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The Good News Thread

MamaBee

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
14,480
Gary gets his cataract op tomorrow
he has some unusal kind of cataract and its been a long dark journey for him caused by prolonged steriod eye drop use and hopefully the surgeon can also fix the original problem too where his eyes don't dilate due to an infection from his sarcadosis

the other eye needs done too but its going to be a harder and may require a trip to Wellington

So hopefully in a few days i won't have to be sitting here in the dark because the brightness won't hurt him any more

I’m late to read this @Daisys and Diamonds..I hope his operation went well…
 

Redwoods-hiker-girl

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
663
Absolutely bursting with happiness and excitement today, we got notified yesterday evening of the date for our interview at the US Embassy in London. It’s been a long wait, but hopefully not too much longer before we can join our son and daughter in law, and start the next phase of our lives.

It was topped off this morning with news that there’s progress on the house we’re buying, they’ve scraped the lot and started boarding ready for pouring the slab.

That sounds very exciting, @Austina! Good luck on the interview.
 

Daisys and Diamonds

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Apr 30, 2019
Messages
22,521
I dont know where to put this
the devastation is Tennessee is hardly good news
but with the lockdown and delta i have seen nothing of the floods on tv here

but i did just read this
 

Aerielle Max

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 12, 2017
Messages
116
I dont know where to put this
the devastation is Tennessee is hardly good news
but with the lockdown and delta i have seen nothing of the floods on tv here

but i did just read this

Good to know there are still people who are willing to help despite of danger. I hope many would be inspired because of this good news! My prayers are on them.
 

beatricecrummles

Rough_Rock
Joined
Mar 25, 2020
Messages
44
Congratulations @Austina for your approved visa! You son and daughter in law must be happy and excited to see you!
 

Austina

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 24, 2017
Messages
7,555
Thank you @beatricecrummles, it’s been a long time, but hopefully we’ll be relocating soon.
 

MaisOuiMadame

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,451
My sister's myocarditis looks MUCH improved according to her cardiologist!! Yay!!! MRI done to exclude any possible congenital deformation etc and that came back clear.
He said she's "rapidly" recovering and will have to take meds , but still woohoo
 

MamaBee

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
14,480
My sister's myocarditis looks MUCH improved according to her cardiologist!! Yay!!! MRI done to exclude any possible congenital deformation etc and that came back clear.
He said she's "rapidly" recovering and will have to take meds , but still woohoo

That’s such wonderful news @kipari!!!
 

canuk-gal

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
25,649
My sister's myocarditis looks MUCH improved according to her cardiologist!! Yay!!! MRI done to exclude any possible congenital deformation etc and that came back clear.
He said she's "rapidly" recovering and will have to take meds , but still woohoo

+ a billion woohoos! May she continue to improve and this soon be a distant memory. Healing vibes across the km's....
 

MaisOuiMadame

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
3,451
Thank you so much @canuk-gal and @MamaBee . I am so relieved!

I hope all is well die you too

(my friends and I find there's a LOT of horrible news being thrown at us atm - this positive development was such a big deal for me!!)
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,841
Our oldest son, who just started high school this year, just won tickets to the UConn vs Yale football game tomorrow! He won for perfect attendance, which is funny because they have only been in school since Sept 10! There are some years he has perfect attendance the whole year, so one month is like nothing for him :lol:

He is a HUGE football fan and has never actually been to a game so he is super excited, so happy for him =)2
 

MamaBee

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
14,480
Our oldest son, who just started high school this year, just won tickets to the UConn vs Yale football game tomorrow! He won for perfect attendance, which is funny because they have only been in school since Sept 10! There are some years he has perfect attendance the whole year, so one month is like nothing for him :lol:

He is a HUGE football fan and has never actually been to a game so he is super excited, so happy for him =)2

Wow! I hope it’s a fun game for him!
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,841
Wow! I hope it’s a fun game for him!

Thanks! He will just be thrilled to see a football game up close and personal. He doesn’t typically follow college football but I bet he will be routing for UConn.
 

stracci2000

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
8,346
Our oldest son, who just started high school this year, just won tickets to the UConn vs Yale football game tomorrow! He won for perfect attendance, which is funny because they have only been in school since Sept 10! There are some years he has perfect attendance the whole year, so one month is like nothing for him :lol:

He is a HUGE football fan and has never actually been to a game so he is super excited, so happy for him =)2

This is great! I'm sure you are so proud of him!
While I am not a football fan, I have been to a few pro games myself. Seeing anything in person is much more exciting than watching on TV!
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,841
This is great! I'm sure you are so proud of him!
While I am not a football fan, I have been to a few pro games myself. Seeing anything in person is much more exciting than watching on TV!

He is a huge NY Giants fan so at some point we will have to get him to one of their games but they are $$$
 

MamaBee

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
14,480
He is a huge NY Giants fan so at some point we will have to get him to one of their games but they are $$$

My oldest son is also a huge Giants fan..I don’t remember if he ever went to a game. I’ll have to ask him..If the tickets cost a lot probably not. He’s cheap! :lol:
 

YadaYadaYada

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Feb 2, 2016
Messages
11,841
My oldest son is also a huge Giants fan..I don’t remember if he ever went to a game. I’ll have to ask him..If the tickets cost a lot probably not. He’s cheap! :lol:

My husband wants all four of us to go to a Giants’s game to the tune of $1200 and that’s cheap since they are doing lousy this season!

I told him maybe for son’s 16th birthday ;-)
 

elle_71125

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,194
I will!! This was 2 weeks ago..I hope the cats don't use him as a rug lol. IMG_9314.jpg

Oh my goodness! Cuteness overload. I swear I can smell that “new puppy smell” from here. :kiss2:
 

seaurchin

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
Messages
3,541
Just realized I would probably eat far more fresh produce if I could eat it lying down on the couch while on the computer, watching TV or reading so I am now eating salad with my fingers. Will cut into finger food size in the future. Omg breakthrough!
 

missy

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jun 8, 2008
Messages
53,986
OK so this is a big one. It is going to be a long explanation of my happy news so if you don't feel like reading it skip to the end.

I have had elevated PTH (parathyroid hormone) for the past three plus years. This means my parathryoids are working too hard and causing damage throughout my body.

I saw many top specialists (and many during Covid which was challenging in its own right) and all they could do is say yeah, that isn't good, but you don't have hyperparathyroidism (which was always a relief to hear as hyperparathyroidism is not a good disease to have) but we don't know how to help you. Having a high PTH is bad and causes bone loss among many other issues. All bad. So here I was stuck. No doctor could help me and they all insisted no, I dont have hyperparathyroidism and not even secondary which in my gut I felt/I knew I had.

So while in my gut I just knew something was wrong I couldn't find a specialist to help me. I had been searching for 3 plus years knowing something was wrong but no doctor nor specialist could figure it out. I belong to a few medical groups and one of the members there after hearing my experiences suggested a doctor for me to see. A top parathyroid specialist who is young and very smart. This parathyroid specialist is in Arizona and because she is not licensed here could not take my insurance nor submit to my insurance company and the fee for consult was quite expensive. But Greg said do it. He said it was worth it if she could even potentially help. So despite balking at her fee (I mean it would buy such a lovely piece of bling lol) I made a telemedicine appointment with her last month. Turned out it was just a phone call (I was expecting telemedicine as she said) but she had gone through all my medical rerecords and findings very thoroughly from the past 3 plus years. And she was quite sure that I had one of two things.

She felt I either had:
1. Primary hyperparathyroidism (requiring surgery if I did)
or
2. A Calcium deficiency despite taking calcium supplements (500 mg daily) and eating lots of food that contain calcium on a daily basis.
She said for some reason I might not be absorbing what I am eating or taking in supplements.

So as an experiment she had me start taking 1000 mg of Calcium in a chewable tablet to absorb it better (no easy feat as Ca has to be separated from my thyroid meds by 4 hours and I take thyroid meds three times a day). And one can only absorb a max of 500 mg Ca at a time. So it must be taken multiple times a day.

She said after a month to retest and if the PTH goes down it's the calcium and if it doesn't I need surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. She was quite firm it was either primary hyperparathyroidism necessitating surgery or I am not absorbing Calcium and have a deficiency. This would make my parathyroids work really hard to get Calcium (from my bones which we do not want to happen).

Of course I was anxious because Greg had hyperparathyroidism as did a sister of a good friend of mine and that ultimately killed her-a very sad situation since hyperparathyroidism is treatable if diagnosed but it can be challenging to diagnose. Greg's surgery was a tough one (and not to make this any longer but I diagnosed him and not our endocrinologist or other specialists despite me saying yes Greg has this disease I know it and they kept saying no he does not have it...guess what I was right and they were wrong but I digress). I did not look forward to the potential of needing surgery to remove one or more of my parathyroids especially during Covid. Plus if one has this disease it could be in all the parathyroid glands and if that is the case life becomes very tough as you need to take Calcium literally around the clock. One cannot live without all their parathyroid glands without supplementing all 24 hours a day including middle of the night. So yeah I was nervous.

The month was up and I got lab work done to evaluate.
The great news is my PTH went down (woohoo!) confirming I *probably* have secondary not primary hyperparathyroidism. BUT since the PTH is still high (though high normal) the parathyroid specialist now wants me to take 1500 mg Ca a day which means at least three times a day since we can only absorb max 500 mg at a time. She wants that PTH lower to make sure it is secondary. Problem is there are not enough hours for me in the day as I take thyroid hormone three times a day and it must be separated by 4 hours from Ca and vice versa. It is a problem but I will do the best I can and am just so grateful it probably is not primary requiring surgery. And I cannot believe after going to so many top specialists no one could figure it out but this doctor figured it out right away.

The lesson here is NEVER give up. If you feel something is wrong listen to your body and keep searching for answers and for the help you need.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share the background so you could get why I am so relieved.
It has been (as it has been for many) a very stressful few years. But through it all I remain grateful for all the good in my life.

Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone. It is an appropriate week to feel so grateful and I do, I really do. Very grateful and appreciative and thankful for all the wonderful people in my life including PSers.


Leaving you with a photo from yesterday during our hike. What a beautiful world this can be.

Screen Shot 2021-11-24 at 6.19.10 AM.png
 

MamaBee

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 31, 2018
Messages
14,480
OK so this is a big one. It is going to be a long explanation of my happy news so if you don't feel like reading it skip to the end.

I have had elevated PTH (parathyroid hormone) for the past three plus years. This means my parathryoids are working too hard and causing damage throughout my body.

I saw many top specialists (and many during Covid which was challenging in its own right) and all they could do is say yeah, that isn't good, but you don't have hyperparathyroidism (which was always a relief to hear as hyperparathyroidism is not a good disease to have) but we don't know how to help you. Having a high PTH is bad and causes bone loss among many other issues. All bad. So here I was stuck. No doctor could help me and they all insisted no, I dont have hyperparathyroidism and not even secondary which in my gut I felt/I knew I had.

So while in my gut I just knew something was wrong I couldn't find a specialist to help me. I had been searching for 3 plus years knowing something was wrong but no doctor nor specialist could figure it out. I belong to a few medical groups and one of the members there after hearing my experiences suggested a doctor for me to see. A top parathyroid specialist who is young and very smart. This parathyroid specialist is in Arizona and because she is not licensed here could not take my insurance nor submit to my insurance company and the fee for consult was quite expensive. But Greg said do it. He said it was worth it if she could even potentially help. So despite balking at her fee (I mean it would buy such a lovely piece of bling lol) I made a telemedicine appointment with her last month. Turned out it was just a phone call (I was expecting telemedicine as she said) but she had gone through all my medical rerecords and findings very thoroughly from the past 3 plus years. And she was quite sure that I had one of two things.

She felt I either had:
1. Primary hyperparathyroidism (requiring surgery if I did)
or
2. A Calcium deficiency despite taking calcium supplements (500 mg daily) and eating lots of food that contain calcium on a daily basis.
She said for some reason I might not be absorbing what I am eating or taking in supplements.

So as an experiment she had me start taking 1000 mg of Calcium in a chewable tablet to absorb it better (no easy feat as Ca has to be separated from my thyroid meds by 4 hours and I take thyroid meds three times a day). And one can only absorb a max of 500 mg Ca at a time. So it must be taken multiple times a day.

She said after a month to retest and if the PTH goes down it's the calcium and if it doesn't I need surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. She was quite firm it was either primary hyperparathyroidism necessitating surgery or I am not absorbing Calcium and have a deficiency. This would make my parathyroids work really hard to get Calcium (from my bones which we do not want to happen).

Of course I was anxious because Greg had hyperparathyroidism as did a sister of a good friend of mine and that ultimately killed her-a very sad situation since hyperparathyroidism is treatable if diagnosed but it can be challenging to diagnose. Greg's surgery was a tough one (and not to make this any longer but I diagnosed him and not our endocrinologist or other specialists despite me saying yes Greg has this disease I know it and they kept saying no he does not have it...guess what I was right and they were wrong but I digress). I did not look forward to the potential of needing surgery to remove one or more of my parathyroids especially during Covid. Plus if one has this disease it could be in all the parathyroid glands and if that is the case life becomes very tough as you need to take Calcium literally around the clock. One cannot live without all their parathyroid glands without supplementing all 24 hours a day including middle of the night. So yeah I was nervous.

The month was up and I got lab work done to evaluate.
The great news is my PTH went down (woohoo!) confirming I *probably* have secondary not primary hyperparathyroidism. BUT since the PTH is still high (though high normal) the parathyroid specialist now wants me to take 1500 mg Ca a day which means at least three times a day since we can only absorb max 500 mg at a time. She wants that PTH lower to make sure it is secondary. Problem is there are not enough hours for me in the day as I take thyroid hormone three times a day and it must be separated by 4 hours from Ca and vice versa. It is a problem but I will do the best I can and am just so grateful it probably is not primary requiring surgery. And I cannot believe after going to so many top specialists no one could figure it out but this doctor figured it out right away.

The lesson here is NEVER give up. If you feel something is wrong listen to your body and keep searching for answers and for the help you need.

Sorry for the long post but I wanted to share the background so you could get why I am so relieved.
It has been (as it has been for many) a very stressful few years. But through it all I remain grateful for all the good in my life.

Thanks for reading and happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone. It is an appropriate week to feel so grateful and I do, I really do. Very grateful and appreciative and thankful for all the wonderful people in my life including PSers.


Leaving you with a photo from yesterday during our hike. What a beautiful world this can be.

Screen Shot 2021-11-24 at 6.19.10 AM.png

@missy I’m so happy for you! You needed to hear some good news for a long time! Happy Thanksgiving! ❤️
 
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