Everything Fred – Part 432

24 September 2024

I was talking with Chris yesterday on the phone when she let on that she didn’t get a very good night’s sleep. She must have jinxed me. I was awake at 4 am. I read until 6 and then got out of bed to make coffee and pour cereal.

I had a 10:30 am appointment with my oncologist and needed to be there at 10:15 so with traffic on I-95 factored in, I wanted to leave the house by 9:30. Of course, I messed that up. I was about to head out at 8:30 when I caught my mistake.

Once at the Cancer Center, I waited for an hour before the nurse came to get me and take me back to an examination room. Once in the room, I waited another 10-15 minutes before Dr. Velez came in. He commented on how well I looked. I then proceeded to tell him about the difficult August I had and he begin to review my medical records while I was there.

After reviewing he recommended Sucralfate which is supposed to coat the lining of my stomach to allow it to heal. Apparently, he saw something from the endoscopy report that suggested I had some inflammation in the lining. Strange that the gastroenterologist didn’t prescribe anything. I decided to try it. After all, what’s one more drug?

After my visit with him, he sent me for a blood draw. He wanted another Signatera test (to check for breast cancer cells) and to check my iron levels. By the time I got home, the blood test reports were posted in MyChart. The only thing that was very low was ferritin. It’s a blood protein which can indicate low iron levels and anemia. He thinks this may be the answer to my low energy levels. I suspect I’ll hear from his nurse tomorrow to come in for an iron infusion. He scheduled me for a December appointment so we are still on the three month cycle with my oncologist.

As I headed home, I stopped by Walgreens to pick up my insulin supplies and then the neighborhood Publix to pick up a prescription of Lyrica. Tomorrow I got back for the Sucralfate at Walgreens. The drugs never end. You’re talking about someone who used to hate taking aspirin.

Tonight is Pizza Hut Pizza Supreme for dinner. After a two hour nap, I’m not in any mood to cook.

Stay tuned!

Author: searcyf@mac.com

After 34 years in the classroom and lab teaching biology, I'm ready to get back to traveling and camping and hiking. It's been too long of a break. I miss the outdoors and you can follow my wanderings on this blog.

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