The Beginning

So much has happened in such a short period of time.

On or around Wednesday, 21 September 2011, I noticed a film in my right eye.  At least that is what I thought it was.  I'd rub my eye (yeah, I know) but whatever was in there wouldn't clear.  I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Friday, 30 September 2011, so I figured I'd talk to Dr. B about it.

I did, and he thought it might be allergies since my blood results had indicated that my white blood cells were working overtime fighting allergies.  He gave me something to help fight the allergies with orders to let him know in a couple of weeks if things didn't change.  I casually asked him if it would be OK to go to an eye doc and he said yes.

I called my eye doc later that morning and got an appointment for Tuesday, 4 October 2011.  The time was before I was scheduled to give the Science Final but the receptionist said it would only last 30 minutes.

I arrived at the appointment early so I could out the obligatory paperwork (I hadn't been to see him since 2004).  I go through all the normal "eye" tests:  color blindness, peripheral vision, distance, depth perception, etc.  After Dr. D reviewed my results, he thought I'd not done the peripheral test seriously or something was done incorrectly.  I went to complete it again and gave him the same results.  He then had me do a fancier peripheral vision test and this one came with a print out showing what I saw.  Clearly it showed that I was not seeing well and it wasn't in one eye but both.  At this point, it is waaaay past the 30 minute mark so I am getting a little concerned.  Dr. D comes back in and tells me I have something wrong.  I can't remember the fancy medical name, but basically I am losing my peripheral vision.  He told me that in 95% of all cases, this is due to a tumor growing on the pituitary gland and it is pressing on my optic nerve, thus the lost of vision.  This made sense to me.  He called my doc, Dr. B, to get an MRI of my head scheduled.  He asked me if I was OK.  I told him I was because I didn't know anything about what was going on so I couldn't worry about anything yet.

Dr. B called me that evening to see if I had gotten my MRI scheduled.  I had.  He told me this is not common and he only sees this diagnosis about once every 2 or 3 years.  I still wasn't worried, I didn't know much, but I decided to start with some Internet research.

One of the best sites I have found with good information is the Pituitary Network Association (www.pituitary.org).  This site said that it is estimated that 1 in 5 people have a growth on their pituitary but most never manifest major symptoms that require removal (like vision loss).

My MRI was Friday, 7 Oct 2011.  I slid into the closed tube and simply relaxed, listening to the sounds of the machine.  All was good but I didn't enjoy the injection of dye.  No metallic taste for me, but the injection was uncomfortable.  The nurse said my doc would have the results after 48 hours.  I thought about it in my head and said, hopefully by Wednesday.

Monday, 10 Oct 2011, I had the day off from work while the rest of my family went to school or work.  I did some things around the house, a little cleaning, and some work on the course I am teaching.  I didn't fell too bad, other than my normal tired, and that had started about 4 or so months ago.

Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011, I woke with an incredibly sore throat and I knew I had Strep.  It made sense because of all going on.  I emailed in sick and called Dr. B's office to get an appointment and meds.  In a way, this was a good thing.  Yep, I felt horrible, needed that antibiotic prescription, but it allowed Dr. B to let me read the MRI results instead of listening on the phone.  I kept reading large sellar mass .... measuring 2.8 x 2.2 x 2.0 cm.  I knew I had to learn some big fancy medical terms to better understand what was going on.  I understood volume.  That growth/tumor/doodah was big, in my head, and didn't need to be there.  Hence, to keep it in perspective and make it understandable, I decided it was about the size of a key lime.  Now, for those of you who  don't know, the pituitary gland is about the size of a pea. Pretty darn small for the most important of glands in your body (he's known as the master gland).  I just pictured a key lime glued to a pea.  Holy crap, this thing is huge!  OK, still not really panicking, I don't know what the future holds other than, this thing has got to go!  Dr. B put the request in for his favorite neurologist (he warned me they tend to be a bit arrogant but I can see that, since they get to go poking around in your skull with sharp tools).

This is all I know.  I have something in my head that can change my life forever.  It also explains so much that never had explanations.  This possibly affected my ability to get pregnant.  If so, I wouldn't have my two squirrels I love so dearly.  I am not mad, but I can't say I am excited to have a tumor in my head.  At least I know its there, and it needs a name.  My old college friend CS suggested Siddhartha.  I had to look that up (yeah, I need to read more!) and I think it is perfect.  (Siddhartha means pathway to enlightment).  It fits well, so Siddy, welcome to my head and I can't wait to see you go!

To be continued.....