I also hope that you have good news soon. You must be very frightened. Is there a counselor or someone you can talk to about what you are going through?

Susanne,
Yes, I am scared. Also, for the past 4 months, my blood sugar has been going up: July/106; Aug/116 with fasting; Oct/126; Nov/126 (without fasting). I am surprised with these results because I have not changed my diet except that I add a little more calories because having MAC requires me to gain weight. I remember when I had my 2-hour glucose test early this year, Mrs.D mentioned that my 2nd hour result was almost reactive hypo. I am scared because my body seems to be not working well.

Is the counselor same as a psychiatrist?

Thanks Susanne for your reply.

echoes,
Me too - I hope very soon.

Thank you and I hope you are doing fine. So, you have now your current back?

Mary

yes its back and im catching up on everything i fell behind on.
i am suppossed to get a cat scan in the same hospital where i have been getting them 4 times already now in past years. the hospital got flooded and their testing equipment is ruined. millions of dollars in damages for them. the equipment was in the basement and first floor one half block from the east river. everyone i worked with was sent there to do the cat scans pft's, methyl choline challenge test,etc. so that it was done on the same testing equipment for research purposes but i guess that might be out the window now.

below is a flooded subway station to get an idea

Attached Thumbnails

 

I hope you find another hospital where you can have your tests.

I have a friend who lives in New Jersey. Their house was not affective by floods but they had no current for weeks. Her 2 month old baby was cold and she could not boil water for the milk. They had to be temporily moved to a rrelative in Philadelphia. Her husband could not go home for several days as he was stranded in New york.

The picture says it all....

A counselor can be the same as a psychiatrist, but that wasn't exactly what I meant. A psychologist, or priest, or just someone who is a friend and very good listener, who doesn't feel compelled to fix every problem (because they can't) but who can really be with you and support you in your grief.
What you are going through- a potentially deadly illness compounded by a painful neuropathic condition, is too much to handle on your own.

My husband is my only real confidant, and frankly he isn't too good at it sometimes. Men always want to either fix things or ignore them. This is okay because my condition is painful and progressive, but I am not in any danger. I probably should see a psychologist to help me cope with the losses and anxiety about the future, instead of expecting so much from him.

In your case I think it is much more urgent that you have someone to help you deal with the fear and grieving over the loss of control you are experiencing over your life. Even with scary diseases like cancer there is a ritual for it, support groups, a treatment protocol that everyone is somewhat familiar with, but what you have is rare and people just cannot know how lonely and frightening it is in the same way they would react to someone with cancer.

Just a wordy way of asking, do you feel heard and understood in your current situation, or would it be wise to talk to someone trained in grief counseling? If I were you I would feel scared and frustrated and need to vent.

I know the feeling about being scared. I keep developing new symptoms too--my most recent being a kind of severe carpal tunnel syndrome. I have to wear braces on my wrists at night so my hands don't go numb. This too is a symptom of many things I'm being tested for. Carpal tunnel is quite common now with computers being so widespread and drugstores sell lots of wrist braces if anyone else has this problem. But my computer use and wrist usage has not increased lately. I'm pretty sure it's another neurological symptom as my hands are also tingling on and off during the day as well now.

I had severe carpal tunnel when my thyroid was low.
(many years ago).

I find today when I have some numbness that a Salonpas patch on the inner wrist (where the tunnel is) will take down inflammation quickly for me. In a day or two. I only have minor flares...playing Bejeweled typically sets me off. But Angry birds do not. Normal computer use does not bother me at all. Gardening or twisting the wrist and hand sewing alot seems to bother me. I had to give up crochet and needlework. Magnesium lotion at night on the inner arms also
helps me quite a bit.

I sometimes still wear my braces at night, but then only very occasionally. Sometimes not even once a month. It depends on my activity level.

Many people mention magnesium lotion. I've never heard of it. Is that a health food store product? I'm making a list here for my shopping trip:

From Health food store:

Marshmallow root tea (for my Interstitial Cystitis)
Organic Apple Cider and Raw Almondsfor my GERD
Magnesium Lotion? from here too?

From Drugstore:

Salonpas patch or other Salycilate patch if not available.
I wonder where I can get Biofreeze for my feet?

Amazon has biofreeze and so does iherb.com

The lotion is called Epsom-IT. The body lotion does not have fragrance but the foot one does. They seem to have the same ingredients otherwise.

I am using CVS Epsom lotion, which they discontinued because of lack of interest. I bought 3 that they had left however, so I am set for quite a while. An 8oz bottle lasts me a long time.

Prices vary from this:
http://www.westmedics.com/search.php...tring=epsom+it
Looks like they might ship out of US too.

and also more expensive on Amazon.

I like the lotion the best. Oral seems to loosen me up too much.
I have a sensitive GI tract.

I apply on my inner arms where the skin is the thinnest. I sleep very well when I do that at night.