"Heirloom chicken parmesan" made me think of an ossified cutlet wrapped in plastic that has been handed down for generations :>)
Saef, I know your weight isn't where you'd like it to be, but I find it interesting to note that so often, your weight tracks your mood. Of course, it could be a feedback thing (your mood reflects what you saw on the scale that morning), but frequently, I will note a change in the tone of your post the day or two before your weight drops. And vice-versa. If you're like me, stress and lots of work make you hungrier, and crave carbs. I note an increased need to eat (and correspondingly larger portion sizes) when I have a hard day at work.
As for me, my weight popped up over 2 days from a low of 125.8 to its current 128.4 and has stayed parked at that level for 3 days running. Since I have NOT overeaten (to my knowledge), or snacked at night, the only thing different from China is my work-stress and much less walking since I'm now back at a desk job. That may be all it takes though, to tip my metabolic balance back into gain mode from loss. Which would suck, since I cannot walk for 4 hours a day (or even 2) when I'm not vacationing.
The recipe is actually Heirloom tomato chicken parmesan bolognese. Pretty good, uses ground chicken instead of cutlets and is done on the stovetop rather than the oven to keep the kitchen from getting too hot. The last part is supposed to under the broiler to melt the mozzarella, but I skipped that and used fresh mozzarella which melted with the heat of the sauce and pasta.
Thanks, guys. So we already have the results of the test this morning. They found ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. We've now had an ultrasound that showed a 2.5cm cyst on his left kidney and what looked like minor calcium buildup in and around it, and a larger calcium buildup that could be a stone on the right. The subsequent CT scan confirmed the cyst on the left and classed it as a Bosniak Type II which is pretty much always benign (liquid with a little calcium), confirmed the stone on the right and classed is as non-obstructive, and showed prominence of the interbilliary duct system for no noticeable cause. That no cause is why we were referred to the MRCP, as liver prominence with no cause is usually fatty liver or pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. Or, took too many antacids since he's been nauseated and sick for eight solid weeks. The MRCP showed nothing other than the cyst we already knew about. The doctor called, said 'hey we didn't find anything! We'll see you for your physical at the end of August!' and that was it. He had to fight to get a consult tomorrow. He's nauseated almost constantly, has indigestion almost all the time, and his back hurts. All signs point to the back being caused by the kidney cyst, but there are conflicting opinions on the nausea being caused by it - some sources say it puts pressure on the intestinal system or stomach causing acid to backflow and causing distress and nausea, some say that isn't a side effect. I do think stress makes the indigestion worse. Either way, there are very real symptoms and someone needs to figure out what they are caused by.
Shannon, I know how frustrating it is to deal with all this. So sorry you and DH have to go through it. Real symptoms with no answers and no doctor seeming to care is not a good place to be. I will be hoping that it gets figured out soon!
I had my third of four chemo infusions last Wednesday. How the time is flying by! This time I have a metallic taste in my mouth, which is ignorable except if I eat watermelon, of all things! I think the fatigue is cumulative, but I still feel energetic in the morning. It might just be this miserable heat, too. Not quite as bad as what Allison has, but it will be over 110 all week if the weather people are right. The house got up to 90 yesterday. A wet t-shirt and fans help a lot.
I have just about given up trying to relate my weight to my caloric intake. Eating 2200 calories a day, my weight has gone from 127 on Thursday (steroids and fluids) to 121 today. But it's in the right range so I'm not going to obsess (well at least not much).
Alice - glad that the chemo is going well. I know the heat is making me tired, I would imagine that you are worn out with it and the medicines in your system. And it is cooler here than where you are. You may find that you have to increase your caloric intake at some point if the weight loss continues, but for right now you seem to be staying in safe ranges.
Shannon, glad the news on the MRI is good, except that there are still no answers. FWIW, people react differently to similar problems. Case in point, I can get a UTI and I just feel "full" and need to pee a lot. DH gets a UTI and he's on full bed rest, nausea, fever but no feeling like he needs to pee a lot. Also, another friend of mine recently had what the doctor thought was a case of pancreatitis and when it didn't respond to traditional treatment, they did another test and determined it was her gall bladder instead. Anyway, I hope he's able to get the cyst treated and that solves all his problems.
When I had my first kidney stone, they said it was a cyst--I assume because it was so large--close to the size of your husband's. But it wasn't--it was a stone, and it was causing problems. I had to have a lithotripsy to break it up.
If it were me, I'd see another nephrologist and have both it and the stone on the right reevaluated. His symptoms sound like kidney stone to me. Bad pain will cause nausea.
Allison - I've wondered if it was gall bladder related and they just haven't found it yet.
Jay - he doesn't have any pain of note, or at least that he's talked about, I wonder if the nausea could be there without it from stones. The calcium deposits did make me curious initially, and my mother mentioned stones before the testing even started. ETA - oh wait. Back pain. Yes. Hm.
We have a consult tomorrow to get a referral to someone, don't know who yet.
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 07-25-2016 at 02:53 PM.
Woke up at 3 AM to get a flight at JFK. I weighed 147 even. Now I'm in the hotel at San Diego, a big tall one next to the Convention Center. I'm just back from their gym, which has wonderful cardio machines and a crummy free-weight section. Not even a Smith machine. Two benches. I will not have very good workouts here, but probably getting in workouts at all will be a major achievement.
Hoping for the best possible outcome for you guys!
