Having all sorts of medical problems

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SarahsMom
SarahsMom Member Posts: 1,779

Hi ladies, it's been a long couple of weeks for me.

I am having all sorts of medical issues and the docs can't connect the dots, I don't know what is going on. In the late fall, I had pain in my bad breast - white hot burning, twinges, pulling.  I went to the BS in early Dec and she did a thorough exam and said it was phantom pain, she didn't think anything was wrong. Well I don't even feel anything there now, maybe because there are so many other things going on.

It started in late Dec with achiness all over, hips hurting so bad at night that it would wake me up. Then I had severe right hand pain, and a lump developed on the top joint. It looks like one of those pre arthritic ganglion cysts, except under bright light, you can see a capillary inside, which is odd per my doc.

Next up has been a persistent sore throat, dry cough and headaches.

So yesterday, I was feeling my neck for swollen glands and found a surprise  - a marble sized lump under my chin, and they want me to rule out a dental problem/swollen lymph node issue, so off I go to the dentist today to see if I have an abcess or something. I wonder if my old fillings are causing me problems somehow? I looked at my teeth very closely last night and it looks like one tooth is cracked, exposing the filling. I'm not sure. I have not taken my advice and have way over-googled at this point!  I am thinking maybe hypothyroid issue, I've always been borderline on the T 3/4 test. 

In the next 7 days, I have the following appts: dentist, derm (finger lump), ortho (hips), diagnostic mammo on both sides (it's 6 months already). Fun times. Plus blood work to rule out some things, or maybe identify some things.

You know, at times I just want to let the universe take over and do what it will...but then I look at my 13 year old girl and think no...can't do that, I need to stay engaged.  If she were 23 and successfully out on her own, I may think differently, not sure.

I'm tired. 

Comments

  • Carla9112
    Carla9112 Member Posts: 162
    edited January 2012

    Hi there - sorry to hear about all of your health issues but you hit the nail on the head when you said you keep moving for your daughter.  That's what keeps us going isn't it?  I just finished chemo and swore I would never do it again but one look at my grown kids makes me realize that I would if it offered me more time. 

    I know you're tired but hang in there.  Summer is coming and we've got to be healthy so we can enjoy our kids.

    Take care!!

  • farmerlucy
    farmerlucy Member Posts: 3,985
    edited January 2012

    Carpe - I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. My family is from the midwest, and whenever they have a puzzling medical issue they head to the Mayo clinic. I think the Mayo clinic uses a team approach and will look at all your issues during your visit. If the dots need connecting they can do it. My dad was having some trouble and the local dr ordered all the heart tests ekg, angiogram ect, and found nothing. Dad went to Mayos and in one day they figured out his problem - sleep apnea.

    I don't know if that is even a possibilty for you, but I wanted to suggest it. Feel better soon!

    Jill

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited January 2012

    carpe - crapola!  Sorry you are having these issues - I feel ya - after chemo I had a strange plethora of things that required a bunch of random appts - it is tiring and frustrating.  Hang in and know we are thinking of you!

  • mawhinney
    mawhinney Member Posts: 1,377
    edited January 2012

    Carpe ~ Maybe if you listed your cancer diagnosis, surgeries, treatments, meds etc., we might be able to give you more input and suggestions. Possibly some of the meds you are taking may be causing some of your problems. Also, what type of doctors are you seeing? Are they specialists in your type of cancer? Do they use a team approach where they all work together & discuss your case?

  • 208sandy
    208sandy Member Posts: 2,610
    edited January 2012

    Carpe - we need to see more info if you want to post it - for instance are you on AIs???

  • SarahsMom
    SarahsMom Member Posts: 1,779
    edited January 2012

    Oh ladies, you are all so wonderful!  I have my history in my little bio thing..but no cancer,  - just a ductal excision with atypia four years ago, now two areas of thickening in the same breast (which is 50-74% dense, vs not dense on other side = focal asymmetry) and increasing calcs. It's just a worrisome, lumpy, dense, complicated breast. My maternal grandmother and maternal aunt both had breast cancer and mastectomies, another maternal aunt died from bone cancer, and my paternal grandmother died from ovarian. 

    I don't take any meds at all.  I decided not to start Tamoxifen because hubby was deployed with the military for a year and I was single parenting. He's back now, so I am contemplating again... 

    I am so worried about this lump under my chin, I hope to God that I just have dental problems and that is a swollen lymph node!  Who would ever ask for dental problem, this is all so crazy, isn't it?!  I didn't even know we had a lymph node under there. 

    Thanks for all of the kind notes and support, you are wonderful. I just can't keep bogging down my family and friends anymore with all of this stuff and you all understand how paranoid we can be about things. I really try not to just run willy nilly to docs over little things and actually have a high tolerance for pain. I was in the military 21 years and my medical records were in a very small folder and until my breast surgery, the only time I was ever in the hospital was to have a baby. Sigh.

    Off to the dentist, praying for something bad and some antibiotics to squash it. Too funny! 

  • Claire_in_Seattle
    Claire_in_Seattle Member Posts: 4,570
    edited January 2012

    I would also get checked for Lyme disease if I lived in an area with ticks.  But a bad tooth will screw up a lot more than the immediate gum area.  Good luck.

  • SarahsMom
    SarahsMom Member Posts: 1,779
    edited January 2012

    So I have two molars, side by side, that are cracked and the old amalgam fillings are leaking. I've had no pain, swelling, sensitivity, etc so never would have know this was happening!  I had a long talk with the dentist about mercury, etc in those old fillings and how it can effect the body. He said that at his office, they treat them as toxic and won't let the dental techs come in the room during the removal process. Oh joy! Anyhow, this isn't breast related, but wanted to pass it along to other ladies of my "era" who have the old metal fillings. They also still use this in the military (that's where mine came from!)  He also said the nickel in the fillings can wreak havoc on women's bodies for reasons unknown. Mercury from fillings may also make the body more susceptible to lupus. 

    He can't do the work until the 9th, so I won't know if this is causing my issues for a while yet. Next week I have the 6 month diagnostic mammos on both sides, derm and ortho to check my lumps and aches. 

    Thanks again for listening, ladies. You're the best!! 

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited January 2012

    carpe - hoping it is just the teeth/fillings, fairly easy problem to fix. I have been having the metal fillings replaced one by one for the last 15 years.  All the dentists I have seen during that time recommend it, and only use the white filling material.  Dental insurance will only reimburse for the rate on amalgam fillings, but I pay the difference for the very reasons you state.  Good luck on your future appts too!

  • Claire_in_Seattle
    Claire_in_Seattle Member Posts: 4,570
    edited January 2012

    Not to mention the problem of dentists who are not up to date.  I had no idea, until I was faced with $20k of work, which I did over 4 years.  It wasn't that I didn't visit the dentist....I did, but wasn't getting the treatment I should have been receiving.

    I have white fillings now.  They have the added benefit of being a lot more attractive.  I had to redo every single one of them.

    Because of damaged older fillings, I needed a number of crowns.  This was so bad that I was much more worried recently about my dental x-ray than I was about my mammogram.

    It is so wonderful to "just need a cleaning" as opposed to signing up for a $1500 "treatment plan".  My gums are healthy, and my teeth look great.  But no fun at all getting to this point.

  • thatsvanity
    thatsvanity Member Posts: 391
    edited January 2012

    You will feel better when you go to all of your doctor appts. It's kind of like exercise it's a pain but you feel better after you are finished and get some solutions.

  • SarahsMom
    SarahsMom Member Posts: 1,779
    edited January 2012

    Thanks to all, again, you are wonderful. Last night in the shower, I saw something new on my breast to the left of the nipple. the size of a pencil eraser and a definite bump under the skin, came out of nowhere. I've never had bumps on the outside of my breasts before, so this is new, hmmm. I was researching my nipple changes (color, etc al) and burning, etc and stumbled on Pagets, so not sure. Well I have 3 doc appts this week and a bunch of bloodwork, so we'll sort it all out.  I am enjoying the weekend with my family and haven't told a soul other than you strangers :-) 

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