Went from greatest NSV to crushing blow in 1 hour

[lisafrommassachusetts 319]

On 3/7/2020 at 9:30 AM, momof3_angels said:

Had my stat CT scan yesterday. They said my results should be sent to my PCP within 2-3 hours. I waited 6 hours and stopprd at the PCP's office and they didnt get the results, so now I have to wait until Monday. I left and was so upset that I cant find out for 3 more days. *sigh* And of course now I cant help but wonder.... were they just too busy to finish the report? Of are the results more complicated and they need more time to review the images? Yes, head games have begun. I woukd have been much better off getting the resukts now, good or bad.. . So my imagination doesnt get carried away. *sigh*

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

Good luck today. What a tough week-end this must have been for you. I'm hoping you are walking across Spain in 3 months!

[momof3_angels 465]

Update: CT Scan done with and without contrast. It APPEARS that the tumor like mass that is the size of a golf ball (round too) is some ugly scarring! I still need a Urology consult so the urologist can look at both scans closely to confirm, but I am no longer thinking Cancer (YAY!). But again... if he looks and decides it IS Cancer afterall... I now also know that it doesn't appear to be a problem anywhere else. I do have some "prominent" lymph nodes... but small enough to not be alarming. So... I have bad scarring on my Left Kidney and some kidney atrophy indicating kidney disease... but my kidney related labs are pretty decent so it is probably a mild form of kidney disease (but with lots of scarring). I am guessing it was caused by many frequent UTI's throughout my life. Still, I don't know what kidney testing my mom had me do as a kid, she somehow doesn't remember me going for some testing (I certainly do). But she is a person who doesn't "remember" anything negative lol. I guess I will never know if I was diagnosed with a kidney problem as a kid or not. And the CT scan did get a look at my heart... and everything appears normal from a CT scan perspective, confirming my cardiologist view that my heart is much healthier already!!! And again... my liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, Right Kidney, and what they could see of my digestive tract etc etc etc all look good.

[FluffyChix 17,413]

Oh mah gosh! What a relief and answer to prayers!!!! ((hugs)) I know you are still probably on edge, but this is really brilliant news!!! And now you know about an unknown kidney issue that you can help protect and maybe heal or put into remission through lifestyle choices and weight loss!!! Woot!! Awesome sauce, hon!!!

[momof3_angels 465]

Just now, FluffyChix said:

Oh mah gosh! What a relief and answer to prayers!!!! ((hugs)) I know you are still probably on edge, but this is really brilliant news!!! And now you know about an unknown kidney issue that you can help protect and maybe heal or put into remission through lifestyle choices and weight loss!!! Woot!! Awesome sauce, hon!!!

Thanks! Yes, I am definitely relieved. I will still be "tentative" until I get confirmation from the Urologist... but I feel so much more confident already. And we all know even if I have a bad kidney disease, you only need 1 good one to have a good quality of life. I have 1 good one for sure!

I was telling my bosses... after the first report my husband and I went out and he bought me some cute new "you have cancer" outfits lol. You have to know my husband to know he is a cheapskate and hates buying new clothing.... but he was trying to help me feel better and distracted. After I got my CT results we were looking for shoes for me, and now because he encouraged me... I also have several new pairs of "I don't have cancer" shoes lol. And of course now the novelty has worn off so I don't get to go shopping (with his approval) for quite a while lmao. Don't get me wrong... I buy what I want, when I want to... but not when he is around because he is such a cheapskate lol. For him to buy me nice clothes and shoes means he was very worried and then very relieved.

[lisafrommassachusetts 319]

Thank goodness!! Your husband sounds like a keeper. Now you need I'm walking across Spain clothes!!

[FluffyChix 17,413]

I love the idea of the "I don't have cancer wardrobe"!!! Way to work it, right?

[momof3_angels 465]

2 minutes ago, lisafrommassachusetts said:

Thank goodness!! Your husband sounds like a keeper. Now you need I'm walking across Spain clothes!!

LOL. I got those! This is the kind of trip where you where 1 outfit, carry one outfit, and MAYBE a spare and do laundry every day or every other day. Since you carry all your belongings every day for more than a month you don't want the extra clothes with. That said... I will definitely do some "Post Camino" shopping after I finish the walking portion of my trip in Spain! I should have 1-2 "touristy" weeks where I will want more clothes for sure. Shopping in Lisbon or Barcelona will be fun!

[momof3_angels 465]

3 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

I love the idea of the "I don't have cancer wardrobe"!!! Way to work it, right?

Yep! And bonus is when these things happen, he is just so much more generous that I don't even have to ask lol BTW, did I mention, those "I had a cancer scare" clothes I bought were size SMALL?!?!?! And I went to buy 1-2 pairs of "I don't have cancer shoes" and wound up with 7 pairs lol. Which is good because my feet are smaller than pre-op... I had been building up my professional work shoe collection and these will fill that need, but are more playful and can be used as fun summertime shoes too.

[FluffyChix 17,413]

12 minutes ago, momof3_angels said:

Yep! And bonus is when these things happen, he is just so much more generous that I don't even have to ask lol BTW, did I mention, those "I had a cancer scare" clothes I bought were size SMALL?!?!?! And I went to buy 1-2 pairs of "I don't have cancer shoes" and wound up with 7 pairs lol. Which is good because my feet are smaller than pre-op... I had been building up my professional work shoe collection and these will fill that need, but are more playful and can be used as fun summertime shoes too.

Congrats on ALL. THE. THINGS! Woot! Size small and smaller shoes AND no cancer! Score!

[momof3_angels 465]

Last update: Urologist confirmed, it was nasty scarring! No need for follow up with Urology... however I do need to take steps to protect the remainder of my kidney. The scar/damage area is huge (golfball), the kidney has definitely atrophied... but otherwise the rest of the kidney is in good health. Need to keep it that way. My biggest challenge will be preventing UTI's. I need to stop doing some of the stuff I was originally taught my entire life to do to prevent them. No cranberry. Have a lit of foods to avoid. I instead will be adding D-Mannose supplements which I had never heard of before lol. It doesn't prevent or fight the bacteria... but instead makes the lining of the bladder "slippery" so the bacteria can't stick to it. Interesting. Learn something new every day. Once again, I had no symptoms, but my urinalysis showed an infection so I am on antibiotics again. Have to see my PCP to recheck my urine. I swear, I always have a UTI. And I rarely have symptoms. So, keeping UTI free will be challenging!

[lisafrommassachusetts 319]

Best of luck, and so, so glad it was not more serious.

[JRT Mom 919]

Oh, I'm so happy it's good news!

Can you take a small dose of antibiotics all the time to keep the UTIs at bay? That's what a urologist was doing with my MIL who had them all the time. Worked well until she died--at 94!

[momof3_angels 465]

17 hours ago, JRT Mom said:

Oh, I'm so happy it's good news!

Can you take a small dose of antibiotics all the time to keep the UTIs at bay? That's what a urologist was doing with my MIL who had them all the time. Worked well until she died--at 94!

I am going to try the D-Mannose first. See if that helps. But I also think I need to ask my PCP to routinely do a urinalysis every time I see her, since I don't always have symptoms.

[momof3_angels 465]

I swear... my saga never ends. Got the good news about my kidney. Then I got the latest blood results back. My labs were WONDERFUL. Except for my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level. It was high enough to order more tests to see what was going on, and to see if I had Hashimoto Disease (and another autoimmune but can't remember what). Seriously? My TSH has NEVER been high before. And the rest of my labs were so perfect I would have thought that they ran someone else's blood instead of mine... except that bilirubin level was still high (but not quite as high). So... back to the lab again. More calls with my nurse practitioner. Turns out my newer thyroid related tests were all fine. WHEW! Another close call. So... bilirubin still high (may never know why), but my liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, stomach, intestines (the parts they could see), Right kidney, and my thyroid are all in good shape. Nasty scarring on my left kidney, but otherwise fine. My EKG is back to normal. No UTI after my last round of antibiotics. Oh... skin checks are usually normal too (had 2 cancerous lesions removed but not the bad kind). Knee seems to be doing better after an injury. I do have some mild osteopenia. I guess that just leaves my lungs that haven't been checked out recently? Hmmm... wonder when I will have a bad asthma flareup... seems like that will be next LMAO. Oh.... and my brain hasn't been checked, but I did pass my psych eval well enough to qualify for surgery, so I guess that is good. But really... what is next? LMAO Grateful everything is good news, but boy am I sick of doctors visits! I need to reschedule my dermatologist 6 month check, and my eye exam, then I have my nutritionist and surgeon nurse practitioner visit in the next 2 months back to my FNP and cardiologist in the fall... but after that I would really love to have yearly visits only! And to fire a couple docs!