Me and My Fat Head

A couple weeks ago I had a cough and that Friday night woke up at 2:30 AM and couldn't get back to sleep.  I decided to take some Nyquil but accidentally took my cough syrup with codeine.  The next day I didn't get out of bed ALL DAY!  I was exhausted, obviously from the codeine, and had a massive headache.  The kind where it feels like your brain is floating in your head and if you move to fast it crashes into your skull and causes immense pain.

This excellent headache lasted ALL WEEK!

By Thursday I had enough. I called my PCP and asked if they could squeeze me in.  Sure enough they had the time.  YAY!

I explained to my Doc what had happened and assumed that because of the extra cough syrup with codeine that was probably why I had these headaches and overall just wondering if there was something I could do to get rid of them.  Doc explained that it sounded like a tension headache but due to the memory issues I was having wanted to order an MRI just in case.

I have never had an MRI and never seen a "real" MRI.  Only TV MRIs.

Anyway, I was able to get my MRI the next day, Friday.  Quick turn around huh?!  I was surprised.

So, Friday night, after work, my pal drops me off at Methodist, thanks Pal, and while we are driving there are some severe flashes of lighting.  This whole time, as the rain is pouring down and the lightning is flashing and the thunder is rolling, I'm thinking, this is all rather dramatic God.  Is this really necessary?  Chuckling to myself and His humor and how he knows how dramatic I am.  It was perfect.

The MRI went off without lighting hitting the MRI room and me obtaining superhero powers to attract or control metal objects...bummer.  The actual results of the MRI would follow in a couple business days.

Monday, my vacation began, I received a call from the doctor's office stating that some of the images were blurry so they needed me to come back in.  They rescheduled for Wednesday, 6/30.

Wednesday arrives and Mom is kind enough to watch the kids at home and let me steal her car for my appointment.  Thanks Mom.

I didn't have to wait too long but decided to allow the woman that was suppose to be after me to go first.  She was clearly dealing with cancer and EXTREMELY exhausted.  She had people there waiting for her.  My heart just went out to her and I thought, "I have nowhere to be, I'm not falling asleep in my chair, and I have no one waiting for me.  I can wait."  So I waited a bit longer.

The tech came out and asked me if I knew why I was there.  I have to say I thought this was a little weird but whatever.  Just like they ask you your date of birth when they are staring at your chart, maybe they need confirmation.  So I told her I was told that some of my images were blurry so they needed to retake some pictures.

Her response?

"Huh...okay," and then she exits the waiting room.

Awesome huh?!  So clearly if the fact that she asked me if I knew why I was there didn't get me thinking, her response definitely did.

She came back a few minutes later and said they were ready.  She stopped me in the exam room and clarified that I was not there because my images were blurry.  I was a perfect subject, despite tapping my toes as a way to restrain myself from the choreography in my head while listening to The Message XM radio station. TEE HEE!

No, my toe tapping was NOT the culprit of my return as I had imagined.  Rather, they had found something.

"To my knowledge they found a fat composite in your brain.  It's nothing to worry about.  They just want to take some more pictures to prove that's what it is.  To my knowledge that's all it is.  If you have any more questions you can speak with your doctor."

Now, to the poor girls credit, she did was she could.  She knew little and therefore could only give me little information.  She just told me I have a fat head but hey, I already knew that.  Anyone that knows me knows I'm a fat head (yes, let the fat head jokes ensue).

However, when some one is told something has been found in their brain other than brain, one tends to be a bit concerned.  She didn't seem to concerned about it so why should I.  But then I sat in an MRI for 20 minutes thinking about this thing in my head that they were taking pictures of.

What is this little hitchhiker?  Is this what is causing my headaches?  My inability to verbalize?  My lack of memory?  Is this the answer to a few of my many ailments?  Does it amount to nothing?  Does it amount to something?  Am I going to have to have brain surgery?  Good thing I didn't spend $60 getting my hair cut only to have them shave it off.

MRI is done and I maintained my composure.  I called Mom to let her know I was done, sorry for the delay, and I'm on my way.  Called Kyle and told him what I found out and teared up a bit.  I then informed him, "I'm stopping at Caribou and getting a Chi Tea Latte because that's what I want to do so that's what I'm doing.  And I just may cry."  (Chi Tea Lattes make everything better)

Kyle basically gave me permission to get my drink and cry but for some reason, I was like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday.  I couldn't muster the tears.  I wanted to but I couldn't

Anyway, I wouldn't really know for a couple days what was going on so why waste it now.  The evening continued with a BBQ and my brother's for his birthday and my stuck-in-Dallas father.  The evening was filled with fat head jokes. It's how we deal with stuff...humor.  It's good medicine.

Thursday passed with no word.

Friday morning passed with no word.  By Friday afternoon I couldn't stop myself from calling my doctor's office.

"She was gone yesterday but she'll take a look at it today and get back to you."  Thanks Nurse. (Nurses rock! Thank you all you Nurses! You really are amazing!)

Not more than 20 minutes later my doctor calls me.  My actual doctor.  That means it wasn't nothing.

She tells me she needs to send me to a neurologist because this is outside her area and that she has never seen this before.  She maybe a couple years older than me so her experience is a little limited.  She tried to do some research and couldn't find much.  Basically, this is the information I got.

I have a type of cyst, lipoma in my brain.  While lipomas are common they are common in the shoulders, back, and chest.  Not so much the brain.  While lipomas can be harmless, they can also cause damage, particularly in the brain.  Damage such as pains, headaches, neurological issues, and even seizures.

The lipoma in my head is 4mm X 4mm X 12mm.  She doesn't know if that is large, medium, small, or just right for my brain.  Hence, a consultation with a neurologist is needed.  THEY will need to determine what the next step is.

I'm scheduled to see the neurologist in 2 weeks.  2 WEEKS!  Obviously it's not that big of a deal but in the mean time I have about a million questions I would like answers to.

But this is all I know right now.  There aren't many answers via the web on brain lipomas so I get to wait for my appointment.

Sorry for the length of this post but I wanted to get this info out to people.  Instead of a slow trickle it's massive now.  Let it be known, I officially have a fat head.

Comments

Brianna said…
Praying for you, Lady. Kisses from WI.

Bri

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