All kinds of fun tomorrow

Starting at 10 a.m. (more like 9:40 a.m. for check-in) I will be spending most of my day at Willamette Falls Hospital. First up will be my Lung Function test--unless I hit the lab before that and have my blood drawn. Then it's off to Radiology for a CT scan of my chest, sans contrast. The entire process should take about 3 hours. The drive there is roughly 20 mins. but it's easy as it's straight down 205 and then a few turns after you reach Oregon City.

I started my 50,000 units of calcium last Thurs. Tomorrow I will take my second dose. So far I haven't noticed any drop in the bone pain, yet I'm remaining optimistic that after my second or third dose I will notice an improvement. I also began the B12 supplementation and am way less anxious than I used to be. This was a surprise side effect that I am thrilled about! I wish I would've known sooner about my B12 level being somewhat low so that I didn't have to suffer like I did. It wasn't anything major, however I was starting to hate going too far from home. I can't tell you how nice it is to feel "normal" and not stress over something as silly as running to the store. At least now I know those anxious feelings were not all in my head.

Fatigue-wise I hit the wall again a few days ago. Before it happened I had horrid nausea one night. So bad that I was convinced I would be sleeping in the bathroom again. The next day I woke up feeling as if I had a bad hangover, without the headache, and could barely function. Today I feel much better, although "much better" for me is still not good. :o/ Tonight Megan and I actually ran to the mall so we could each get a pair of Crocs. I had been coveting the Alice version but then I tried them on, and while I liked them (they are so cute!), I wasn't thrilled with how it fit around the sides of my foot. Nevertheless I asked the gal helping us to order me a pair as I figured I'd grow to love them. Megan, on the other hand, fell in love with the Alice in red. Then she spotted a fox Jibbitz (the little charm things you punch through the holes in the shoe). Naturally we had to get two RED foxes. :o) She was thrilled. While Megan had been trying on her shoes I saw the Celeste Croc and thought they were pretty stinkin' cute too. Tried on a pair and yeah...heaven. Of course they didn't have my size in the color I wanted, so the gal took my number and promised to call when they came in. Before we left I thought I'd check another store that carries Croc's and lo and behold, there at a tiptoe's reach was a size 7, Chocolate brown, Celeste. Sweet roll! I wore them around the house when we got home and though it was nice, my feet were already yelling at me from walking around the mall so it wasn't quite as wonderful as I thought/hope it will be. I am still on the search for the most comfortable shoes around. I've tried so many and none have fit the bill. Maybe, just maybe I've found THE ones.

Next stop...lungs

After emailing Dr. B (the pulmo) back and forth a few times, it was decided that I should see Dr. J since Dr. B couldn't get me in until Feb. On New Years Eve I made the trek down south to Oregon City to meet the endearing Dr. J. Like my rheumy, Dr. J was very thorough...starting from when I was a small child and leading all the way up until present day, we went over all the weird things I have. At various points in the conversation, Dr. J had to stop and laugh as a new diagnosis was presented. I'll admit that it's quite overwhelming listing everything I have/have had. And amusing to a degree as well. I mean, come on, who the hell has all of this crap?! He asked several questions, did an exam, and ordered a CT scan of my chest along with a pulmonary function test. Depending on what those show I may have to come back and get a Methacholine Challenge test. In the meantime, I was given a Peak Flow Meter to measure my breathing in between all of this. The first day I used it the highest it went was 350. Yesterday I got it up to 410. Normal for someone my age and height is roughly 480.

My CT and lung function test is scheduled for the 10th of this month. The methacholine is on the 18th, I think. Or maybe that's my follow-up appt. I'm too tired to go get my reminder.

Other than not being able to take a deep breath, still being sore, and utterly exhausted, I'm hanging in there. I had a horrible bout of what we think was food poisoning the week before Christmas. That was one of the worst things I have ever gone through. Luckily no one else got sick, hence why we think it was food poisoning instead of something viral, but it took me about a week to feel even halfway normal. The odd thing is that I haven't gone back on the Questran and haven't needed to. I'm almost afraid to say that in case I jinx it. :o) My exertion headaches seem to be gone as well. I did get another bad one at the base of my skull yesterday so I may mention them to the pulmo when I see him since he seemed concerned about them.