My appointment was at 8am, which meant leaving the house at 5:30. Yuck. Chris drove me because he worried I might have side effects from the medication I'd be given, because he knows I hate driving in heavy traffic and he loves me. It's always good to have his support.
The test wasn't difficult. The worst part was the waiting. We arrived on time but as last time had an hour and a half wait before they started. That office is seriously overbooking. It’s frustrating but right now, we're willing to deal with it for their expertise.
At 9:30, the nurse put in an IV port and drew some blood. Next I was given a bottle of Arginine, a medication that is supposed to stimulate growth hormone, through IV. It took a half hour to pump into me. For the next two hours, we sat in the waiting room. The nurse called me back every half hour so he could draw a new vial of blood. Easy on my part just boring since I'd read all the books I'd had the previous week while I was sick :)
I'll get the results in seven to ten days.
12/17/09
11/25/09
Good MRI
Nothing has changed! The residual tumor either hasn’t grown or is growing so slow that they can’t measure it. That’s great. No surgery, no radiation at this time and I get to wait one whole year I need another scan. I’m jumping up and down excited and so thankful.
My blood work results delivered mostly good news too. All my hormones but one is fine, in fact the thyroid I’ve been concerned about inched up the normal scale another couple of points.
The exception was my IGF-1 (a factor produced in the liver in response to growth hormone stimulation). It’s low. This means my GH (growth hormone) may be low. I’ll have to undergo a GHST (growth hormone stimulation test) to make a final determination. It's scheduled on Dec. 15.
Symptoms of GH deficiency in adults include fatigue, decreased strength and exercise tolerance, anxiety, depression, thin and dry skin so it could be the reason for my persistent symptoms. An answer, a cause with a treatment that would alleviate those symptoms, great, but this hormone replacement is an expensive daily injection, not so great.
My blood work results delivered mostly good news too. All my hormones but one is fine, in fact the thyroid I’ve been concerned about inched up the normal scale another couple of points.
The exception was my IGF-1 (a factor produced in the liver in response to growth hormone stimulation). It’s low. This means my GH (growth hormone) may be low. I’ll have to undergo a GHST (growth hormone stimulation test) to make a final determination. It's scheduled on Dec. 15.
Symptoms of GH deficiency in adults include fatigue, decreased strength and exercise tolerance, anxiety, depression, thin and dry skin so it could be the reason for my persistent symptoms. An answer, a cause with a treatment that would alleviate those symptoms, great, but this hormone replacement is an expensive daily injection, not so great.
11/21/09
A Long Day
The day dawned with promise. Moving about as zombies in the grey light of early morning, eyes gritty, watching the coffee pot belch steam.
Arrived at the Imaging Center on time only to discover OHSU has two places for MRIs and I was at the wrong one. At correct location 15 minutes late, embarrassing but practically no wait time. Finished and at the doctor’s office five minutes before my appointment.
Chris and I waited. Over an hour and a half later, they called my name, processed me in so I could wait again, only now in the exam room. Knowing one of my blood tests requires a blood draw, medication injected then 30 minutes later another blood draw, my patience worn thin. 20 minutes later, that test started, another ten minutes then the physician’s assistant came in.
Same questions, same answers, same issues, same advice, feels like I repeat my first visit every time. I’m ready to climb the ugly tan walls by the time she trys to look up my MRI results which is what I’d been waiting for all that bloody time.
The system wouldn’t let her log on.
The surgical intern scheduled to explain my brain scan popped in then to say that system crashed hospital wide. I’m promised that as soon as the system is back up they’ll post my test results on MYCHART.
I’m still waiting and am guessing i’ll be until Monday or Tuesday.
Arrived at the Imaging Center on time only to discover OHSU has two places for MRIs and I was at the wrong one. At correct location 15 minutes late, embarrassing but practically no wait time. Finished and at the doctor’s office five minutes before my appointment.
Chris and I waited. Over an hour and a half later, they called my name, processed me in so I could wait again, only now in the exam room. Knowing one of my blood tests requires a blood draw, medication injected then 30 minutes later another blood draw, my patience worn thin. 20 minutes later, that test started, another ten minutes then the physician’s assistant came in.
Same questions, same answers, same issues, same advice, feels like I repeat my first visit every time. I’m ready to climb the ugly tan walls by the time she trys to look up my MRI results which is what I’d been waiting for all that bloody time.
The system wouldn’t let her log on.
The surgical intern scheduled to explain my brain scan popped in then to say that system crashed hospital wide. I’m promised that as soon as the system is back up they’ll post my test results on MYCHART.
I’m still waiting and am guessing i’ll be until Monday or Tuesday.
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