Health: Doctors' reports
Mar. 13th, 2010 01:52 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
duskpeterson"I assess the worth of life events by whether they make me a better writer."
--Me to Parhelion in 2003.
"Are the doctors delusional, or am I?" I asked my apprentice.
I had a first look today at the hospital report. It's a good thing that the doctor told me that she thought I might have lymphedema, because there ain't a word about that in the report. The closest that the report comes to discussing that is by saying that I have a somewhat lower than average white blood count.
As for my family doctor, he's skeptical that I have lymphedema, because it's so rare. It's actually not that rare; it affects three to five million Americans. Which is, um, exactly how many Americans are affected by dry eye. And I have severe dry eye, which is rarer still.
He did, however, write me down as "very possibly" having lymphedema, and we both agreed I should have a test which would tell for sure.
"No, I'm not delusional," I told my apprentice several hours after our earlier conversation.
I'm having flu symptoms again. Only on my left side. And my left leg remains numb, and my right leg remains half-numb. All of the other conditions that led me to end up at the emergency room haven't changed, despite the fact that I've been essentially bedridden for five days. I can feel fluid oozing up within my legs to my torso whenever I elevate my legs after having stood for five minutes. (It feels like molasses.)
Whatever the doctors may say, I know that something is seriously wrong with my body. If it's not lymphedema, then I need to know what it is. But I'm afraid that my symptoms continue to fit the scenario of LE.
I spent a half hour tonight babbling to my apprentice about (1) my health, (2) my finances, (3) simplifying my life to the bare bones so that I only own what I actually need and love, and (4) getting my fiction online. Those four activities are where my life is centered at the moment.
Plus writing these entries, because you folks are part of my emotional lifeline.
Responding to your remarks (and my apologies for not linking to them, but I'm typing on my back, which is a bit awkward):
@Auntbijou wrote: "Well, you certainly don't do things by halves, do you?"
Heh. No, I'm definitely an over-achiever.
@Rose Red wrote: "I had a breast cancer about 3 years ago"
I'm so sorry to hear that and am glad to hear that you made it through okay. (My mother had breast cancer too, and my paternal aunt and grandmother died of ovarian cancer.) You know, most lymphedema patients are breast cancer patients, because LE can occur when a masectomy destroys the lymph nodes in the breast.
@yonmei wrote: "*worries*"
*Joins you in worrying.* I just discovered that the only health insurance I'm currently eligible for doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.
@Arhyalon wrote: "So glad to hear that that the doctors could help."
:)
@Parhelion wrote: "Will you be in for a phone call tomorrow?"
Oh my god, I must be at death's door if you're posting. :)
Yes, please. I've tried to reach you several times, but I always pick the moments when you're out.
@Spiralred wrote: "Some gentle supported inversions and massage, without the last minute vigorousness that you put your body through would be better."
You'll be happy to know that both exercise and a special type of gentle massage are part of the standard therapy for LE.
No need to worry, by the way, that "last minute vigorousness" traumatized me; I didn't do any more exercise last week than I've done in the past. It's a twenty-minute walk between here and the town center.
I've been exercising - more this year than any year since college - but not enough, alas. Well, except when invited to trek all over the Mid-Atlantic by a certain somebody. :)
--Me to Parhelion in 2003.
"Are the doctors delusional, or am I?" I asked my apprentice.
I had a first look today at the hospital report. It's a good thing that the doctor told me that she thought I might have lymphedema, because there ain't a word about that in the report. The closest that the report comes to discussing that is by saying that I have a somewhat lower than average white blood count.
As for my family doctor, he's skeptical that I have lymphedema, because it's so rare. It's actually not that rare; it affects three to five million Americans. Which is, um, exactly how many Americans are affected by dry eye. And I have severe dry eye, which is rarer still.
He did, however, write me down as "very possibly" having lymphedema, and we both agreed I should have a test which would tell for sure.
"No, I'm not delusional," I told my apprentice several hours after our earlier conversation.
I'm having flu symptoms again. Only on my left side. And my left leg remains numb, and my right leg remains half-numb. All of the other conditions that led me to end up at the emergency room haven't changed, despite the fact that I've been essentially bedridden for five days. I can feel fluid oozing up within my legs to my torso whenever I elevate my legs after having stood for five minutes. (It feels like molasses.)
Whatever the doctors may say, I know that something is seriously wrong with my body. If it's not lymphedema, then I need to know what it is. But I'm afraid that my symptoms continue to fit the scenario of LE.
I spent a half hour tonight babbling to my apprentice about (1) my health, (2) my finances, (3) simplifying my life to the bare bones so that I only own what I actually need and love, and (4) getting my fiction online. Those four activities are where my life is centered at the moment.
Plus writing these entries, because you folks are part of my emotional lifeline.
Responding to your remarks (and my apologies for not linking to them, but I'm typing on my back, which is a bit awkward):
@Auntbijou wrote: "Well, you certainly don't do things by halves, do you?"
Heh. No, I'm definitely an over-achiever.
@Rose Red wrote: "I had a breast cancer about 3 years ago"
I'm so sorry to hear that and am glad to hear that you made it through okay. (My mother had breast cancer too, and my paternal aunt and grandmother died of ovarian cancer.) You know, most lymphedema patients are breast cancer patients, because LE can occur when a masectomy destroys the lymph nodes in the breast.
@yonmei wrote: "*worries*"
*Joins you in worrying.* I just discovered that the only health insurance I'm currently eligible for doesn't cover pre-existing conditions.
@Arhyalon wrote: "So glad to hear that that the doctors could help."
:)
@Parhelion wrote: "Will you be in for a phone call tomorrow?"
Oh my god, I must be at death's door if you're posting. :)
Yes, please. I've tried to reach you several times, but I always pick the moments when you're out.
@Spiralred wrote: "Some gentle supported inversions and massage, without the last minute vigorousness that you put your body through would be better."
You'll be happy to know that both exercise and a special type of gentle massage are part of the standard therapy for LE.
No need to worry, by the way, that "last minute vigorousness" traumatized me; I didn't do any more exercise last week than I've done in the past. It's a twenty-minute walk between here and the town center.
I've been exercising - more this year than any year since college - but not enough, alas. Well, except when invited to trek all over the Mid-Atlantic by a certain somebody. :)
