Squish Squash!

You ever listen to some of those "side effects" of advertised medicines?  Some appear so much worse than what the medicine is for!  I especially like the ones that advertise the side effect of death.  To me, a side effect is something that can be stopped by no longer taking a medicine . . . death (to me) seems a smidge worse than a side effect.

I am currently taking a medication to help battle my MS.  The official side effects include:
* redness, minor pain, swelling, irritation, or a hard lump where the injection was given
* warmth, redness, or tingly feeling under the skin
* weakness, dizziness
* white patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips
* joint pain
* nausea, diarrhea
* muscle tension or stiffness
* runny nose
* changes in your menstrual periods; or
* increased urge to urinate.

Weighing these against some of what MS could do to me, and wanting to prolong my "normalcy" for my girls had me signing up to put chemicals in my body.  I didn't care about the success rates and how medicine a had been on the market for this length and had such and such percentage of relapse.  I mainly wanted a medicine that didn't list "death" as a side effect.  So I chose the meds I chose - and I also chose it because it didn't seem to have negative results with my Hashimotos disease (oh, I didn't tell you I also had that?  I do.  It's a pain.  Period). 

Then, I had my first yearly appointment around a year after having been on the MS meds.  Long story short, I had to have a biopsy done and a few rounds of acid treatments in a very tender and private area.  Fortunately, the cells were not cancerous, but I was told that MS meds raise the chances of cancer.  WOOT!  HOW EXCITING!  Trade MS flares and progressive physical declines for chemo?  SIGN ME UP!

Sarcasm aside, I was a little upset to have not heard this before.  Doing research online also gives mixed results.  About half of the articles state my form of medication actually decreases rates of cancer whereas the other half state it increases e chance of cancer.

So, I just shrugged and said "hey, it's life" and moved on.

Then, this late summer and early fall, I started having "soreness" on the outside of my left breast.  It wasn't all of the time.  I put it down to PMS, working out, moving the wrong way, etc.  Then, it would go away and I would forget about it.

Then it would come back.

And go away.

Then, October arrived with its Pink Out.  The girls got to wear cute pink bows for cheerleading, and carried cute pink pom poms.  And the news had tons of breast cancer stories, including a story on a very rare but dangerous form of breast cancer that can't be detected by normal means. 

This article was aired during one of the evenings where the "ache" was making itself known big time.  But . . . . I really didn't think more of it.  I mean, we'd been doing our plank challenges each night, so who was to say it was breast cancer instead of just bad form while planking?

Then, I woke up in November and the ache was THERE.  It was not something I could forget . . . it made itself known from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. 

My 91 year old gram was scheduled to have a mammogram, so I decided I needed to try to get in for one, just in case.

My self exams weren't finding anything other than WOW! TENDER!  So, I was eager to get in to the doctor so he could tell me it was all in my head . . . . or that I had mastitis or some other sort of infection.

But, no.  We needed to get me in for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound.

I only had to wait a week for that fun - a week without my normal cup of tea each morning.  A week without my daily chocolate fix.  And (it turns out) a week of full on PMS.  it's a wonder my family and my co-workers survived.

The mammogram was NOT painful.  Not in the least.  It might've been the two extra strength pain pills I had within an hour of the exam . . . . or maybe it was the fact I am so overweight that there was a lot of fat to squish?  Whatever the reason, the mammogram was almost anti-climatic in the painlessness of it. 

The mammogram was reviewed while I sat in my hospital gown knitting scarf (you can get a full scarf down between all of these fun tests - fyi).  The results determined I had dense breast tissue, but because it was my first mammogram, they decided to continue with the ultrasound and check out the lumps on the outside of my left breast.

The ultrasound hurt worse . . .  but it was only b/c of the continued tenderness of the breast and not the exam itself.

I got to take a short nap while that ultrasound was studied. 

The results - I have dense breast tissue.  But - because this was my first ultrasound and I have that denseness, I have to go back in 6 months to ensure nothing is growing or getting all bad in there.

I still don't know if the MS meds have a hand in these new problems, but the fear is in the back of my head as I make lifestyle decisions, including types of foods I consume.  They might not be related, but I really think it's a good idea to do everything I can to stack the chances in my favor  . .. .