Thursday, August 7, 2014

Good Reports for EL, and a Sleep Apnea Update

In the past 3 weeks, we have had 4 different appointments for EL. Three of them were follow-up appointments, and one was a new consult...


(1) She had a checkup with the Sleep Clinic, and we discussed the results of her recent Sleep Study. Apparently, when the doctor previously called us with the results, she did not explain everything to us over the phone. We found out more details, and the results showed EL's obstructive sleep apnea is a bit more severe than we had originally thought. So, we were referred to an ENT (Eye, Nose, Throat doctor) to evaluate her tonsils and adenoids.

(2) At the ENT appointment, the doctor said EL's tonsils are small, and are not the cause of her sleep apnea. He also took an X-ray of her airway/nasal passages, and those are fine. He also cleaned wax out of her ears and did a hearing test. Her hearing is also fine. So, all went well with the ENT, and we shouldn't need to be seeing him again. We are glad for the good report, and happy she does not need surgery to remove her tonsils. However, there is still the issue of how to treat her sleep apnea. We will probably be trying SINGULAIR, a prescription allergy medicine to reduce inflammation in the nasal passages. It is supposed to help with mild sleep apnea. If it doesn't help, then we will need to consider a CPAP machine. 

(3) After the Sleep Clinic, she saw the Ophthalmologist for an eye check. Thankfully, they did not need to dilate her eyes this time to get a good look inside. Her vision is good and she does not need glasses; but, most important, the optic nerve is in good shape, which means her pituitary tumor has not caused any irritation to the nearby optic nerve. That is great news!

(4) The Endocrinologist also saw her. We mostly just discussed whether or not we have seen any changes since we last saw him. Then, we were sent to the lab for a blood draw. It is always stressful to hear EL scream through a needle stick. She doesn't understand why she is being hurt, why they need to take her blood. This time around, it was especially difficult because her blood was coming out very slowly so it took a lot longer before they could remove the needle. Even if it doesn't hurt, she still screams at the sight of them sticking a needle in her arm. Her anger burned at us, and it was very stressful, but we made it through it. We were thankful to find out the lab results are all normal. Again, this shows the pituitary tumor is not causing any problems. Great news again, thank the Lord!

As far as it looks right now, we should not need to return for any more check-ups until the end of November, although I am waiting for a call from the Neuro-Oncologist to see when we should see him again, and also when to schedule the next MRI. The LAST ONE one was done in November 2013. I do not look forward to another one, but I know we will get through it, just like we always do.

3 comments:

Please leave a comment. I would love to know your thoughts! (NOTE: There will be a delay before your comment shows up due to all comments being moderated. Advertisements or spam will not be approved for publication.)