Thursday, May 30, 2013

Wow, how time flies! 5-30

I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day of May!  June first here we come!  It has been a bit since I last posted.  I have had 4 doctor appointments/tests done and a final one tomorrow at the kidney doctor.  I had a camera scope type test today.  That is the last test at this point that the doctor can do to see if there is any bleeding in the GI system.  Tuesday, I was at the neurologist.  She and I decided to discontinue the Amitriptylin (however you spell it) medicine as I still was getting hallucinations and I don't feel like it has helped at all.  In 3 weeks I will be done taking the medicine.  Wednesday was the hearing test.  I have known for years that I am partially deaf.  How deaf?  Well, I didn't really know that part, I just knew I was partially deaf.  When I was 13, I had an ear infection that lasted pretty much the entire school year.  My ears were blocked and I never told my mom.  I was afraid to tell her because I wasn't wearing my hat when I got sick and I didn't want to get in trouble for it.  Well, unfortunately, that was the wrong thing to do.  Yes, eventually my mom found out how bad they really were and took action.  Now, don't get me wrong, mom questioned me a lot and I said I was fine so if I had told the truth, I would probably not have permanently damaged my ears like I have.  So once mom found out and got me to the doctor, the specialist said I probably have damaged my ears permanently.  Mom was so upset and so was I.  I learned an extremely important lesson.  No matter what, always tell Mom when you aren't feeling well, especially if your ears hurt!  The new specialist I saw said that the hearing loss is from scar tissue from ear infections.  It has been years since I had an ear infection (thank God for that!) so it is probably from when I was 13.  The bottom line is I will be getting hearing aids.  I am glad that there is no nerve damage and if I use the hearing aids now, I can prevent nerve damage so yes, I will be wearing them.  I am looking into different programs to see if there is one that can help me pay for the hearing aids as I am on a limited income and cannot afford to pay for them all by myself.

Today, I had a camera scope type test.  I had to have clear liquids all afternoon and evening yesterday to prepare for the test.  It wasn't hard to do at all.  I went in at 8 am and then swallowed the capsule that is the camera and I had a monitor on so then I went on my way home.  The test is supposed to last from 8 to 4 but because of the lovely IBS, I finished early.  It will be 10 to 12 days before I get any results.

Tomorrow, I have the kidney doctor check up.  In 2008, it was discovered that I had a mass on one of my kidneys.  i can't remember which one.  I had it all checked out and it is not cancerous or at least then it wasn't.  In 2009, I went for a check up and then I was supposed to go every year to make sure it didn't grow or become cancerous.  Well, let's just say it is a good thing that they sent me a letter saying that I hadn't had my check up in a long time.  2009 was the last check up so because it has been 5 years, I have to refill out a lot of forms when I get there tomorrow.  I don't mind.  I know that I have to do it so I will arrive early to do this.  I will probably have an ultrasound done soon to check out the mass.  I don't expect to have it tomorrow but soon.  I know that they can be done at his office so that is good.  I really don't expect that it has changed in size since it wasn't cancerous before but it is something I should not have totally forgotten about.  I was just so busy with mom that really, I couldn't think about anything else except what she needed.  It was the last year of her life in 2010 so I really needed to focus on her and I did.  Should I have not skipped the appointment?  Of course I shouldn't.  The reason they didn't call to remind me like they normally do is because the phone number they had was our landline and we got rid of it before the next appointment or I would have gone.  They have the right number now and I received my reminder call today so I am all set for tomorrow.

Well, I am a bit tired more tired now than usual since I had to get up so early today.  I am going to read for a bit and then go to sleep.

No comments:

Post a Comment