Chrissy

[Guest guest]

Chrissy,

All in all the two short trips were great. Belize was FANTASTIC and I had no

panc.

problems whatsoever, just one heck of a scare the second night when in the

middle of the

night I hypoed and my BG fell to 32. Fortunately it woke me, and I shook my

husband

awake, but I was at the point of incomprehension, unable to speak and dumber

than a

nail. He figured out what was wrong pretty quickly for someone who'd been dead

asleep

only moments before, and handed me the testing strip, finger pricker and

glucometer,

loudly instructing me what to do, then immediately put glucose tabs in my mouth

and told

me to chew them up. I was stupidly fumbling for my insulin and needles the

whole

while.......absolutely the LAST thing I should have been doing!! Having that

low a hypo is

scary for the patient because we get so dumb that we don't know the right things

to do.

But that was the only glitch and by the next day all was well. Then on the

other trip to

Lake Placid, why I came down with an allergy attack and laryngitis in reaction

to the new

stuff blossoming in the town where I grew up unscathed by allergies for 17 years

was a

mystery. Guess I've got too much Southern blood in me now after being down here

for 25

years, it's all thinned out and can't tolerate those harsh Northern climes!

I'm so glad that you're feeling more like yourself except for your neck

problems. Can that

be fixed? Have you really been able to get off of all your meds? Gosh, that

would be

fantastic if so. Can you go to a chiropractor for the neck problems, or do you

have to have

some other type of treatments for it?

Don't worry about your weight, whether you lose or don't. Just worry about

being able to

eat well and eat the kinds of foods that will help you regain your strength and

stamina,

and to hoot with the rest. You don't want to get too skinny anyway, then you'd

be cold all

the time like I am, or have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Well, maybe

having

to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe isn't such a bad thing, but it sure is if

you hate to

shop for clothes like I do!!

COC is a great college. My daughter, was pre-med there, you know, and

she

loved the school. She made some great friends there with a really nice group of

young

men and women. She graduated on the President's honors list with all kinds of

commendations and even though she didn't go on to Med school, she was able to

start out

with a great salary in ton. I know that Auburn's a great school, too,

but maybe

just wants to be closer to home now and that's not such a bad thing. I

think her

decision shows that she's not just thinking about herself and at that age, that

shows a lot

of maturity......she'll do just fine, Mom.

Well, I've got to hit the sack, again. I'm still having the sweating problems

and was up this

time because of that. I slept until 11:00 a.m. this morning, anway, just beat

after working

out in the sun all day yesterday and coping with a sinus infection, to boot. I

had my GI

appointment this afternoon and all was well with that. They're doing another

ultrasound

in two weeks to check the status of my pseudocysts again, which I think, (knock

on wood)

are reducing, based on my pain levels. We'll see.

love,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

www.pancassociation.org/anthology.htm#Heidi

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI

Note: All information or advice is personal opinion only, and should not be

substituted for professional medical consultation.

[Guest guest]

Hello Chrissy,

Well, I'm not sure quite what to say.

Of course I'm sorry you have had to resign from a job you love. I

presume that is final? On the other hand, I think you will now be

able to concentrate on your recovery, either from the last operation

or with another one to come. Either way I think the rest will do you

good.

I don't know what your options are now? Pain management for your

present condition, possibly with stronger pain meds? The coeliac

block to give you at least some relief? Wait for the TP/ICT?

I know you are heartbroken about the job. I share that feeling about

my work. But at least now you'll be able to discuss with what

should happen next without any other considerations.

I think you will come to terms with the job situation. You may well

even improve now that you can rest as much as you want. I'm sure you

will find different work at another stage in your life when this

period of pain is behind you. Chrissy, I think you'll actually

improve without work hanging over you and making you feel you're not

getting better fast enough. I would have expected it to take up to a

year to get over that kind of surgery. Wait and see what happens

next.

And if you do need a TP?

My specialist told me that the TP does result in significant pain

relief, even if it isn't always 100% complete. He showed me the pain

meds graph in the article he wrote last year in the British journal

of surgery (forgotten its proper title, I'm afraid!) about the TP as

done in Liverpool for end-stage pancreatitis. (I'm not sure how this

equates to your situation?) Most patients have " intractable " pain by

the time the op is undertaken although, as you know, a tiny number

have been done here as a protection against cancer in cases of

hereditary pancreatitis. In every case, as shown in his graph, no

matter what patients are taking before the operation, the dose goes

down significantly afterwards, in many cases no pain meds being

needed at all. The results do seem VERY encouraging. I know Dr

Sutherland has had some outstanding results with a similar, although

not identical, operation.

I know now is not really the time to talk about possible future

surgery but I want you to stay hopeful.

For now, you're coming to terms with the work situation. I'm so

sorry. I hate the thought of leaving my job so I do know how you

feel. I know that at my age, I'd never go back if I were to have

surgery. But you could, Chrissy. Think about Sue. Everything hasn't

been perfect but she's just had a great holiday in Greece and is

nursing also. I think you need to take a couple of years just for

you and your health. There will always be patients to nurse and you

will be there for them when you are feeling well yourself. For now,

have your cry; I know you will grieve and you need to. That's quite

inevitable and natural. But then Chrissy, think about YOU. You

deserve 100% of your time now!

Hopefully things will go much better now but, if you do need to

think about the TP, keep up all your optimism and hope for the

future! It will be there waiting for you when this time of trial is

over.

With love,

Fliss (UK)