i had an appt scheduled for monday to go see the stroke/vascular specialist but my since my coworker is out next week and i really can't be out too, i thought i'd call to see if the dr would just tell me my results over the phone.....
dr kim told me that all the tests are normal and that he knows it's frustrating not having a definite answer to things (why reflexes on right side are hypersensitive, what the spot in my spinal cord is, etc), the good news is that nothing is 'wrong' enough to show on any of the tests i've had.....he did say to pay attention to anything that goes on with my body and that we can always do more testing in the future, if necessary....
i ended my conversation with him by asking, 'so, if nothing new happens, i can just plan on seeing you in a year for my regular neurological follow up?' and he said 'yes, i'll see you in a year'.....
so, YAY (again)!!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
more test results -- all normal : )
today the MS doctor told me all four evoked potential test results are normal....
he said looks like we can rule out MS unless i have any future neurological issues...
i asked him why my reflexes on my right side were hypersensitive (since the left side is explained from brain damage area from stroke) and he didn't really have an answer but since all his tests came back normal, he's not concerned.
i also asked what could have caused the spot in my spinal cord that has shown on the two most recent MRI scans and he said that he didn't know, but that it was so tiny that for all he knows, it could have been from when my spinal cord was developing---it wraps around during formation and that there could have been a pocket of spinal fluid that i could have had all my life (but prior MRI scans were just of my brain, not cervical cord)...
as i am writing this i just now realized i have had a full spinal MRI done before, which is when they found i have bulging lumbar disks...i don't know if my cervical cord was shown in that scan---will have to figure that out and see---if it was then that will show the spot or let us know if that spot is new...
monday i go back to the stroke/vascular specialist for the final doppler result....
so it looks i am not as broken as they thought i might be :)
i still get migraines periodically (several lately), but am thinking they are stress-related due to all the tests i've gone through....so now that the testing is over, the headaches should go.....
YAY!!! today is good.
he said looks like we can rule out MS unless i have any future neurological issues...
i asked him why my reflexes on my right side were hypersensitive (since the left side is explained from brain damage area from stroke) and he didn't really have an answer but since all his tests came back normal, he's not concerned.
i also asked what could have caused the spot in my spinal cord that has shown on the two most recent MRI scans and he said that he didn't know, but that it was so tiny that for all he knows, it could have been from when my spinal cord was developing---it wraps around during formation and that there could have been a pocket of spinal fluid that i could have had all my life (but prior MRI scans were just of my brain, not cervical cord)...
as i am writing this i just now realized i have had a full spinal MRI done before, which is when they found i have bulging lumbar disks...i don't know if my cervical cord was shown in that scan---will have to figure that out and see---if it was then that will show the spot or let us know if that spot is new...
monday i go back to the stroke/vascular specialist for the final doppler result....
so it looks i am not as broken as they thought i might be :)
i still get migraines periodically (several lately), but am thinking they are stress-related due to all the tests i've gone through....so now that the testing is over, the headaches should go.....
YAY!!! today is good.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
letter from haiti
i am so excited today---
in november when jennifer and i went to see jeremy camp, Compassion International had a big booth in the lobby of the concert venue and the announcers and artists talked about their sponsored children and about the Compassion organization. I didn't sign up or fill out anything that night, but came home with the thought of sponsoring a child weighing heavily on my heart.....a few days passed and in the mail was an envelope from Compassion International (coincidence to some, a sign to me--david thinks i'm silly)
anyway, darian and i looked through the information packet and at the children's profiles they sent and i decided to sponsor a 10 yr old girl, named saintilia, who lives in haiti.....darian helped me pick saintilia because in her profile it stated she likes to sing....and darian sings, so they have that in common.
well, a couple months ago after i got confirmation of my sponsorship, i wrote her a letter and sent a picture of us.....and today i received a letter from her....
we are so blessed and it's important to stop and be thankful for what we have been given...
it is a great feeling to be able to give and to be a part of something that can help others who are in need....
in november when jennifer and i went to see jeremy camp, Compassion International had a big booth in the lobby of the concert venue and the announcers and artists talked about their sponsored children and about the Compassion organization. I didn't sign up or fill out anything that night, but came home with the thought of sponsoring a child weighing heavily on my heart.....a few days passed and in the mail was an envelope from Compassion International (coincidence to some, a sign to me--david thinks i'm silly)
anyway, darian and i looked through the information packet and at the children's profiles they sent and i decided to sponsor a 10 yr old girl, named saintilia, who lives in haiti.....darian helped me pick saintilia because in her profile it stated she likes to sing....and darian sings, so they have that in common.
well, a couple months ago after i got confirmation of my sponsorship, i wrote her a letter and sent a picture of us.....and today i received a letter from her....
we are so blessed and it's important to stop and be thankful for what we have been given...
it is a great feeling to be able to give and to be a part of something that can help others who are in need....
Friday, February 16, 2007
waiting for results
just got home from having my MRI.....now am just waiting for the results of my evoked potential tests and the MRI.....my doctor emailed me last night stating the EP results are not in yet and he will let me know as soon as they are available.
he said he received my medical records from my previous neurologists in austin and atlanta and asked me to get my records from my doctor in austin that referred me to my first neurologist (when i had the stroke in 2000)....he's wanting to see if i had any symptoms back then that i am having now (ie: my left leg gets clumsy sometimes when i walk and i trip every once in a while)....i can't remember how long i've been doing that and he's trying to find out if it's something new or old....so, today i requested those records...
i feel good that he is being so thorough....i know i have great doctors here.
will post as soon as i hear something.....
oh, and as far as weight loss---another week of being exactly the same weight. i didn't work out much at all this week, but am still feeling great about my progress :)
he said he received my medical records from my previous neurologists in austin and atlanta and asked me to get my records from my doctor in austin that referred me to my first neurologist (when i had the stroke in 2000)....he's wanting to see if i had any symptoms back then that i am having now (ie: my left leg gets clumsy sometimes when i walk and i trip every once in a while)....i can't remember how long i've been doing that and he's trying to find out if it's something new or old....so, today i requested those records...
i feel good that he is being so thorough....i know i have great doctors here.
will post as soon as i hear something.....
oh, and as far as weight loss---another week of being exactly the same weight. i didn't work out much at all this week, but am still feeling great about my progress :)
Friday, February 9, 2007
tests scheduled
on monday morning i am scheduled for the evoked potential tests...i was told they will be giving me valium to help my muscles relax/not be tense during the electrical impulses, so david will have to take me and pick me up (tests should take 3-4 hours).
and friday evening i am scheduled for the MRI of my brain and cervical cord....
then on the 21st, i am scheduled for the 'bubble' test (one of the four parts of the transcranial doppler test).....they started to do this one with the others before, but had to stop because they couldn't get the saline solution injected properly into my vein---the needle kept coming out, so they're going to try again.
will update as the results come in....
and friday evening i am scheduled for the MRI of my brain and cervical cord....
then on the 21st, i am scheduled for the 'bubble' test (one of the four parts of the transcranial doppler test).....they started to do this one with the others before, but had to stop because they couldn't get the saline solution injected properly into my vein---the needle kept coming out, so they're going to try again.
will update as the results come in....
Thursday, February 8, 2007
latest test results : )
my dr just called and the doppler results are normal :)
still waiting to see when i can have the MRI and evoked potential tests to check for MS......
but all other tests: so far, so good.
still waiting to see when i can have the MRI and evoked potential tests to check for MS......
but all other tests: so far, so good.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
weekly weigh in
today i had my weekly weigh in at jenny craig.......no weight loss, but my clothes are fitting differently so i'm happy....i am officially in a smaller pant size---YAY!!!
i have been working out at curves regularly and on sunday, darian and i went walking. we walked about 2 1/2 miles....was great getting out and spending time talking/walking with d....did a bit of mother/daughter bonding---was very nice :)
i have been working out at curves regularly and on sunday, darian and i went walking. we walked about 2 1/2 miles....was great getting out and spending time talking/walking with d....did a bit of mother/daughter bonding---was very nice :)
Monday, February 5, 2007
calendar verse worth sharing
my friend jennifer gave me a Purpose Driven Life calendar and reading it inspires me each day......but today's verse really touched my heart and i want to share it:
The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, "God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out"
(1 Corinthians 10:13).
The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, "God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out"
(1 Corinthians 10:13).
Saturday, February 3, 2007
medical stuff --week of various tests
in december i went for a checkup and my doctor said i should go see my neurologist again --it had been a year and since i have stroke history, i have to have periodic neurological checkups..
my neurologist told me that on my last MRI scan in 11/05, there was a tiny spot (about the size of a pin head) that wasn't on any prior scans....it was located in my cervical cord area)....last year, she had ordered another MRI (which was denied by my insurance) and then never mentioned it again (basically said it was so tiny, she wasn't really concerned with it)so i never thought of it again.
but this time, i guess just being cautious and since i have insurance with a different carrier, she referred me to a vascular stroke specialist at UCLA and also to a doctor at UCLA's multiple sclerosis research and treatment center....she said she'd feel better if i went for further testing (who knows, maybe she had a patient that had something happen over the past year so now she is being extremely cautious for her patients, i don't know).
--she mentioned that MS can manifest in a person's neck and brain so they just want me to be checked out to either rule out or confirm an MS diagnosis.
**** i am not really worried as i feel better/healthier than i ever have ****
i do have some weakness in my left side (normal from where the brain damage is on my right side from the stroke) and also have hypersensitive reflexes (for my left side-again goes with where damage is from stroke)....but i also have hypersensitive reflexes on my right side (which doesn't jive with the stroke damage) and i also didn't do as well on a couple of the neurological tests given by the MS dr, so they are trying to figure out why i have that (maybe i am just a spastic person---haha)...
but, if it turns out i do have MS or something, i know they would have caught it early and UCLA has top-notch doctors/treatments....so with God and good doctors, i know i would be fine.
well, this past couple of weeks, at the stroke specialist's recommendation, i have had an ultra sound of my heart and a TEE (transesophgal echocardiogram)and both turned out absolutely normal. Yesterday i had a transcranial doppler and will get the results soon.
i am waiting on insurance company approval to have another brain & cervical cord MRI (to see if that tiny spot is still there or if anything has changed since the last scan) and some tests called 'evoked potential' exams. i'll be having visual, brainstem auditory, and somatosensory (arms and legs) evoked potential tests.
basically, these involve electrodes stuck on my head and electrical pulses on various parts (arms, legs) to determine the exact time it takes for the stimulus to reach the brain.
no need to worry, but am just posting to keep everyone updated on me and i'm finding it's easier to post about something instead of writing individual emails to tell people stuff.
prayer never hurt anyone, so if you could, please keep me in your prayers....no such thing as too much prayer...
love you all!!
my neurologist told me that on my last MRI scan in 11/05, there was a tiny spot (about the size of a pin head) that wasn't on any prior scans....it was located in my cervical cord area)....last year, she had ordered another MRI (which was denied by my insurance) and then never mentioned it again (basically said it was so tiny, she wasn't really concerned with it)so i never thought of it again.
but this time, i guess just being cautious and since i have insurance with a different carrier, she referred me to a vascular stroke specialist at UCLA and also to a doctor at UCLA's multiple sclerosis research and treatment center....she said she'd feel better if i went for further testing (who knows, maybe she had a patient that had something happen over the past year so now she is being extremely cautious for her patients, i don't know).
--she mentioned that MS can manifest in a person's neck and brain so they just want me to be checked out to either rule out or confirm an MS diagnosis.
**** i am not really worried as i feel better/healthier than i ever have ****
i do have some weakness in my left side (normal from where the brain damage is on my right side from the stroke) and also have hypersensitive reflexes (for my left side-again goes with where damage is from stroke)....but i also have hypersensitive reflexes on my right side (which doesn't jive with the stroke damage) and i also didn't do as well on a couple of the neurological tests given by the MS dr, so they are trying to figure out why i have that (maybe i am just a spastic person---haha)...
but, if it turns out i do have MS or something, i know they would have caught it early and UCLA has top-notch doctors/treatments....so with God and good doctors, i know i would be fine.
well, this past couple of weeks, at the stroke specialist's recommendation, i have had an ultra sound of my heart and a TEE (transesophgal echocardiogram)and both turned out absolutely normal. Yesterday i had a transcranial doppler and will get the results soon.
i am waiting on insurance company approval to have another brain & cervical cord MRI (to see if that tiny spot is still there or if anything has changed since the last scan) and some tests called 'evoked potential' exams. i'll be having visual, brainstem auditory, and somatosensory (arms and legs) evoked potential tests.
basically, these involve electrodes stuck on my head and electrical pulses on various parts (arms, legs) to determine the exact time it takes for the stimulus to reach the brain.
no need to worry, but am just posting to keep everyone updated on me and i'm finding it's easier to post about something instead of writing individual emails to tell people stuff.
prayer never hurt anyone, so if you could, please keep me in your prayers....no such thing as too much prayer...
love you all!!
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