Everybody's saying everything is all right.
It's November?? Wtf? How did that happen? This entire year has just been a blur. A blur! Hazy shades of winter.
I don't remember where I left off (and can't be arsed to check) or what I may have left out or if I'm forgetting something important, so I'm going to just jump right in with the most recent news.
I had a consult with a new doctor yesterday. Dr. Awesome. He came HIGHLY recommended from my CA Doc. He trained underneath him when doing his residency, and really knows his shit. He's done over 700 pituitary tumor removal surgeries, and is an all around rad dude. He has a great sense of humor, was patient and kind, and devoted his full time and attention to me while I was there. I felt safe with him and confident in his abilities. He laughed like a loon when I told him my tumor's name is Arnold and said it was the best name for a tumor ever. I told him that pretty much every guy I've met that I've told about my tumor has done the dang Arnold impression so I figured it was only fitting. :) He admitted that when he has cases where it's relevant he's tempted to throw out the line himself! It's nice to have a doctor that while still professional, is obviously not a Stuffed Shirt. It humanizes them. Makes ME feel more comfortable being around them because they aren't just robotic tumor killing machines, because we all know machines eventually turn on their masters after all!
He already had all of my most up to date info, so he knew the facts. He agreed with Dr. California that my previous Dr, Dr. Sucks, kind of... sucks. He disagreed with his treatment regime, was SHOCKED that a) I was/am taking SO MUCH cabergoline (not quite too much, but nearly), and that instead of switching me to a different drug when it didn't produce the results it should, just continued to up the dosage. Additionally, he was also upset that he would go prescribe drug - up dosage repeatedly - recommend surgery instead of exploring other options. He basically said, in a very professional way, that Dr. Sucks was sloppy and lazy.
He prescribed me a new drug (Quinagolide), and seems optimistic that it will be more effective than previous drugs. He scheduled me for an MRI to make sure it hasn't grown MORE in the last few months. He also thinks that I might be a candidate for Gamma Knife (radiation) treatment. He does not personally have experience in that field (he's an old school slicer and dicer), but it is done at his hospital (UT Southwestern.) Additionally, in a crazy coincidence, Stefanie, yesterday, gave me the info for a Neurosurgeon that she knows that just so happens to be trained in gamma knife treatments! So, if medicine doesn't work I'll definitely be seeing him. As awesome as he seems, hopefully I will never meet him in a professional capacity. :P
So that was some much needed good news. Or rather, potential good news? I was freaked out, for awhile. Dr. Awesome told me something pretty fascinating. There's an increased incidence of pituitary adenomas in suicide victims. In a study of 151 people, 70 deaths by suicide and 81 otherwise, 47.7% of the suicidal group were found to posses a pituitary tumor. 18.3% of non suicidal group did. (You can read the study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17657169) Which makes sense, I guess. Good information to have! Now I went down the rabbit hole of reading medical publications so I'm going to end this here.
A++ would doctor again.
I don't remember where I left off (and can't be arsed to check) or what I may have left out or if I'm forgetting something important, so I'm going to just jump right in with the most recent news.
I had a consult with a new doctor yesterday. Dr. Awesome. He came HIGHLY recommended from my CA Doc. He trained underneath him when doing his residency, and really knows his shit. He's done over 700 pituitary tumor removal surgeries, and is an all around rad dude. He has a great sense of humor, was patient and kind, and devoted his full time and attention to me while I was there. I felt safe with him and confident in his abilities. He laughed like a loon when I told him my tumor's name is Arnold and said it was the best name for a tumor ever. I told him that pretty much every guy I've met that I've told about my tumor has done the dang Arnold impression so I figured it was only fitting. :) He admitted that when he has cases where it's relevant he's tempted to throw out the line himself! It's nice to have a doctor that while still professional, is obviously not a Stuffed Shirt. It humanizes them. Makes ME feel more comfortable being around them because they aren't just robotic tumor killing machines, because we all know machines eventually turn on their masters after all!
He already had all of my most up to date info, so he knew the facts. He agreed with Dr. California that my previous Dr, Dr. Sucks, kind of... sucks. He disagreed with his treatment regime, was SHOCKED that a) I was/am taking SO MUCH cabergoline (not quite too much, but nearly), and that instead of switching me to a different drug when it didn't produce the results it should, just continued to up the dosage. Additionally, he was also upset that he would go prescribe drug - up dosage repeatedly - recommend surgery instead of exploring other options. He basically said, in a very professional way, that Dr. Sucks was sloppy and lazy.
He prescribed me a new drug (Quinagolide), and seems optimistic that it will be more effective than previous drugs. He scheduled me for an MRI to make sure it hasn't grown MORE in the last few months. He also thinks that I might be a candidate for Gamma Knife (radiation) treatment. He does not personally have experience in that field (he's an old school slicer and dicer), but it is done at his hospital (UT Southwestern.) Additionally, in a crazy coincidence, Stefanie, yesterday, gave me the info for a Neurosurgeon that she knows that just so happens to be trained in gamma knife treatments! So, if medicine doesn't work I'll definitely be seeing him. As awesome as he seems, hopefully I will never meet him in a professional capacity. :P
So that was some much needed good news. Or rather, potential good news? I was freaked out, for awhile. Dr. Awesome told me something pretty fascinating. There's an increased incidence of pituitary adenomas in suicide victims. In a study of 151 people, 70 deaths by suicide and 81 otherwise, 47.7% of the suicidal group were found to posses a pituitary tumor. 18.3% of non suicidal group did. (You can read the study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17657169) Which makes sense, I guess. Good information to have! Now I went down the rabbit hole of reading medical publications so I'm going to end this here.
A++ would doctor again.