I'm still here...........

Feel free to discuss any topic of general interest, so long as nothing you post here is likely to be interpreted as insulting, and/or inflammatory, nor clearly designed to provoke any individual or group. Please be considerate of others feelings, and they will be considerate of yours.

Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh

Post Reply
starfire
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5198
Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 5:48 am
Location: Pennsylvania

I'm still here...........

Post by starfire »

Hi Friends,
Thought I'd better check in and let you know that all is OK. Been several weeks since I checked in. I'm sorry.
Other than life's usual problems everything is OK. Help with machinery (big tractor, etc.) has been provided so I can continue to brush hog, etc. Latest incident was a blown radiator hose. Hopefully that was the entire problem. Should find out today after I give it a workout.

Mom is still holding her own although she has fallen twice more. Nothing too serious but her right shoulder is still hurting her some and she has lost strength in that arm. Still won't use her walker or cane.

I had a colonoscopy and endoscopy a while back. Dr took biopsies but his letter to me that I have no evidence of Ulcerative Colitis - didn't even mention MC. Didn't know if he just made a mistake dictating the letter or what. I signed up on the clinic's website where you can see results of labwork, etc. I looked at it this morning and here's what the report said (There were 3 or 4 biopsies - all were the same).
FINAL DIAGNOSIS:
1. COLON, COLD BIOPSIES FROM RIGHT SIDE:
- BENIGN COLONIC MUCOSA WITH MILDLY DIMINISHED MUCOUS
PRODUCTION
AND RELATIVELY PRESERVED GLANDULAR ARCHITECTURE; NO
ACTIVE
INFLAMMATION AND NO CRYPT ABSCESSES OR GRANULOMATA TO
SUGGEST
ACTIVE INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE.
- MILDLY INCREASED CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CELLS WITH FEW
INTRAEPITHELIAL
LYMPHOCYTES AND WITH INCREASED PLASMA CELLS SUGGESTIVE OF

FINAL DIAGNOSIS:
QUIESCENT
INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE.
- NO DYSPLASTIC CHANGE IS NOTED


The biopsy for my esophagus:
4. ESOPHAGUS, COLD BIOPSIES FROM LOWER THIRD:
- MILD CHRONIC GASTRIC CARDITIS WITH BARRETT'S METAPLASIA;
NO
DYSPLASTIC CHANGE IS NOTED.
- EDEMATOUS MILDLY INFLAMED SQUAMOUS MUCOSA WITH FEATURES
OF REFLUX ESOPHAGITIS.

I think I'm going to write a letter to my doc and request that he make sure my record reflects MC instead of UC. I know they keep copies of the letters they send out. It's kind of irritating but understandable I suppose considering how many he must send out.

Regarding my prior problem with the juvenile bear that was plaguing me...... After firing off the shotgun about 4 times to run him off he seems to pretty much avoid my back yard (I did remove the birdfeeders and only put a little seed at a time in a small box feeder which I remove entirely at night. My neighbor hasn't learned her lesson yet, she was hit pretty good the other night.... broken and missing feeders. She will learn. HaHa I saw the little beastie yesterday. I was headed for town and he crossed the road not far from here.

Had a bluebird pair nest in one of my boxes. I do adore bluebirds. The male still comes for roasted mealworms but not as often since the little ones took flight. :grin:

I want to welcome all the new members and wish you well with your MC journey. Life can still be good but you'll certainly have adjustments to make. I'm sure most of you already know that. The answer is usually different for all of us. Trial and error is a big factor in your treatment.

Even though I have been AWOL I thought about all of you. Things have just been "busy" and overwhelming at times. AC unit quit (it was quite old and I know I'd have to replace it sooner or later). That happened this week. Probably the hottest couple days we've had here (of course). Have had two or 3 problems with the big tractor and the grass seems to need mowing every few days.

Tex, have you gotten any significant rain???? If not, I hope you'll get some relief soon.

Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
User avatar
tex
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 35349
Joined: Tue May 24, 2005 9:00 am
Location: Central Texas

Post by tex »

Hi Shirley,

As a matter of fact, I heard it raining about 5 am this morning, so I stepped outside to see if anything substantial might be on the way, and that was all it took to scare it off. LOL. It wasn't even enough to wet the concrete. :roll: We've had 7.47 inches so far this year, (less than 40% Of normal), and we've already had over 30 days with high temps above 100. Surely we'll set some records this year.

I wish your mother would start using her cane and/or walker regularly, but I realize that mothers tend to have their own agenda. :sigh:

It sure does appear that your doctor thinks that you have UC, (which is currently in remission). I'm kind of surprised that the pathologist or your doctor didn't mention the markers of "mild" LC - I guess that they didn't feel that it was severe enough to point out. LOL.

It appears that you still have some reflux issues, but at least nothing particularly bad is going on there. I trust you are avoiding sleeping on your right side, to minimize that problem.

I hope that fixes the tractor. Mowing and shredding are in danger of becoming a lost art around here. I haven't needed to mow my yard in at least 6 weeks, (and it really didn't need mowing the last time, but I did it anyway). Brown grass doesn't seem to grow very fast. :lol:

We're in the middle of corn harvest right now, (about a month early, and a rather pitiful crop), and some cotton fields are already opening, so the rain might as well wait a few more weeks, at this point.

Thanks for the update.

Love,
Tex
:cowboy:

It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
User avatar
sarkin
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 2313
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Post by sarkin »

Shirley,

It's nice to hear from you. Sounds as though you're doing better with your MC than your doc is... We're having 'technical difficulties' here as well - relieved to be spending only $400 on our beloved 13yo car (fuel injector - maybe the first time that 'check engine' light has come on, but I doubt it's the last). And air conditioning... we spent a couple of nights camped out in my husband's office, which requires AC for him to be able to work (west-facing, and lots of computers). Our bedroom is on the top floor, with low ceilings and no attic (basically, it *is* the attic - dumb move on our part!). We replaced a faulty window, and now the compressor for the AC doesn't fit through the opening. I knew we should have thought that through in a hurry (and maybe spent a few more $$), but we were focused on correcting other problems we thought were more important. Of course, it was a lot cooler back then ;) Luckily, the last few nights have been deliciously cool and breezy.

Glad that poor confused teen bear has learned your property is a scary place. (Hmmm... maybe that's what we need to communicate to our poor confused, post-teen nephew who has re-surfaced on our sofa for an indeterminate "few days"...)

I hope your mom comes around to using a walker or cane. Could you get her some physical therapy, on the pretext that it's for the shoulder/arm, and have that person do some coaching? It's harder than I realized to get the hang of it, plus if there's even a very mild slip in cognitive strength, it's easy to stand up and forget, even when a person intends to use it. My mother looooved physical therapy, for the help it gave her and also for the sociability and attention... I would bet her doctor could be persuaded to order/request an evaluation.

Nice "visiting" with you!

Love,
Sara
garina
Gentoo Penguin
Gentoo Penguin
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:59 pm
Location: Florida

Post by garina »

Shirley,

Many sites on the internet state that MC is a benign condition, often disappearing on its own. I think that's why doctors fluff it off as to a non-condition. Of course, if they had chronic D due to MC, also, they would change their tune!

It is most certainly real and most certainly not benign.

I know my GI doctor thinks that.

garina
User avatar
Gloria
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 4767
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2007 8:19 am
Location: Illinois

Post by Gloria »

Hi Shirley -- it's great to read an update from you. I worried about that bear coming to your yard. You sound like a real pioneer woman!

I hope your mom stops falling and tries to use the walker. It can be hard to reason with our mothers, though.

Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
User avatar
mbeezie
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri May 29, 2009 3:14 am
Location: Texas

Post by mbeezie »

Hi Shirley,

Good to hear form you - we've missed you around here. I got a chuckle envisioning you with your shotgun. Glad you got that bear situation under control.

Hope your mom decides to use her cane before she falls again. I think I can understand where she is coming from though - my mom was stubborn like that too.

Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
starfire
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 5198
Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 5:48 am
Location: Pennsylvania

Post by starfire »

:grin: Poineer Woman...... wish I was that tough!!!! :grin:

I pretty much took today as a total rest day. All I did was water some plants. After that rain saturated spring the rain has moved somewhere else. Wish it could have visited your area, Tex. We've been through doughts here before but not so bad as you are experiencing I don't believe.

I've already had Mom in physical therapy about 3 times over the last 5 years. Last time she just refused to keep going. It is what it is and when/if I'm 88 I want people to leave me alone too so I try to co-operate with her as much as possible. She still thinks that if she has to go to a nursing home that she wants to go to Ga. That isn't going to happen. I don't care how big a fit she pitches. Someone will need to be able to check on her and care for her and there just isn't any way I'm going to send her that far away. Well.... she won't have to go to one anyway. Just taking it one day at a time.

I really don't understand the UC thing since the doc is the one who diagonsed me in the beginning. I'm a bit disappointed in him.. HaHa

Thanks for all the responses.............

I did get a very small asparagus patch started this spring. Only six plants. Had to dig everything by hand and that's all I had the energy for since they have to be planted quite deep. They all came up though so maybe I can add to them next year. I do love fresh asparagus. Have to wait a year or so before harvesting they say, so I'm looking forward to having some perhaps next year.

Very hot today (although not as hot as some are experiencing). It was low 90"s. That pretty well shuts me down as far as work outside.

Love you all,

Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
User avatar
sarkin
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 2313
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2011 8:44 pm
Location: Brooklyn, NY

Post by sarkin »

Shirley,

You have a wonderful perspective about your mother... and yes, when we ourselves are 88, good luck to whatever young whippersnapper wants to tell us how we should live our lives. My mother's PT services were very near, and when she moved in with us, the visiting nurse service sent someone to the house. If it had been a huge effort, I doubt it would have worked. (And my mother was considerably more frail than your mother sounds - you have some good genes in there, along with the gluten-sensitive ones.)

Asparagus is as beautiful as it is delicious! Six plants is a lovely start. It was hot here, too - you were smart to rest. I had outdoor work, but was lucky to be able to manage a fair amount of shade and breaks. (And there was a steady breeze... a bit dehydrating, but lovely.)

I'm sure you'll bring your doc around, with gentle coaching ;)

Love,
Sara
User avatar
MaggieRedwings
King Penguin
King Penguin
Posts: 3865
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 3:16 am
Location: SE Pennsylvania

Post by MaggieRedwings »

HI Shirley,

Great hearing an update from you and when you mentioned the shotgun and the bear I immediately envisioned Annie Oakley living in PA. I also, along with everyone else, hopes your mother starts using a cane or walker but I also agree with you that you can only try and can't push her into something she does not want to do.

Hot in our area of PA too and this week is going to be even hotter. Guy came to mow on Friday and we waved him off. Why mow dead brown grass? :twisted:

Love, Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
User avatar
Martha
Rockhopper Penguin
Rockhopper Penguin
Posts: 1109
Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2010 11:07 am
Location: Dallas, Texas

Post by Martha »

Hi, Shirley. It's great to hear from you today.

My mom is in an assisted living facility in California. It's a really nice place, but we are all so glad my sister lives close and can keep an eye on things for Mom. So you're right--you want your mom someplace close enough for you to be involved, not off in Georgia.

My mom also is fairly uncooperative about things. We had hoped she would enjoy doing things with some of the other people in assisted living, but she rarely joins in. But, she didn't when she was younger either, so we realize that we can't expect a person to change the attitudes they have had their whole lives, when they are old. You have a good perspective in thinking about how you would want people to treat you when you are old.

Love,
Mom
Martha
Post Reply

Return to “Main Message Board”