Thursday already!

Just the same old stuff here. Nothing different. I wish I had something new to share! At least the wild swings in outdoor temperatures don't affect me much...other than making the weather forecasts more interesting. The headache has been pretty steady the last few days at just below the terrible level. Or my pain tolerance has increased and I just think it's below the terrible level. I'm not really sure any longer. The headache's been around so long that it's getting hard to quantify how much it hurts. I don't even remember what it's like to not have the pain. I sure hope it is a problem with my adrenal glands...at least there's some things to be done to try and counteract those type of problems.

No more info here. Hope everyone's staying warm and healthy!

Just another day

Hi! Sorry for the late update, but I was hoping something wonderful, interesting or different would happen to make this more fun to read. Sorry, no such luck. Just another day of waiting. Still no results, still have the headache. Nothing new to report at all. Check in with you later!

Monday Magic

Happy Monday!
I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's weekend. Bobby and I enjoyed a nice quiet weekend at home. Of course, it had to be fairly quiet as the headache was pretty bad, and still is. It is covering a smaller area, but is much more intense. I sure hope the latest tests lead to a diagnosis....and that the diagnosis leads to a way to alleviate the pain.

I am just so very tired of the headache and the inability to routinely do the things I enjoy.

There is absolutely nothing exciting going on here. I sincerely hope everyone is happy and healthy out there!

Daytona Sunday

Hi, all! Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but there really hasn't been any change since Friday. We're just getting ready to watch the Daytona 500. The headache is centered over my right temple currently, and is medium-level intense. I hope to start getting some results information from the neurologist this week. Until then, I'm just in a holding pattern. Still.

Friday news

Ok, the news.....there isn't any. Everything's the same. I slept a LOT yesterday, headache was bad most of the time I was awake. For excitement, I've been saving my pee to take in to the lab today. About another hour and I'll be done. Sure hope they find what they're looking for!

No big plans or anything. Just the trip to drop off the pee and I'll be back home.

Right now, the headache is present, but it's not as painful as yesterday. I just hope it stays that way.

If/when I hear anything, I'll pass it on!

Pain

Ouch. I got sleep, but woke up to a monster-size headache. Going to be a muted tv day for me! But to cheer me up, I get to collect my pee today......it just doesn't get any better, does it?

That's it for now.

CT scan

Hello, again!

Well, I'm all done with the CT scan and it only took 1 hour longer than it should have! Last night, I drank a bottle of the barium-banana drink as instructed. When I got to the hospital for the test, they questioned the abdomen/chest CT, as they normally would include the pelvis with the abdomen. They called my doctor and were told to do the scan as they would normally proceed. So.....that meant I needed to drink another barium-banana drink and then WAIT for an hour for it to get through my system. Oh, goody.

So, I drank another bottle of the stuff and sat around and suffered through Regis & Kelly on the tv in the waiting room. Finally, they came and got me for the scan. Hallelujah!

As we're walking to the room, the lab tech says that the person doing the CT scan is very picky - she'll want me to drink more of the barium-banana stuff. Yup, she was right. After they got the IV in place, I got to drink some more stuff. Thankfully, I didn't have to drink another whole bottle, just about half of one. That way, there was more of the barium in the upper part of my system during the CT scan.

So, they ran me back and forth through the machine, then injected a dye into the IV so they could get a scan with the contrast dye. The dye isn't really a problem, except that when it moves through the bloodstream, you get a sensation like you need to urinate. Very weird feeling, but it doesn't last very long. So, back & forth I went again, and we were all done.

Headache, of course, was with me throughout. It really didn't like Regis' voice, either. I stopped and got some breakfast on the way home, as I was starving! (Did I mention I couldn't eat anything after midnight?) The barium-banana stuff was not suitable substitute for breakfast, that's for sure!

Oh....and the barium-banana stuff may make me have loose white bowel movements today as my system eliminates it. At least I have something to look forward to!

On my way out of the hospital, I went by the lab to pick up the jug for the 24-hour urine collection I need to do so they can do the test for the stuff the adrenal glands secretes. I'll start that tomorrow, then take it to the lab on Friday. That will be fun, don't you think? And I get to store it in the fridge - - -even better! (Bobby - don't drink from the orange pitcher.......)

So, all my excitement for the day is done. US-Mexico World Cup Qualifier game is on tonight, so my evening's excitement is scheduled, too.

Early report

I go in for my CT scan in about an hour, so I'll update when I return. Right now, head hurts, I don't like it, and I'm ready for it to be gone. You know, the usual.

Test scheduled

I go in for the abdomen & chest CT Wednesday morning. I have to go by there today to pick up the barium because I apparently need to drink it at some point before I go in for the scan. I'll go do that later this morning. That will probably be my excitement for the day! I just hope this scan helps to diagnose the problem. I am soooooooooooo tired of this. I'm even more tired of this stupid headache.

Did anyone else feel like your home was going to blow away last night? It was awfully windy and noisy last night. Just all kinds of odd, loud sounds late in the night...as if my head didn't already hurt! I thought I'd wake up this morning in Munchkinland or something.

No other activity here. I'll let y'all know if anything exciting happens.

Neurologist #2

I just got back from my visit to the new neurologist. Vastly different visit than with the first one! He looked through all the health questionnaire stuff I had filled out, asked some questions about things he read and things he noticed about me. He looked at the CT scan (and explained them!) and the MRI test (in another room on the computer, as that test was on a CD). He said the "spots" were very non-specific and he thinks the radiologist had "over read" them a bit.

However, after asking me to clarify some of my responses to the health questions, he said that he was wondering if most/all of my health problems could be related to some sort of problem with the adrenal gland! He said it's rare, but something going wrong with the adrenal gland could cause:

Headache
High blood pressure
Nosebleeds
Flushing (of the face)
Dizziness
Asthma

Oh my God! Could it really be that all this stuff I've been dealing with (some of them for years) could all boil down to one problem?!?! Well, we're going to find out. I go back and see him in 2 weeks. Between now and then I'll have a CT scan of my chest & abdomen and some kind of 24-hour urine collection test to check for adrenaline levels. Right now, I'm going to do some research about the adrenal gland to educate myself. At least I feel like this neurologist cares about what's causing the pain. Much better feeling than the first one.

Please pray that an answer is discovered from these tests.

I'm full

Well, Bobby got me up and moving so we could go eat at BD's. We've discovered if we get there right after they open there generally is no line. That way we get in and out quickly - especially good with my headache as BD's is not a quiet place. We both are stuffed and ready to just sit and watch Daytona Qualifying, so that's what we're doing.

Headache's still intense and I'm also lightheaded again. Sure am glad I'm seeing a new doctor tomorrow!

Ow

Well, I got lots of sleep again, but only because when I would sit up my head would hurt and I would feel dizzy. So, I would lay back down. I'm up now, showered, and in pain. Nothing else is going on. Just waiting for Monday...it's not too far now.

Red Friday

Wear Red for Women's Heart Health

Yup, I'm actually wearing red while I sit around the house. At least I can participate in something!

Normal (for me) sleep last night, thank God. Headache hasn't changed much since yesterday except to center the most pain right between my eyes. Great.

No other things of importance (or even non-importance) have happened to me. SSDD

I'm just patiently waiting for my appointment with the new neurologist.

Up early!

Well, I knew I'd regret all that sleep yesterday...I got about 4 hours of sleep last night and I'm awake already. Oh, well. I'm hoping I'll get a nap later, but I can't fall back asleep right now. The headache is already building, but I'm hoping it's about at it's top pain level because it really hurts already. I really don't need it to get any worse.

Nothing else has gone on here. Just the same ol' routine. It sounds like the weather's going to be nice for a couple days, so we may be able to open doors/windows and enjoy it for a bit. Odd for February, but I'm not complaining! Near 70 degrees for the next few days. Of course, it's going to get cold again after that. Can't have everything.

If I think of anything amazing to tell, I'll be back. Ciao!

Sleep is good

Wow! I either can't sleep at all or I sleep and sleep and sleep. I finally got out of bed a little before noon today. I feel rested, but a tad disoriented. I'm having lunch now, so getting food in my system I'm sure will set me straight.

The headache was TERRIBLE yesterday. I was literally curled up in the fetal position in the recliner when Bobby got home. I was whiny and gripy, but he made me some dinner and brought it to me. After I ate, I fell into a sound sleep in my chair for several hours and woke up in pain, but not quite as grouchy.

So far, the headache isn't as bad today, but since I've been up such a short time, it's hard to judge. I just hope it doesn't get as bad as yesterday - I hate those days.

Nothing else going on here. I'm off to eat. Bye!

Trash Day

I'm sure all of you were wondering when our trash day was! I tried to come up with a moniker for the title, but my brain definitely is not working, so "Trash Day" it is.

The headache's staying pretty intense almost all the time. It's also covering a larger area of my head. It's making it more and more difficult to be nice. Good thing Bobby understands and when I start wincing, he knows it's time to stop conversation for a while. I did manage to do some laundry and a load of dishes yesterday. I also made dinner.....though I was definitely ready to get out of the kitchen when the hamburgers were done. I was sweating and felt not quite light-headed, but like a curtain was slowly being pulled over my mind. My hands were shaking and Bobby made sure I was ok to eat. Less than a week now to the appointment with the new neurologist! Here's hoping I can wait that long and that the pain doesn't keep getting worse.

Well, I better stop now. The headache's already making itself known (like I hadn't noticed). Nothing else going on here.

Groundhog Day

Well, I'm awake after 4 or 5 hours of fitful sleep and I'm in time to see if the groundhog sees his shadow. Woo-hoo. Live on tv, too. Technology making us proud, again.

My friend, the headache, has been at a higher level of pain since yesterday afternoon. It made it difficult to fall asleep, and then I couldn't stay asleep for any length of time. So, I got up out of bed. I'm hoping I fall asleep in my chair sometime today as I still feel in desperate need of sleep.

At least the football game was good last night....though I didn't listen to most of it (earplugs) because of the crowd noise. There are just certain sounds that just feel like they're echoing inside my head.

Before I go, here's what Punxsutawney Phil predicted (I'm not sure of the spelling, but it's something like that)..............6 more weeks of winter! Yes, the "Inner Circle" out east declared the groundhog saw his shadow. Amazing, since that part of the country was cloudy. :-)

Super Sunday

Hello! It sure is a nice day outside, isn't it? Yeah, that's right, I went outside today. :-)

Slept in a bit, then Bobby and I went to Target to get some Mountain Dew and a game for his Xbox 360 that was $20 off. Good thing we went when we did as there were only 2 of the games left when we got there. Pepsi products were on sale, so we grabbed some as Bobby was really suffering from a lack of caffeine. We then went and had lunch at Olive Garden, so we're both very full right now.

Of course, the headache's still there, I don't really feel all that great and the casual strolling around Target brought on some serious heat...I was just burning up. Oh, well. I feel better now, though I wish the headache would ease up some. I mute the tv when Bobby's not around, but reading the closed captioning only lasts for a bit before the required concentration starts to make the headache worse. Of course, many shows are just as good or better without the sound!

We'll just be hanging out watching the game tonight. Nothing exciting. Have a good day, everyone!

Weekend already?

Wow, time flies when you're having fun..........yeah, right.

I don't feel well this morning. It started last night and it's only marginally better now. I'm hungry, but it feels like if I actually eat anything it won't stay down. The headache is still at a pretty high pain level, so I'm sure I'm not very good company. I took a nap late yesterday afternoon, getting up about 7:00 p.m. and was back in bed shortly after 10:00. I slept almost another 9 hours and only got up because I really needed something to drink. I feel almost dehydrated so I'm imbibing in a lot of water.

Nothing else much is going on. Just sitting around. Have a good day, everyone!

Another Friday

Well, nothing has changed since yesterday. Now I just get to wait until Feb. 9th to see neurologist #2.

Still have the headache. Still want it gone. Still no relief from meds.

Oh, well.

Have a wonderful weekend!