We May Be On To Something

After beginning with the Internal Medicine Dept at KU Med Center, Terry had his first appointment with the gastroenterology side of things. Once again, we met with a third year intern, and again, he was interested and inquisitive and for the first time we felt heard.

He did have some ideas to pursue, and this is really the first time we've had any type of hypothesis about what's happening. Results of the CT Scan he had at the last appointment at KU Med showed a mass in the adrenal gland. They aren't sure what it is, and will be referring him on to possibly an endocrinologist. They will also do a CT Scan of his head to look at his sinuses, but also to look for the potential of a brain tumor. On the bright side, the doctor did say if there is a tumor, the likelihood is that it is benign. If it were malignant with as long as Terry's had the vomiting problem, he would be dead by now. Yay.....

Additionally, they will be checking for steroid levels, specifically the hormone cortisol. There will also be a four hour stomach dumping test, and a blood test which would indicate if it is vagel nerve related. The intern spoke of potential causes for the vomiting, and concluded his conversation with us by talking about cyclical vomiting, which is not diagnosed as to the cause. They do all the tests to rule out potential causes, and when left with nothing, term it cyclical vomiting.

After feeling optimistic for the first time in a long time that we might actually be making some headway, the supervising physician began by talking about cyclical vomiting. Terry had stressed with the intern that it was primarily pain now that was the issue, and not so much the nausea and vomiting. To begin the discussion with us by talking about having a condition with an undetermined cause felt like he was following a blueprint of diagnostic tests that they all follow.

I could feel myself becoming increasingly frustrated and irritated by this physician. We explained that much of what he was recommending, Terry had already been put through. I told him we needed to do something different if we were going to figure this out. So, to a certain degree, what I was trying to avoid with repetitive testing that was always negative was what he was going to experience. If it gives us the answers we need, it will be worth it in the end, but I can tell I'm losing patience with not knowing why he goes through this. The increased pain and disclosure that they've found a mass in his adrenal gland is making me think that this may be something that should have been, and could have been found much sooner.

I'm hopeful that's not the case and we're finally on track to find out the cause of his pain and suffering. I know we're both weary of living like this.