Friday is Doctor Day

I get to spend my day off tomorrow going to the doctor times 3! First I have a 9:15 with the sleep doctor to go over my results from Saturday's stay at the clinic and to prepare for surgery. I have to take my cpap machine to the hospital with me.
Then at 11 I see Dr. Singh, my primary care physician for a pre-op physical and history. At 1:30 I go to the hospital for all my pre-op tests and instructions for my surgery and hospital stay.
What a way to spend a day off! Hopefully I will still have enough energy to work on my housecleaning when I get home. We are supposed to have frost tonight - so I parked the Beretta in the garage and moved more plants inside. Guess winter is just around the corner.

Surgery scheduled

After consulting with my pulmonologist and a thoracic surgeon, we have decided to follow their recommendation to biopsy the nodule in my lung. Surgery is scheduled for November 4th. I also found out that I have type 2 diabetes...so I will be attending classes at the Diabetes Center to learn everything I need to know (like testing my blood sugar, what to eat, etc.) It has been alot to digest in just a day. Good news from the MRI of the hemangioma on my spine. It appears to be benign. They did see some spondylosis - degeneration of the disks...but said it was a normal part of aging. Isn't it fun to get old??? One day at a time!

Last of the Canning

Well I think I am ready to put all my canning gear in the basement and call it a year! Put up the rest of the tomatoes as seasoned sauce - 10 quarts and 4 pints. It's too bad we are starting to have lows in the mid 30's as my peppers are blooming again and I even have zucchini growing! I may try to cover them for awhile, but it is probably time to pull everything out and get the beds ready for the winter. I hate to say good-bye to the garden - but the days keep moving on. Brought alot of the plants in tonight. We purchased two small three shelf greenhouses...so I can keep a few things on the porch for awhile. I am definitely not ready for the holidays to be here!

Started Walking Again

Well I rested my foot this weekend, did the stretches the doctor showed me, put gel inserts in my shoes and started walking again. I did 10 minutes in the afternoon and then 20 minutes after dinner. My foot is a little sore, but so far not the pain I was having last week. Hopefully I will be able to keep walking now. Had the MRI of my spine this morning...but I don't know when I'll hear anything. We should have answers on the Cushings and Diabetes this week. I am anxious to know. My blood pressure has been up again but I cannot link it to any thing. I bought a weight watchers home kit on Ebay this weekend. Hopefully I'll be able to figure it out...I hate having to follow a diet where you have to weigh everything and keep track of portions, but that's the diet the endocrinologist suggested, so I'll give it a try. I checked out a sample menu and it is way more food than I am eating now - so I don't know how it will work. I still think the key is exercise.

MRI ordered

Met with my new doctor today - I really like him. He will be my new primary care physician and is only 5 minutes away from my house! He has scheduled an MRI to further check on the hemangioma. I will have that on Monday. Tomorrow is my Glucose Tolerance Test to conclusively diagnose diabetes. So the tests and doctors visits continue. I am trying to live a normal life in between. Daniel is scheduled for a CT scan on the 27th and then will see the ENT right afterwards for the decision about surgery on his nose. We certainly are keeping the medical profession busy.

So tired of doctor appointments

I am a little discouraged after my doctor's visit today. During my last CT scan they found a Hemangioma on my L2 vertebrae. A hemangioma is a benign bone lesion. I have an appointment with a new doctor tomorrow morning to discuss if anything needs to be done about it. Usually they leave them alone, unless it is causing symptoms. Because I am having some numbness in my back and legs they want me to talk with this doctor.
On the endocrine front we have ruled out several things, but they need one more test to completely rule out Cushings. Two have come back negative. If I do not have Cushings - they will not surgically remove the tumor on the adrenal gland but will check it in one year to see if it has grown. She is having me take another test to conclusively determine if I have diabetes. Right now all she can say is that I have impaired glucose tolerance. I will take that test Friday. If I have diabetes, she will send me to the diabetes center here in town for education and we will discuss medication. She is also running a test having to do with growth hormone. I have lost 8 pounds and my blood pressure is still down.
I am finding it hard to continue to wait for more tests...a lesson in patience and trust.

Summer Lingers

Well I was really hoping to post more than once a week...where has the time gone? Anyway it is HOT here...89 the other day. But it should ripen up the last of the tomatoes. Saw my cardiologist yesterday and got a clean bill of health as far as my heart goes. The heart cath showed no sign of coronary artery disease at all and good pumping action. My blood pressure has stayed down, although they want me to continue to monitor it. I had my follow-up CT scan of the nodule in my lung today. They also wanted to repeat a chest x-ray. I do not know if the doctor will call me with results or wait until I see him on the 19th. The cardiologist said that my blood pressure may be down for a couple of reasons. First, with my gyn's permission I have stopped taking Estrostep, which was just to minimize the pre-menopause symptoms I was having. But it can raise blood pressure and can cause clots, so I'm off it. Hopefully the "hot flashes" won't come back! The other thing the doctor said is that I have dropped some weight and that even a little weight off can really affect the blood pressure. Well I'd better go check on the tomato sauce - still canning and canning!