75 degrees in Austin!

Also, ran three miles in 35 mins....not bad for an old fucker :)

worst christmas ever...

Jaime had an anxiety attack right before heading home and felt "relieved" he didn't have to go- which upset me. I went for a five mile walk then when I came back- slept until the next day. The following day- he refused to talk to me....so, here we are not speaking to one another.....ugh.

Had an amazing family visit...

Julissa's condition

Pituaitary Adenoma Treatment & Symptoms

Approximately 1 in 1,000 people will develop a pituitary adenoma and many of these adenomas cause no problems or symptoms. These slow-growing benign tumors arise spontaneously without a known cause from the tissues of the pituitary gland and seldom are cancerous. About 10% to 15% of all intracranial tumors are pituitary adenomas.

Pituitary Macroadenoma Symptoms

Small adenomas less than 10 millimeters in size are called microadenomas while adenomas greater than 10 millimeters are called macroadenomas. Otherwise, adenomas are classified as hormone-producing or hormone-inactive adenomas based upon their impact on the activity of the pituitary gland. Hormone-producing adenomas cause the pituitary gland to secrete an excess amount of a hormone and disrupt the normal balance of hormones in the body. Hormone-inactive adenomas are larger tumors that, due to their size, may damage the pituitary gland or exert pressure on surrounding brain tissues.
The most common hormone-producing adenomas are named in conjunction with the hormone they stimulate:

• ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas cause secretion of excess cortisol by the adrenal glands and cause Cushing’s syndrome. Cushing’s syndrome caused by an ACTH-secreting pituitary adenoma is cased Cushing’s disease.

• Growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas cause secretion of excess growth hormone and can result in acromegaly in adults and giantism in children. In both cases, individuals continue to grow and reach an unusually large size.

• Prolactin-secreting pituitary adenomas, also called prolactinomas, primarily affect females. Excess production of the hormone prolactin shuts down menstrual periods, causes breast enlargement, and production of breast milk.

• Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) producing pituitary adenomas are a rare form of pituitary adenomas that cause hyperthyroidism, an excess of thyroid hormone in the body.

Pituitary Gland Tumor Symptoms

The symptoms hormone-producing adenomas cause are related to the hormone that is affected by the tumor as already noted. Hormone-inactive adenomas exert pressure on surrounding brain structures and can produce a variety of symptoms depending upon the area of the brain affected by the tumor.
Compression of the pituitary gland by a hormone-inactive tumor can result some form of pituitary failure with one or more of the following pituitary tumor symptoms:

• Low blood pressure

• Fatigue

• Inability to handle stress

• Sexual dysfunction

Compression of the pituitary stalk which connects the pituitary gland to the hypothalamus can result in mildly elevated levels of prolactin, causing irregular menstrual periods in females. This condition is different from a prolactin-secreting pituitary adenoma.
A macroadenoma that grows upward from the pituitary gland can impact the optic chiasm, part of the pathway in the brain between the eye and the visual cortex. The visual cortex is the portion of the brain that ultimately controls eyesight. This type of pituitary adenoma results in:

• Blurry vision

• Loss of peripheral vision, called bitemporal hemianopsia

• Loss of color perception, the ability to distinguish colors

• Headache

Pituitary apoplexy can be a severe result of any type of pituitary adenoma. With pituitary apoplexy the adenoma bleeds into itself and causes a sudden headache accompanied by a loss in vision. Pituitary apoplexy is a medical emergency.

Pituitary Macroadenoma Diagnosis

A pituitary adenoma diagnosis is typically accomplished by an endocrinologist through sophisticated blood tests that measure applicable hormone levels along with MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of the brain and pituitary gland.

Pituitary Tumor Treatment Without Surgery

Medical management with drugs through an endocrinologist is the first-line treatment for pituitary adenomas secreting prolactin. Pituitary tumors rarely require any other treatment. Medical management may also play a role, along with surgery, in acromegaly, Cushing’s disease, and pituitary failure (hypopituitarism). Otherwise, surgery to remove the adenoma is the treatment of choice. Some patients with incidentally discovered non-secretory adenomas may be best treated with observation alone.

Julissa disagnosed with a brain tumor

More doc visits and discussions need to happen to find out what next steps will be...more to come. :(

Sugar Bowl

No. 15 Texas’ Sugar Bowl matchup with No. 5 Georgia officially set...

 With the Oklahoma Sooners securing a bid in the College Football Playoff and the Georgia Bulldogs being left just narrowly on the outside looking in at No. 5 nationally, the Sugar Bowl matchup has been set — Texas will head to New Orleans for a New Year’s Six bowl, where Tom Herman’s program will meet Georgia on Jan. 1, 2019.

Entering the Sugar Bowl, Texas and Georgia are each 4-2 against ranked competition. The Longhorns own wins over No. 22 USC, No. 17 TCU, No. 7 Oklahoma, and No. 16 Iowa State, but fell at home against No. 13 West Virginia by a single point, and most recently, in the Big 12 Championship game to now-No. 4 and playoff-bound Oklahoma, 39-27. Georgia, on the other hand, has ranked wins over 24 South Carolina, No. 9 Florida, No. 9 Kentucky, and No. 24 Auburn, but fell by 20 points on the road against No. 13 LSU, and of course, came on short in the SEC Championship against top-ranked Alabama, 35-28.

Now reeling from respective conference championship losses, Texas and Georgia will meet for just the fifth time ever and for the first time in 35 years. The Longhorns own the all-time edge over the Bulldogs, 3-1, but Georgia won the most recent meeting in 1984, topping then-undefeated and No. 2-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl, 10-9.

Georgia will enter the Sugar Bowl boasting an 11-2 record and seeking the program’s second 12-win season in as many tries, while the 9-4 Longhorns will aim to capture the program’s first 10-win season since 2009.

The Sugar Bowl is set to kickoff at 7:45 p.m. CT on Jan. 1, 2019.

Tio Rudy died...

Apparently he had been sick for years now....and when I spoke to mom, she mentioned not going to the funeral because "he didn't want me as a sister, so why should I be there..." which is very sad to me. I feel like I should go to at least pay my respects...