Journey With Jen

  One of my tests came back and I have a genetic mutation called MTHFR C677T.  You can look at the letters and tell what they doctors all called it in med school!  (yes that told me that!) 😂 I am one of 20 - 30% of Caucasians that have this mutation. Which at the scientific level means that the DNA base cytosine (C) is replaced by thymine (T).  At the basic sticker level -- it means that my body does not process B vitamins.  I am have been taking in my Multivitamin, a B12 pill, and folic acid each and every day.  And my body has not been able to use it and it's probably now contaminated my body.  I have to switch to a mentholated vitamin.  Which sounds easy enough, right?  Thank goodness the person that called to tell me about my diagnosis is a pharmacist and has this mutation as well.  Because there is so much more than just taking a different vitamin.  The MTHFR gene is critical in the methylation cycle.  Which since I have ...

 Well, just me. Little update on things. I was on the Methotrexate for 4 weeks and it didn't help with pain or inflammation at all.  It did cause some hair to come out, for the hair that I do have to dry out, and for total exhaustion throughout my body.  It really was a great 4 weeks!  (just kidding!)  My last dose was just a few days ago so I'll be glad when it is out of my system. Apparently it must help most people because they were really surprised when I had absolutely nothing positive to say about the last 4 weeks.  My knee swelled so much I could not squat.  My hands had sharp pain several times this month.  Hips hurt constantly not just when I'm trying to sleep.  And my feet are still swelling.  So really - nothing positive to say.  😂 So, they drew blood and are now doing a pharmacogenetics test.   Besides the physical part of it all - I am really missing being me.  I want to be outdoors.  Go on a hike. ...

My blood tests came back and apparently, I don't have any food allergies.  I was a bit disappointed.  I keep hoping for a moment where it is a, "yes!  that's the reason!"  I wanted to know the reason for this stuff to be happening.  To point at something and I have this food intolerance and it caused my body to react.  But alas, that is not the case for me. I did go to another podiatrist.  The idea that the arthritis on the top of my foot was causing all of this swelling in my feet.  It just didn't seem right.  That clinic slapped a label on it and that was it.  The new podiatrist didn't even do x-rays.  He felt around on my feet and told me that several of his patients have arthritis in their feet but it does not look like mine.  He thinks that it has be something in my system causing the swelling because when ever it is not working right - swelling always go to the feet. He saw that I had to have kidney surgery and wants to b...

 It is July now.  And still trying to get this figured out.  When I spoke to my doctor about seeing a rheumatologist, I was told that the wait to get in was around a year and a half.  Seriously!  And that is if they look at your file and accept you.  So, my primary doctor ran a few test that the rheumatology clinic require before they will accept you.  Those numbers did not turn out bad enough.  I got messaged through my Mercy app the results and that was it.  End of the line despite the fact that my feet swell, joints in my hands are crooked, and I sleep with ice packs. And, every 6 weeks the foot doctor wants to see me even though, he can't do anything to fix it.  The only option they have suggested is wearing my compression socks, tennis shoes, and maybe adding an orthotic to keep my foot from moving so much.  That sounds miserable to me. I was wearing my Chaco's everyday just a few months ago!   I told them that I woul...

  The human body is truly an amazing creation.  How everything works together just to keep us going each day.  Because it takes everything working together, it doesn't take much to throw it off balance.  Unfortunately, mine has been in a rough cycle the past two years. The swelling that started on March 10th still an issue.  I've had an echocardiogram.  I had ultrasound to rule out blood clots in femoral artery.  I also went to a vein clinic and had an ultrasound done on the smaller veins in my leg and to make sure that all my valves were opening and closing correctly.  All of those tests were clear.  Which leads me back to the foot clinic.  The end of April I got into the foot clinic and x-rays were done.  He could not see anything but arthritis on top where the swelling is.  No fracture.  No other reason for the fluid. I got a steroid shot and two pills.  One steroid and one for inflammation.  I also got a comp...

 Well, it has been a few months since my last post.  Thankful to say that my last blood work and ultrasound with my kidney doctor turned out normal.  So, I am good for another 6 months.  I also turned 50 just a few days ago.  Before last year - I definitely would not have actually wrote that.  But, having a year of surgeries and recovery put things in perspective.  I am thankful to have made it through everything to be here. I am thankful for God's protection to catch problems before they are not fixable.  I actually told one of my children last year that if I made it through everything - I wanted a big birthday party for my 50th.  Well, that didn't happen....probably because I didn't plan it! 😄   But my hope for a quite, calm year without any health issues - has a bit of a kink in my plans.  The beginning of the month, actually March 10th, my left foot started swelling.  I was at school and by my lunch break, my straps o...

 October of last year was when it all began.  I'd been having some pain for a few months and finally decided to get it check out.  Doctor figured it was a hernia and sent me to a CT scan to confirm.  Then, I got my list of diagnosis.  And a new set of doctors.  It has been hard.  After three surgeries in an 8 month span -- my body is still healing.  The first four weeks of summer break, I did nothing.  I slept a lot.  I kept thinking that I need to get up and start my summer projects.  But, I was just exhausted.  The "want to" was not there.  The second month, I slowly started feeling more like myself. I have started walking again.  Not everyday yet, but it's getting there.  I know that sitting there is not going to help my energy levels or my healing overall.  But somedays, the tired wins.  I have one more thing scheduled this year.  A colonoscopy is planned for November.  Praying nothing is ...

 Words have that stuck with me through the past 8 months.  You cannot heal in the same environment that has made you sick.  Think about that for a moment.  That includes your diet, stress, relationships, thoughts, and especially your daily habits.  MOST cancers don't pop up randomly.  Only 5-10% of cancers are genetic.  Most cancers come from long-term stress, inflammation, toxic exposure, and nutrient depletion.  So, if I kept doing what I've always done - my body would stay a toxic, nutrient depleted environment. Once your cells have mutated and resulted in cancer, you body and cells are more likely to do that again. So many people who receive the "No Evidence of Disease" label, go back to their previous lifestyles.  Only to find out that the cancer often resurfaces within 5 years.  No, I have not become one of the crazy health nuts that would run away from treatment and only eat seeds.  However, I was blessed to catch my cancer i...

 It's been 10 days since my hysterectomy.  The pain hasn't been that bad.  After kidney surgery, this pain feels like a breeze!  Except for one thing.  Last week, I was totally exhausted.  I would take my heavy pain pill in the evening.  Then, wake up hurting because it has been so long, take more meds and then a morning nap.  Awake for a few hours, then an afternoon nap.  Then, sadly, usually one more nap before bed.  And that was without my heavy pills during the day.  My body is just tired.  I was given meds for spasms and didn't use them at all last week.  But those have started this week.    I don't necessarily think the exhaustion has to do with this surgery.  I believe that having 3 surgeries in 8 months is finally taking it's toll.  And interesting little tidbit that I found. On average, abdominal surgery takes 2 years to recover microscopely, although a majority of the healing happens in the fi...

 Well, it's been a few months since my last update.  I went back to work after surgery.  A little more exhausted but I made it through the end of the school year.  Thankfully my mammogram and ultrasound were just cysts on both sides.  I went back to my follow up with the urologist.  He gave me news that I was not expecting.  He told me that I need to have lung x-rays every three months this first year.  He said there is a chance that kidney cancer will travel through your blood stream and go into your lungs.  In my mind -- I am thinking he's being extra cautious.  (which I appreciate!) I definitely want to catch things early.  Then, I go home and hit Google.   Yeah  - I know.  Everyone just went "nooooo" but if you were in that position, you would want to know the numbers too.  I only go to actual cancer sites.  However, I was not ready for what I found. In my mind, I was expecting 20%.  Or even as...

 Today has been one month since my kidney cancer surgery.  I'm doing pretty good.  My energy is still not there and if I do too much my cut muscle will hurt.  My 12 staples going across my side has come out.  Last Thursday was the first time I sneezed in a month.  I thought that was so weird.  But with the muscle getting cut and then being sewn together -- my diaphragm would not expand enough to let me sneeze.  I would would start to sneeze, but when I tried to get the big breath, my sneeze stopped.  Our bodies are weird aren't then?   Monday I start back to work.  I'm doing half days this first week back to see how it goes.  Doctor recommended 6-8 weeks off, but I'm trying to go back part time after 4 weeks.  Since I get tired, I am sure that I'll be coming home and taking a nap with my ice pack when I get home.  However, I am looking forward to seeing the kids and adults again.  I get my daily amount of hu...

A recent study that looks at cancer rates in the United States.  The study concluded that the cancer incidence rates of Gen X (born between 1965 - 1980) and Millennials (born 1981-1996) were 2 to 3 times higher than baby boomers (born 1946-1964).    Not only are they more likely to get cancer, but they are more likely to develop 17 types of cancer.  Okay -- that's crazy!! The researcher's said major contributing factors included environmental toxins, diet, and obesity.  But what has changed from 1955 to the 1980's? And even more so today?  Our diet.  Things were made from scratch.  Real ingredients.  Then, we had 2 income families, so frozen dinners took off.  Convivence food became a big part of our grocery stores.  Now, fast food is a part of our culture.  I work at a school. Those kids will eat pizza and chicken nuggets daily without thinking twice.  Our diets have changed so much and it allows toxins into our bodies da...

Wednesday was a week today since I left the hospital.  Friday it will be two weeks since my surgery.  I'm home and trying to get my strength back up.  The doctor was not kidding when he said that it is a very painful surgery.  But, I'm finally down to one pain pill a day.  The one pill is usually in the evenings.  It's one thing to have some pain or be uncomfortable during the day, but trying to sleep when your hurting is difficult.  I still get tired easily.  Yesterday I decided to make cookie dough and freeze it for Easter.  Between the breaks that I had to take, the two hour task ended up most of the day.  So, I can see why the doctors have told me not to rush back to work.  My body is still healing and it's a slow process. I had my PCP appointment yesterday.  What really surprised me was the many questions the nurse asked me about my mental state.  I love how they are looking at the whole body, not just the physical....

 So many times we just take what doctors tell us without questioning.  Or, when we do question, we just accept their answer as gold.  While, I really don't believe that doctors would intentionally lead us astray.  However, I am the best advocate for my kids and myself.  I've always just had to read books, articles, find doctors, and push, push, push for my kids and my husband.  This time - it's all about me.   I am just trying to figure out how some one in the mid-forties gets a cancer that doesn't usually hit some one until their sixties or seventies.   I don't fit any of the kidney cancer criteria.  Is there any connection to my other diagnosis?  What the heck is going on in my gut area??   I know that I can't fully prevent cancer.  One mutated cell going crazy and multiplying is all that it takes.  There have been plenty of health nuts that have gotten cancer.  Marathon runners. Professional athletes...

 Back in March, when I first went to the doctor, my goal was just to start taking care of me.  I went and got bloodwork.  Found out that I was diabetic and went to the dietitian appointment that happens when your diagnosed.  Protein, protein, protein is of course what is pushed.  I did it and just felt terrible.  I stayed the course for a while thinking my body would adjust. Then, like I always do when I want to figure out something -  I went to the library and checked out several books on diabetes.  I found only two books that went a different direction.  They suggested that a plant based diet regulates blood sugar better.  That your body can digest it so much easier that you don't get the spikes in sugar levels.   Now, don't get me wrong -- vegan I will never be.  But incorporating a few more vegetarian type meals, that I can do.  So I decided that for breakfast and lunch - it would be less meat.  Which meant t...

Thinking about what's coming ahead does tend to make me nervous.  The unknowns.  The what ifs.  All of the pieces that have to come together.  Insurance...time off...recovery time...It really was SO much easier when I was on the other side of the hospital bed.  I have always been the one on in the waiting chair beside the bed. It was always my job to worry about all of that and figure out how to pay the bills.  Now, I have to worry about that AND be in the hospital bed.  I keep praying for God to work out all of the details.  For His hands to be in everything -- All of the details.   I can then let it go...for a while.  But the worry comes creeping back in. The mind keeps going down every rabbit hole.  I have an EKG and heart scans coming up before surgery.  What if they find something?  The first CT scan I went in for was supposed to confirm a hernia.  Instead she called me and told me I needed to come in that d...

 I am now one of the 81, 610 people in the US that was newly diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2024.  That statistic is really the only one category I fit in.  Risk facts include smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity. (yeah, I am chunky, but I am not that chunky.  None of my doctors has said my weight was an issue)  The average age for kidney cancer is 67 with most diagnosis between ages 60 - 74.  This type of cancer is twice as common in Men.  And kidney cancer is more common in African American, American Indian, and Alaska Native  people.  So, if you look at all of the statistics of kidney cancer -- it should not be me.  I would have never gotten screened for it.  There are no flags popping up that would tell a doctor that I have kidney cancer.  Even my bloodwork showed my kidneys are working fine.   Honestly, that scares me even more.  There really is not any reason for me to have it.  Without having pa...

 I have to admit -- I am one of those Momma's that haven't taken very good of herself.  I've definitely put myself last for most of my life.  My kids, of course, always came first.  I love being a Momma.  While my kids were still young, my dad got cancer and my brother stepped away.  So it was on me to take care of.  My husband had his first heart issues at 39 years old.  Then, for the next 15 years he collected doctors, surgeries, and appointments.  My mom's crazy finally got diagnosed because I got her to a hospital by lying to her.  Once again, my brother bowed out.  The Lord knows it's been a lot.  I know that's why He protected me and this frail body for so many years.  I was holding things together for too many people. Who has time to fall apart?   As a mom, so many times we feel the weight of our little world right on our shoulders.  And we just keep going... keep pushing.  Doing this.  Goin...