Tuesday 07 October 2008 – CT Scan follow up, company Dr appointmet

We had spent the weekend worrying about the outcome of the CT scan and were expecting the worse, the only thing we were not sure of was just how bad the ‘worse’ was going to be. It was a very emotional morning on Monday when we dropped our 3 ½ year old off at her Grandma’s whilst we went to the hospital for the CT result.
When we were finally called into the consultant’s room we were told there was a blockage, which we already knew, however they could now pin-point it to being in the Pancreas, which is part of the duodenum. They could not, or were reluctant, at this point to commit to it being of a cancerous nature. My case will now be referred and assessed by the duodenum team this coming Wednesday, but we have to told to still expect the worse and anything less than a tumour would be a bonus!
So in reality we are no farther forward in knowing what it is that has caused the Jaundice, whether or not it is related to all the on-going problems I have been having over the last year or to what extent the treatment will eventually take?

We also had an appointment with the Company Doctor who once again was very supportive at our time of need and has arranged for my manager and a member of the HR team to make a home visit, the first since I have been off work in almost twelve months. My sick pay is due to finish toward the end of this month and soon, depending on the nature my current illness, we will be left with no decision other than to rely on the state to provide for us. We are hoping that until we know what the is causing the blockage is then the company my consider extending my sick pay a little longer so we can make the right decisions financially to assist us through this period.

Thursday 02 October 2008 – CT Scan and follow up

Yesterday I had the CT scan and it was worse than I remembered it, especially with the introduction of the sipping of an aniseed flavoured drink for 2 hours prior to the procedure! This was then followed by a full cup and a half of the stuff before going on the bed for the scan itself. I had also forgot how horrible the injection was that pumps chemicals, iodine I believe, into your system that makes you feel hot and want to go to the toilet so much that you end up clenching your bum cheeks together in case of accidents!

I was told the waiting time for results would be between two to three weeks however this morning when we came back from town we picked up a telephone answer machine message telling me I have an appointment fixed for this coming Monday with reference to the scan results! We can only surmise as to what they have found but I guess the only question is how bad is it?

Appointment secured

Yesterday, to try and get things moving along in my favour, I phoned the Xray department at the hospital and asked about the progress on my CT scan appointment. Unfortunately their idea of an Urgent scan was somewhat different to that of my consultant, GP and me. I was promised that I would be given the next available cancellation which meant I did not have to wait for a two to three week appointment. True to their word I received a call today and I am now booked in to be seen on Wednesday of next week.

In the meantime the itching is getting worse, despite the Colestyramine and the pains in my stomach and back make it almost unbearable to walk any distance.