My body is one big hot mess

 Ok.  So, It's been awhile since I've written a long, boring post about my health stuff.  This will be that so you can feel free to skip on by if you want.  

At the end of July I finally got in to see the neurologist.  I wanted to discuss headaches and also get some more information about the Arnold Chiari malformation because my other neurologists in the past had only mentioned it but never gave me any details.  I made the appointment last December and wasn't able to get in until July.  She spent a long time with me, asked a ton of questions, and then sent me out the door with about 5 different referrals to other specialists, and a prescription for headache medicine.  I've been busy getting all those referrals approved and getting in to see them all.

ENT:  I have a large cyst in my left nasal cavity.  I've had it for a long time but I think it's grown over the last five years.  It could be one source of the headaches.  The ENT I saw said he didn't want to touch the cyst but wants to do a surgery for a deviated septum and also a Rhinoplasty.  The first thing he said when he walked into the room was, "How do you feel about your nose?"  I said, "It's big.  I've lived with it for 45 years and it does it's job."  He said, "I can fix that for you."  Well.  He says it will be covered by my insurance and I kind of feel like if he's already going to be doing surgery on my nose, maybe I should just also get a nose job. I wouldn't ever get one if it wasn't offered for free!  I'm anxious about it because boy, what a painful thing to do just to make it look better.  He says it might actually help me breathe better.  Eli's girlfriend's dad is an ENT with a lot more experience than the doctor I saw and he said I should try and get a second opinion and come to his office.  I don't think he would do the surgery since he's Abby's dad but his partner has more nose experience than he does (I think.)  I do want to get a second opinion on that cyst though.

Podiatrist:  I had to get an x-ray before going to the podiatrist to confirm a leg discrepency.  My right leg is 7 mm shorter than my left.  The podiatrist wants me to go buy these specific, expensive shoes and take them all into get custom insoles made with a 7 mm lift.  That seems hugely expensive and unsustainable.  I can buy little shoe lifts on Amazon but the doctor insists that for anything over 4 mm the lifts won't work very well.  

Opthamologist:  My Thyroid Eye disease seems to be stable now but the doctor I was seeing is an Ocularplastics doctor.  He only administers the medication that I had the reaction to, and does surgery to improve the eye bulging.  He doesn't actually do anything to manage the symptoms from the thyroid eye disease.  So, the neurologist sent me to an Opthamologist to help with managing all the symptoms.  One of the side effects of Thyroid Eye disease is it can contribute to headaches because of the pressure the swollen muscles behind the eye create.  The opthamologist gave some ideas for helping with dry eye.  He mentioned that he noticed the "flow" in the blood vessels was a little off.  He suggested that later I should get a spinal tap to see if there was leaking cerebral fluid.  It was a weird appointment.

Physical therapy:  Because of a mixture of the Arnold Chiari malformation, my scoliosis, and the leg discrepancy, my body is all misaligned and always hurting.  She sent me to the physical therapist and I've been going 2 times a week for a month or so.  I love my physical therapist and I can tell I am getting stronger but I don't really feel like the pain is going away too much.  I also have been surprised to see just how week certain areas of my body are--hips, back, abs, butt--especially my hips.  My back has hurt for so many years now and I'm not really sure it will get better but I'll just keep doing what I can to improve things on my side.   

Pulmonologist:  They have ordered a chest x-ray and a PFT test to determine if I have asthma.  I won't be shocked to discover that I have exercised induced asthma because when I try to do aerobic exercise I feel like I'm being tortured and my throat starts getting scratchy and then I cough for the next hour or so.  Also, lately, things like smoke are causing my throat to also be really bothered.  I've also been working with the Physical therapist on breathing to strengthen my diaphragm and my lung capacity.  

Finally, the neurologist ordered a special MRI.  My insurance sent me on base to get the MRI but I couldn't get in for two months.  When I showed up, and went to get dressed in the robe, they said, "We can't do that kind of MRI.  We can just get you in today for a normal one.  I told them I had already had a normal one months ago and why didn't they call me to tell me they couldn't do this MRI?  I had to get a new referral, wait to get that MRI scheduled, and then had that one done a few weeks ago.  That particular MRI was to check how low the brain stem is hanging down and if it was blocking cerebral fluid, which would cause headaches.  The MRI showed that the brain stem is hanging down 11 mm (chat says that is significant but I don't know what the neurologist will say).  It did show that even though it is hanging down a lot, it isn't blocking the flow of fluid.  If it was, they would do surgery but since it's not, I'm guessing that means they can't do anything.  

I have to go help Lissy clean her room.  I'll have to finish this tomorrow.  TBC!