CT Scan Report

After enduring some intense pain this morning, I made an appointment to see Trixy this afternoon. Apparently I pulled a chest muscle last week while digging up some of my plants. At the time I felt a horrible pain and had the sensation that something was ripping. I stood quietly for a few minutes; the pain subsided; and I decided I wasn’t about to die and continued digging. I aggravated the injury yesterday while tearing packing paper and wrapping my pictures.

The doctor told me that it could take up to two weeks to heal; time which I really don’t have. I need to continue packing on a daily basis if I want to be ready for the move at the end of June. I know my limits and if I don’t pack every day I will get too far behind and run out of the little energy I can muster.

During the appointment this afternoon I asked Trixy for a copy of my February 29th CT scans of the thorax and abdomen. The results are as follows:

CT Thorax and Abdomen with Infusion: A biphasic study has been performed through the upper abdomen. Comparison is made to a previous study of August 10, 2000. Just anterior to the hepatic artery there is an oblong 1.5 cm. nodular density but this is likely a lymph node and was present on the previous scan. It does not have the enhancement pattern of the usual gastrinoma. The liver, adrenals, pancreas, kidneys and spleen are normal. The pelvic viscera are within the normal limits. The thorax is normal.

Impression:

A definite gastrinoma has not been identified. The nodule described is most likely a lymph node. Dictated March 4, 2003.

Since the big move is coming up at the end of June, I have decided to forget about doctors for a while. It is very obvious that they are not interested in my problems. I have enough medication refills to take me through the summer. Since I have been dealing with my debilitating symptoms for nearly 5 years I have become quite adept at finding solutions to help me cope. My stomach problems are covered up by Nexium. If I take a couple of Gravol about 45 minutes before I go to bed, I can sleep uninterrupted for 2 1/2 hours. One night a week I take a sleeping pill which allows me to get 3 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Because I am so sleep deprived I wake up in the morning extremely dizzy, nauseated and disorientated. I actually feel incredibly miserable. I make sure that I never have an appointment or meeting in the morning.  The hip pain I experience during the day I try to ignore. The hip pain I experience at night I medicate with aspirin. Aspirin takes the edge off the pain. The restless legs are impossible to treat as are the terrible adrenaline rushes that wake me up three to four times a night. My way of dealing with these two problems is to get out of bed and find something to do that will help take my mind off of the problem until I am able to sleep again. Thank goodness for computers and internet. I have grown accustomed to spending more than half my life in the bathroom. When I go uptown to shop for groceries I always stop in at our office for a quick bathroom break. To put that into perspective, the office is about 5 minutes by car from the house. Of course I know the location of all the bathrooms in the grocery stores and the mall. I have learned to deal with my constant thirst and dry mouth by never leaving home without two bottles of water. When I have activities on several consecutive days of the week, I take 10 mg. of hydrocortisone. My hearing is a lost cause but I just tell people if I cannot hear them. I decided it was silly to walk around pretending to understand when I haven’t heard one word. On days that my vision messes with me and I see black spots I just tell myself they are spots on the wall. When I see two grandsons instead of one I just remind myself that I only have one grandson. These coping strategies help me exist from day to day.