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Well, I Received My CBC Test Results Today :doctor:
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
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crystal552000
- Little Blue Penguin
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Sat May 08, 2010 8:14 am
- Location: kansas city Mo
so good night, Ant
Ant is correct, Tex. You really have endured so much. Here I was thinking you were using 'us' for guinea pigs to learn off of based on our experiences. j/k LOL I know you have been through some trying times and you have educated yourself thoroughly. Even though I am not going through the extremes you have/are, I too want to learn as much as I can about all this. You, Tex, and the others on this forum have been so helpful.
-Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain-
Kim
Kim
Ant, actually, I feel that I set kind of a bad example. 
I complain about my doctors incessantly, but I end up following their advice, anyway. 
What can I do? They keep saving my hide, when the chips are down. 
And Kim, you're right - I do learn a lot here, virtually every day, from everyone else's experiences. Coming here is like attending graduate school, with a medical slant, except that I don't have to worry about failing any courses.
Tex
I complain about my doctors incessantly, but I end up following their advice, anyway. What can I do? They keep saving my hide, when the chips are down. And Kim, you're right - I do learn a lot here, virtually every day, from everyone else's experiences. Coming here is like attending graduate school, with a medical slant, except that I don't have to worry about failing any courses.
Tex
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.
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Joefnh
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 2478
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:25 pm
- Location: Southern New Hampshire
Tex I had no idea how much you have been through medically in a fairly short time frame. Having joined the group in April, I think I missed most of your 'fun'.
I realized after just reading through your posts through that time period, I really have no room to complain, especially about something as minor as a flare up...
--Joe
I realized after just reading through your posts through that time period, I really have no room to complain, especially about something as minor as a flare up...
--Joe
Joe
Joe and Kim,
Trust me, none of what I've been through in the past year is even a blip on the radar, compared with the pain and aggravation associated with MC, (or any other IBD). None of this involved any pain, or even D, (except that massive colonic bleeding will cause D, of course), so the only pain that I experienced, was in recovering from the surgery, which, again, wouldn't hold a candle to the pain that I experienced back when I was reacting, (and the recovery from surgery only lasted for a few weeks). All in all, even though it was life-threatening, as far as pain and suffering is concerned, it was a piece of cake, compared with dealing with the symptoms of MC.
Actually, my gut issues go back a lot farther. 10 years ago, when I "went through the clinic", to try to determine the cause of my "uncontrollable D", initially, my GI doc noted on my colonoscopy report that I had a stenosis, (a stricture), in my sigmoid colon. Since he was convinced that I had colon cancer, but he never was able to locate any evidence of cancer, he didn't even bother mentioning the stenosis to me. 5 and a half years later, late one Saturday night, (well, actually, early Sunday morning), I had to have emergency abdominal surgery, to remove most of my sigmoid colon, (because the stenosis was beginning to behave as a blockage).
After that surgery, I became curious, and I went to the hospital records department, and got a copy of his endoscopy report, from back in 2000. Sure enough, there was his clear description of the stenosis, noted in the report. If he had bothered to mention that little problem to me, I could have at least avoided having emergency surgery - operating when the gut is full, is a very, very risky procedure, because of the risk of infection. And sure enough, one of their staples leaked, so they had to try to wash the you-know-what out of my abdominal cavity. I was very lucky to survive that one. I consider it a miracle that a fatal infection didn't get me.
By then, though, I was in remission from MC, so outside of the recovery period, (and the blockage problem leading up to the surgery), it wasn't that big a deal. MC *is* a big deal.
GI docs seem to assume that the old saying is true, that what their patients don't know, won't hurt them. These days, though, I make a point of obtaining operative reports, pathology reports, etc., early on, just in case they might contain something that I don't know that might hurt me.
Tex
Trust me, none of what I've been through in the past year is even a blip on the radar, compared with the pain and aggravation associated with MC, (or any other IBD). None of this involved any pain, or even D, (except that massive colonic bleeding will cause D, of course), so the only pain that I experienced, was in recovering from the surgery, which, again, wouldn't hold a candle to the pain that I experienced back when I was reacting, (and the recovery from surgery only lasted for a few weeks). All in all, even though it was life-threatening, as far as pain and suffering is concerned, it was a piece of cake, compared with dealing with the symptoms of MC.
Actually, my gut issues go back a lot farther. 10 years ago, when I "went through the clinic", to try to determine the cause of my "uncontrollable D", initially, my GI doc noted on my colonoscopy report that I had a stenosis, (a stricture), in my sigmoid colon. Since he was convinced that I had colon cancer, but he never was able to locate any evidence of cancer, he didn't even bother mentioning the stenosis to me.
5 and a half years later, late one Saturday night, (well, actually, early Sunday morning), I had to have emergency abdominal surgery, to remove most of my sigmoid colon, (because the stenosis was beginning to behave as a blockage).After that surgery, I became curious, and I went to the hospital records department, and got a copy of his endoscopy report, from back in 2000. Sure enough, there was his clear description of the stenosis, noted in the report.
If he had bothered to mention that little problem to me, I could have at least avoided having emergency surgery - operating when the gut is full, is a very, very risky procedure, because of the risk of infection. And sure enough, one of their staples leaked, so they had to try to wash the you-know-what out of my abdominal cavity. I was very lucky to survive that one. I consider it a miracle that a fatal infection didn't get me.By then, though, I was in remission from MC, so outside of the recovery period, (and the blockage problem leading up to the surgery), it wasn't that big a deal. MC *is* a big deal.
GI docs seem to assume that the old saying is true, that what their patients don't know, won't hurt them. These days, though, I make a point of obtaining operative reports, pathology reports, etc., early on, just in case they might contain something that I don't know that might hurt me.
Tex
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.
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wonderwoman
- Rockhopper Penguin
- Posts: 574
- Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:59 pm
- Location: Sun City, AZ
Tex writes,
I agree 100%. I have all of my reports except for one. I go over them very carefully looking up terms I don't know and writing notes in the margins. I also have the notes the doctor writes for the office visits. It is amazing how much information in them is not accurate. I say to myself, I never said that, or that's not what I said, or why didn't he write that I told him I had this symptom. Also, it may indicate what he is thinking and doesn't tell you.
Anyway, I have been at this computer too long. It's 112*F outside and I am heading for the swimming pool to swim some laps.
I make a point of obtaining operative reports, pathology reports, etc., early on, just in case they might contain something that I don't know that might hurt me.
I agree 100%. I have all of my reports except for one. I go over them very carefully looking up terms I don't know and writing notes in the margins. I also have the notes the doctor writes for the office visits. It is amazing how much information in them is not accurate. I say to myself, I never said that, or that's not what I said, or why didn't he write that I told him I had this symptom. Also, it may indicate what he is thinking and doesn't tell you.
Anyway, I have been at this computer too long. It's 112*F outside and I am heading for the swimming pool to swim some laps.
Charlotte
The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. Ann Wigmore
The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine, or the slowest form of poison. Ann Wigmore
Hi Good Buddies!
Jumping in to echo the importance of keeping copies of all of your medical records. It amazes me to see what info one is given now. When I left the doc's office after my colonoscopy last week, I was given the most incredible and complete medical records! There were actual photos taken of the colon in various places, with a drawing of the colon noting exactly where each photo was taken. There was a photo of the cecum as well as the rectum. All kinds of info. Oh, and even though I didn't have any polypps this time, I still have to get another colonoscopy in 5 years. Darn, I was hoping it could wait for 10 years. Sigh.
Tex, I am thinking that it might be important for newbies to know that the emergency surgery where your colon was removed is NOT the usual course for MC. Quite the contrary. I suspect that you have some kind of genetic/familial problem in addition to MC that causes weakening/destruction of the colon. I just don't want anyone to be unnecessarily scared.
Tex, I think that your cholesterol values are all OK - especially in light of our emails about higher cholesterol values and age! And an increase in HDL is super - don't question it. LOL. I'll bet your MCH is still down from the massive bleed you had. The major cause of lower MCH is iron deficiency anemia. Have they measured your iron level or reticulocyte count?
Love,
Polly
Jumping in to echo the importance of keeping copies of all of your medical records. It amazes me to see what info one is given now. When I left the doc's office after my colonoscopy last week, I was given the most incredible and complete medical records! There were actual photos taken of the colon in various places, with a drawing of the colon noting exactly where each photo was taken. There was a photo of the cecum as well as the rectum. All kinds of info. Oh, and even though I didn't have any polypps this time, I still have to get another colonoscopy in 5 years. Darn, I was hoping it could wait for 10 years. Sigh.
Tex, I am thinking that it might be important for newbies to know that the emergency surgery where your colon was removed is NOT the usual course for MC. Quite the contrary. I suspect that you have some kind of genetic/familial problem in addition to MC that causes weakening/destruction of the colon. I just don't want anyone to be unnecessarily scared.
Tex, I think that your cholesterol values are all OK - especially in light of our emails about higher cholesterol values and age! And an increase in HDL is super - don't question it. LOL. I'll bet your MCH is still down from the massive bleed you had. The major cause of lower MCH is iron deficiency anemia. Have they measured your iron level or reticulocyte count?
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Oops! Did I give that impression? In that case, I apologize to anyone whom I might have mislead. Yes, my colon issues were totally unrelated to MC. The official diagnosis that resulted in the first surgery, (5 years ago), was acute diverticulitis, (a rare condition known as diverticular colitis, causes a stenosis in about 25% of people who have the condition, and I suspect that this may be what caused the stenosis, that led up to the blockage).
The bleeding issue that lead to the removal of my colon, had nothing to do with MC, also, since MC definitely does not cause bleeding, in any form, (except for the fact that it can cause hemorrhoids, as a side effect of the unrelenting diarrhea). In my case, the bleeding might have been due to a blood vessel defect in a diverticulum, as the GI docs at the hospital suspected, but as Polly is well aware, my father, and an uncle, both died in a hospital, while being treated for massive colonic bleeding, so obviously, I have a family history that involves some sort of sinister, possibly unknown, colon disorder, apparently involving angiodysplasia.
Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead anyone.
Polly, actually, my MCH was significantly higher when I was discharged from the hospital after that surgery. It was well within the normal range. Since then, both the MCH and the MCHC have been slowly but steadily declining.
My red count, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were all low when I was discharged from the hospital, but those numbers have all recovered, and were in the normal range within a couple of months. My iron level and reticulocyte count have not been checked. I agree with you, though, I may be low on iron.
Love,
Tex
The bleeding issue that lead to the removal of my colon, had nothing to do with MC, also, since MC definitely does not cause bleeding, in any form, (except for the fact that it can cause hemorrhoids, as a side effect of the unrelenting diarrhea). In my case, the bleeding might have been due to a blood vessel defect in a diverticulum, as the GI docs at the hospital suspected, but as Polly is well aware, my father, and an uncle, both died in a hospital, while being treated for massive colonic bleeding, so obviously, I have a family history that involves some sort of sinister, possibly unknown, colon disorder, apparently involving angiodysplasia.
Sorry, I didn't mean to mislead anyone.
Polly, actually, my MCH was significantly higher when I was discharged from the hospital after that surgery. It was well within the normal range. Since then, both the MCH and the MCHC have been slowly but steadily declining.
My red count, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were all low when I was discharged from the hospital, but those numbers have all recovered, and were in the normal range within a couple of months. My iron level and reticulocyte count have not been checked. I agree with you, though, I may be low on iron.
Love,
Tex
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.
No, no, at all - you certainly did NOT give that impression. I was thinking that someone might draw the wrong conclusion on their own or at least wonder about it. You definitely are a medical fascinoma! LOL! {But actually, we HAVE wondered about Johnne's disease, the possibility of an infectious connection related to MC, haven't we?}
A lot of that blood that tested normal on hospital discharge belonged to someone else.
Since RBCS live about 120 days, perhaps they have been dying off at a quicker rate than your body has been making new ones. I'm guessing it will catch up soon. As long as the Hb and Hct are OK, I wouldn't worry.
Love,
Polly
A lot of that blood that tested normal on hospital discharge belonged to someone else.
Since RBCS live about 120 days, perhaps they have been dying off at a quicker rate than your body has been making new ones. I'm guessing it will catch up soon. As long as the Hb and Hct are OK, I wouldn't worry.Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
You're right, of course - I forgot about all the transfusions.Polly wrote:A lot of that blood that tested normal on hospital discharge belonged to someone else.
I even asked a few doctors at the hospital, after my surgery, what they thought about a possible Johnne's disease connection, (in view of my "mesenteric mess", with all the adhesions, etc.), but naturally, none of them could visualize a possible connection.
Today is obviously my day to learn a new word - "fascinoma". Thanks, Polly, that's a good one.
Love,
Tex
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.