Hodge Podge Updates

First, let me start by saying what a lovely visit I had last night with my little chickadee and my beatiful boy and his father.  And I've finally come up with a moniker for the man -- he will now be referred to as Pauple.

Quite often when I stay there, Pauple is at work so he's not usually present for the waking part of my visiting time.  By the time he gets in, I'm on my way up to bed and he's not usually up in the morning when I leave.

But this time, it just happened that I was there on a day that he wasn't at work. 

So it was an extra nice visit because Pauple joined us for dinner and its always so much more fun when the four of us are teasing back and forth (and yes, my beautiful boy is up to the challenge; he sometimes leaves us in the dust).

Then this morning, my beautiful boy and I went for breakfast -- just the two of us.

That's "our thing" to do when I stay there.

We've been doing breakfast together since he was very young; still in his infant seat in fact.  Sometimes when I stayed there, I would do the daycare dropoff, but I would stop for breakfast en route (I needed to eat).

The staff greet him by name now.  He assures me that the waitress is not his girlfriend but she sure likes him!

After dropping my beautiful boy off at school (daycare), I headed off to my doctor's appointment.

My pelvic ultrasound is normal.

My MRI shows bursitis and he thinks maybe there is the possiblity that we could try a cortisone injection with imaging on the left bursa (the report suggests a significant fluid sac that he would like to try to reduce).  We batted that idea around for a while because the last time that was attempted, I got there and found out they use contrast dye for the procedure.

My doctor tells me that's crazy. But I know that I went for the injection, found out they used contrast dye, wouldn't let them use it, so the doctor told me he would "wing it" and do his best to get the right spot.

It didn't work.

I reminded my doctor that he himself was upset only a year ago when the rheumatologist convinced me to let him try shots in each hip.

They didn't work either.

But he really thinks that a shot with imaging (without contrast dye) could be beneficial.

Another option to consider.

We also discussed my continuing visits with the physiotherapist.  I told him about her gentle recommendation that, because of the bursitis, I should consider the use of a walker in my home.

"That's not a bad idea," he says, "because the risk of falls is a serious concern with these diagnoses."

"Great!  It took a long time for me to get my head around needing a stair lift," I said.  "I need a while for this one."

"Yes, there's a real psychological barrier to having a walker," he says.  "I run into this a lot with my patients."\

"I'm sure you do," I countered.  "But are they usually just six months shy of their 60th birthday when you're having the discussion?"

"No, they're usually much older and also contending with varying degrees of dementia and don't have the ability to reason out why they need it," he explained. 

I got his point.

I just need time.

Because the underlying message I took from the exchange is this:  "It's only downhill from here girl.  No matter what we do for you, you need help getting around and that is not going to change.  At best, we might find a way to manage the pain."  That's essentially what we've been doing for way too long already!

He agreed with my findings with respect to Cesamet and approved the rate at which I am going off it (.5mg reduction in dose every four days).  But he is concerned as to what we will do for the pain because obviously I am already in distress.

My plan is to go back on Codeine Contin (that's the stuff I was abandoning when we started the Oxycontin / Cesamet nightmare) and deal with the bowel issues that will ensue.  The doctor agreed that we don't have many other choices at this point.

He wants me to try the patch but I'm terrified of the patch.  At least we know that if I don't like it, I can rip it off and not put another on.  He is going to find out what 'relaxant' was used on me for the endoscopy/colonoscopy because we know I tolerated whatever it was, and I had no ill effects from it (and I certainly experienced no pain through the procedure).  If they used the stuff they usually use, it is in the same family as what's in the patch so he would have assurances for me that I have no reason to be afraid of it.  I'll await the information before letting him write that prescription.

Then I threw my curveball.

"What would your reaction be if I come in here in the next few months and ask for a referral for a tummy tuck?" I asked.

"I would say, 'Go for it' and give you the names of some damned good surgeons," says he.

I have to be honest.  I wasn't expecting quite that response.

"Excuse me," I hollered quietly, "how come your reaction wasn't, 'Tummy tuck?  What they hell are you doing talking tummy tuck?"

My doctor and I go back a very long way.

He just looked up and said that cosmetic surgery is very acceptable now and if I'm asking about it it's because I want it.  People have these things done because it makes them feel better and anything that makes someone feel better should be encouraged.

"You let me know when you're ready," he said, "and I'll give you the names of people who don't just do this while you're in their office."  He knows me well.

Then I asked if he knew whether these procedures could be done under local anaesthetic.

"Absolutely," was his unequivocal response.  "They use an epidural.  Especially if it's just straight across the tummy, as I expect it would be in your case."  It sounds like he is very familiar with tummy tucks.

When I explained that I wasn't sure I would proceed if it couldn't be done without general anaesthetic, he said that with my history, he didn't blame me and that it was perfectly reasonable under the circumstances for me to request that.

So, stay tuned for news of my tummy tuck plans.

Because, the dye is cast now:  I WILL BE DOING THIS. 

Except I need to get my eating under control before I subject my body to elective surgery.

I mean, really, I dearly want to have a flat tummy but I don't want to be stupid about it!