Guest guest Posted September 9, 2003 Report Share Posted September 9, 2003 Hello Everyone! I have been off line for about a month and a half now and just tonight caught up on all my e-mail! Welcome to all the new members and I hope to be of some help to you soon! On July 8 my I found out the my brother-in-law Steve (technically not my BIL but I have been engaged to his brother for 3 years and have been in their family for 8 years)at the age of 31 had 3-6 months to live. Steve has been an insulin dependent diabetic since he was 4 years old. In 2000 he went into total kidney failure and had been on dialysis since. Since the beginning of the year he just started to deteriorate and fast. On July 8 the Dr said that it was time to stop making Steve suffer. His body couldn't take it and they released him from the hospital on Hospice a week later. On July 15 he became unconscious. The Hospice nurse said that he only had a few hours left. To everyones amazement he woke up that night. On July 22 he became unconscious again and sadly did not wake up this time. He passed away on July 23. I have spent that last month or so just caring for my fiancee (Nick)and family. Not only was Steve Nicks brother but also his best friend. He was going to be our best man at our wedding. So for Nick this has been a double loss. Things are getting better, we still have our moments but we are all dealing with the loss as best as we can. Thankfully my pancreas has been very well behaved for the last 2 months. I haven't had to take a pain pill (other than my Elavil) since Aug. 5!! I am surprised because with the stress I for sure thought I would have a severe episode. I did have some pain today and thought I was going to have to take meds, but I rode it out and it passed. Although my pancreas was being so well behaved I could not figure out why I was so tired. So I chalked it up to all the stress and was trying to ignore it. Well about 2 weeks ago I couldn't ignore it any more. I was exhausted! We have been doing home improvements (carpet, tile, paint, landscape) and I just didn't have any stamina. I was scraping wallpaper and literally could only do it for about 10 minutes, then I had to rest for 20. I couldn't walk from the garage to the bedroom without feeling exhausted. My muscles hurt and I was light headed and dizzy every time I stood up. And the wildest thing was that I was having this electric shock feeling in my knees! Only when my body was totally relaxed would this happen. It wasn't necessarily painful but very annoying and kept me up many nights. So reluctantly I went to the doctor. I didn't want to go, I had such a hard time getting my cp dx that it has scarred me for life. I always fear going and them telling me nothing is wrong, all the tests are normal. I know lots of you can relate to that. I did go and the Physician Assistant I saw was fresh out of school....GREAT...I thought to myself. But I gave her a fair chance, we are all rookies at some point. She was very nice and did full labs on me. This was the week before the holiday weekend so I decided that on the Tuesday after the holiday I would call and get the results. My insurance, Kaiser, YOU HAVE to call for results most of the time. Well, I got into work on Tuesday and my doctor calls me. I was sooo scared, they never call me first!! I thought for sure that something major was wrong. There was something wrong but it wasn't that major. She tells me that even though I am on thyroid that it wasn't enough. I was extremely low and that I am severely anemic. Between the 2 she says she doesn't know how I was getting out of bed everyday. So for the last week I have been on the new thyroid and iron pills. Iron pills...yuck! I am now constipated! I am used to the loose stools, and I would gladly go back in a heart beat! LOL I will add some more fiber to the diet and see if that helps. I go back for a follow up on the 26th. Well, that has been my life! I am sorry this turned into a novel! I hope that everyone is doing really well and I am sooooo glad to be back! Sending lots of happy thoughts your way.... Marisa~San Diego, CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2003 Report Share Posted September 9, 2003 Hi Marisa, I too had similar symptoms as you described. Couldn't stand up without getting dizzy, I couldn't stay laying down, sitting up, but couldn't stand up, kept feeling like I was going to faint, tingling all through my body, felt fuzzy in the head. Went to 3 ER rooms, and they all just sent me home. Finally went to my oncologist a few days later and he admitted me immediately upon looking at me. I looked like a zombie, dark circles around my eyes, pale skin, nausea, he was amazed that no doctors had told me that I was severely anemic. I was given a 40ml iron transfusion, upon which the next day all symptoms disappeared. Thank goodness I didn't have to take the tablet form of iron. The next day I felt back to normal, and looked it to. Got released 2 days later. Now when they do my lab work, I ask what my iron level is. If it is a little low, I query it, but so far it has stayed normal thank goodness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2003 Report Share Posted September 10, 2003 Marisa, I am so sorry about the tragedy of your brother in law's loss. I also know how tiring it can be because of anemia. I'm anemic too and on iron pills. I just wanted to say, welcome back and that I hope that things get better for you soon. Glad to see you back on the list. Kimber -- Kimber Vallejo, CA hominid2@... Note: All advice given is personal opinion, not equal to that of a licensed physician or health care professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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