R.I.P. Sigmund

Say hello to my little friend, "Sigmund". The doctor who performed my colonoscopy yesterday removed him from my sigmoid colon. He is most likely a benign tumor although we won't know for sure until the pathology report comes back in a week or two. However, the doc wasn't concerned and neither am I.

The photo is a little confusing (at least for me) so I will try to make it more clear: Sigmund was a growth that was an inch in diameter and attached to my colon wall by a long stalk like a wad of bubblegum that has succumbed to gravity. Gross, I know. As "stuff" moved through my colon, it would pull Sig down which would pull on the colon wall creating pain.

Sigmund has caused me A LOT of pain over the last year or two so I am happy to see him go. It still hurts pretty bad but will go away once it heals. We don't know how long he's been taking up residence in my bowels but from the size of him, probably a while. We also don't know why he didn't show up on my CAT scan in November. When they found him yesterday, it was the first time I knew for sure I wasn't imagining my pain so I am quite pleased with my brain for being true to me. I feel like showing the photos to everyone (even the mailman) and saying "See, I'm not a crazy hypochondriac after all!"

There has also been a major development with another long-time health issue. I finally had an MRI of my back and the docs recommend a one level spinal fusion to fix a dessicated disk that is causing spurring of the vertebrae. What the...??? Basically my jelly-donut-like disk has no more jelly to cushion the bones so it hurts really bad. The docs I've seen for this so far agree that I've done what could be done. I've had every treatment and therapy available - traditional and alternative - and the only options left are surgery or suffering. As far as spinal surgery goes, a single fusion is a piece of cake. I have an appointment with my new neurosurgeon on the 15th and we'll take it from there...

Oh yeah, migraines. I've been getting so many migraines I lost count at 11 in March in alone. Probably more than 30 so far this year! The good news is that the increase is probably due to physical and emotional stress and now that the we're dealing the stressors, the migraines will most likely go back down to a manageable number.

I'm actually EXTREMELY happy with all these new developments. Seriously, I feel a weight lifted off my shoulders because after years of worsening pain it's such a relief to have some answers. I think the relief is in direct opposite proportion to the time passed looking for answers. Wow, I think I just blew my own mind.

I know that in every post I promise to be more vigilant in keeping my blog current. Well I won't say that again because I know I won't keep it current and I just need to accept that. I'll write when I write, period. Anyway, if I had been blogging daily it would have gone like this:

March 3-
Woke with a migraine. I feel like crap. My back hurts. My gut hurts. I'm depressed

March 7-
Woke with a migraine. I feel like crap. My back hurts. My gut hurts. I'm depressed.

March 11-
I had another car accident. (Just kidding!)

Not that much fun to read, right? Yes, I could write about things OTHER than me me me but it's been difficult to even think about anything else.

Thanks everyone, for the love, prayers and good energy that you've sent to me. For those of you who have been concerned about me, now you can stop worrying.

It's all good :-)

Happy Spring!