Various stuff

Things moved quickly this week with Doctors. Sunday I had my sleep test, yesterday I met with the Gastric surgeon on the Lap-band surgery and today I met with the Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor. I am moving forward with the Lap-band surgery, which may happen in about five weeks. That seems really soon to me, but it is probably better to get it done quickly. The ENT Doctor had some good news. The nodule on my vocal cords has healed and is gone and there is minimal swelling of the cords. That's not bad since I spent two weeks with laryngitis. He was very pleased. It was too soon to evaluate the sleep test.

On the sleep test topic I have been meaning to say a bit about sleep apnea. My sleep apnea was diagnosed about 15 years ago in a time when Apnea was largely unknown. It is more recognized now but I am still amazed at the people I meet who are not aware of it. The form of Apnea I have is obstructive sleep apnea. In this form of apnea as I fall asleep and go into the deep and refreshing form of sleep my body totally relaxes. This is generally a good thing. However in my, and many other people's, case the tissues in the throat become relaxed and actually close the throat. I therefore cannot breath for a while until my body makes an effort to breath and pulls me out of the deep sleep. I may or may not wake when this happens, but I have lost the deep refreshing sleep. Over time this loss of sleep becomes cumulative and I fall asleep at inappropriate times (like while I am driving.) There are other bad effects due to lack of oxygen and there is the possibility that I won't be able to breath in an episode and die.

Anyone who snores heavily and finds that they are not refreshed by a night's sleep or perpetually falls asleep inappropriately should suspect apnea and at least discuss being evaluated by a Doctor. It could mean your life!

So much for the update and soap box.

Be well!
Love,
Shel

Test Done!

I spent last night having a sleep evaluation. It is the second one I have had in my life. The first was 14 or 15 years ago. At that time I was found to have obstructive sleep apnea. It is a condition that lowers the quality of sleep one has because you actually stop breathing for a while (an apnea)while you sleep. Your body is forced to gasp for air pulling you out of the refreshing deep sleep. The remedy all those years ago was to use a device when I sleep called a CPAP machine. The CPAP blows air into your nose and throat through a mask, keeping the airway open. It is simple, efficient, at time awkward and definitely unromantic (that hasn't been a problem recently, sigh.)

I have been using the original CPAP machine all these years with the same settings. My ENT Doctor wanted me to be reevaluated so I could get new equipment (insurance companies require this) and possibly new settings.

The test required me to sleep 4 hours without the CPAP. I was covered head to toe with wires measuring various things. I had a hard time sleeping without the CPAP, I was in a strange bed, I was covered with wires and they were plowing the parking lot all night. I still have the apnea, how severe I won't know for two weeks. It is likely that I will be getting new CPAP equipment at long last. I am hoping for a real nice night's sleep tonight in my own bed!

You sleep well tonight!
Love,
Shel

Opportunities

As I look back on my life a bit I find opportunities that were lost and paths not taken. It is a bit fun to imagine what if. What if's are fun, but they are not really helpful. Yesterday I went to a seminar on weight loss surgery. It was very informative and made some things clear to me. I am at one of those decision points in my life. One where in the future I might say "what if." I am at this point inclined to move forward with Lap-Band surgery. It is the least invasive of the surgeries and it is reversible. I am not planning on a reversal, but in consultation with my Oncologist it seems the safest. If I should need future chemotherapy (God forbid) a reversal might be necessary to prevent malnutrition. The last time I had Chemo it was touch and go at the end as it was.

I am not really looking forward to another surgery, but this one seems to make sense. I have lost a lot of weight in the past and probably could again, but I have never been able to keep the weight off. I fit the profile of a person who needs this surgery. My BMI is just on the edge of needing the surgery, but there are other weight related issues that I have developed that say, "do it,lady." I will keep you all updated in any case.

Today I saw my Oncologist and everything seems OK. I will probably have my last cancer-related CAT scan this spring (or just before the Lap-Band surgery.) I have survived the cancer for three years and I hope for more. Tomorrow I see yet another Doctor, a new one. This Doctor is for my Sleep Apnea. I haven't seen anyone for this since I was first evaluated almost 15 years ago. I am also scheduled for a new sleep study a week from Sunday. My medical visits seem to come in bursts.

I had a nice dinner with a friend after the Doctor's appointment. I had some gift cards for Chili's. We really didn't spend much though. It was good company, good conversation and good food.

Next week I hope to get to visit with my father. I have been so busy with various appointments and he lives just far enough away to make a casual visit kind of difficult. It is wicked cold here. You keep warm and I'll try to also.

Love,
Shel

So Much .....

There is so much to Blog that I almost don't know where to begin or what to share and what to let go. I guess I will start with myself and see where things go from there. As I have written before I have been taking Voice Lessons. These aren't the singing kind but the spoken kind. Before transitioning from the previous life I had a very deep voice. I managed to do some modifications on my own and I got by. I had difficulty on the phone, but everywhere else I was ok. I just wanted to go the next step and make my voice better.

I have been making progress, but I always seem to have nasal congestion and eventually raspyness in my voice develops. My voice therapist thought there might be a physical issue with my vocal cords. Yesterday I went to the Ear Nose and Throat Dr that she recommended. It turned into a two hour appointment! First of all let me say that there isn't anything seriously (life threatening) wrong with my throat. That said, there ARE some problems. I have a condition called GERD. You may have heard of Gastric or Acid Reflux, well I have that. Some people have heart burn, but I had no noticeable symptoms except in my vocal cords. The situation is more common than one would believe. What goes with all this is a nodule on one of my vocal folds. The picture of the voice box isn't mine and it has two nodules or lesions, but mine is similar. I am now taking medicine to treat the Acid Reflux, more pills. Sigh! And, oh yes, I might have to have surgery to remove the nodule.

That, in it self, is bad enough, but the fun continues. I have to go for a new sleep study. I have been treated for Sleep Apnea for 18 years. My original sleep study was 18 years ago and my CPAP machine is that old. Since my post nasal drip is also involved and the CPAP pushes air down my throat to keep it open while I sleep, he feels that I may need to have new adjustments to the CPAP equipment and settings. Once again, Sigh!

And the fun continues! Allergies were also suspected. I had a bank of allergy sensitivity test. Spots of various substances that are common allergens were placed on my forearms. I waited twenty minutes to see if redness and itchiness developed. Food allergies were tested on my left arm and air-born substances on the right arm. The good news is that I am not allergic to any of the tested foods! I am allergic to several air-born substances, grass pollens, rag weed, lambs quarters and another weed who's name I don't remember. I am also allergic to DUST and dust mites. Dust is everywhere! It's no wonder that I sneeze all the time. I don't know what the Doctor plans for me on the allergies since the allergy testing was the last thing done. He did give me some nasal sprays to use, suspecting I had a problem.

I am pretty down about all this. To cheer myself up I went and had my hair done. I tried calling a friend just to talk, but only got her voice mail. I then had back pain all evening. I am guessing it was stress.

This had turned into more than I had thought so I am going to end here. I will blog again soon with some of the other things on my mind (not really so personal.)

You have a great day and keep warm.
Love,
Shel

Tags: gerd, apnea, cpap, allergy, voice