Pituitary Purgatory

Sometimes you just have to whine, complain, and feel sorry for yourself. Today I'm doing just that!

I went to have a talk with a neurosurgeon in Raleigh this morning. I was so lucky to have them let me drop by, and fit me in to their busy schedule.  Dan and I were ready to wait the whole day - but it was only about 20 minutes before my name was called. The neurosurgeon and his assistant greeted me and Dan, then ushered us into a small conference room. They were both very nice and explained how my Pituitary Gland was abnormal, swollen, and could if it kept swelling cause blindness, among many other problems in the hormonal department. Then there is the scary, tiny fraction of a chance that it could be a tumor. (I'm convinced that it's just a reaction to the Yervoy.)   It's not a bleeding tumor, but I now have to have another MRI. This one concentrating on a small area just behind my eyes, and sinuses; dangling from my brain -  the Pituitary Gland; which will be imaged section by section in slice like fragments to see what the hell is going on with it.

This new MRI and swollen PT is creating problems already. It's preventing me from continuing my Yervoy treatment and now there is a small chance that the insurance won't cover the cost of the MRI. Why, you ask? Because I just had an MRI last week. It's too soon to have an other one billed to the insurance company, so the hospital says. I had a conversation with the imaging person, and she said she'd work on it with the insurance company first thing in the morning.

I'm sure that come 9am tomorrow morning, it will all be straightened out, and Dan and I will drive to Raleigh to be there at 12:00 as scheduled. The neurosurgeon said that if I have the MRI at 12:00,  I would be able to get the results by tomorrow evening or by Wednesday morning.

I may have to halt the Yervoy treatment altogether depending on how all the doctors involved with my case feel about the results of the imaging. I suppose the Yervoy could do irreversible damage to my pituitary gland on one hand - but not doing the Yervoy treatment could do irreversible damage on the other hand. Why can't things just be stabilized, level out and be somewhat normal!? I'm getting tired of this wild ride. I'm really ready for some easy cruising.

Purgatory by Hieronymus Bosch