| operations |
| comment | | "parent_author":"",<br>"parent_permlink":"introduceyourself",<br>"author":"traciyork",<br>"permlink":"not-so-wordless-monday-a-breakdown-of-my-body-s-breakdown",<br>"title":"Not So Wordless Monday \u2013 a breakdown of my body\u2019s breakdown",<br>"body":"[Originally posted on my blog - <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/not-so-wordless-monday-a-breakdown-of-my-bodys-breakdown\/\" target=\"_blank\">Not So Wordless Monday \u2013 a breakdown of my body\u2019s breakdown<\/a> last month. Since nothing much has changed,<br> I thought I'd whine to... errr,<br> share it with the Steemit community as well \n\n<center>![Breakdown of my body's breakdown,<br> smaller.jpg (https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmUa7NzbTk2Rv9AWULoyHeHEVi4q33rUepn9ceejyfJULR\/Breakdown%20of%20my%20body's%20breakdown%2C%20smaller.jpg)<\/center>\n\nBack at the beginning of October,<br> my body decided that torturing me with the whole <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/have-my-fathers-eyes-possibly-his-cancer-gene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">possible cancer thing<\/a> was so much fun,<br> it didn't want to stop. But rather than directly dangle the worry of <a href=\"http:\/\/thebigc.wikia.com\/wiki\/The_big_C_Wiki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the big C<\/a> in front of me,<br> it decided to play coy,<br> to the point that all these weeks later,<br> I'm still not sure what's wrong with me.\n\nBut,<br> before I get into specifics,<br> here's the final chapter (I hope!) in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/have-my-fathers-eyes-possibly-his-cancer-gene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lumpy and Leaky saga<\/a>. Instead of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/spoiler-alert-not-cancer-aka-breast-cancer-concern\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">huge post I planned<\/a>,<br> detailing my surgical adventure,<br> I figure I'll just skip ahead to the end.\n<h2>Why was Leaky leaking? <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Te50aSDIByM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Answer<\/a> is...<\/h2>\nMy official diagnosis -\n<blockquote>\nBreast,<br> right,<br> duct excision:\n- Minimally proliferative fibrocystic change without atypia\n- Duct ectasia with mild periductal chronic inflammation\n- Negative for in situ or invasive carcinoma\n<\/blockquote>\nTranslated into normal speak -\n\nLeaky's surgery:\n~ She's a bit lumpy too,<br> but no signs of anything troublesome\n~ The bleeding came from a milk duct aneurysm (which the surgeon removed)\n~ NO CANCER!\n\nWhile I had an unexpected bout of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/you-cant-make-this-stuff-up-leaky-is-leaking-again\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leaking again<\/a> during the recovery process,<br> in all things have progressed well,<br> if EXTREMELY slow. There's still a slight bit of swelling,<br> but the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breastcancer.org\/treatment\/side_effects\/hematoma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hematoma<\/a> (just below the incision) is now only about an inch or two long and the pain from the pressure is almost completely gone. Almost.\n<h2>A new kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ud4HuAzHEUc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pain<\/a><\/h2>\nOne fine October morning - in fact,<br> the day before our 28th <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/traci.cavanaugh.york.writer\/posts\/10208315258093984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wedding anniversary<\/a> - I woke up while laying on my left side (my position of choice since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/exasperating-update-on-leaky-aka-my-breast-cancer-concern\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the vertigo hit<\/a>). Naturally,<br> I used my right hand to push myself up into a sitting position. Mid push,<br> it felt like an electrified fiery needle-nosed gun appeared under my hand and shot pain bullets all the way up to my shoulder. A few seconds later,<br> I realized I couldn't move my right thumb very well. After <del datetime=\"2017-11-13T16:06:20+00:00\">hours and hours<\/del> a brief moment of cursing and crying,<br> I took some ibuprofen,<br> then tried resting and icing it.\n\nHowever,<br> by midday,<br> the pain felt like it was radiating to the rest of my hand,<br> so hubby took me to our local Urgent Care. They gave me <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10211585934378847&set=a.2400343402886.122845.1080061155&type=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a spiffy new brace<\/a>,<br> and a diagnosis of a pinched nerve (which the doc emphasized was not related to carpal tunnel,<br> though not sure why that makes a difference). Before leaving,<br> I also promised to follow up with my PC.\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/p98PjtSfNWo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">I know there's something going on<\/a><\/h2>\n\n<CENTER>https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/OFjFcOwQVL3CE\/giphy.gif<\/CENTER>\n\nNot a hard promise to keep,<br> because I'd been having little things happen since this whole health fiasco started in July. I called and spoke to my PC's nurse about my litany of concerns - primarily,<br> I've been having chest pain,<br> and cold water trickle sensation on the right side of my forehead (which I've heard can be a symptom of migraines). Also,<br> since the nerve thing in my right hand happened almost exactly a year after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/traci.cavanaugh.york.writer\/posts\/10208388828693203\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">my right knee injury<\/a>,<br> it made me wonder if some kind of auto-immune disorder (like Mixed Connective Tissue Disease) was at fault. She recommended coming in a few days later for a visit,<br> so my PC could set me up with appropriate tests.\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cailli_york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Our eldest<\/a> kindly agreed to bring me to my appointment (she's my designated driver,<br> because friends don't let friends cry and drive). Good thing,<br> too. Usually it takes me a few minutes to break down,<br> but I set a new record - there were tears before there were words. My PC did an in-office EKG,<br> and said the result was \"abnormal\" (finally a test that understands me!),<br> and set up referrals for further testing (a brain MRI,<br> a throat\/carotid artery scan,<br> and a cardiac stress test). She gave me lab work for about ten thousand blood tests,<br> and said if my symptoms got worse,<br> I should head straight to the ER.\n<h2>Time for a little R & <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AuoIadsr39U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ER<\/a><\/h2>\nNeedless to say,<br> when I woke up three days later (a Sunday morning,<br> of course) I had new symptoms - in addition to chest pain and a cold water trickle sensation in my head (something I've always associated with migraines,<br> even though I've never been diagnosed with one),<br> I had mild back spasms and pain running down my left arm. Even more disconcerting,<br> I was seeing flashes of light randomly in the corner of my right eye,<br> and the vision in that eye was blurry. Since hubby had already headed to work,<br> I decided to take a couple of Excedrin (my late dad's go-to cure for his migraines) and give it a little time before I raised an alarm.\n\nBy late morning,<br> when there was no change,<br> I sent hubby a message and asked if he'd be able to take me to the ER when he got home. I won't repeat the words he said about waiting another four or five hours - suffice to say,<br> thanks to his amazing boss,<br> he immediately headed home (and only after I convinced him I wasn't in distress enough for an ambulance).\n\nThe staff at the hospital was totally and completely amazing,<br> and had me hooked up to monitors and such almost before I could shed a tear (to be fair,<br> I started crying when the receptionist asked,<br> \"Name?\"). Five hours and an EKG,<br> chest x-rays,<br> head CAT scan,<br> and two blood tests later,<br> they didn't see any reason to admit me. Everyone was attentive and kind,<br> and they made sure that hubby & I were okay with the decision to send me home. We were,<br> especially since I had all the tests scheduled for that upcoming week. The ER doc said something to the effect of,<br> \"We don't do long term fixes here. If it's going too slow,<br> we speed it up. If it's going too fast,<br> we slow it down. The rest of it is up to your regular doctors.\"\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/dw07N2_RAxo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tested<\/a><\/h2>\nSo I spent the next six days (who knew the MRI department was open on Saturdays?) having my neck ultrasounded,<br> my brain scanned,<br> and my heart tested. At the end of each visit,<br> the comments were all very similar - \"I don't see anything that would cause concern,<br> but I'll send these to your PC.\" In all but the cardiac test,<br> she agreed. During my followup appointment with her,<br> she said some skipped beats showed up during the exercise part of my heart EKG,<br> so she wanted me to check in with a cardiologist in the near-ish future (which will be in about a week).\n\nI asked her if wearing an eye patch over my right eye would help the cloudy-with-a-chance-of-lightning thing. She said it was certainly worth a try,<br> and at the very least would lessen the annoyance of it. She also gave me the name of the ophthalmologist office she uses,<br> and suggested I check in with them.\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9AEoUa0Hlso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Suddenly I See<\/a> - or at least,<br> I will soon<\/h2>\nWhen I called to make an appointment with the eye doc,<br> the nurse receptionist asked me bunches of questions about my symptoms and general health. Then she said,<br> \"You know,<br> with the symptoms you're describing,<br> we'd really like to get you in today. Does 6pm work?\" I told her I'd <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sZt6eU5REN8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">make it so<\/a>. Then sent hubby yet another,<br> \"Hey hon,<br> would it be possible...\" message. He got home from work just in time to get me there.\n\nAfter an extensive exam,<br> he told me I'm not going blind (because obviously,<br> that's what the voices in my head were whispering). Apparently,<br> the lightning flashes,<br> blurriness,<br> and sudden increase in floaters in both eyes are all the result of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Posterior_vitreous_detachment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posterior vitreous detachment<\/a>. While it's extremely annoying at the moment,<br> he said my vision should start to clear up over the next few weeks. He scheduled another exam 6 weeks out,<br> and said he'd adjust the prescription for my glasses and contacts accordingly,<br> and I should be able to see just fine.\n<h2>Still,<br> I'm going <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/NMNgbISmF4I\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crazy<\/a><\/h2>\n\nSo here I am,<br> a bazillion tests later,<br> and no one can explain exactly what's up. My eyes are slowly clearing,<br> but the rest of my symptoms keep dropping in to say,<br> \"hi.\" For example,<br> when the outside temperature dropped dramatically late last week,<br> my vertigo was back with a vengeance. And just to keep things interesting,<br> I've noticed some intermittent tremors in my right hand. I still have upcoming appointments with a neurologist,<br> cardiologist,<br> and my PC - I'm hoping we can get to the bottom of this soon. In the meantime...\n\n<CENTER>https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/l0MYMj52mciAddmpO\/giphy.gif<\/CENTER>\n\n\n<center><h2>Traci York\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wordsmith. Tarot reader. Witch. G33k. Shutterbug. Blogger.<\/a><\/h2><\/center>",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"introduceyourself\",<br>\"steemitbloggers\",<br>\"ocd-resteem\",<br>\"life\",<br>\"health\" ,<br>\"image\":[\"https:\/\/steemitimages.com\/DQmUa7NzbTk2Rv9AWULoyHeHEVi4q33rUepn9ceejyfJULR\/Breakdown%20of%20my%20body's%20breakdown%2C%20smaller.jpg\",<br>\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/OFjFcOwQVL3CE\/giphy.gif\",<br>\"https:\/\/media.giphy.com\/media\/l0MYMj52mciAddmpO\/giphy.gif\" ,<br>\"links\":[\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/not-so-wordless-monday-a-breakdown-of-my-bodys-breakdown\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/have-my-fathers-eyes-possibly-his-cancer-gene\/\",<br>\"http:\/\/thebigc.wikia.com\/wiki\/The_big_C_Wiki\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/spoiler-alert-not-cancer-aka-breast-cancer-concern\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Te50aSDIByM\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/you-cant-make-this-stuff-up-leaky-is-leaking-again\/\",<br>\"http:\/\/www.breastcancer.org\/treatment\/side_effects\/hematoma\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Ud4HuAzHEUc\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/traci.cavanaugh.york.writer\/posts\/10208315258093984\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\/exasperating-update-on-leaky-aka-my-breast-cancer-concern\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=10211585934378847&set=a.2400343402886.122845.1080061155&type=3\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/p98PjtSfNWo\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/traci.cavanaugh.york.writer\/posts\/10208388828693203\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/cailli_york\/\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/AuoIadsr39U\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/dw07N2_RAxo\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9AEoUa0Hlso\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sZt6eU5REN8\",<br>\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Posterior_vitreous_detachment\",<br>\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/NMNgbISmF4I\",<br>\"https:\/\/www.traciyork.com\" ,<br>\"app\":\"steemit\/0.1\",<br>\"format\":\"markdown\" " |
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