The first call indicated that the MRI and bone scan of the upper back, where all the pain is located, was inconclusive--surprise, surprise! Basically, the 11th vertebrae didn't absorb enough radioactive goo to allow a crisp image. Tomorrow, Mary is having a plain, old, vanilla X-ray to see if they can figure it out that way. What the scan did show is a fracture in her lower back so they are evaluating putting her back on her osteoporosis meds which she stopped taking in June after the major surgery. We'll hear soon on that.
They did put her on a stronger pain killer, the same one she used after the major liver surgery. Yes, its the same one she had to 'step down' in daily dose over several weeks to terminate. The opinion is "If it helps you feel better and minimize the pain, we'll worry about stepping down after we figure out the source of the pain." Mary has a few of those left over so she took one this afternoon and is feeling much better. Back pain is down and her stomach is much more settled. Good news there!
The second call from Stanford makes sure we cannot end today's story in a simple way. Today's complexity is Mary's gain of 5 lbs (2.3 kg) in three days--water retention i.e., bloat. This triggered another prescription for diuretics which I will pick up on my way home tonight. And, the surgeon, who seems to be committed to track Mary's progress, has asked her to return for a visit on Dec 4th. That is too bad, Reenie leaves on the 2nd and won't be able to tag along for visiting her favorite MD.
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