ACNES Abdominal Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome

http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/sum02/acnes.html

After months of pain and numerous medical tests that were totally unnecessary, the only other diagnosis found is Abdominal Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome. Which is a pinched nerve somewhere in the spine or ribs which can come and go depending on if it is aggravated or moved by posture etc. Unfortunately, normal x-rays cannot see it so a DR who is familiar with the condition needs to inject lidocaine into the spot where the pain is concentrated the most. I kept trying to tell them where the pain started but they just assumed it was gallbladder or liver problems and had me tested.

One top of this condition, I do have spinal arthritis which may be contributing to the pressure on the nerve. And I also have pressure that cause my arms and shoulders to spasm and burn. I do have a crooked spine and humpback and round shoulders which cause my spine to curve inward. Randy had it with his hip for years and it was not taken care of until his hip surgery and no DR even thought what it might be. Even young people can have this problem.

So I need to find a DR who can treat this but in the mean time my DR wants me to have more tests and an MRI which I don't think will do any good. (I already had one of my brain and I guess I still have a brain.)I think I will have to go to a pain specialist. The pain can be very bad and if feels like you are dying. But after all the tests I have, I am perfectly healthy except for the nerve entrapment. All I know is maybe that's what my mother had with all her pain. They say it's quite a common condition but it seems most Dr's don't know much about it. My DR finally said that I probably have it but he has no answer on what to do next.  So I have to learn to live with the pain and I never know whether it will be here tomorrow or gone for a few days. So very discouraging. I hope I can find a DR who knows had to treat it. That is all I can say.

On top of this problem, Randy got bit by Wellington and it become infected. We are contemplating letting him go as well as a couple of other cats. Wellington is a good cat but not with Randy's white female. He stalks her all the time and when Randy tried to get him away, he bit Randy. Too many cats with too many different personalities. Gimli and March and Blue do OK but the others all have their problems. So we may just have to let some go.

What a January!

My, we have been through a lot lately. Randy went in for hip surgery and came out with hip and heart surgery. When he was in the hospital for his surgery, the nurse said his heart was doing weird things. He had many tests done on it and found out some of his arteries were blocked. He could have dropped dead at any time. So he had a 6 by-pass heart operation as well as his hip operation. I have been really stressed. Having lost Alex. I was doing a deja vu.

Randy came through both surgeries fine. There is a long recovery time however. The thing that scared me the most was that he had a couple of hypoglycemic attacks. Those can be very serious. It's when your insulin levels get too low. You can go into shock. The DR had told him to give himself an insulin shot in the morning and at night and taking it at night lowered his insulin to very low levels. He had cold sweats, his body temp was only 95 and he was shaking all over and could not get warm. Luckily the home health nurse came and they finally got him better. He had to drink hot water, Ensure and pile on a lot of blankets. He was actually very irritated and slurring his words. That was a close call! Now he does not take his insulin at night and that is not happening. I sure had to live in a really hot house for a couple of days when he was so cold. He is on medication to keep his heart rate good and his hip no longer hurts. They had found an impingement in his hip joint as well as arthritis. Of course, he is still weak but getting stronger every day. I have had to be Randy's nurse for a while and I can tell you it is hard work. Those medical people deserve a medal for all they do. They work 12+ hour shifts and are so dedicated. I also appreciate having the home health people who come and do heart and hip therapy. We are blessed to have these options with our Medicare and I know people think we spend too much on government medical programs, but we would not have been able to do without these programs. The hospital alone was over 200,00K. We only had to pay $1200.

I have been more tired than I have ever been in my life. I have had a bad winter with my fibromyalgia. Now it actually feels like my MS may be coming back. I am really dizzy, extremely tired and weak. Hopefully it is just stress and is caused by all the things that have been going on. I do go to the DR tomorrow and get things checked out.

I would like to thank those in my family who have helped. Tina for sitting with me during the surgery, Monica and Jay for visiting Randy and giving him moral support and especially for John and Kathy who have helped me with the cats and the house cleaning. And for Tammy, Matt and Jennifer who have called me and given me moral support. I hope things will be back to normal soon and I do appreciate everyone. I also am thankful Randy's sister who lives very far away but she has called and given her support. And also Randy's friends in California and Arizona.

There may be no camping this summer but we will still do road trips I am sure. Randy has to be careful of his hip until everything heals up well and camping is maybe a little too much physical work for him this year. Bless all of you and thanks you for offering to help me in these tough times.

In Sickness and in Health

Randy is in the hospital. He had to have a complete hip replacement. He has been in pain for ages. They also found a femur acetabulum impingement. Something was pinched between the ball and socket of his left hip. That was one reason for all that pain. I hated to have him go through surgery. After all I went through with Alex, I never wanted to have to go through that again. But to find one of the causes of his pain, I guess I am glad he went through it. Also, they found a problem with his heart. It is an irregular beat. So the echocardiagram showed something wrong and he has to have a heart stress test tomorrow to find out more. If things check out OK, then he will go to the convalescent home for a few days. If not, then I do not know exactly when he will be released. He is walking and eating now. He is just really tired at this point.

He has no pain and he did have a fever but it is gone now.  His blood sugars are really high which the hospital did not really seem concerned about. They said after surgery, the hormones of the body take time to adjust. I guess with all these complications, it is good that he had surgery anyway because they found another problem for his pain and they were able to find something with his heart and I am hoping they can do something about that if needed.

As for me, I had a rough time last week with upper stomach pain. They tested my gall bladder and did not find anything but want to do more tests. I myself believe it was pancreatitis brought on by a bad reaction to a drug I had been taking for a couple of months. I started noticing upper stomach fullness, pain and gas when I first started the drug and it finally got so bad that I was doubled over with it. If I ate anything, it was 10 times worse. I have been off the drug for several days now and I have no more stomach pain but I am going to see the DR to have my pancreas and other organs checked out.  That drug I took did say that some people get pancreatitis while on it. So it's no fun to get old. Wish we could get new bodies that did not give us so much trouble.

Down 19 Pounds

To date, I have lost 19 pounds. I hope I don't gain it back, but I am sure I will on the cruise. But then I will have to get busy losing again when I get back.

Since dieting, I can no longer eat large meals. The portions at restaurants are always too large and filling. I end up bringing it home or having Randy eat which he shouldn't be doing. Wish me luck to keep up the weight loss.

New Goal

I will start the diet plan on Monday. I will also supplement my diet with Alli, and FDA approved drug for losing weight. Alli is not an appetite suppressant. It is a drug that causes fat not to be absorbed in your body. It teaches you how to eat better. If you eat fat after you have taken Alli, you will have to go to the bathroom more often to get the fat out of your system. It can cause gas too if you do not follow the directions. If you eat right you will not have a problem with your digestion. Alli works two ways: First it doesn't let fat be absorbed and Second: It keeps you from eating fattening foods because you don't want those indigestion problems. So I will see how it works for me. I may not be able to tolerate it but I am going to try. Alli used to only be available as a prescription drug. But now it is available OTC in a milder strength.

The NutraSystem plan also gives me recipes and what kinds of food I should eat when eating out. My goal is to lose 40 or 50 pounds.

Well.....We Shall See

Today I ordered Nutri-system and it will arrive in a few days. I also ordered Alli diet pills. I am sick of being overweight. I can't seem to lose any but I don't gain any either. I am pretty much the same all the time. But I need to lose 40 or 50 lbs.

I hope it works. But if it does, I will have to buy all new clothes.

Today I am thankful for my body that the Lord has given to me. I may be fat and out of shape but I have eyes to see: ears to hear: Legs to Walk and I am blessed that I can still go out and enjoy this world I live in.

Following a Family Trend

I guess I have been snoring terribly lately. I have had a cough and congestion in the throat which probably contributes to it. I went to the Dr. the other day. She ordered a blood oxygen saturation test. I slept last night with a device for measuring it on my finger and did notice when I woke up several times during the night that my blood oxygen was as low as 79%. It should never be lower than 88. So either my cold is causing it or have real sleep apnea and in that case I will need an overnight sleep test. I guess this sleep apnea thing is becoming a family trend. I had really high heart rate as well.

Right now Randy is cooking supper. He has been very helpful to me. He probably feels guilty because he gave me this cold. Ha Ha.