Follow-up appts

July 21-22, 2010
I had 7 appointments over the span of 2 days this week. Before I re-cap all those, I want to make a note that my hair started growing back last week (7/12). It's in a few small places, but I'll take it!


#1 - MRI
Pretty uneventful. I'm rather used to the procedure. Only this time I did start to get stiff by the end and it was hurting the back of my head. Fortunately, that was at the very end so I didn't have to hit the panic button!


#2 - Dr. Gidley
This is the ear doctor. I've downgraded from "crap" in my ear to only "crud." He had his resident suction it out again (he made me a bit nervous). (On a side note: there's apparently still some fluid in there because this morning it was all dried up again just inside my ear. Lovely.) Anyway, it was nice to have it cleaned out. Gidley did say that my eardrum looked like one that had been radiated. Whatever that means. I go back to see him in November.


#3 - Audiology test
I passed! OK, you don't really pass or fail, but I did have improvement from my last test. The audiologist said it was almost back to my original levels. Go back there too in November.


#4 - Dr. Chambers (which ended up being Dr. Hofstede) - Start of Day 2
Didn't take long to get behind schedule. 3 residents came in to assess my situation. I gave the 20-second re-cap of my history. They measured how wide I could open my mouth. 36 mm. We talked about what fluoride to use and decided that I would follow-up with my home dentist. (Dr. Burk gave me Previ-dent to start with so I'll probably continue with that.) I asked if I would need this forever, if the pH in my mouth would always be "off." They said that I could test the pH later, but without a starting point it really doesn't matter. Last word(s) on the subject: "Fluoride therapy is lifelong." At some point in all this Dr. Hofstede did make an appearance. She said that I need to brush, floss, & fluoride every day for life. They also said I should keep the fluoride trays in my mouth for 10 minutes a day -- I had been doing it for 1 minute/day. Oops. And I need to continue stretching exercises until I can maintain 40+mm without stretching. No more follow-ups other than regular dental cleanings!


#5 - Dr. Skoracki
He was pleased with his work. He said the most dramatic changes happen in the 6 months following radiation and that he would like to do a revision surgery to take out excess tissue. He'll also pull my facial skin tighter so that he can remove some of the flap. (Yes, I asked if he could give me a little "lift" on the left side, but he said it wasn't necessary!) So, that puts a surgery at the end of October. It'll only take about 2 hours and is out-patient. And he'll probably do a bit of lipo on my upper thigh (don't be jealous!)... the scar puckers a little at the top and apparently a smidge of lipo can take care of that. We also talked about my lopsided ear. He said that it might be possible to fix it... another time. Apparently the radiation zapped the blood flow to my ear so it may not heal very well. We just have to watch this one. I just might have to learn to live w/ lopsided ears.



#6 - Dr. Garden
Radiation Oncology. My least favorite doctor, but I do like his staff. I got to talk to Monique and she answered most of my questions. Of course, I forgot to ask about taste buds. I still can't taste some sweets, particularly dairy, but everything else is acceptable. One of the first things she told me was that the MRI came back NEGATIVE -- translation: NO TUMORS!!

We talked about jaw & neck stretches. I'll need to continue those (now I don't remember for how long), but Monique said that I should expect some loss in range of motion. (I can turn my head from side-to-side, just not as far as I used to.) As I mentioned in the very beginning, my hair has started to grow back. She said my hair could come back a little different (temporarily?) and whatever starts to grow after a year is all I will get. I'm only 3 months in so there's lots of hope! Dr. Garden came in, poked around a bit, looked inside my mouth and said everything looked good. Since I'm being followed by a couple other doctors, I got released from him too. Yea!


#7 - Dr. Weber
He, too, was very pleased with his work. He is very impressed with the nerve function I have. There is no noticeable paralysis or weakness. Yea! And, he confirmed NO TUMORS! He said that if they come back, he just might send me back to Dr. Alford. That would be fine with me, but I don't think he wants to do this operation again either. I'm feeling so unloved. :-( Oh alright, it's unanimous -- no one wants to see these tumors again!! Weber's PA, Shawn Terry, spent quite a bit of time with me. He advised me to get a thyroid test with my GP because the radiation could have affected it. (NOTE: I had this test done on July 30. It was a little low -- borderline acceptable. I'll test it again in 3 months. If it's lower, then I'll go on medication.)

I think that's it for now. See you again in 3 months.