This past Friday morning was my Endometrial Biopsy. At which time, I also got my Sonogram results. At least...verbally from the doctor.
Her nurse was "supposed" to have sent me the results the previous Monday, (at least, that's what she told my in-laws when she had called later that day, that she was sending me "something" and that if I didn't understand it, to call her), but by Friday morning, they still hadn't arrived. So I was pretty nervous, and a bit scared, walking into my biopsy.
The doctor said I have 2 large apricot-sized Fibroids, sitting low in my uterus, and that they are probably responsible for my post menopausal bleeding, plus the way I hemorrhage whenever I do have a period. That if I was "younger" -- say 35 or 40, and/or still bleeding monthly, they would take out my uterus in regards to them, since monthly hemorrhaging can create all sorts of issues. But since I'm 53, post-menopausal and only doing this kind of thing once a year ... or year-and-a-half ... and since fibroids will eventually stop bleeding on their own, due to my age, they are going to let it ride -- unless the biopsy turns up something different.
As far as the biopsy is concerned, the doctor felt confident that at this point, cancer really wasn't anything to "worry" about, since they didn't find any polyps in my uterus. But they were going to go ahead with the biopsy, because it would give me peace of mind.
Well...maybe, maybe not.
I've been doing a LOT of reading about this, since she raised the possibility, and I found lots of women on one of the cancer forums who've gone through things similar to what I have, and have been eventually diagnosed with uterine cancer. So I'm "very glad" she went ahead with the biopsy. Cuz I've been reading from those who've been diagnosed with cancer, that a biopsy is the ONLY WAY to know for sure. Sonograms are not entirely reliable in that regard. They can easily be misread. Misunderstood. Misinterpreted.
So a lot of those who are diagnosed with "late stage" cancers have been misdiagnosed for years -- due to not having the biopsy.
It wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. But it was definitely uncomfortable. It's similar to a Pap Smear, except they insert a straw up through the cervix, then suction out the tissue from the uterus. Which can get a bit crampy.
There are a few "dangers" in doing this procedure: a typical yeast infection, infection of the uterus itself, or accidentally puncturing the uterus, which could then result in having to have the uterus removed if that happens and it doesn't heal on its own -- so they wanted me to sign a release stating that I knew of the dangers, and still wanted the procedure done.
Obviously, the benefits of a cancer diagnosis outweigh the dangers, so I signed the release.
In my case, she had to do the suction twice in order to get enough tissue, but she was really surprised that with the size of my fibroids, and the bleeding problems I've been having, that I didn't really have as much blood in there as she thought I should. Now that worries me a bit, because I've read about others who've had that issue -- normal to less than normal endometrial cell lining -- with the few cells that were there, found to be cancerous.
So we aren't really out of the woods yet, even though the doctor did her best to ease my mind.
She told me that she would have the results by Tuesday. At which point I asked her if she wanted me to make an appointment to come back and see her on Wednesday, or just wait to make the appointment "after" we're sure the results come in. At first, she thought that was a good idea. Then she turned to me and said "No. Make the appointment for Tuesday! They'll have all weekend to work on it. That's plenty of time."
So I'm going back Tuesday morning.
When I got home, my sister-in-law suggested I take Pamprin for the cramps, rather than Ibuprofen, since Pamprin works better for her, and the Ibuprofen I had taken early that morning wasn't really working well. Now the interesting thing about that is, I've been having cramps for a couple of months now. Cramps and nausea. So I was cramping "before" I even went in for the Biopsy. Which is why the possibility of cancer has me more than a bit nervous.
However, the Pamprin, didn't work any better for that than the Ibuprofen did. Which began to trouble me a bit by late afternoon. I don't know exactly why, but something was bothering me about all of this. I took more Pamprin before going to bed, but woke up in the middle of the night with more cramps and nausea. So I got up, took more Pamprin, and started reading forums online. Cancer forums. Searching for a link between vertigo and uterine cancer. Cramps, nausea, the symptoms I have been having lately.
At which point I noticed something interesting. Now...uterine cramps come from pretty far down the belly, and with as much Pamprin as I had been taking, everything below my belly button was fine. What I suddenly noticed was that it's "above" that area, and slightly over to the right where I was actually feeling the pain. Pain that starts from there and wraps around my side to the back. Now, up to this point, I had been "interpreting" what I was feeling as cramps, but I suddenly realized that's NOT what this is.
So I then typed "gall bladder disease and vertigo" into a search engine, and ended up at the gall bladder disease section of a health forum. Someone there said that when the gall bladder isn't functioning correctly, it will route the bile it's holding through the Pancreas, which then causes dizziness, blood sugar issues, and/or pancreatitis-like symptoms.
Now obviously, I don't know if that is true or not, but it's certainly got me thinking in a different direction now, in regards to the pain/nausea/vertigo I'm experiencing. Plus I've experienced discomfort and pain in what I thought to be my liver before, when I've been on low carb, that always cleared up when I seriously dropped my fat intake.
So with my liver checking out to be okay, now I'm wondering if my troubles doing low carb have to do with my gall bladder. So I'll definitely be bringing up that subject with my doc on Tuesday morning.
The other interesting thing that surfaced over the weekend was the Sonogram report that finally arrived Saturday morning. Findings were an enlarged uterus, normal cell lining, two isoechoic structures, one faintly seen, which "may" represent subtle uterine leiomyomas (fibroids). My right ovary is larger than the other one, and contains 2 small cysts which haven't ruptured. Recommendation by the reading technician is an Endometrial Biopsy.
Now the doctor didn't "say anything" about finding cysts on my right ovary, but she did take the tissue in my uterus from that right side. So I'll have to ask her about that on Tuesday too. What that MEANS exactly.
As for Medicaid's final decision (without having sent us any additional paperwork by the way), Geesh--look at this...
Our medical bills at last count are now up to $10,000 (not including the Sonogram and biopsy I just had) -- and we just got notified by Medicaid that the requirements in the state of Utah are that you be a single parent caring for at least one minor child, over the age of 65, blind, disabled, or pregnant.
So why in tarnation is the county hospital MAKING us apply for Medicaid, before they will consider our application for financial assistance? Why did the county hospital TURN US DOWN for financial assistance due to the fact that we didn't "already" possess a denial letter from Medicaid? Surely they "know" the requirements. And most surely they knew we didn't qualify.
Sometimes medical care can be sooooo aggravating!!!
At least the clinic has been more realistic. They didn't require us to apply for Medicaid, they just took our W2's for last year, then wrote off over $300 this past month, charging us only $40 for their services so far.
I can't imagine how far in debt we are going to be once we get ourselves completely checked out and treated. My husband is estimating maybe $100,000 but I guess that just depends on how bad his liver damage currently is...and what my "real" issues turn out to be. However it ends up, one things for sure...we'll definitely be paying medical bills for the rest of our lives.
But that's just the way it goes sometimes.
Her nurse was "supposed" to have sent me the results the previous Monday, (at least, that's what she told my in-laws when she had called later that day, that she was sending me "something" and that if I didn't understand it, to call her), but by Friday morning, they still hadn't arrived. So I was pretty nervous, and a bit scared, walking into my biopsy.
The doctor said I have 2 large apricot-sized Fibroids, sitting low in my uterus, and that they are probably responsible for my post menopausal bleeding, plus the way I hemorrhage whenever I do have a period. That if I was "younger" -- say 35 or 40, and/or still bleeding monthly, they would take out my uterus in regards to them, since monthly hemorrhaging can create all sorts of issues. But since I'm 53, post-menopausal and only doing this kind of thing once a year ... or year-and-a-half ... and since fibroids will eventually stop bleeding on their own, due to my age, they are going to let it ride -- unless the biopsy turns up something different.
As far as the biopsy is concerned, the doctor felt confident that at this point, cancer really wasn't anything to "worry" about, since they didn't find any polyps in my uterus. But they were going to go ahead with the biopsy, because it would give me peace of mind.
Well...maybe, maybe not.
I've been doing a LOT of reading about this, since she raised the possibility, and I found lots of women on one of the cancer forums who've gone through things similar to what I have, and have been eventually diagnosed with uterine cancer. So I'm "very glad" she went ahead with the biopsy. Cuz I've been reading from those who've been diagnosed with cancer, that a biopsy is the ONLY WAY to know for sure. Sonograms are not entirely reliable in that regard. They can easily be misread. Misunderstood. Misinterpreted.
So a lot of those who are diagnosed with "late stage" cancers have been misdiagnosed for years -- due to not having the biopsy.
It wasn't nearly as bad as I anticipated. But it was definitely uncomfortable. It's similar to a Pap Smear, except they insert a straw up through the cervix, then suction out the tissue from the uterus. Which can get a bit crampy.
There are a few "dangers" in doing this procedure: a typical yeast infection, infection of the uterus itself, or accidentally puncturing the uterus, which could then result in having to have the uterus removed if that happens and it doesn't heal on its own -- so they wanted me to sign a release stating that I knew of the dangers, and still wanted the procedure done.
Obviously, the benefits of a cancer diagnosis outweigh the dangers, so I signed the release.
In my case, she had to do the suction twice in order to get enough tissue, but she was really surprised that with the size of my fibroids, and the bleeding problems I've been having, that I didn't really have as much blood in there as she thought I should. Now that worries me a bit, because I've read about others who've had that issue -- normal to less than normal endometrial cell lining -- with the few cells that were there, found to be cancerous.
So we aren't really out of the woods yet, even though the doctor did her best to ease my mind.
She told me that she would have the results by Tuesday. At which point I asked her if she wanted me to make an appointment to come back and see her on Wednesday, or just wait to make the appointment "after" we're sure the results come in. At first, she thought that was a good idea. Then she turned to me and said "No. Make the appointment for Tuesday! They'll have all weekend to work on it. That's plenty of time."
So I'm going back Tuesday morning.
When I got home, my sister-in-law suggested I take Pamprin for the cramps, rather than Ibuprofen, since Pamprin works better for her, and the Ibuprofen I had taken early that morning wasn't really working well. Now the interesting thing about that is, I've been having cramps for a couple of months now. Cramps and nausea. So I was cramping "before" I even went in for the Biopsy. Which is why the possibility of cancer has me more than a bit nervous.
However, the Pamprin, didn't work any better for that than the Ibuprofen did. Which began to trouble me a bit by late afternoon. I don't know exactly why, but something was bothering me about all of this. I took more Pamprin before going to bed, but woke up in the middle of the night with more cramps and nausea. So I got up, took more Pamprin, and started reading forums online. Cancer forums. Searching for a link between vertigo and uterine cancer. Cramps, nausea, the symptoms I have been having lately.
At which point I noticed something interesting. Now...uterine cramps come from pretty far down the belly, and with as much Pamprin as I had been taking, everything below my belly button was fine. What I suddenly noticed was that it's "above" that area, and slightly over to the right where I was actually feeling the pain. Pain that starts from there and wraps around my side to the back. Now, up to this point, I had been "interpreting" what I was feeling as cramps, but I suddenly realized that's NOT what this is.
So I then typed "gall bladder disease and vertigo" into a search engine, and ended up at the gall bladder disease section of a health forum. Someone there said that when the gall bladder isn't functioning correctly, it will route the bile it's holding through the Pancreas, which then causes dizziness, blood sugar issues, and/or pancreatitis-like symptoms.
Now obviously, I don't know if that is true or not, but it's certainly got me thinking in a different direction now, in regards to the pain/nausea/vertigo I'm experiencing. Plus I've experienced discomfort and pain in what I thought to be my liver before, when I've been on low carb, that always cleared up when I seriously dropped my fat intake.
So with my liver checking out to be okay, now I'm wondering if my troubles doing low carb have to do with my gall bladder. So I'll definitely be bringing up that subject with my doc on Tuesday morning.
The other interesting thing that surfaced over the weekend was the Sonogram report that finally arrived Saturday morning. Findings were an enlarged uterus, normal cell lining, two isoechoic structures, one faintly seen, which "may" represent subtle uterine leiomyomas (fibroids). My right ovary is larger than the other one, and contains 2 small cysts which haven't ruptured. Recommendation by the reading technician is an Endometrial Biopsy.
Now the doctor didn't "say anything" about finding cysts on my right ovary, but she did take the tissue in my uterus from that right side. So I'll have to ask her about that on Tuesday too. What that MEANS exactly.
As for Medicaid's final decision (without having sent us any additional paperwork by the way), Geesh--look at this...
Our medical bills at last count are now up to $10,000 (not including the Sonogram and biopsy I just had) -- and we just got notified by Medicaid that the requirements in the state of Utah are that you be a single parent caring for at least one minor child, over the age of 65, blind, disabled, or pregnant.
So why in tarnation is the county hospital MAKING us apply for Medicaid, before they will consider our application for financial assistance? Why did the county hospital TURN US DOWN for financial assistance due to the fact that we didn't "already" possess a denial letter from Medicaid? Surely they "know" the requirements. And most surely they knew we didn't qualify.
Sometimes medical care can be sooooo aggravating!!!
At least the clinic has been more realistic. They didn't require us to apply for Medicaid, they just took our W2's for last year, then wrote off over $300 this past month, charging us only $40 for their services so far.
I can't imagine how far in debt we are going to be once we get ourselves completely checked out and treated. My husband is estimating maybe $100,000 but I guess that just depends on how bad his liver damage currently is...and what my "real" issues turn out to be. However it ends up, one things for sure...we'll definitely be paying medical bills for the rest of our lives.
But that's just the way it goes sometimes.