Irv Update - March 2011 #4

Finally we have the dates and appts set for Irv to return to VM. We arrive on Apr. 12 for the liver biopsy on April 13 and then appts with two doctors on April 15. The past couple of weeks I guess a lot of the doctors have been gone to either vacations or conferences so we have been quite frustrated trying to get this all set up. (We are going to stay at the Inn at Virginia Mason again. It was very convenient and made the previous trip very nice.)

To top it off, the blood test to see whether Irv could take the new drug, azothiaprine, was mishandled, so it has to be repeated before he can start taking it. This is a immuno suppressant that is usually used to help transplant patients not reject their new organ, but has been found to work on autoimmune types of illnesses as well. It will eventually replace the high dose steroid he is now taking. The test is a glucose 6-pd test. Not one I have ever done myself and I don't know the sample requirements so I'm not sure who to blame for this not getting processed correctly. We are going to have it done here by Dr. Koteen instead. Irv sees him next week. Irv also sees the cardiologist about his a-fib. No new incidences of that so we are hoping Irv can discontinue the atenolol drug. It is a blood pressure drug and Irv has had some dizziness and near fainting episodes if he gets up too quickly from either sitting or lying down. Finally, he is remembering to take it slowly each and every time.

We will drive home after the late morning appt on the 15th.

Otherwise, both of us have been feeling well. Our weather has been fairly rotten. Cold, windy with a little snow almost every single day! The outlook is for this pattern to continue until the end of April. Rats. Both of us are quite ready for some warmer weather and sun.

Stella, our dog, has developed a significant limp in her left rear leg so we took her to the vet yesterday. He thought it was a torn ligament and put her on fish oil, Rimadyl and some joint compound called Phycox. After two weeks if she isn't much better he will do an x-ray series. He could feel a bit of swelling in her knee compared to the other one and she flinched when he applied any pressure to the joint. When the two dogs are taken out twice each day she runs and plays just fine, but then is quite lame afterwards. Silly puppy.

That's all our news for now.

Love to you all;

Penny and Irv