DH's sick, we dont know with what... - Pretty serious...

Cece00 wrote: I am copying my update from my blog...first, some backstory.

DH had cancer in 2001 (Hodgkin's). He was treated @ St. Jude's in Memphis. He has been in remission for going on 6 years.

He has had headaches for almost 3 weeks now. Saturday night, all of a sudden, he had this STABBING pain in his head different from the other type of headache that was so severe he couldnt function & he literally almost fell off the bed. I wanted him to go to the ER but he wouldnt.

So Monday morning, he went to the Dr, who said he needed an MRI b/c of the duration & severity.

Well, Monday night we got the results & DH has 2 lesions on the left side of his brain. Obviously this was BIG cause for concern, and I was FREAKING to say the least.

He is "ok" for now- we found out its probably not cancer, but we also dont know WHAT it is, and it could still be...its all up in the air right now...

Here is the rest...

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We went to the ER, and after 4 hrs they determined there was nothing on the CT scan- no bleeding, and they couldnt even see the lesions.

He said there was no obvious tumor or mass, so we thought that was really good news.

The ER dr wanted to repeat the MRI b/c he couldnt access the one done earlier on the system but we said no. So they gave DH some narcotics for his pain, with orders that it was mandatory to see his dr in the morning, he cant drive, etc due to seizure risk.

I call the internist the next day @ set up an appt for a few hours later. Then I had to go pick up the MRI/MRA results & CD from the radiology clinic.

All the while I am on the phone with St. Jude discussing what we should do...one of the onc. nurses for the ACT clinic asks me to fax over the reports from the CT and MRI/MRA so she can have a neuro @ St Jude's look at them.

So we go to the internist, who does some neuro exams on J & they talk & he doesnt do too much except he decided J needs to see a neuro b/c he cant tell what is going on from the report. So he tells us to go right away to the neuro.

OK, we go to the neuro. We explain to him what is happening & what all the tests say. He leaves for 10 min to go read the MRI online.

He comes back & says he cant figure out WHAT the lesions are.

OH- at this point I should mention the MRI results now that I have them- J has 2 lesions, that are 7 x 4 mm each, on the left side of his brain. They are towards the inside of the brain, but they are not occupying any real space, if that makes any sense. Like a tumor would occupy space, b/c it would push brain matter out of the way....these arent doing that. It said they could be bleeds, so he needed a CT scan to rule that out, hence why we went to the ER and they are not CURRENT bleeds. They could be past bleeds that were small. It also says that the possibility of a low grade glioma developing can not be excluded.

He said he agrees, there are no def. tumors & he doesnt believe it to be cancer but he can not rule it out, esp as the MRI says that these could be the start to glioma. He said he dosent know if its related to his hodgkins, another kind of cancer, scar tissue from migraines, an old injury (hitting your head very hard, etc) small old bleeds, or what. He even mentioned MS. He said without a spinal or brain biopsy he couldnt tell us one way or another that this is or isnt cancer, or WHAT it is 100%.

In fact, the headaches *may not even be related to the lesions*. He said the head pain could be from migraines, viral meningitis, or some disease that I do not remember the name of that basically causes an excess of fluid to accumulate in the brain & the pressure causes headaches, J would need a shunt to drain it, but he said that is unlikely.

The neuro gave J some meds (migraine meds) & said if his headache doesnt subside in a week, he probably wants to do a spinal tap, to look for cancer cells or infection & check the pressure inside his head. He told me to call St. Jude's & ask them for a repeat MRI next month (we go the 12th-15th) to see if these have grown, disappeared, showed any changes.

Today I get a call from St. Jude's & she said HER neuro cant tell what they are either, from the reports.

So I have to mail up the CD's for him to look at, and she is going to speak with his oncologist about doing an MRI while we're up there. And she will call me when her neuro reads the scans.

I've also called DH's internist, who drew blood yesterday to test his uric acid levels (J has gout, its bothering him too) and ask them to run a couple of other tests on his blood that might show any infection or cancer. And they will do a lot of blood tests when we go up next month, she told me today they are going to do a bunch of testing on him while we're in Memphis.

He may have to have an MRI again 2-3 months after that as well, until we figure out what this is one way or another, everyone is "watching him" & being very cautious.

So that is where we are. He took his meds yesterday & today & still has a headache. Its been about 3 weeks now.

I will update as we know more.

Plz keep us in your thoughts. I wish we had gotten more definitive news but I AM happy that there is not some huge tumor or obvious cancer in his brain.

My2Beauties replied: Oh gosh hon! I am so sorry! What a lot to deal with all at one time. My prayers are with your DH and I hope and pray they pinpoint what is causing these issues and treat it right away. I sincerely hope it's nothing serious!

HuskerMom replied: How scary! I hope everything turns out ok!

CantWait replied: That's a lot to take in. Prayers and PT that everything is ok and the doctors get everything figured out quickly.

Mommy2BAK replied: oh goodness, I hope everything is alright, your family will be in my thoughts and prayers

Calimama replied: I hope they are able to figure out what it is and SOON. I will keep you guys in my prayers.

sparkys2boys replied: Oh my, thats alot ot deal with all at once. I will be thinking of you guys and sending prayers. I hope this all works out and it is nothing

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Oh wow! I am so sorry you are going through all this with no real answers...the waiting can be so stressful! I will keep your husband and your family in my prayers! KUP!

MommyToAshley replied: Oh goodness, I feel so bad for your DH living with that kind of headache pain. And, I can only imagine the worry you are going through. But, you are right, the good news is that it is not an obvious tumor or some kind of cancer. I am glad that they are trying to get to the bottom of it and watching him very carefully. The waiting and not knowing is the hard part.

Hang in there, we're here for you. And, prayers are being said right now.

Our Lil' Family replied: Oh gosh Crystal! I'm so sorry to hear about that. I'll keep y'all in my thoughts and prayers. I hope they determine something soon!

gr33n3y3z replied: Lots of prayers and hugs for you guy

grapfruit replied: Oh Crystal I will keep everyone in my thoughts and prayers

amynicole21 replied: That is very, very scary. You guys are in my thoughts.

My father had a similar "shadow" or something on a scan once after severe headaches. He went back a month later and they were gone. WE were all panicked, but very relieved when they disappeared obviously.

lisar replied: OMG.... I hope everything is turns out okay.

Boys r us replied: Wow, I can't imagine how scared you are! I really hope that you get some answers soon! In the mean time, just keep taking great care of your DH! It sounds like he's one lucky man to have you in his corner as you seem to be covering all the bases!!!

Kentuckychick replied:

He's definitely in my thoughts and prayers!! It's a scary thing to have something appear on an MRI and not be sure what it is. In my case it was scar tissue from my migraines and it hasn't changed in any way since it was first discovered. I pray that your husband's is scar tissue as well or just something benign that won't affect him at all.

With the headaches, have him try both Excedrin Migraine and Excedrin Tension headache (not at the same time of course) and see if either of these eases the pain. Another thing he could try would be something like Axert or Imitrex... but he would have to get that from his doctor (maybe they can get him a sample). They are fast acting migraine meds that usually kick the pain quickly.

I really hope he feels better soon!!!

jem0622 replied: I am so sorry that you are dealing with unknowns right now. Many many P&PT.

maestra replied: I have something similar in my brain, but no history of cancer, and only one of them. It's about the size of a pea and right next to my brainstem, and we found it because I had headaches that ended up being related to dental work. They think mine is a colloid cyst, and that I might have been born with it because there was no mass effect (that's the scrunching up you describe when the brain is pushed aside). In 5 years it hasn't grown at all, and the headaches are long gone. I hope your dh fairs just as well!

redchief replied: Prayers and positive thoughts for you both!

luvmykids replied: Oh wow, that does sound scary but you're right, it's good to know it's nothing glaringly terrible I hope they're able to figure it out soon, and that it's easily dealt with

Cece00 replied:
Trust me, if they make it OTC he has tried it.

They gave him 2 prescription meds for the migraines. So far, its not getting better. But we have hope.

MoonMama replied: Oh hun I am so sorry. Tons and tons of P&PTs!