Finally...

After several calls and lack of calls from the office staff here in town, I finally have a follow up appointment with the neurologist at Barrows in Phoenix. The appointment isn't until July 21st, but I guess that is the best they can do. It normally takes 2 months.

The new seizure meds, Lyrica, I was put on make me feel like a complete zombie. They don't make the symptoms go away, they just make me not care whether or not I am having any. "Good drugs man...."

The doctor here says it may be a "complicated migraine". If that is true, why did it come on suddenly? I don't buy it. I have never had a migraine in my life, and rarely get headaches. It just seems like the "easy" answer to something more complicated.

Follow up

Well, it is confirmed that there is definitely "nothing going on" in my brain. The EEG didn't show anything abnormal,so that rules out epilepsy. I am still not any closer to getting an answer, just ruling out one thing at a time.

I have been having problems with hip/back pain and my asthma, so the doctor changed my meds. I am still having left sided weakness and started having problems with the right side of my face today. My smile is really wacky now.

The neurologist in Phoenix is out of the office this week, so the doctor here was going to see about a neurologist in Vegas.

Still waiting....

EEG

I had the EEG done on Wednesday. I have a follow up appointment on Monday to get the results. I wasn't scheduled to see the doctor on Wednesday when I had the EEG, but I met him in the hallway after I came out of the EEG room. He asked how I was doing and I told him that I was still having several episodes. He asked if I had made an appointment with a specialist. I informed him that the neurologist at Barrows wouldn't set up an appointment until they reviewed my chart, and that it may take awhile unless my current doctor thought it was necessary to expedite the appointment. He told me to have my hospital chart over-nighted to the specialist at Barrows and he would call them to try to get me in next week.

I haven't heard from the neurologist at Barrows yet, but I intend to give them a call today to see if they received my chart.

The episodes are quite frequent, but not debilitating. I have a crooked smile and my balance is off. I have been more tired than usual, but that may have to do with the medication. Yesterday I also had an asthma attack along with one of the more severe episodes. I haven't had problems with my asthma in several years, so I no longer have an inhaler. Mike was ready to take me to the ER, but I "breathed" through it. I suppose I should go get an inhaler just in case it happens again. I figure it has something to do with the other meds that I am on.... this is a classic case of piling on more meds to treat symptoms caused by other meds.

Have you ever gone to bed wondering if you will wake up the next morning?

Are you Kidding me?!!!

I was so sure that everybody was correct when they kept telling me after my cancer was diagnosed... "a year from now you will have perfect boobs and this will all be behind you." Yeah right! I almost believed it.

I haven't blogged since my life has been so blissfully boring! Boring is good for me, bad for blogging. I started on Facebook just to post day to day "blah" stuff. I bet you already guessed that my boring life has produced a minor twist. My mom said, "I keep getting calls from everybody, maybe you should start blogging again." So here I am...

I was admitted to the hospital Monday, June 22 for left sided weakness. And this is how the story goes...
I was at a swim meet on Sunday and had some numbness in my left foot and I was a little tired. I really didn't think too much about it. I figured I had been out in the sun all day, and I was wearing sandals that I don't usually wear.I went to bed early on Sunday, and I woke up at around 4 a.m. on Monday. I did my usual routine, which is make coffee and go out to my shop to do some work. I messed around on the computer for a little bit, then started working on my decals around 5 a.m.. As I was working, I felt a twitch in my left eye and noticed that my jaw felt numb. I got up and looked in the mirror and noticed that they left side of my face was drooping. I went and woke up Mike. By the time I woke him up, it was starting to go away and my smile was returning to normal. I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to rush to the Emergency Room, so I called a friend that is an ER doctor and asked his opinion. He asked me a few questions and told me that I should be seen that day. Shortly after I got off the phone with him, I had another episode of left sided facial droop. This time Mike was awake and noticed it. We decided to head to the ER.

I checked into the ER around 6 a.m. and they actually got me in fairly quickly. Luckily they weren't too busy. The doctor did an assessment and noticed a left side deficit. He ordered a CT, MRI, EKG, Carotid Dopler, Chest X-ray and bloodwork. It all came back negative, so they admitted me to hospital for observation. They assumed I had a TIA. I was admitted around 9 a.m. to the 3rd floor. The ER doctor had ordered 4 baby aspirin to decrease my chances of having a full stroke. The only problem is that I never got the aspirin. The ER nurse had documented that I got the aspirin, but it was never given to me. I can kind of understand them not believing me, but Mike was with me the entire time and knew that I never got any medication in the ER. So, I never did get the 4 aspirin. I was admitted by the Hospitalist, who was very pleasant, but was a bumbling idiot. I couldn't believe he was actually an M.D.. Maybe he would have done better if he would have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. They did notify the neurologist for a consult.

They ordered numerous tests, including a complete cardiology work up, checked my thyroid. I had another CT and a TEE, which checks for clots or holes in the heart. Everything came up negative. I was released on Tuesday and put on blood thinning meds, anti-seizure medication and another med for cholesterol.

I am still having periods of left side weakness and facial droop. I am going for an EEG today and will be following up with a specialist in Phoenix. Hopefully I will have some answers soon.