Trip to Baylor

 Well, this is our second trip to Baylor to see the neurologist.  It was two days of testing..UGH!  Not exactly a vacation..but Mike and I made the best of it.  We ate at a few new restaurants we've never been and hit up our favorite bagel shop.  We also went to IKEA one evening (I LOVE IT THERE).  I got some good news and bad while there.  The first day I had to do a spinal MRI.  I was totally dreading this because I was told it was two hours long.  Yes, it was two hours long..but the technician was awesome.  First thing he said when I walked in was that I am in control.  That made me feel more comfortable.  He kept me informed the whole time of what was going on and the machine was a little bit larger than the ones I've been in.  They keep it 66 degrees in there because the bottom of the bed part that is actually taking the images gets really hot.  All in all, it was actually a pleasant experience for MRI..and it was really a state of art imaging center.  I was impressed!  The next day, I had to see a opthamologist that morning.  He dilated my eyes..so that's why my eyes look glazed over in this picture above.  All day long (because of my optic neuritis) it was hard to see because of the drops they used.  I was told by him that I still have the optic neuritis and that (bad news) the eyesight that I lost in the peripheral of my left eye is permanent.  That is a real bummer because I am only 33 and now partially blind in my left eye.  I have pretty much accepted it already..cause it's been over a year it's been this way.  So then I had to go and do an evoked potential test.  You look at this tv screen while being hooked up to all these electrodes. It takes about 30 mins..and it measures the time it takes for your nerves to respond to stimulation.  I also went back to my neurologist that afternoon to hear all the results of the 12 vials of blood she had taken two weeks prior, the MRI, and the evoked potential test.  The only thing she said was showing up was that my thyroid antibodies were a bit elevated.  She said that they could be causing the neurological issues.  She told me I needed to go and see a endocrinologist.  I said do you have someone to refer me to that I could see the next day.  She said she could try to get me in ..but no promises cause she didn't know her schedule.  Sure enough we got back up to our room (which was right upstairs) and Dr. Okai calls and says that she can get me into see Dr. Roe (the endo doc).  The next afternoon, I went to see Dr. Roe.  It was quite an interesting evaluation..(one I will not verbally speak about on here) HA  but we talked about my tests and she did an exam and we also talked about the PCOS, that I'd had for years.  She told me that my numbers were a bit elevated but that it basically wasn't anything to be scared of because she sees numbers in the 1000's.  The antibody number is suppose to be 35 and mine was 60.  Left me a little irked cause I am sick of doctors telling me that Oh, you have a problem..but it's not that bad as I've seen.  She also sent me to do more extensive thryroid blood work (10 more vials..UGHH!...can we say blown veins already) and for a thyroid ultrasound.  I am awaiting results..as usual.

This is picture of my arm after the MRI.  They had to inject dye into me so they could see my spine better.  I apparently am allergic to the tape they used to keep the IV in.  It looked horrific.