Hi Daily Hope,

Oh my goodness!! What haven’t you experienced! You have been through so much.

I think adversity can make us either sink or swim. You are swimming! My faith helps me too. It surely carries me through troubling times.

Between surgeries and cancer, hypothyroid, deep depression plus…You have been getting your licks that is certain. One condition alone can be disabling.

I’ve had mental health challenges and they could be crippling but we survive. I am limited with what I can take for pain due to my liver. I have alpha 1 antitripsan deficiency which can cause liver and lung problems. I keep forgetting to ask the pulmonologist if the nodules are brought on by the deficiency or if its something else (being followed, like all the nodules in the body at 6 mo follow up for radiology exams for breast, lung, thyroid and liver (the liver is supposed to be followed by MRI annually and fibroscan in 6 months like the rest-I am due soon)…plus. With these short term follow ups, it brings on a degree of anxiety. Then I breathe a sigh of relief when they don’t find something sinister. My mother had a rare form of breast cancer at 74. She survived and is thriving. She is very strong too. I admire her ability to overcome obstacles.

So, at times I’m not sure which specialist handles which problem with so much overlapping and usually run a lot by my neurologist. She is a gem. Very helpful. I have a terrific primary. I recently saw him for the immediate trouble with waking up in spasm. I take the muscle relaxer and arthritis Tylenol (it lasts 8 hours) just before I go to sleep so it lasts. So far I slept through two nights in a row! Maybe I am on to something.

I hear you. Stomach acid can be damaging. I have acid reflux (GERD) that I think brought on the laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). I was on two doses of pantaprozole, one dose of famatodine and was supposed to take Gaviscon (to handle the two acids in the stomach) because I was having reflux so often. It’s helped though I passed on the Gaviscon. I’m hoping to reduce the pantaprozole due to long term side effects if I can maintain my acid control.

Since I’m getting an epidural next week. It can’t come soon enough. I’m really hopeful for pain relief.

A nutritionist appointment is scheduled for next week. Will see what kind of anti-inflammatory diet (might help “in theory” per pain management doctor…With attention to diabetes and cirrhosis she will put together that is actually effective and attainable. I’ve held back on pain meds (tylenol) until recently (due to liver.)

So much to consider.

Do they have to wait until your radiology exams before treating the gallbladder condition?

Hang in there. It sounds like they are working it out. We really do have to be our own advocate, and you do that so well!

Bless You!

💛