 of them went to the hospital that same day and personally reviewed my CT scans, and discussed them with the radiologist and the pulmonologist.  All 4 agree that the nodule has to come out.

I feel so much better though now knowing what their line of thought is - the edges of the nodule are ill defined and it is very difficult to compare and say with certainty that it has remained stable.  They are unable to feel confident that they are comparing the same slices.  So, their recommendation is biopsy.  The question has been answered - yes I will biopsy.  They also all four feel that it has a very low chance that it is malignant - but we need to have an answer one way or another.

The Queen of Lungs is doing my surgery.  That's what my friend who is the director of the cardiac services line at the hospital where I will have my surgery calls her.  She's called the Queen because SHE.IS.THE.BEST.  I'm so blessed to have her as a boss, and as my surgeon.  I feel totally confident and comfortable.

The pulmonologist had told me that I would need to have a thoracotomy which is open lung surgery and a couple of days in the hospital.  After reviewing the CT, my boss says she can do a VATS (video assisted thoracic surgery) with a wedge resection.  It's less invasive and should only need one night in the hospital.

So, that's the plan.  I have an answer to the question about whether or not to biopsy, so now it's just going through the motions to get to the final answer to the puzzle.

Update on my hand

I'm making good progress in my recovery. Most days, the palm isn't tender. The strength is coming back smidges at a time. I was gauging the improvement by when I could open a water bottle by myself. I managed that feat last Tuesday, at about 3 weeks post op. It's a struggle, but I'm doing it!

The scar looks good. It's itching some, which is part in parcel during the healing process. I'm using the memory foam block he gave me to strengthen the hand. I'm trying to use it on the left hand to so it will be stronger before the surgery on it.

I go back for my next post op on Thursday this week. We will schedule the left hand at that time.

So, all in all, it hasn't been a bad experience.

I'm ready...

So, I had the surgery on my right hand. The surgery itself wasn't bad. The surgery center was great, really wonderful staff, everything moved right on along. I arrived at 11:3o, and I think I was home by 3, if not sooner.

I woke up with my hand in a pretty stiff bandage. I could feel, but it was mostly numbness. At home, I went straight to bed, and elevated my hand as instructed. And took the pain pills right on schedule. Doc told Chris to make sure that I kept them in my system. I haven't had a pain pill since Thursday morning at 6:30 am. So, that has been a good thing.

Very quickly I learned that there are so many limitations with only having one hand, esp when it is your dominant hand. Chris has been great, right there helping me with everything. As the days have gone by (I'm 4 days post op now), I'm able to do so much more. I'm learning to be creative. I am able to type now.

I went to work on Friday, but was only able to type left handed, writing wasn't happening at all, so I spent some time returning some phone calls. I'm really glad that I can type now, that should make next week at work easier.

Just to think, I have to do this again on the other hand in the not so distant future. At least I'll be a little more prepared.

But for now... I'm ready... to have the bandage off, the stitches out, and start the next phase of recovery.

Scheduled

Looks like I'm starting off the new year with surgery. Right hand surgery is scheduled for January 6th. We'll schedule the left hand when the right hand is healed enough. The neurosurgeon who I was seeing anyway, took one look at my EMG and said he is very concerned about my hands and set me up to see the orthopedic surgeon the very next day, who was also concerned about how far advanced the carpal tunnel syndrome is. He told me that I already have permanent damage - bummer. Said I might get some improvement, but he wouldn't guarantee it, but that he could stop the progression.

I am still so surprised, feels like this came out of nowhere, when obviously it didn't because of how bad it is. It's been a sneaky little problem, I just adjusted as time went by I guess. Too much other stuff to worry about.

Meeting that $1,000 deductible EARLY!

Conspiracy

It has to be a conspiracy - my hands both got together and conspired to take me completely by surprise and throw me for a loop. So, yeah, they started acting up - being numb when I'd wake up, hurt, etc. The pain would go to my elbow or shoulder, but not often. My hand swelled - ONE time. Sure, I have lost tactile sensation in my hands, but that was really gradual - irritating because it made me have the dropsies all the time.

So, one day it was really bad and I had a doctor's appointment anyway - it was the day the hand swelled. He prescribed a splint and an EMG. Got the splint right away, it helped some, but was really 2 days before I could take the splint off for any length of time. Well, fast forward to yesterday, I had the EMG done. Carpal tunnel? Yes - no surprise there. Bad carpal tunnel - well, figured I had it, but not that it was all that bad. Wrong - it's advanced to the point that I have motor nerve damage, and it's "critical" for me to get it fixed surgically - soon. Well, that's the right hand. The left one is bad as well she said, but it can wait a little before I get it fixed, but I've got to move on the right hand.

Suggestions, tricks for using your non-dominant hand for everything?

Next time hands - send good surprises.

Revisiting "To bx or not to bx?" from August 28, 2009

I've found out that there were no changes on my CT scan (compared to the one in August), so for now, it is watch and wait for another year. So, the answer to the question for now is "No bx". Yay!

To bx or not to bx?

For the past 9 months, I've been dealing with a medical issue. Now there has been a change, or something they say might be a change, an enlargement - could simply be a different reading due to CT scans being done on different machines - but the question now arises -- "to biopsy or not to biopsy?"

I'm wrestling with the decision - these are my lungs we're talking about.

Do I wait it out until the next CT in 3 months? Or do I biopsy now and know? Those are the choices I've been given.

What would you do?

Busy days

Our days have been very busy lately - so much so that we are eating out every night. We always seem to do that when we are running at full speed.

I made it through the end of the fiscal year closing of the books! Yay! Always a stressful day for me.

Scheduled a few vacation days around the holiday to extend the weekend - ended up with a cold, so my vacation day turned into a sick day - b.u.m.m.e.r (Ashley if you're reading this, I always think it is cute when you do that, and I've never really had a place it would work before)

Had to get my XM radio signal reset in my car. I was having a bit of withdrawal while it was out of commission. I love listening to the comedy channels. Sometimes I am laughing hysterically, and I wonder what the other drivers are thinking if they see me. (Ashley, this might help your road rage...)

Upgraded my iPhone to the new operating system - liking texting MUCH better now. Still encounter typos, but not nearly as many. I was spending more time correcting my typos than texting, so I'm happier now with the wide keyboard text feature. Also found out you can slide your finger and the letter you stop on when you lift your finger is the letter that is typed. (that works on the old O.S. if you haven't upgraded yet) The texting was the one thing I really disliked about the iPhone, and now I can use both hands to type, so my speed has improved. You can also forward a text now which was something that was sorely lacking.

I'm hoping the voice memos will come in handy - I think it just might.

While sitting home on the sofa all day, I was channel surfing and stopped on Bravo TV and got interested in "The Fashion Show" and ended up watching a 5 or 6 hour marathon. They are down to the final four, and of course I'm hooked now.

Other than sitting on the sofa, I managed to get 2 loads of laundry done.

I missed a get together with Chris's family tonight because of the cold. He brought food and medicine home with him. He takes such good care of me.

Going out for a girls night out tomorrow night with Susan, Gina and Tonya.

Milestone

Today I reached a small milestone. One week without Coca-Cola.

I'm tired of getting dehydrated and needing IV's, and I know I don't drink enough during the day. I tended to drink one Coke at lunch, and one at supper and maybe a little other fluid during the day, but usually not much. So, I decided that I needed to do something.

I bought some juice, (cranapple, etc), and I have made an effort to drink more at work. So, I'm drinking juice now, and I'm actually doing better. I've done better than I thought I would with giving up the Coke.

Too soon

I've had a relapse... got up this morning, made the bed, started to get ready for work, and went and crawled back into bed. I'm up and about now, and yes, I'm drinking juice, not going to get dehydrated again.

Working some from home, working A/R by gotomypc. At least I don't feel like a total bum. 2009 was supposed to be my healthy year!

Back to work

It was back to work today, still not feeling great, but much, much better. I lost 7 lbs while sick - YAY! Hard way to do it, but if you've gotta be sick, might as well get some benefit out of it. Hope I can keep it off and use it as a good starting place to lose more.

Sick!

I got sick on Saturday, (Nov 29th) and thought I was getting better, even managed to go to the Sarah Palin rally and to class after that. Tuesday, I wasn't feeling so hot again - wound up in the hospital - dehydrated and low potassium. So, after getting re-hydrated, I got dismissed. Feeling better, but not completely over it yet.