Weekly Health Update

It's that time again; time to check in and let everyone in on the latest step of our health saga. 

If you remember I had an MRCP scheduled for last Friday morning to check on what was going on inside. An MRCP is like an MRI, but it focuses on the abdomen. Since I couldn't eat beforehand I scheduled it as early as I possibly could and was at the hospital by 7:15am. That is the time to go to the hospital-the place was practically empty! No one had had time to break any bones or come down with any bizarre ailments. 

After a few minutes of waiting (just enough time to read the newspaper uninterrupted) they whisked me back for the procedure. They strapped me in and gave me a very nice pair of Bose headphones to listen to satellite radio and we were off! I chose not to let myself think about the tiny space or being trapped, and to be honest, it really wasn't so bad! I'm not saying I want to sign up to do it every day, but it could have been a heck of a lot worse. The hardest part was when he asked me to hold my breath for a while for one of the pictures. The entire procedure was pretty painless and quick!

I was even more surprised when the GI doctor's nurse called me later that afternoon with some of the results. She said that things looked "okay"-not great, but not terrible either. It didn't seem like it was a problem with my liver-wahoooooooo! The results showed that my bile duct was constricted, which is a sign of a recently passed gallstone. If you remember correctly, they were also able to tell this from the ultrasound in the ER. They didn't see any other gallstones, though. 

So, what does all of this mean? Good question. I have an appointment later this week with the GI doctor to talk more about these results and the next steps. I've heard of a lot of people who've had their gallbladders out and had all their similar issues disappear. We shall see what the doctor has to say!

I finally started the cytotoxan (medicine for my kidneys) last week. The first day I had a dreadful headache, but I don't know if it was the medicine or the changing weather. I've also noticed that I don't have as much of an appetite for the first few hours after I take it, but it's usually back by the afternoon. If that's all the trouble I'm going to have, I'll take it!