I contacted drunk.org and made my follow-up appointment. It's not until February 3rd… long wait. The good news is it's at 4:30, so my husband shouldn't have to take the day off or leave work early.
I DO NOT HAVE TO PAY THAT $350 OUT-OF-STATE FEE!!! Woo-hoo!!!

I made a couple of calls and found an available and acceptable counselor. The initial visit will cost $195 and each additional visit will cost me $95. How much of a financial burden this will be depends on how many counseling sessions my evaluator recommends.

I looked up what the highs and lows of all those lab results mean, and they're all indicators of mild kidney dysfunction (except for the thyroid levels). I left a message on the results line at my PCP's office and specifically asked the nurse to convey my concerns about all the borderline results directly to the doctor. Waiting...

thanks for the update kay.
regarding your labs....Could this be an adrenal fatigue/insufficiency?
bizi

Hi, Kay,

Great news about not paying the out of state fee! :yahoo:It is great when things work out in our favor.

Mari

I just got a call back from the nurse in my PCP's office. She said that my doc wasn't recommending any med changes but he wants my calcium level checked in a month because it was high. That's it.

I told her I wanted him to draw a whole CMP (which includes calcium) when I come in because I have concerns about some of the other results. She got very testy with me, but said she would let the doctor know. She said she's going to call me back after she talks to him, but she doesn't have to: he'll order the test. I should have said I want my thyroid levels checked, too. lol. But he might order those anyway.
I can understand why he's not upping the synthroid now. The results are borderline and he is conservative in that area.

I feel better knowing that he's not concerned about my test results at this point, but I (obviously) think they need to be followed up on and I don't think that's an overreaction.
My next appointment is in 4mo. If there's something wrong, I'd rather catch it in 1 month rather than 4- thank you very much. If everything is fine next month, it will be a relief, and I'll only be out a few drops of blood.

My calcium's been high before, but I thought it was because I was taking lithium at the time… there are a lot of causes (including kidney dysfunction), but a s/e of many meds. And I'm on many meds.

Last night my husband flipped out and said he was going to go in the other room because I asked him if his hamburger was too pink… yeah…
I asked him where that came from. His only excuse was he was just in a bad mood. He's been in a bad mood since Saturday and I told him I'm tired of it.

I shined a light on some of his behavior. Sometimes that helps. He said he'd be in a better mood today. I hope he makes a conscious effort.

Cutting back on the daytime dose of seroquel didn't work out. I started taking 50mg less on Tuesday, and by last night the violent imagery was back in full force. It looks like I'm stuck at 750mg. I hope my blood work comes back normal next month.

I truly believe he can be in a better mood if he tries.
I hope he does for your sake.:hug:
bizi

Returning to 750mg of seroquel payed off and I stopped experiencing those symptoms :):):)

My husband complained about work for about 10 minutes when he got home (he's entitled), but after he got that out of his system he was in a good mood for the rest of the night :) I hope the good vibes continue for a while.

I'm getting my haircut tomorrow :) The same lady has been cutting my hair for almost 30yrs. I'm almost more excited to see her than I am to get my hair cut :) Because a cab ride would be too expensive, and I hate asking my husband for favors, this will be my second haircut in a year. I've just been putting my hair up because it's so long it's too taxing for me to dry it, and when I do it's so unhealthy it looks terrible. I have to make a decision about how much I want to take off. I need to cut enough off so I'm able to deal with blowdrying it, but I still like having the option of putting it up because I never go anywhere and I am lazy. It's been so long I think I'm looking at 2-3''

I am glad those symptoms dissipated.
Hair, always difficult to decide maybe pull it up when you see her and let her figure out how much you can have her cut off?
bizi

Kay,

I am happy to hear the report that your husband was in a good mood after talking a little while.

I envy people who have options for their hair. My hair has been thin since forever. I have to keep it short. Mom and sis and I have the same hair.

'Good that you are watching the seroquel (and the symptoms carefully).
It sounds stressful actually. Sorry.:hug::hug::hug:


M

I have thin hair, but have a lot of it. It does get weighed down and doesn't look good if it's long, so I usually cut the front just below the chin and the back almost to my hairline. I'm less concerned about how it looks when I dry it now because I don't go out. I'd rather be lazy and put it up, but I'm going to make a compromise.
Bizi, thank you for the idea about pulling it up. I'm going to have 2" cut off.

The seroquel business is stressful…
I was okay on a steady 600mg dose of seroquel for a while, but had to go up to 700mg because of PTSD sx (violent imagery) and intrusive thoughts.
I only went up to 750mg because I started having sx of hypomania.
I don't know why the PTSD sx came back when I went back down to 700mg.
I'm not comfortable being on so much seroquel. I'd like to have reserves (the max is 800mg and I'm at 750) and I'm concerned about s/e.

I'll feel a lot better if my blood work comes back normal next month. If it doesn't, I'll probably have to change to a different mood stabilizer since I can't reduce the seroquel and I don't even want to think about what a mess that would be.

May I ask what blood work results would make you have to change?
bizi

My creatinine and calcium were high; and my eGFR, globulin, and globulin/albumin ratio were low. They were all borderline, but outside the normal ranges. My TSH was borderline high and my free T4 was low. Everything else was normal.

I don't know if these labs came back abnormal I'd immediately have to stop seroquel, but in an investigation into why they were off seroquel would probably be the first suspect. I'm sure my PCP would run more medical tests before they would take me off of it though.

I was happy to see my hairdresser, she was wondering what happened to me. She was shocked at how long my hair had gotten. She found some white and silver hairs :( I ended up getting 1.5" cut off, and had it cut at an angle as always, so it's longer in front and shorter in the back. I wish I got rid of the angle and got it cut shorter in the front. It's not flattering… too long, and it just hangs flat. Oh well, at least I can put it up.
My husband got his haircut, too and he looks handsome :)

Thanks kay. I did not know that seroquel could effect your blood work.
tileptol made my sodium go real low! Had to switch to lamictal.
At my request.

I bet it was nice to see your hair dresser.:)
and glad that hubby got his hair cut too!

Seroquel can cause kidney damage, but it's rare. It has other serious side effects- some rare, some not so.
I'm also on: lamictal, topomax, gabapentin, klonopin, synthroid, and prilosec.

I got to watch the Pats beat the Chiefs on Saturday. It was a great game, and they looked good out there :) More injuries to worry about though. I thought about having a beer, what's the harm? But didn't. I'm not going to sabotage myself.

I was exhausted yesterday and my little nap ended up lasting about 3 1/2 hours. When I woke up, I found my husband had voluntarily put on the Broncos vs. Steelers game. Extra football is a plus! And it was a significant game because the Pats are going to play the winner.

Since the Broncos won, we'll get to see Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning again. There will be a lot of hype. I think Manning has enough left in the tank to make it a good game (and the Broncos have an excellent defense). He looked pretty good last night. But he should retire after this year no matter how far he makes it in the play-offs. He had a terrible season.
I'm looking forward to that game on Sunday :)

i got a phone call and missed the touch down which caused the broncos to win. I thought they were going to lose. Did you husband turn it on for you? You mentioned something before that he let you watch one football game and then didn't let you watch another.
I love Brady and hope he wins. How many years does he have left?
It is so great that you resisted the beer...simply awesome. congratulations.
bobby

yes kay it is awesome that you resisted the beer.
super control, it is not worth it.
congratulations. THAT IS BIG!!!!!
bizi

My husband will usually only watch the Pat's games. He knew I wanted to watch the Broncos vs. the Steelers, but he was watching it while I was still sleeping. He let me watch more football last weekend, too. I think he's more tolerant because it's the play-offs.
I thought the Broncos would win and it wouldn't be as close of a game because of the Steelers' injuries. But they played well and the Broncos had a lot of dropped passes and all they could muster were field goals. I thought the Broncos were done until they got that turnover they took in for a touchdown.
I know my husband and I will be watching the Pats vs the Broncos on Sunday, but I want to watch the Panthers vs. the Cardinals, too. They're two awesome teams. Honestly, I think whichever team wins that game will probably win the Superbowl.
Brady's insane about how he takes care of his body and how he trains. He's putting up some of the best numbers of his career. I think he has a few great years left.


I'm even more tired than normal lately. The naps I'm forced to take most days because of the MS sometimes last over 3hrs and I'm having a hard time waking up from them, but they're not preventing me from sleeping at night. I am getting up earlier though… sometimes around 6am. I'm not depressed, so I don't really know what's going. Maybe it's the weather…

I don't understand why brady doesn't lose weight with his diet. I would think a football player would need more protein and less vegetables lol. I wonder if he takes creatine which is legal. He was crazy when he jumped feet first off the cliff in Costa Rica. It is on youtube. I don't know what to say about MS. I think it is horrible. You are dealing with it great.
that is interesting about your husband. I wonder if he is really interested in the playoffs. That is great if he is.
bobby

I got to see both those games. They were good.

I don't honestly think unless he is ready Manning will quit playing. Look
how he continued when he was a Colt. And this season wasn't worse
than that one for him.

I hope that the game is good. I'm a colt fan, so wont root for Patriots period.
But love good games. Just hoping its on a channel I can watch.
Ooh just realized I will have to have times. I'm going to be in Kokomo and can watch both. Yah.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

I am glad that you guys like football!
bizi

Another reason for me to be depressed - I've been a Bears fan since 1984:(:D

Dave.

I started to REALLY not feel well this morning. Turns out I took my nighttime meds by mistake this morning...
That's 1300 of seroquel in less than 12hrs (800mg max daily dose). I was having heart palpitations and things were fading to black. I don't know what time I passed out, but I slept until 4:30 and I'm still pretty out of it.
I have to be very, very careful not to do that again. It was scary, I felt awful, and I'm pretty sure it's dangerous to have that much seroquel in your system.

Donna, it's the playoffs so you'll be able to catch the games anywhere in the US.

Bobby, I'm sure Tom gets plenty of protein. He's got a lot of muscle, but it's lean muscle.

Dave, Are the Bears still an NFL team? Lol. You never know what's going to happen. We had a long wait in New England for the Pats and Sox to become successful. Your team can turn around :)

I am so sorry that happened to you. I hope you are feeling a lot better by tonite.

I ready that brady eats 80 percent vegetables and 20 % lean protein such as salmon. Maybe twenty percent is enough but salmon? no red meat lol
feel better
bobby

Kay,

The year after American Football became big over here and I chose The Bears - because of Walter Payton and then William 'The Refrigerator' Perry - they ruined their Super Bowl glory and cursed themselves for all the years since with this:

super bowl shuffle: http://youtu.be/nlHqolIyuXY

Dave.

Brady's food
 

Here is what Brady's chef said one year ago:

http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-diet-2015-1

That could mean that he gets his calories from lots of vegetable fats and oils like avocado and coconut and large amounts of quinoa and millet and whatever else he eats.

M

Dave,

That is hysterical and awful.:eek: :eek: :eek:

M

Kay

Should have explained unless its on CBS or ABC at home I can't get it.

So I miss lots of the games. I've been looking forward to super bowl this
year because its on CBS.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

lol. The always show clips of this on 80s recap shows, but I've never endured the full 6 minutes of it. The 80s certainly were a special time :)

I was surprised, but I was able to fall asleep last night despite sleeping most of the day. I was up at 6am again though.
I have a dermatologist's appointment at 1 and have to go to the supermarket when my husband gets home. I don't know if any of that's going to happen though, since I have no coffee in the house. Coffee's what makes the magic happen.

6 MONTHS SOBER TODAY!!! :):):)

Kay you are marvelous!
Congratulations on your 6 month anniversary!!!!!!!
You can feel proud of yourself!!!!
The most I have ever done is 165 days and that was a couple of years ago.
bizi

Kay,

Congrats on your six months! :You-Rock:


M

Kay,

6 months while working through all your stresses is a true achievement. Congratulations.

:trampoline::Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli::trampoline:

Dave.

Kay

Love the news 6 months is fantastic.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

Thank you all! :group hug:

I need coffee to function.
Yesterday No Coffee: I couldn't make it past 10 without canceling my appointment and going back to bed… "exhausted" isn't even the word. I slept until 2:30. I was dragging *** when my husband came to collect me to go food shopping around 3. Asleep by 9.

My MS is having more power over me lately as it is. I didn't need to be reminded yesterday what life's like without coffee, although I do have the occasional day like that with it.

I'm just so ****ing frustrated dealing with this fatigue all the time…

Kay

Sorry it ended up that way. I'm just curious do you take iron. I found
it helps my fatigue.

Donna :hug::grouphug:

yes kay you could be anemic, how is your vit d level?
bizi

Kay,

That is frustrating.

I hope you have good days.


M

I'm know I'm not anemic because the CBC with differential I had done a couple of weeks ago came back normal.
I've never taken iron. I may be deficient even if I'm not anemic. I'll ask my PCP about it.
The only vitamins I take are B12 and vitamin D (as D3). They're both usually low in MS patients and have to be supplemented. Both levels were normal.

This all fits the usual MS pattern. For some reason it's just worse for the time being.

I have an appointment with my neurologist next month, but there's no point in moving it up. There's nothing he can do. There are meds they use to treat MS fatigue, but they're all stimulants. I tried them years ago and they made me go nuts. I can't take them.

This is just a part of MS. For most people (including me) it's the worst symptom. I'm not really looking for answers. I'm just venting because I feel really ******.

vent away my dear!
sorry for your fatigue....
((((HUGS))))
bizi

I see my pdoc on Monday…

I'm on 750mg of Seroquel. 100mg in the am 650mg at night.
I know I need to be on 750mg…

I'm going to ask her if I can just change the way I take it- by moving 50mg to the night dose- to see if that will help with my fatigue.
I know that the timing of seroquel can be funny. Reducing the daytime dose may mean that the PTSD sx and/or the intrusive thoughts may come back, but I can always revert back to taking seroquel as I do now if they do. Reducing the seroquel during the day won't fix the problem, but it could help. I think it's worth a try.

I haven't been having much anxiety (I guess I'm too tired lol) so I haven't been taking klonopin most days. I haven't noticed a difference between the days I do and the days I don't. I think the coffee takes care of that.

Those are the only 2 meds that could be contributing to the fatigue. I haven't come up with any other aggravating factors yet.