Judy, they may be just asking so you'll have a good time. Just tell them your happy hanging out with them and taking it easy after the big move.

hi guys,

i'm back from my trip. it was really great to see and visit with my big family.
and my clearwater cousins came too. the sat and sun lunches for my aunt were very lovely. then we just visited the next few days and went out for meals. yum for lox and bagels.

however, it was great to get home. i had to change planes which made for a long day. now i can get back to unpacking the rest of the house and better organizing things.

the next thing to look forward to is that cathy and her sister patricia are coming for a visit to check out their new house around the middle of june. i'd really like to have the house where i want it and host a great dinner.

hope you all are ok and doing well.

hi guys,

just checking in. busy-ness con'ts. finding a lot of new docs and making appts.
due for my annual mammo. as usual i can't wait for the all clear. i saw my new neuro this am. seems like he's knowledgeable enuf. he's board certified and has a Ph.D. but i don't know what in. neuro was stable.

however, he didn't like the way my cervical disc looked and thinks it may be contributing to my leg problems. he's sending me to a neurosurgeon here for a surgical opinion.

the "bug man" came today. i found 1 spider too many and just need to feel comfortable in my house. it really creeps me out to find bugs crawling my my house. and, some wasps were trying to make a nest outside. ewwwww

cathy and patricia come in 6/12 so we're all getting very excited to see them. it will be so nice to have them so close and will let us know how nice it will really be to have them here for good.

hope you're all ok. thinking of everyone.

hello troops,

i seem to be almost back to square 1 with my back (lumbar). whenever i do anything that involves a lot of standing or bending i can't stand the pain. it builds up til i have to sit down.

my hand tremors are bad at times. i have to keep my hand off the mouse or my hand jerks around. thankfully i can still type. my handwriting is worse. and when i brush my teeth i jerk the toothbrush around.

nisht pershert. that's hebrew for what will be will be; i think.

i saw the pain/rehab dr and he did another emg on my hands/arms. left hand.
so, 1/3 of the problem is from the MS; 1/3 from some residual carpal tunnel (even after my surgery), and 1/3 from my cervical disc. carp.

so phooey with all that. i still do what i can. and naps really help me feel better able to carry on with physical things.

cathy will be here any minute. i am going to have a great week. we'll all be together. we're going to dinner tonite too. that'll make 6 of us. did i say i'm so excited?

the house is looking great.
take care everyone. hope you're all doing well.

Judy, have you asked your doctor about zanax for the hand tremors? Jim is on two a day and they keep the tremors down 100%. Sorry to hear your back is giving you trouble again.

hi guys,

well, cathy and patricia came for a wk and boy did it go by fast.
they're coming back and will be moving a lot of things then. then they go
back "home" and will do painting etc. i know they want to be here before the winter sets in, certainly by Thanksgiving.

i'm doing ok. i'm busy being sent to all new drs. i still have muscle and foot pain but it's manageable and i know my limits.

hope you're all ok.

did i mention that i saw my new neurologist?
he didn't like the looks of my c-spine mri and referred me to an orthopod.
i saw him last wk and he wanted a new mri as mine was a yr old.

i knew i had cord compression but seeing it on the films was enuf to make my heart jump a beat. i am getting hand sx's and he said that it could also be affecting my legs. so hard to tell with the MS.

i went for the mri fri and see him on thurs to hear his assessment.
i really don't want any surgeries but cord compression isn't good either.
i'll let you know.

the assessment plods on. the ortho dr thinks my cord compression is moderate instead of slight (but, he IS a surgeon after all). my neck is starting to hurt and i'm noticing sx's in my Lt arm and hand.

he's going to talk to the radiologist who read the film. and, i'm going back to the new neuro to get his take on it. at least he's going for other opinions.
i have a feeling that i'm going to end up doing it. increasing sx's from cord compression isn't something i want to fool around with.

hope you're all doing fine.
sox, how's the wt?
sandy, how are you? how's jim? how's your mom?

oh, i also meant to add this.
i went to see my new oncologist and she told me that the AD i'm on makes the tamoxifen less effective.

i had read this article on Medscape and didn't see my med mentioned so i didn't think anything about it. then, she told me and so i changed to a new one.

the deal is that some meds in different categories (AD's, pain meds, antipsychotics etc) interfere with the metabolism of tamoxifen rendering it less effective in preventing breast CA recurrences.

i'm glad i found out since none of all my previous drs picked up on this.

Judy, mom is not so good. She went back to TN because she hated it up here. Since then she's suffered several seizures, is down to 101lbs and ornery as ever. I don't know how much more my sister can take trying to raise three kids, a husband and mom complaining all the time. She just isn't happy and her dementia is getting worse with each seizure. She swatted at my sister the other day and is on her constantly. I truly think it may be time to look into mom being in a more structured environment because she just cannot live with anyone.

She's always been independent and after all these years relying on others she still hasn't accepted her disability. The neuro is going to evaluate her next month for dementia, alzheimers and a possible medication link. She is not happy we asked about her having the testing. We need to know what we're dealing with in order to make a more informed decision. Personally? I think she simply needs a medication to calm her nerves. Everyday life is hard for her and if anything happens that isn't in the norm she freaks out for days. Her doctors all agree that she may need a structured environment where the schedule never changes. I hate this. I'll update more on that when I know something.

Jim is doing well and has lost a lot of weight. The neuro is concerned and said he cannot lose anymore. He is now down to 168lbs. He's eating so that's good. He was only 145lbs when I met him so who knows. I've been pushing vitamin enriched chocolate milk, puddings and fruit on him so he wont lose anymore. He eats one really good meal a day, always has, and nibbles throughout the day. But all his blood work is good, his heart is good, his liver is good, so they aren't too worried yet.

Most people who see him ask me if he OK because of the weight loss and I tell them as far as we know he is. Then they say how young and great he looks. Guess they want to be sure he isn't sick or something and throw in the "you look so good" comment first?

Glad your neuro is being proactive and your oncologist was on the ball about that med! Wow. Did you ask the neuro about trying zanax for your tremors? Or do they want to be sure it isn't related to the compression first?