And the Winner Is......

So, I met with the endocrinologist today. Let's skip to the back page - I have pheochromocytoma. Now, let's get to the details (or skip ahead to the next article). So, the CT showed a 4cm (read: golf ball) tumor/growth in my left adrenal gland. This is of course as suspected. Most of the research I've read so far has been true so no sense in rehashing the details. Of note is that my original doctor had noted possible PCC in my blood sample. Why I was not taken down the path of urinalysis or CT Scan at that point is beyond me. So, the doctor decided that it might not be a good idea to run a marathon so it's time to bring the exercise levels down - casual exercise only. Also, the beta blockers that were prescribed to me are actually making the problem more acute so I am off those. He prescribed an alpha blocker (dibenzyline) which essentially "blocks" (no kidding....) the alpha receptors in the cells. These receptors are sensitive to the epinepherine and so this will help the high blood pressure. Essentially I need to consistently increase my dose over the next 3-4 weeks before surgery in order to get my system balanced. As far as I can tell there is a risk, if not balanced, that messing with the adrenal gland could violently increase my blood pressure (read: heart attack) and then cause it to drop to very low levels as the adrenaline supply is cutoff. This would seem to be bad during an operation. I will therefore be incrementally decreasing the adrenaline effect in my body pre-surgery. Oh, yeah, so this is important. It does not appear to be malignent (based on size, shape) but the doctor ordered a chest x-ray to be sure. Also ordered another blood test to check out some calcium levels that might indicate a bigger problem in the endocrine system. So, I took a quick jaunt upstairs to radiology to get zapped then back down a floor to give up some more of my blood. Now, I have never had to have a prescription refilled. I don't much believe in drugs as a rule (I would rather diagnose the problem rather than just treating the symptoms) so color me surprised when I was told at the Renton neighborhood Rite-Aid that they did not have Dibenzyline in stock. I called the local Walgreens to no effect. I decided the better part of valor was not to sit there and burn 411 calls trying to figure out who had this drug in stock (I was now discovering that drugstore inventory is not shared between branches) and instead head home to call from my handy computer. Well, the local Bartells did not have the drug either and it was approaching 9pm so I figured I would wait until tomorrow. The good news is that I found a Walgreens in Bellevue that had the drug in stock and got this Saturday morning. We'll have to see how they work but being off the beta blockers a day has resulted in a much better feeling. Oh, BTW, I will get back the x-ray and blood results on Monday when I'm in San Jose so should know more then. I also scheduled an appointment with the surgeon for next Thursday at which time I presume that I will have a surgery scheduled.