Sunshine Journal

Last week I crossed another test off the list... well sort of. I went in to do an upper GI series with barium. She got me all situated with my gown, explained the process, and then went to get the radiologist to get things started. I'm not sure how long she was gone, but it felt like quite awhile. When she returned she explained that the radiologist thought it'd be better to do a different test entirely. They then reached out to my PCP to ask, but the order was from Oklahoma not her. So she informed me she was going to run all that information by the radiologist and he'd decide. I thought there was no way they'd just change the test on me, but I was wrong and they did. I was a bit perplexed on what to say, so I just followed their guidance and went with it. The nice part was I could change back into my clothes and I got moved to a room with a recliner. They decided I should do a CT Enterography, which is basically a CT scan with contrast dye and you also drink barium to...

I've been focusing a lot on my jaw cavitations as of late, but there has been a lot in the works for my vascular compressions as well. When I left Oklahoma there was a slew of tests I need to do to help the doctor put together a plan. So far I've done all the blood labs and most recently completed the celiac plexus block and Mesenteric ultrasound. “ET phone home” yes, this was my shining moment when I got back from my procedure ;) Ben was happy I still had my sense of humor! What is a Celiac Plexus Block? The celiac plexus is part of the nervous system and is a bundle of nerves in the upper abdomen that sits behind the pancreas by the abdominal aorta. They send signals to the brain and spinal cord from digestive system organs. A block is commonly used for people with pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis to help relieve pain from those nerves. In other cases like mine, it's used for diagnostic purposes. For the block they used a mixture of 20 mL Bupivacaine 0.25% and 2 mg Dexam...

This is a lovely collections of tidbits from September - December 2023. Often times these things leave my brain quickly or they all get scrambled together. So I just wanted to write it down for myself. Or if anyone is curious what a snapshot of navigating my health is like. It's not all inclusive, but I tried to document the more tangible things. Well and there are pictures! It's kind of like a journal photo album. September 5, 2023 I made it back to work today for a few hours. And then I took a nap because I was exhausted and my body still hates eating. September 7, 2023 I did the gallbladder flush, which consists of some body prep and drinking olive oil and grapefruit juice back and forth for 15 minutes. If it sounds bizarre that's because it is. Olive oil is not something anyone should just drink. That's my conclusion. It sticks with you for awhile. After this I just had to lay on my side on a heating pad and rest. Minimal stress all day if possible. The idea is that...