Among Friends

[agnesann]

I'm just sorry that you have to wait so long for the endoscopy, @Tissyanne. On the plus side, even this highly recommended specialist didn’t apparently think your situation was urgent enough to force you through faster. (Like they did with my husband.) You certainly have the right attitude, too. Taking it calm and easy should help your symptoms much more than becoming impatient. 

Peace and comfort to (((you))). 🙏💐

[colliemom4]

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@Tissyanne wrote:

Good afternoon to each and everyone, 

I did go to my appointment this morning, and it was a cool, foggy, misty morning. My favorite weather. 

I don't have answers yet, but I am scheduled for a diagnostic endoscopy on June 4th. First available appointment. 

They asked me about my problems, and told me that is what I need to have done. It will be as outpatient, and I will have general anesthesia. I am pretty nervous, just because the thought of it. I know that I will be asleep. 

Everyone here has been so very kind, and I am so thankful, and appreciate you all so very much. 

I am sleeping well, and just remaining quiet. Not feeling so good, but am patiently taking the necessary steps to find out what is going on with my health. 

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@Tissyanne  Hi. I've had a few of those scopes due to stomach issues but it was done under light sedation, the same kind they give you when you have a colonoscopy. It's called Versed. I'm sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well.

[butterfly123]

@Tissyanne 

You are making progress lovely soul. However, progress may not come as soon as we would like. I understand you being nervous and that feeling is difficult. My DH and I have had endoscopies and colonoscopies. A friend in Minnesota drove us to the twin cities for my husband’s procedure and DH talked nonstop in the car and told our friend in his seventies that he drove like a maniac. DH was very calm after the procedure and was hungry. 

I was wondering if you would enjoy going to a travel agency and gathering booklets, information, and travel guides to skim through for fun and light entertainment. You mentioned your desire to travel after your DH retires. 

I am not so subtly hinting to treat yourself to something you enjoy doing. My mind is less worried when I am doing something I enjoy. Maybe, Amore would like a new summer wardrobe or kitty toys.

 I thought about your June appointment and that’s typically the month for patients who have follow up appointments from December. I’m happy the doctor was able to schedule for the earliest appointment.

I hope you felt comfortable with the specialist and your voice was heard. 

I’m sorry that you’re not feeling well today and hope in the coming days you feel better. 

Calm and comforting hugs, 

🦋

[NAES1]

         @Tissyanne ,

               I had read from the earlier ~visit~ post. 

    I wanted you to know that the procedure (yes, I can understand, if not had one) ->your DREAD.

     Sending you a HEALING hug filled with care, love and continuing prayers for your over `all` well being.

  There is not any one thing I an say to convince you that it seem as so simple -but [IT] will be over within 20-25 minutes at the most for an upper endoscopy. You feel nothing!

       I had told you about 8 days ago how cold it was, kept raining and it did appear that my English garden would never be as was from last year and the years before, but yesterday everything is coming up red and pink for my rambling rose bushes that are climbing up the fence and over towards the beautiful swing that my sweetie made some years ago. The Bleeding hearts are especially lovely. I will tell you more about what we did for a new decor. I know how much you love to make what is just a bit more inviting and cozy.

           

               There is GREEN every where.

              WISH YOU WERE HERE!

   My Babe was home all day on Tuesday spending five hours planting more flowers (already in bloom) trimming the ivy, replanting some of the flowers we kept inside during the winter, and helping along with each section -having a 50 lb bag of nursery bought *treated soil + my special fertilizer I keep until time to pour {mixed with water} adding in 1 part solution to 1 part water that has been stored /no chlorine/.

Everything took just about 5 hours. It was 80 degrees, but he loves this weather; doing this at least Xs 3 during through the summer.

 The yards look gorgeous ...no thanks to me....... 

 Sashay was out for 1/2 of that time running through the yard, rolling in the grass and trying to chase anything that moved - no such luck for her to out run a critter, but she did claw herself up a tree hanging on, then jumped to a branch. At one time she was so high up clinging to the bark she looked like one of the squirrels when they freeze in motion.

  Sending you a sweet best 'DEAR HEART' hug

          with happy smiles going directly to   you~~~~~~~~ 

      L O V E, 

                My everlasting prayers never cease. 

good ol' NAES to my dear buddy- 

2019- Summertime, it surely must be coming. 

[Tissyanne]

@NAES1 , 

Good evening dear friend, 

Your English Garden sounds very pretty. I can see the beauty in my minds eye. The climbing roses in red, and pink. Oh my. 

Sounds like a busy time at your house for sure. 

Sashay must be having such fun playing, and enjoying the pretty foilage. 

My roses are red, and they are all in full bloom right now. Very pretty. I had a rose bush years ago at our first home that was called Joseph's Coat. They would bloom, and change colors from yellow, to orange, pink. Just beautiful. 

I want to thank you for all the kind thoughts, words, prayers, and encouragement. I am hopeful that whatever is bothering me can be found, and corrected . I am worn down from feeling this way. 

Sending love your way, 

[Tissyanne]

@butterfly123 , 

I think that keeping myself busy is a very good suggestion. I do hope that I can feel better, and get my problems resolved so we can travel. 

I am having difficulty focusing, and concentrating from all of this. Laundry keeps me busy, and we do have some more furniture of my Mom's to bring here this next week. A hutch, desk that my Dad made. I think we will put the desk in my son's room. 

The carpet is going to be taken out, and marble flooring put in the bedrooms, and living area before my brother sends his furniture here.. It will be very pretty. My brother will be moving here in September. In the meantime he will be coming here once a month for a week each time. 

I hope you and your DH are well. Let me know how you both are doing 

Thank you for your support, and know that I appreciate your very kind heart. 

[Tissyanne]

@agnesann , 

Thank you for your kind words, and prayers. The information you gave me is very helpful, and is good to know. 

I have been dealing witn very dry eyes for several years. Restasis is a life saver for me. I tried going off of it a few years ago, and I could really tell the difference. I would require over the counter drops many times a day without it. 

I do have my teeth cleaned 3 times a year. I took Clonidine years ago, but I think mine was for blood pressure. It has been a long time ago. 

I hope that  the doctors will be able to help me. I am very worn down from all of this, plus it causes me to experience anxiety. 

I hope your DH has relief from his hiatal hernia , and ulcers. 

[NAES1]

                            l o v e, 

   In many different ways, I have always felt that we all go through so many mysterious happenings through life that we do come to several paths that positions us

 ``as being worn down. I know that I certainly have.``

 I think that the feeling of not knowing is one of the worse plateaus of  standing with loneliness, for all times, when facing health and 'while' anxiety keeps building up.

 Being around patients for many years, illnesses, diseases, then I can understand the knowing of what exhaustion can do to the physical body as the mind tries to adjust...  that eventually tricks our fears to unknown heights with a greater uncertainty-would be the worse. 

 I have been there as a witness, and may in my life be there again. 

     "... if there is any one thing I can understand is the feeling of a worried mind and wanting peace once again during, and being anxious... many different times in my life"... No one is or will escape these periods of uncertainty through life. It's like a slow lingering death of helplessness. 

   I have ever reason to believe that your body, your mind has been under such a strenuous overload of stress:

  ~ with so many changes -so close together, that when this abruptness, having party to a pretty darn chemical change when occurred; your entire function became much more weaken than you have ever experienced. 

 Now,  I am doing more and more research [on] how the immune system turns against our healthy self to an autoimmune syndrome, that apparently very few doctors know much at all, if any.

      I, personally have reservations for your June wait time. Of course, as you know me and somewhat of what I know of physicians, there is a dumbness they each have when someone as their patient is reaching out for relief or better yet, an answer so 'we' can get on being better sooner. 

You have heard the term money talks, well to me, it screams.

Waiting? Isn't this scheduled until June 14th?

That is not my Hallelujah of good medicine, which does NOT mean that your condition of this health issue is not serious, since it's done much later.   {{IT is, to me}}-- Medicine use to be a practice, then it became a business, now it's a corporation. 

Representation: Working you in for a 30 minute procedure is pure bunk to me. Unfortunately, we are now in a system of following corporation $$ rules without having a consensus of several doctors that may turn the tides the other way. 

Let this happen to just -JUST 1 of them and there would be a no wait window time. 

  I really do not 'think' that anyone in this entire mix knows how you are coping, your entire history, or how this is affecting you slowly.  

 I am going to try and be with you each day just to ask, if not too tiring. Even twice a week, I can ask - waiting is such a serious preparation for you after what had happened weeks before. This will be one week, to the year since your mother died. MY GOSH, what a year!

@Tissyanne 

              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[agnesann]

Hi today, @Tissyanne. 💛 You're very welcome to any bit of info I might have that may be of some help or comfort to you, while you wait. I'm hoping that through a cancellation, you may have the endoscopy before June 4th. The average wait here is 2-wks, unless the specialist deems it urgent. That scared my husband and me, when he pushed it on through like that. Our total wait on his diagnosis was only 3-days, due to bleeding ulcers. So, while shocking and we were both on auto-pilot until we got the plan of action... it was short-lived compared to your ongoing wait, with wondering and the symptoms persist. Of course it's wearing you down and causing anxiety. 😟 I'm so sorry. Your area is likely much more populated than ours, so over twice the waiting time. My DH is feeling much better now, so long as he sticks to his diet and takes his meds. Thank you for caring! 

Speaking back to the healthcare portals... if your GP hasn’t shared your lab results with you yet (from the many blood tests) you could perhaps find them listed there. Or call them. I'm sure she wanted to rule out autoantibodies, including of the thyroid, low red blood count, Scleroderma, Lupus, RA, etc. through diagnostic tests. Just because of the possibility that your Sjögren's Syndrome symptoms may not be drug-induced (as my mom believes hers was). Hearing that you have none of those issues might alleviate a lot of anxiety. Or if you do, you'll at least know and can research treatment plans - thyroid being the easiest to treat.

Due to the oral thrush, my mom's salvia glands became hard and swollen - the fungal infection had her actual tongue a bit swollen, too. She thought for sure it was her thyroid and her dentist even mentioned the possibility, but so far her thyroid levels are fine. 

I'm believing your doctors will consult with one another and help you solve this problem. In the meanwhile, I'm thankful that Restasis is helping with your dry eyes. I know it's expensive, but like you said... OTC drops do nothing. Mom also uses flaxseed oil and her internist keeps a close check on her vitamin D levels. During the winter, especially, in Denver with so much dry heat in the house, she was also advised to use a humidifier. They told her to avoid caffeine and to chew sugarless gum to activate the salvia glands. There are RXs for dry mouth, but those gave her troublesome side-effects. Then again Mom has many other health problems that complicate one another and treatments. 

Your plans for the house sounds lovely! Interior decoration is a nice distraction for you, too. As are future travel plans as @butterfly123 recommended. Whatever gives you pleasure and peace of mind. One of the first things that happens when we become anxious is we tend to breathe faster and shallower. That dries our mouth out and constricts our throat. So you're doing all the right things to help yourself until you learn more. Deep breathing (from the diaphragm) may help, while you're relaxing with TV. There are instructional videos on YouTube that teach safe techniques, but you are probably already aware of this.

I'll leave you with a little touch of spring, and one of my peace-inducing hobbies: 

Azalea bonsai tree, with my continued prayers for your peace, strength and comfort until you're successfully diagnosed and treated. 🙏🏻

Be well, friend! 

[Tissyanne]

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@Rowan72 wrote:

@Tissyanne - just a little note to say that my thoughts and prayers remain with you throughout this trying ordeal. Best wishes on Tuesday! I hope whatever is found is easily managed. 

What a blessing to have your brother there right now, and permanently soon! 

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@Rowan72 , 

I thank you for your kindness. It is very trying to be sure. 

I sure am looking ahead to my brother moving home. My parents would be amazed.