Why am I the only one worried about me?

Hey, thanks for stopping by today to see what the latest drama is...
Today's story is one of desperation. I am desperately seeking answers to the questions: Why am I so anemic? Why am I losing blood in my stools? Why am I the only one worried about this?

Last week, my blood tests revealed a continuous drop in my Red Blood Cell Count, and my Hemotologist set me up with the first of two iron infusions, to try and kick start my system into producing more red blood cells.

My general doctor had me take a Guyack (Goo-Y-Ak) test which revealed hidden blood in my stools. My pharmacist told me that I needed to have a colonoscopy right away because that was a serious problem. My general doc is unable to get me in to the Yakima Gastroenterology Clinic until mid October OR LATER!! Obviously he does not think that it is that serious. I called back Virginia Mason and told them about the test results and my Gastroenterologist said that there was no immediate problem to be fixed and it was ok to wait until the END OF SEPTEMBER to get the colonoscopy. Obviously he does not think that it is serious either. Meanwhile, I am extremely fatigued, losing weight, bruising easily and worried about my dwindling red blood cells. I have also started to get a lot of pain in the middle of my abdomen, between my two ribs. The pain is getting increasingly worse as each day goes by. I have had similiar pain before, and it was my liver. I was hospitalized for almost 10 days the last time I had this excruciating pain. I may go to my doctor this week to get it checked out, it is bothering me so much. The thing is, I'm afraid to go and have them do nothing, but take more money out of my pocket. I'm the only one concerned with these issues and am beginning to feel like my doctors think I'm crazy. That is not a good feeling!

I don't know if my doctors really don't think there is a problem, even though my tests are presenting indicators of problems; OR if they are trying not to worry me, so they are downplaying the issues. Oh, no, now I'm sounding paranoid too! I guess I will just wait and see what happens. Tomorrow I go back to the Pain Clinic, and maybe they can check out the pain in my abdomen and schedule a steroid shot in the bursitis in my right hip and/or in my neck which is also causing a significant amount of pain when I sit or stand for more than 20 minutes in one position. Come back soon to see where this continuing drama leads me...

I know I'm anemic, I know why I'm anemic! What are the doctors going to do to fix it?

Thanks for stopping by today to continue following my drama about Anemia. In High School, my best friend Kim, used to say that my life was like a soap opera because there was so much Drama, Drama, Drama! I can honestly say that it is still a Drama!

Today's drama begins with a 4:30 am wake-up-call from my dd who had a horrible stomache-ache. I gave her some Tylenol and had her take a warm bath to help soothe her achey tummy. It worked and off to bed she went!

I couldn't fall back asleep, so I started reading my emails and checking Facebook. I worked online until 6 and then got up and took a shower. DH also got up and showered, then we hollered Happy Anniversary to one another and out the door he went, to work. We are celebrating our 20th anniversary today! I couldn't do a thing without the help of the Lord and my dear Husband! He is so supportive of me especially since my quality of life has diminished so much over the past 6 years.

Yesterday I saw my Hemotologist and he said that my blood counts were still extremely low and my iron was also low. I told him that they had done a Gyack (pronounced GWY-AK)and they had found blood in my stools. He decided to order me 2 yes, TWO IRON INFUSIONS!! Finally, there is a glimmer of light at the end of my dreary tunnel! Today I was supposed to go back to the Northstar Lodge and get a 4 hour iron infusion! What a great anniversary gift! The gift of energy and less fatique! I am so excited! Unfortunately, I know my body and a usual 4 hour infustion will probably be a 6 hour infusion. I will know more, as the day progresses...

Last night, around 10 ish, my oldest son popped his head in our room and told us that he had put $20 in each of the two cars, so that we could put gas in them today. I got all showered, shampooed and shined up and went out to the van and couldn't find ANY MONEY ANYWHERE. I decided to take a risk, thinking that since the van is parked on a hill, it is possible that the gas has run out of the tank and it really wasn't as empty as it seemed. I was wrong! The van started lurching and chugging about 5 blocks away from our house. I am THANKING GOD that I made it into the gas station where I parked the van and searched again for the $20. I still couldn't find it. I tried to call my boys to ask them where the money was. They had their phones shut off. I tried to call DH and his phone was off. I called my mom and she came to the gas station to rescue me! Thanks mom!

I told the gas station owner that my car would be there until my dear son woke up and came to put gas in the van so we can drive it home. He laughed because we were at a gas station! I wish I had found it as amusing as he did. I still haven't been able to reach my son. He will get an earfull when I do get a hold of him!

So, I was about 30 minutes late for my infusion to begin with. I did call them and let them know I was late. So they got my IV in, in two tries! Hooray! Usually it takes 5 or 6 OR MORE! I got my pre-meds to help alleviate any allergic reactions and my iron started at 10:00 am. Now it is 11:57 am and they had to stop the iron and regive me all the premeds to help combat an allergic reaction that I was having from the iron. Now it's 12:00p.m. and they are restarting my iron infusion. I have already been here 3 1/2 hours for a 4 hour infusion and I still have at least 3 more hours barring anymore allergic reactions!

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May I digress a moment, thank you..............

Yesterday, as I said, I saw my Hemotologist who ordered some premeds for me to take last night and then night before my next infusion. When I went to the pharmacy to pick it up, the pharmacist asked me about my health and I told her about the Gyak test and the anemia. She said that I needed to get in for a colonoscopy immediately! So I called my primary care doctor (pcd) and asked them if they had scheduled me for a colonscopy in Yakima. They said that they couldn't get me in at the local clinic until close to November! I said, isn't it serious to be bleeding in your stools?
"Yes but they are booked and there is nothing we can do," said the nurse. So I called back Virginia Mason (VM) and retold my story about the Gyak test and iron infusion and begged them to get me in for a colonoscopy sooner than my September 30 appointment. My gastroenterologist is out of town for 2 weeks! Go figure! His nurse promised she would call my gastroenterologist or email him and see if I could be seen by another guy in his office sooner than the end of September. I am still waiting to hear about that! I am just apalled that you can have a serious problem and that the doctors still wait and wait to see you. I just don't understand. Who makes up these guidelines? Please keep me in your prayers! I need all the help I can get while these doctors hem and haw and put me off. I do not want to end up with a severe complication as a direct result of a bleed somewhere in my digestive tract!

So that ends part of today's little drama (so far). Please leave me a comment so that I know you stopped by! I love to hear from you guys! Have a wonderful day and I hope to c-ya again real soon!

A little more about my anemia...

OK, this morning I called my doctor to get the test results from my stool culture. I definately have blood in my stool, so most likely that is where my blood is going and then coming out of my body. Now the receptionist told me that they would set up a colonoscopy at Yakima Gastroenterology. I told her that Virginia Mason was going to do a colonoscopy and an endoscopy and she put me on hold. Then she came back and said that the doctor thought I was going to do that at Virginia Mason, so he would have to make a referral to Yakima Gastroenterology. Does that make any sense to you? It doesn't make sense to me either. I said, "You just told me he was referring me to Yakima Gastroenterology." She said, well, he thought you were going back to Seattle and since you can't get into Seattle until October he will refer you here instead. I still don't understand. In the meantime I am waiting for a call to find out for sure what is going on. I am tempted to call back Virginia Mason and tell them my results and see if they can see me any sooner, but I don't want to complicate things any more than they are. Oh, then she told me that my doctor is out of town for two weeks. He is supposed to check his messages though...so I don't really know much more than I did yesterday, EXCEPT that I am definately losing blood in my stool. So the question remains...what is going to be done to fix it? Come back soon and see if I find out anymore information. Please leave me a comment so that I know you were here and sharing in my drama!

So tired of being sick and tired! More than just ANEMIA!

I want to talk about anemia today, mostly because I am anemic. You become anemic when your blood count gets very low. You can be anemic from lack of iron, or if your kidneys are not producing enough eurethropointen. I am not sure what is causing my anemia. All I do know is that my blood cell count is getting lower by about 2 points every week. I went to see my Rhuemetologist about my Psoriatic arthritis and he looked at my most recent blood tests. He said that I had lost two pints of blood in two weeks! Where is it going? I have had a hysterectomy so I am not losing blood from my uterus. I am still wondering if I could have Chron's disease. I was supposed to have a colonoscopy and an endoscopy three weeks ago, but it was cancelled because I had that infection and needed to be at the hospital twice a day to receive antibiotics. My Gastroenterologist could not reschedule the procedure until the end of September! I called my general doctor and asked if he could get me in for the procedure do be done in Yakima, sooner. He ordered a test to see if I had any blood in my stools. That test is complete and I am supposed to call my doctor on Monday (tomorrow) to see what my results are. I suppose if the test does reveal blood in my stools, then he will definately schedule the procedure in Yakima, in the next few weeks. If it does not reveal any blood, I hope he still schedules the procedure because I could be losing blood in my tummy and the only way to find out is with the endoscopy. I just want to know why my blood count is so low, so that someone can fix it. Currently, my blood count isn't low enough to render a shot to boost my red blood cell count, or a blood transfusion. At my last blood test, I was .1 away from needing a blood transfusion. I see my Hemotologist again this Tuesday, and hopefully my levels have dropped that .1 and I will qualify for some help to boost up my blood cell count. My levels are so low, I am exhausted and I need to take a nap in the middle of the day to function "normally." I am so tired of feeling sick and tired! Thanks for letting me rant, yet again! Come back later and see what happens with my test results and doctors this week! Please leave me a comment and let me know you were here, it is so nice to know others have taken an interest in crazy medical issues! We need to stick together because others can not see our pain, let alone understand how it affects our lives. We may not look "sick" but we sure feel sick, and together we can help others understand what we are going through!

Do you know what nitrates are?

A couple of weeks ago I received a call from my pharmacist who informed me that the Urelle medication, that I use has been found to cause an adverse reaction when used in combination with Trazadone and/or Savella. Of course I take both Trazadone and Savella so I had to stop taking the Urelle immediately. The Urelle has some sort of blue...ingredient that is also in Pyridium. Both the Urelle and Pyridium are used to kinda numb your bladder when you have a Urinary Tract Infection or Interstitial Cystitis (IC) (I have both right now). Not long after I stopped the Urelle I could feel a UTI coming on. My urine got cloudy and smelled awful, but it would be horrible one day and then not so cloudy the next day. I thought that the Urelle was a bladder antiseptic too, and since I wasn't taking it, I didn't have that antiseptic cleaning my bladder, and I was getting a bladder infection. Everyday my bladder hurt more and more. I finally called my urologist and was told that the Urelle was not preventing my bladder infections and the nurse thought that it was just my IC that was causing my bladder pain. Except my urine was cloudy and smelly which were signs of an infection. My urologist couldn't see me until the weekend was over. Once I get into a doctor and they try to culture what is causing the infection, it is another 3 day wait and I couldn't wait anymore! I called my family doctor and got in the next morning (last Thursday). My urine wasn't as cloudy or smelly that morning and I was afraid that it would show I didn't have an infection. My urine had lots and lots of NITRATES in it. The doctor explained that the NITRATES were the excretions of waste from the bacteria living in my bladder. I definately had a bacterial infection since I had the nitrates. By tomorrow they should know whether or not the antibiotic that they put me on is killing the bacteria or not. My bladder still hurts a lot, but that could just be from the infection irritating my bladder lining. I guess I will know more tomorrow. Check back later and see what I found out. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! Please leave me a comment so that I know you were here! I love to hear from my followers!

Ariel's Undersea Adventure

My favorite Disney princess is Ariel. I think it's because she is a merbabe and lives under the sea with all her friends. I absolutely love the ocean and try to take a trip there every year with my family. We love going to Cannon Beach, Oregon. I love rainy days too, because they remind me of Cannon Beach where it is often overcast and rainy during certain times of the year. This ride, Ariel's Undersea Adventure is new to California Adventureland and it was amazing, like all Disney rides! It was the first ride I went on and the last ride I went on during our trip this summer. I hope my meager video does it justice! Imagine the songs Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl, playing while you watch my video. Those songs were played during the ride and I only wish I had the aptitude to add personal music clips to my video creations. It will happen...eventually. Thanks for taking a minute to share in my Disney adventure today. Please leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite ride is at Disneyland.

 

Our Disney Adventure 2011

We recently got back from a trip to Disneyland that was both business and pleasure. The pleasure was taking the trip with my family (except Nick, he had to stay home for summer school). The business was going to my first CTMH convention! It was amazing. I made new friends, and got lots of new ideas! Thanks for taking the time to share in my adventure by watching my video. Please leave me a comment and let me know you stopped by and what you think of my video and/or share your Disney adventure with me!