Very bad news

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by sparrow, Oct 9, 2006.

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  1. sparrow

    sparrow Guest

    Hey, I have some good news :) My allergist finally straightened out my prescription for the catscan, so it's all set for Thursday and got that faxed over to the hospital and is calling that pulmonologist to get me in right after the catscan. Maybe by the end of October, I will know whats up or... down.

    Hey Amethyst ~ thank you for the hugs as night is approaching and my mood is declining, so the hugs helped !!! :D

    Cowcollector ~ thank you for sending me wheelbarrows of love today !! I needed to hear that as no one has told me they love me today. Ordinarily I don't need to hear that, but now I do need to know that somebody loves me. Of course that goes without question with my furry friends who reside with me. :D

    Sparrow :)
     
  2. tamarak

    tamarak New Member

    Hey Sparrow--

    We all love you and are thinking of you and sending you lots of hugs--this is the limitation of the cyber relationship which has been bugging me lately--I wish that I could just drop over and bring you a care package of chocolate (swiss, bittersweet) and rooibos tea and kitty treats! But maybe this saves you from having to graciously receive bitter chocolate and coffee-substitute a la Tamara!

    ...and No, I WON'T promise you that I'll get the second MRI. I read the first report--the only thing I was concerned with was cancer. I don't give a damn about aneurism. What's the other option? To have them open my brain up? Yuk. No, my only question was whether the dizziness (nicely abating generally now) was due to brain cancer. The answer was "no". Now, if for some reason, I pop off quickly due to aneurism--so, let it be.

    Now, enough about me...let's talk about my cat. Now, the thing is that he is an un-neutered male cat. He is spraying all over my house. I cannot take it anymore!! Will neutering fix it? I had some idealistic notions about not interfering with nature (ie. not cutting the cat) but am moving my position. Can you give me any cat tips? I know that you rescued feral cats...did they ever spray in your house? Mew (his name) sprayed all over my newly washed dishes and my appliances in my kitchen on my counter (aargh)--a HUGE clean up job. And nasty.

    Need your cat expertise!!

    Love
    Tamara
     
  3. sparrow

    sparrow Guest

    Hi Tamara ~ Spraying can be caused by numerous issues. First, the odor of an unneutered male is very pungent and I worry about your health with the high levels of bacteria in the air. With that said, here are a few things to consider:

    Do you have any other cats in your household? If no, then perhaps he is marking his territory due to cats lurking outside that he can smell, which you cannot. The other cat could be a mile away or closer. (one cat per 5 square miles). My feral cats would mark around the outside of my apartment daily and my male indoor cat started to mark around the window sills as a reaction.

    Working for a vet, I often heard the doctor counsel cat owners that neutering males reduces their hormone levels and hence they loose the need to mark their territory in that manner. This needs to be done early on before the spraying becomes a learned habit. Now all cats mark their scents, by rubbing their head along furniture or on you, pawing (clawing) furniture or carpet. In a multi cat household, such as what I have, if one cat uses the litter another one will use the same box and location in the box to mark his/her scent over top of it.

    There is a spray that you can use, called Feliway. It replicates the calming hormone and can be used anywhere the cat sprays.

    There is one more thing. I hired a cat psychologist who, now don't laugh, helped me understand all of this. I have more suggestions for you if you have more than a one cat household. Let me know and I can add more here.

    Hope some of this helps !!!!! Let me know !!!

    Sparrow :)
     
  4. cdedie

    cdedie Designed by DizzyNBlue

    Hey Sparrow! Glad things are getting speeded up for you so you can find something out sooner than later!

    I did give myself another chest X-ray several weeks later and other than a little emphysema and slight COPD (I was/am a smoker :-[) everything was fine. (Just smoke a few a day - I know, I know I shouldn't) The biopsy caused my lung to collapse and I had to have a tube in to reinflate it. THAT was the worst. I was so uncomfortable. Haven't had any kind of x-ray for several years now. I'm still in the Disability paperwork stage. Blahhhh!

    Just remember that we are here for you :-*. Keep your spirits up and try not to stress about it. The stress will not help you so try and relax. Sending you big cyber hugs and lots of prayers!
     
  5. TracyInIndy

    TracyInIndy Guest

    Sparrow,

    You know the strange thing about this site is we become a family. As a member of my extended family, I want you to know that you are loved! You are cared about! You are thought about! You are prayed for! You are important!

    So here comes another Huge cyber {{{{{{{{HUG}}}}}}}}

    Good luck on Thursday!

    Lots of hugs and love, Tracy
     
  6. sparrow

    sparrow Guest

    Cdedie ~ Really sorry to hear about your emphysema and COPD, my dad had that and he kept on smoking despite it all :)

    I had heard that anytime a biopsy is conducted in a lung that it has the potential to collapse. Did it hurt ... much? Were you awake when this happened to you? How long did they leave the tube in your lung????? :eek: :eek: :eek:

    Well, my allergist didn't have the clout apparently so I have to wait to see the pulmologist on the 24th :-[ Wondering if the technicians will tell me anything tomorrow, probably not.

    Good luck with your disability paperwork. I put it off because of the fear of paperwork, but I had to set aside a day and made myself sit down and just do it. Felt much better after it was all done and even more better once I federal expressed it.

    Thank you for the cyber hugs and support !!! Everything and anything went wrong today and I tried to remain calm but it was difficult as all coping mechanisms are hiding from me right now, LOL. Debating taking an Ambien tonight. My test is at 4:00 tomorrow at a local hospital, so wish me luck :)

    Sparrow
     
  7. sparrow

    sparrow Guest

    Tracy ~ Wow, I have never been considered as part of an extended family before. Thank you for helping me feel important too !!! ((((hugs)))) When I come to this website I come with good feelings and comfort. Everyone here is soo supportive and understanding and out of all of this, I feel soo blessed that I have come to know you and others here.

    Thank you for your cyber hug ((((hugs back)))) :D

    I honestly couldn't have made it thru the past 6 months without you and this website !!!

    God Bless you all !!!

    Sparrow
     
  8. cdedie

    cdedie Designed by DizzyNBlue

    Sparrow, Tracy is one of the neatest people! I have not met her personally, but her posts are the best. ;D I mean we do become family of sorts. I'm sure the few friends I see are sick of my talking about "so and so on my site". LOL I don't even have to say Menieres site anymore. I totally agree with you that I wouldn't have made it without my wonderful cyber family. It's an outlet I would not have otherwise - I am grateful to all on this site for just being here!

    When I was with patients I never lied to one about an exam or procedure they were having. That being said, yes anytime you poke a hole in the lung it has the potential for collapse. The Radiologist who did it knew me well and was apologising for it every time he saw me. LOL Anyway I was coughing, wasn't bothering me to cough, but they sent me down and x-ray'd to see if the lung collapsed. I kept telling them that I really didn't mind coughing and was fine. But nooooo, they had to put the chest tube in. :p Usually they make you stay in the hospital overnight with it, but they knew I'd be good and let me go home. It was in about 12 to 18 hours before it was removed. I had to be very careful and sleep at about 45* angle. I hated it! Would have rather cough the rest of my life. It was extremely uncomfortable! I don't know if I would call it hurting, but extremely uncomfortable several times over.

    I don't tell you this to scare you but I believe in being honest about what is possible. It is also possible that some people are not bothered by it and would be happy to have their lung reinflated. I wasn't one of them! The biopsy was nothing. Was given the "happy twilight" drug before, so I couldn't have cared less. LOL

    Sparrow if you haven't noticed I'm a rambler. :eek: ;) ;) Sorry. My emphysyma and COPD are still very, very slight but I appreciate your concern. My Dad also had COPD so I kinda know about that one. I am doing my best NOT to smoke but stress sometimes wins!

    Good luck with the CAT scan and no the tech will probably not tell you anything. It would be making a diagnosis and we are just tech's not Doctors. I was very bad about that cause I would ask the patient if they wanted to see their x-rays. CAT scans are harder to show. But it won't hurt to ask! ;)

    Good luck and Bless you Sparrow!
     
  9. SMC

    SMC Look for the footprints in the sand......

    (((((((((((((Sparrow))))))))))))))) I'm so sorry that you have to face this too. Just when you think that it can't get any worse, wham! Thank God the test was ordered. While I know how scary dealing with a known problem is, not knowing can be 1000 times worse. I know that it's difficult, but try not to "borrow" trouble. Cross the bridges as you approach them and try to keep a positive attitude. I will keep you in my prayers.
    SherryC
     
  10. sparrow

    sparrow Guest

    Update ~

    I was not a very good patient during the CatScan :'( I have had 3 already this year and no problem, I sailed right thru them, same with the two MRI's with contrast. But today... was different. I picked up my xrays before I arrived at the hospital and saw the nodule. Even though the nodule is 1mm, it looked very large to me in comparison to the size of the lower lobe. Okay, so I walked into the procedure room and my knees started shaking, so I knew it was going to be downhill from there.

    Of course it took three technicians to get a vein and then the catheter popped out after everything was inserted in. At that point, I sat up and said... today is not a very good day to get this done. By then my teeth were chattering so bad I could barely talk and be understood, so they called an ER technician who sat with me for a bit to calm me down. I think what helped was being held while I had a good cry. What was going thru my mind, is that if I do have cancer how will I endure cancer treatments and I associated the whole experience like I was going to die right then and there. The ER tech stayed with me and held my hand thru the whole procedure. I thought I was going to pass out several times so they put smelling salts underneath my nose .... rather strong stuff. The scan itself only took about 3 minutes but the build up to it was time consuming and I just had no coping abilities to be patient with the whole procedure.

    Having a panic disorder didn't help either. I was soo embarassed. I left with a wet towel in my hand and by the time I walked thru the hospital doors, I bolted to my car and sat there and shook for quite a while. Gratefully it is over with and now I have to endure the wait for the findings :( Maybe tomorrow.

    Thank you cdedie (((hugs))) I appreciate your information about lung issues during a biopsy, so that I can understand what might happen to me. I guess I wanted to know if when they insert the tube, does that hurt? I soooo appreciate your honesty !!! Knowledge is all part of reducing the fear. I am sorry you had to go thru this experience (((hugs))). I used those Skoal Bandits to get me off of smoking and it helped, just a suggestion, and probably not a good one, but it did do the trick for me.

    SMC ~ Yeup, I shouldn't have said out loud that things just couldn't get any worse than they are. Guess one has to be careful when saying such things. Yes, I owe it all to the mold guy who encouraged me to see a chest doctor immediately after his findings came out about the mold. I wanted to share with you an experience what I had in the grocery store this morning. A young man in a wheelchair was in line before me at the checkout counter. He was short on his change so I handed over a $20.00 to pay for the rest of his groceries and to leave him some cash. I know, I know, alot of scam artists out there, but I do this on a regular basis, good for the soul. Anyway this young man turned to me and asked if he could pray for me. My eyes bulged out. He said he was a minister in Puerto Rico and that was the least he could do to thank me. So he took my hand and prayed for a good turn out with the results of this test. I turned around and everyone in line had their heads bowed in prayer along with him, as well several people walking by had stopped to put their hands on the backs of others praying. Perhaps they didn't know what they were praying for but it was as if time stood still during the prayer, it got quiet in a busy grocery store. By the time I walked out of the store I was balling my eyes out. I have never had such a touching experience in my life such as this.

    In fact, I have never experienced such random acts of human kindness since I met MM.

    Sparrow
     
  11. TracyInIndy

    TracyInIndy Guest

    Gee Carol you sure know how to make a girl blush! I think you're pretty nice too! :) :) :)

    Sparrow,

    I'm so glad you're done with the cat scaan. Waiting for results sucks but you got through it! Even if you had a panick attack. Now make sure you take good care of yourself. You're under extra stress and you don't need to have another vertigo attack! I'll be thinking good thoughts, try to stay as positive as you can! I know easier said than done. Try to think about it this way. Worrying won't change the outcome. So try to take that nervious energy and put it into something positive.

    Big Hugs, Tracy
     
  12. Peanut Brittle

    Peanut Brittle My Twerple Has My Heart

    Dear Sparrow,

    In classic avoidance-behavior mode, I tend to hang out on the Front Porch and be goofy and not "deal" with the more real aspects of life most times.

    Your thread caught my eye and I've been reading these pages for quite awhile, and blast it, now it's hard to see through my tears.

    It takes SO MUCH COURAGE and STRENGTH to break down and cry as you did before your cat scan. You were completely, honestly yourself and you were your own best advocate in a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar territory. It's wonderful that you had a hand to hold during the procedure.

    Your faith, and the faith of your family here-- and in the grocery store (! just awesome !)-- will help you in ways that will also touch others in countless ways. Light AND Light-- that's a great visualization!

    It's true, you know. This website is an extended family.

    I'll be thinking of you and praying for you and wishing you calm and peace and tranquility and serenity and grace-- all things you already have in abundance.

    ...and I'll be paying closer attention to the Livingroom from hereon in.

    HUGE HUGS,
    Jenn
     
  13. Motor City Spinner

    Motor City Spinner New Member

    Sparrow,
    Thank you for your support, I admire how you can support me while you yourself are going through such an ordeal how generous you are. It opened my eyes, you are in my prayers.
    Sincerely,
    MC Spinner
     
  14. tamarak

    tamarak New Member

    What a day for you!

    I believe in the power of the blessings that you are receiving! I believe in the power of the moment in the grocery store. Beautiful and loving Sparrow--you are being surrounded by Angels and Love--and when these tests turn out--the love and support for you will continue--regardless of the outcome.

    Love and Hugs

    Tamara
     
  15. cdedie

    cdedie Designed by DizzyNBlue

    Wow Sparrow. I posted (before the re-do) about a woman who came to my garage sale last spring. She didn't buy much but we connected and were talking. To explain my holding on to things I told her I had Menieres. She asked if she could pray for me and I said yes - thinking she would go to church and say a prayer for me. She took my hand and prayed right then and there. Wow again! How amazing that during a dark time in our lives something like that happens. I think it's a blessing! Just re-read the posts here and you will know that you are blessed. :D :D ;) ;)
     
  16. cdedie

    cdedie Designed by DizzyNBlue

    Oh yea, keep us updated! :)
     
  17. Bergie

    Bergie New Member

    Sparrow...I am in tears here reading that story about the man praying and everyone else too!!

    God is watching over you sweetie!!

    {{{{{HUGS!!}}}}}

    Bergs
     
  18. michele

    michele New Member

    What a great forum this is! I was diagnosed just a few short weeks ago (but now I know I've had MM for quite some time) and see a neurotoligist (sp?) on 10/28. I don't know what the road ahead holds for me, but I'll take it one day at a time!
     
  19. charisse

    charisse Been hanging here for 8 years

    Sparrow,

    I too have been watching this thread as I'm sure many others have. Bless your heart sweety, you are so wonderful to post your experience. I know others will be so helped by it. It has really blessed me to get to know you through this thread. I've been here for some 4 1/2 years and your thread is a story of hope and courage. I had the same thing happen in a cat scan and could relate to you. Damn panic, but I've learned others are there for us like the tech was for you. Makes you feel better that there are angels out there.

    You are in my prayers and have been, I just wanted to post and let you know. I tend not to come in the livingroom alot and so I miss much. I'm so glad I caught your thread, just know I've been praying for you sweety :-*
     
  20. dedion

    dedion New Member

    I never post in the living room anymore but this thread caught my eyes, which are now filled with tears. What wonderful people there are in the world who would take the time to connect with others in need at the drop of a hat. I love these stories about people praying for each other right there on the spot - how moving! And so heartfelt and sincere!

    Sparrow I wish you strength and courage and I truly hope everything turns out well for you. :)
     

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