I'm Finally Back... And A Medical Update.

Well, I made it back home.

Sunday evening, as a matter fact, but I've got a lot of medical stuff going on, so I haven't been able to take the time to write even the quickest of posts.

I've missed y'all!!

Before I get into the nasty medical stuff, 

for those of y'all who missed it...

Miss Natalie Paige arrived safe and sound via C-Section on Thursday, May 23 at 8:17 am weighing a healthy 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.

Needless to say it was love at first sight for this grandma!  

Or as I am now called... Meme.  ;)

Momma and Miss Talie (My nickname for her) did great and Savanna recovered beautifully from her surgery.  

She was such a trooper!

I may have had 6 children, but I've never endured a C-Section, 

so hats off to all y'all who have!  

From the pictures the anesthesiologist took for us in the operating room, it doesn't look like something I could handle.

But, Savanna was very brave 

and brought our sweet baby girl to meet us.

Miss Talie is turning into such a pretty baby - and what a head of hair!

Of course, I might be a little biased.

;)

It was definitely hard to drive away from my girls 

on Saturday morning.

But, I made sure to take lots of pictures, 

plus pictures that mean "Home" to me, 

so whenever I get a little homesick I have these to look at:

The only building left on my Great-Great-Aunt Carrie's property. 

(The same aunt who's mantle is my dining room.)

Sitting on the bench swing on her property 

and looking up through the branches of an ancient Sycamore tree.

And of course, tons of pictures of my favorite part of home...

Looking from Fort Macon toward the NC State Port 

at the entrance to Bogue Sound:

A green Channel marker...

A sandy path to the beach...

And driftwood.

*Sigh*

Just looking at it now, makes me miss it.

:(

I thought I would I have plenty of time to enjoy our new baby girl, as well as plenty of days at the beach.

Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be.

This is where we get to the yucky medical stuff.

If you follow me on Facebook, one of the few posts I made was about my trip to the ER via ambulance on the last Friday in May.

Feeling like I was about to pass out...

High blood pressure...

Rapid Respirations...

And an elevated heart rate.

Honestly, I thought I was going to die.

Horrible, awful, no good feeling.

Thankfully, after running an EKG, the folks in the ER determined what I had had was one heck of an anxiety attack.

And of course, I got prescribed Xanax.

Now, let me tell you...

I am an ANTI-pill person.

I only take Motrin if I'm desperate, so, forgive the pun, it was a hard pill to swallow.

You know...

Taking a pill three times a day.

A RX, that by the way, the doctor only order 4 days of.

I managed to stretch the pills to a week, thinking that I would be able to wean myself off and it was just a freak, one-time thing.

No such luck.

The attacks increased and I needed to get home to see my doctor here.

Through the grace of God, I managed to make the entire trip home by myself with Noah, with NOT ONE episode.

Praise the Lord!

Monday, I was able to see my doctor here, who ordered a battery of tests because there was just one concern...  I only have them when I'm RELAXED.

Yeah...

Go figure that one.

We altered my RX a little, 

dropped the dosage on the Xanax and added Celexa.

Started monitoring my sugar with a glucometer.

Sugar levels throughout the day were all fine, 

but I still didn't feel "right".

Tuesday morning, I woke up still feeling "off".

All day was pretty much one episode after the other, 

with Ian having to talk me through a few.

Called the DR...  

Doubled the dose of the Xanax and felt myself even out.

I thought we had fixed the issue, but bedtime was a different story.

Even though I had the doubled dose of Xanax in my system, every single time I would start to drift off, I would feel that same tingling, hot/cold, OMGosh I'm going to pass out feeling.  

This went on until 4 am, when I finally woke Scott up in tears.

How he had slept through me bolting straight up in bed 

a gazillion times, I have no idea.

It wasn't that I wasn't tired.

in fact, I was exhausted.

But the minute I started to drift off, 

I would get that horrible passing out feeling.

Finally, he told me to lay down beside him.  

He wrapped his arms around me and promised me 

he would watch until I fell asleep 

and he wouldn't let me stop breathing.

THAT was how I fell asleep, sometime around 5 am.

Needless to say, I called the doctor first thing Wednesday morning, scared out of my wits.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!

How can a person go from being completely fine, 

to a complete basket case in a matter of week.

And...

I was angry.

Why now?

Why me?

But, then I thought...

Why not now?

Why not me?

And then...

There are worse things.

Yes...

There are worse things.

So, I went to the doctor who told me all my tests had come back fine...

Thyroid

Iron

Blah, blah, blah.

Then he witnessed me having 4 in a period of an hour.

The last one, he managed to get a BP cuff on me.

Blood pressure up.

Pulse rate slightly up.

Respirations low.

GAH!

But, at least he got to see it and I'm not just crazy.

So, for now...

#1  I'm still being treated for anxiety 

(although why I get them when I'm relaxed, I have no idea - 

watching TV, on the computer, reading a book, falling asleep).  

They changed my meds - upped my Xanax,
got rid of the Celexa and went with Zoloft.

I am still having small episodes since the med change, 

but nothing that is interfering with life in general 

or keeping me from sleeping.

Mainly, I'm just tired.

I think I'm just pretty much exhausted 

from the worry and stress of it all.

I feel like I could sleep for days.

The house is a wreck and for once...

I simply don't care.

Or maybe that's just the drugs.

LOL!

(Hey, gotta find the humor in it or I would probably start crying.)

#2  I've just gotten through with a 24 hour urinalysis.

Why?

To check for a Pheochromocytoma (Feo-Chromo-Si-Toh-Mah), 

which is a tumor that can grow on the adrenal glands, 

that sit right on top of the kidneys.

These tumors (10% of which are cancerous) 

cause the adrenal glands to release huge amounts of adrenalin, 

which can be misinterpreted as a panic attack because it triggers 

your body's "Fight or Flight" mechanism.

In a REALLY BIG way.

And once my Dr. said that, I thought, 

"Yep.  That's exactly how I feel."

BUT...

I have high hopes that this will be discounted, as well.  

I have great blood pressure and always have, 

and one of the main signs is super high blood pressure 

- although my BP does elevate during my "Episodes".

I suppose if I had to choose between the two, 

I rather be treated for anxiety.

So, that's where I'm at right now.

I had high hopes of coming back and being raring to go on new projects 

after my little break, but instead I find myself just 

taking one day at a time.

And since I've been not doing much but going to the doctor all week 

and dumping my urine into a huge jug that for the moment 

resides in my refrigerator next to a gallon of milk...

EW. 

(which I filled to the brim with 3 1/2 hours to go and had to go get another one - Yay!  I win the contest for the most pee-pee ever!)

DOUBLE EW. 

I haven't done much of anything.

But, at least I have this to look forward to every day...

Facetiming with Natalie...

Who, amazingly enough, will stop fussing and turn and look for me.

It's not the same as having her in my arms, but it's better than nothing.

Sometimes, technology can be a good thing!

:)

Speaking of technology...

Here's a video I made for Savanna of her pregnancy and Natalie's birth.

Hope you'll take time to take a peek at our newest addition.

:)