Leah B.
Humble Servant of All
Today has been particularly bad because I forgot to take my antacid. [I forgot because I had to move the dose from morning until noon so it would not be too close to my doxycycline. Now I still need to wait a half hour so as not to interfere with my second dose of doxycycline.] I have GERD, and I have LPR. I get very sick even when I do take the antacid. I also have COPD and a deviated septum. In other words, I have three conditions that all hurt my breathing. Anyway, my first prayer in Jesus's name is that this omeprazole will kick in quickly and give me real relief! My breathing is just awful right now. My COPD has been well controlled for years. I honestly believe the reflux is hurting my breathing way more than the COPD is at this point. Anyway, my other prayer is that my upcoming appointments with both an ENT and a gastric surgeon to discuss transoral-fundoplication [TIF] with hiatal hernia repair will go extremely well. It has taken months and months to get in to see these doctors, with my condition deteriorating all this time. Please, in Jesus's name, I can't take anymore of this! Last night, I thought I was going to drown in throat mucus. I'm starting to be afraid to eat. I'm scared about getting cleared by my pulmonologist for the TIF surgery even though I do not believe my baseline lung function has actually changed. In Jesus's name, please pray they will see the reflux is SO bad, it's affecting my lung function. I will do nothing but suffer for the rest of my life if I don't get that surgery! The omeprazole just does not control the reflux. Also it's dangerous for my lungs. I am like 99% sure that I am microaspirating stomach acid into my lungs and have been for a long time, much worse as of the past several months. [BTW, when I was in VA ER a while back, that's what they said. I thought I was having a COPD flare. They did a full cardiopulmonary workup and said the breathing issues were from reflux.] Please in Jesus's name, heal me of this! Also a word about my lung nodule: I took a cancer screening test at VA. I have not smoked in almost 19 years. I quit five years before my COPD diagnosis. Anyway, VA called to tell me they found a nodule in one of my lungs. They want to give me a PET scan. Well, that's fine except they can't fit me in until the second week of May. I think that's outrageous. I'm sorry I ever even agreed to the screening. I bring it up because if there is a nodule, it got there because of microaspiration of stomach acid into the lung. It's not cancer. My cancer odds are about as low as a non-smoker now. But it just goes to show how bad this GERD has gotten. It also goes to show the pattern over and over with me: Testing I don't need that will entail aggravation and get me all upset over nothing -- but months and months to address a debilitating condition that is doing real damage to my lungs. And, again, I mean it: I'm very upset to have to wait this long for that PET scan and wish I never agreed to be screened to begin with. [From what I can tell, my emphysema is in the way of their getting a good look, hence, the PET scan.] But the thing here is I think if you want to do cancer screenings on people, you ought to have the capacity not to keep them waiting for over 90 days on the follow-up. I remember years ago, I had breast cysts on a mammogram. Within one week, they did a follow-up ultrasound and let me know the cysts were benign. That's what I would have expected this time too. Anyway, please pray in Jesus's name against cancer even though I highly doubt this is cancer. Also, I get a small amount of EBT each month. I am above the work requirement cut-off age, but I still have to reapply. Tonight I tried and tried to use the DSS site. It was a nightmare. I don't feel well. I don't want to have to go out tomorrow. Please pray in Jesus's name I can get through to them quickly tomorrow, get back on the site and get the internet form filled out quickly so I don't have to go back out tomorrow. Finally, just a thank you: A while back, I was upset about a large amount of mechanical damage to my hair. It happened because of the way I was styling it and because I was sick in bed a lot and didn't realize the hair was getting tangled and matted. I had a lot of breakage. My new hairdresser cut it and told me not to color it. I started sleeping with a silk cap and taking measures to heal and baby my hair. Anyway, today, six weeks later, my hairdresser was very pleased. The hair is healthy, and I never lost any from the roots. My nephew is getting married soon. I will be able to get a pretty color put in for the wedding. On top of that, I have a hairdresser I really trust who does a wonderful job on me. Since you prayed for this, I think you should hear the praise report. Thank you for praying.
