The Thyroid

I have graduated to the big pill case. My daily regimen involves; 150 Levothyroxine, 2 thyroid support capsules, 1 multi b vitamin, 50 mg selenium and 3 mg of melatonin at night. I AM SICK OF TAKING PILLS!

Flat tires part 2

Apparently the apprentice who put the patch on didn't do it right and the patch is leaking. So they are getting some new tubes shipped in. My bike is a new model and they don't have any in stock. They told me they will put a new tube in for free. Today they were sweet as pie. Go figure. He must have been having a PMS day.

I went for bloodwork this morning. They are having a terrible time finding a good vein. The nurse said I am going to start having to have it taken out of my hands. At first I flipped but after talking to others that get it that way, I don't think it will be any worse then what I am dealing with now. When they hunt and peck and search for that vein it freaks me right out. When they think they have one and miss, it's even worse.

Flat tires

My bike got a flat a couple of weeks ago. I took it in and the helper repaired. it. Darn tire has been leaking since. I make arrangements that the bike goes in today to be re-fixed.

It rained this morning and the pavement was slightly damp. I get there and the mechanic starts in with the, you can't ride you bike in the rain. It voids the warranty. I told him it's not raining now. He tells me the water from theroad could splash up and get the battery wet and short it out.

Excuse me? Are you telling me this bike is so poorly made that the barest amount of moisture could get under the mat and short the battery out? If so, I won't buy another and I won't recommend it to others. Or are you being a nasty crab because it's work that won't get paid for?

Sunday Sept 12

A perfect day for a bike ride. Only one person tried to run me down in his....pick up. I don't don't know what it is but the worst drivers out there are young guys in pick ups and the elderly. Neither group seems willing to share the road.

So I am cruising along Lansdowne street when this brown pick up sails off Talford, right through a stop sign. Good thing I have a really good set of brakes Moron.

Where was he going to? Rushing his wife to the hospital? A sick pet to the Vets? Try a big rush to the mail box.

Waking up

You know that feeling when you first get up in the morning? That point where you are not quite asleep but not quite awake? That is how I felt for years. Now I feel like I am yawning and stretching. Shaking out the cobwebs in my brain and ready to start a new day.

I am only 50% feeling better. Yet 50% better is unbelievable. I don't feel like the I am living dead anymore. Things are starting to interest me again. I went to the mall today and actually enjoyed shopping. It wasn't such an effort to just be there.

I still have the sleepies and I still lose interest in things. My hands and feet still go numb all the time. Some days I am so very sluggish it isn't funny. I guess time will tell. Once my thyroid is back in balance then I will worry if I still feel the symptoms but for now I am enjoying the fact that I am becoming me again.

Chronic paresthesia

What a strange name for having tingling in your hands and feet. Sort of a pins and needles feeling. Before I went on the thyroid hormones I had it bad. At first it was in my hands and I thought it was from being on the computer too much. Then it spread to my feet. Made it very hard to walk sometimes.

Now that I have been on the thyroid hormone it has faded and somedays it's gone entirely. Only time will tell if it will go away entirely.

Saw the Doctor today

Asked him just how high was my thyroid level. It was 100 when I was diagnosed. 86 now. Normal is 3. He wants me at 2. I guess I have a long way to go yet.

Bloodwork

They missed the vein. So very painful when that happens. I had to tell her to stop and take it out. They then tried my other arm and were able to draw blood just fine.

Sometimes I don't know how I am going to do this.

A couple of bad days

Tomorrow I go in for bloodwork and to get my meds readjusted. I have been having a few crappy days. My feet and hands are numb again and I feel my energy and ambition draining away. This is a scheduled step up in treatment so I am not worried or surprised. Just struggling to get through the next couple of days.

Medication

Ok when am I supposed to take this pill? I can't have Dairy or antacids within an hour of taking it. I can't have calcium, magnesium or iron within 4 hours of taking the medication. I am supposed to avoid soy products and it's best taken on an empty stomach.

Get up at 5 am and take it?

Diagnosis and the other symptoms

Ok, Now I know I have something wrong with my thyroid. The Doctor put me on a lose dose of Levothyroxine because he was worried about my heart. Heart disease runs in my family and this condition messes with the heart. I already had a slow heart rate from it. Every 6 weeks I have to get my blood tested and he will adjust my medication until I get to a level that is right for me. Then I have to keep getting blood work done to make sure I am getting enough thyroid hormone. He told me it could take up to a year to get the dosage just right. After living this long, feeling so bad, I didn't care.

Antibodies in my blood indicate it is Hashimoto's disease. Basically my immune system has been attackingmy thyroid and slowly killing it off. My Doctor figures I have had this for a very long time. At first I probably had very little symptoms or none at all. I may have even had bouts where my thyroid was over active.

I discovered that so many of the things I thought were part of the aging process was actually part of Hasimoto's and hypothyroidism. I found a check list for both conditions and was astonished to realize how many of those little things I never really thought fit did belong. Yes I gained a lot of weight and I was snoring a lot lately. They go hand in hand don't they? Well 3 days on the thyroid hormone and I stopped snoring. Which is good because my own snoring was actually waking me up.

Two weeks later and the alligator skin I was developing is starting to fade. My extra dry hair and skin are returning to normal. The carpel tunnel and numbness in my hands and feet are almost gone. The ringing in my ears that I was blaming the mp3 player on is gone. Even the constant feeling of cold has finally stopped.

I still have a lot more symptoms and some days are worse then others. I shaved my legs in April for Easter and the hair hasn't grown back. It's not stubble it's as smooth as the day I shaved them. I still get vertigo and weakness in my legs and arms but I can climb a flight of stairs without having to stop and rest when I reach the top. My face is still puffy and my hands and feet still have swelling as well as some pain in my back that lingers. Writing this shows that I am starting to find interests again. Just sitting there is no longer as exhausting as it once was. I have even managed to get out in the garden more then once this spring.

Six weeks ago

I thought I was going to die. I really did. I felt so bad I finally went into the Doctor. I had so many weird things going on in my body I was certain he would think I was crazy. I certainly felt crazy.

The scariest thing was I couldn't breath without pain. My throat and tongue felt swollen. My fingers and toes felt numb. Pins and needles. My back, oh it hurt so bad. All the way up my shoulder and under my right breast. Pain that would not go away with pain killers. Sometimes I even felt something like bugs crawling under my skin.

I would wake up in the morning after sleeping 6 to 8 hours and just getting up was exhausting. I would sit for an hour or two gathering strength to go to work. Walking was an effort. My legs felt so weak. Some days every bone in my body hurt. I was constantly cold. Frozen. I felt like I couldn't think. I certainly couldn't remember anything and talking was sometimes hard. Even my voice had gone hoarse.

Each evening I curled up and rested with my cats. Just working up the strength to do simple stuff like laundry. I lost interest in doing things. A trip anywhere was just too much. Even posting to people at night was sometimes more effort then I could do. I was scared but it was time I got in to the Doctor before it was too late.

My Doctor looked at my file and asked me why I hadn't had my blood work done when I was supposed to. I said I wanted to but things were not good for me this year and everything seemed to be getting away from me. He asked me what was happening and I told him some stuff. I told him about losing a cat and he asked me about her. It made me cry a little. He was very good about it.

After he listened to me about my symptoms he asked me what I thought it could be. I don't know I told him. Maybe, my thyroid, or my heart. He agreed and told me there were several other things it could be too. Such as Diabetes or MS. Then he looked at me and asked me something I didn't want to hear. "What else could it be? Something that you are worried about?" I told him my fear. Cancer. He nodded and said it was very possible. Quietly he told me there was a strong possibility and we had to check it out first and foremost. Right away. Then he took a tissue and wiped away my tears and told me he was going to do everything he could to heal me so I could heal from the loss of Miss Minnie. That really scared me because my Doctor is a little more on the gruff then gentle side.

He sent me to get chest xrays, spinal xrays and a whole host of tests and of course the dreaded bloodwork just in case. With an appointment in a week to follow up.

I know some people stay calm and cool. I may have seemed it but inside me, my anxiety levels were through the roof.

Here in Canada if something shows up, the Doctor will call when the tests come back and ask to see you right away. I had my tests and my bloodwork all completed on a Friday. Monday came and went and no phone call. Whew! I think I am in the clear. Then Tuesday afternoon the phone rang. It was the Doctors office. I was shaking as the receptionist at the Doctors office explained that all my tests came back. Then she told me I had an very low thyroid and they wanted me to get on thyroid medication right away. They called in prescription and had me pick it up on the way home from work. I actually cried with relief when she told me this.