I'm so scared...

[Chinniechantel]

No cancer!!!

Thank goodness, no cancer was found, only fibroids or something. They may grow back and cause more problems, but hopefully now that I am on the depo shot that will help a little. It also makes me about 5% more likely to develop breast cancer, so yearly screening are recommended, and ultrasounds for me since my breast tissue is so dense a mammo does not help much.

My globulin/albumin ration and levels are off, which could just be from dehydration but to make sure I am getting more blood work done. I do have some pain again, likely costochrondritis from surgery trauma or when a file cabinet fell on me at work a few months ago, but who knows. At least the majority of the pain is gone and a big motrin helps with the pain a bit, and it is not nerve pain like before, which is unbearable, which this is not.

Thanks so much everyone for the kind words and just for letting me vent, it helps beyond belief.

 

[jmdebb]

I had no clue this was going on.

I'm so glad you are okay...

Jean

 

[Chinniechantel]

Thanks Jean, it has been a rough 5 months! I was referred to a pain clinic and they are convinced I don't have costochondritis, and suggested and referred me to an internist. He told me my other doctors were crazy and way off base, which is annoying, I have spent so much time and money on these doctors that have not found anything.

I will try him, he sounds great and very smart. As of now, I still have horrible pain in my rib, right where the bra wire is from my sternum wrapping around about 4 inches to under my breast. It is not sharp pain, but constant and makes me blood pressure very high from pain. I am on strong pain meds now, and giving myself 2 more months or I will go in for injections, it is just scary to get novicane around your heart, and shots in the **** do not sound pleasant.

My husband jokes that he should have boughten the warranty when he married me, because I am so broken! Haha. He compares me to an expensive car...very pretty but when it breaks it costs a fortune to fix! I am lucky to have such a great husband who can help me laugh my way through this. I know God has a lesson in here somewhere for me, maybe he is sending me to the medical law field, who knows. But I sure have compassion for people with chronic pain now, it is so frusterating and terrible, it makes me so sad to think about all the people dealing with in on a daily basis.

 

[Rickman]

Another Malpractice Lawyer in the making!!
I've a friend up here making the big bucks - $1.3M house and all!! He's getting up there [as we all are] and might need someone to take over his practice!!
Getting tired of humidity and "bad hair days" yet?

 

[mishellyshel]

so chantel.....are you just on the 800mg of motrin still or did they give you something else for the pain?
ps---have you tried wearing a sports bra since it is wireless. i know you cant in every situation bit maybe when you get home or on the weekends? sometimes the wire hurts me so much, i feel like i am bruised, i cant imagine the pain you have!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Michelle, I am on Oxycodone now, and I hate it but there is not much out there for pain. I try to just do the Motrin if I can handle it, but 165/100 blood pressure and crying 3 times a day in the bathroom is not doable. So, being drugged up and having my husband bring me to work is what I have to do. Good idea with the sports bra, I have been wearing mostly those tanktops with the built in bra shelf, those are the best so far, but sports bras sound like a good idea. Maybe a heat patch too since a heating pad at home is comforting.

 

[mishellyshel]

thermal pads, right? a friend of mine swears by them. the sports bras just give a little more support than the tank tops........not sure of your sizing but for me those tanktops dont cut it. you can get them pretty cheap at walmart but if you are looking for the better quality ones, check out the sporting goods stores like Dicks or Modells. some of them even have the regular bra straps so you can wear them with most clothing instead of th T or Racerback. Good luck. hope you are feeling better soon.
those strong pain meds work well on the pain, but never good on my stomach.

 

[Tiatrack]

Oh no, I'm so sad to hear you're STILL having issues. The entire medical field just frustrates me! They should be doing something to help you, since having pain like that is not normal. I'm angry on your behalf that it seems like every step of the way you have to keep fighting doctors to do something.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Well, wish me luck. I have two doctor app. today, one with a supposedly great internist and one with an endrochronologist to see what is up with my protein levels being so high and my weight loss and just feeling...sick. The horrible chest pain may or may not be related, but I am hoping an internist will pull it all together. I have tried one, and he was a wack job so now I have high hopes for this new one.

Hopefully they can figure something out, as all doctors keep saying different things and passing me on to the next specialist. It is horrible, and I never get any answers and just more pain meds, when I know they can find out what is wrong if someone just TRIES.

 

[Melissa]

Good luck with these Doctors today!

Dont you wish at times like this that there was a REAL Dr House?

 

[Rickman]

Are you back with a diagnosis yet???

 

[Chinniechantel]

Well...supposedly now I have a goiter, hyperthyroidism and shingles. The doctor said my thyroid was enlarged and my history with surgery and high blood pressure afterwards, can be symptoms. Can you believe it?

Shingles actually does explain the nerve pain, the weird allergy to Betadine (they thought) and the hives I had following surgery. So, I am actually hoping that is what it is and it is not serious. Painful yes, but nothing terrible.

The endocrinologist, on the other hand, thinks I have lost too much weight, have too high blood pressure, my eyes are a bit "bugged out??" and those are symptoms of hyperthyroidism, which would require radioactive iodine therapy, or something to that effect and then a pill for the rest of my life, which is not that horrible, but still scares me.

I am coming to think that they will keep finding things wrong if they keep testing me for everything, and am trying not to panic until I know for sure. I have to pee in a jar for 24 hours and then return it, and am now on Neuronton (sp?) for the nerve pain and can hopefully get off the other terrible pain meds. I just can't believe I have 1) shingles 2) hyperthyroidism, and 3) still no real answer to the chest pain, it could be the shingles but also could not be.

I feel like a defective product without a warranty. Very frustrating, but at least I am getting somewhere, I guess. I honestly don't know how I would do this without my animals, they keep me sane. Nothing helps pain like a popcorning chin, a cute cuddly hedgie, or the sweetest cockatoo in the world, who seems to know when I am in pain and give me more love. Thank goodness for them.

 

[Tiatrack]

Oh goodness! I can't even imagine how frustrated you must be right now. Have they tested your T4 level in any of the blood tests you have had recently? That's a pretty easy way to see if your thyroid is out of whack.

My mom had shingles a few years ago. She was pretty miserable for a few months, and she had a mild case. I hope the medicine helps you! At least these diagnoses are my "better" than thinking you had Marfan's. I know tons of people with thyroid issues, and once they figured out their med dosages they felt SO much better.

 

[Ashley]

I'm really sorry you're going through this. I hope you can find some relief soon! Good luck!