THE LAST WEEK HAS BEEN A BUSY ONE with the days running together. Putting it all in a nutshell...it was a productive week and very busy.
It's only been a little over a week since I pulled a back muscle to the point of extreme pain. Today my back is better, but not quite 100% back to normal. Still hurts so I'm taking it easy using a heating pad, massage chair, pain patches from DOLLAR TREE. Easy on the Ibuprofen.
THIS MORNING, I worked on paperwork so I could sit in my recliner. The heat pad will be added shortly. I need to work upstairs then in the afternoon I'll continue on the paperwork by my chair. I needed a break from it so I watched some wonderful organizational videos and do it yourself vids on youtube. Now I'm blogging to release some energy since I cannot be fully physically active doing a great deal of movement. The place I injured in my back twinges from time to time taking my breath away. The shooting pain is awful.
The organizational vids are full of great ideas. It amazes me how well some women organize their personal space. I'm thankful I have access to this programming in my HOME. Better than a movie or television programs. I like the clean uncluttered look they achieve when they are finished. Keeping THE LOOK would be a different story. Not sure after the camera stops rolling how they live or manage to maintain THE LOOK.
MY THOUGHTS so far this week have been on losing weight again by eating organic vegetables and fruits like what's in the DANIEL DIET. On day 4. I have to talk to myself about staying on this FOOD PROGRAM so I will lose weight in a healthy way. Thoughts of maple bacon donuts comes to mind. Things I shouldn't eat while dieting come to mind bombarding my thoughts.
Also coming to mind are the doctors appointments we had in September. Repotting plants...got the geraniums dug up and mums put in their place. Working more on thinning out PAPERS. Babysitting our grandson...who is one active little guy. Working at the COTTAGE...moved the old fashioned sewing machine and church pew from the living room into the utility room. Now to Scotch Liquid Gold these pieces to bring their natural beauty back to them. AND watching Cross Country events...Lil Miss came in first at the meet. Watch her run!
I have spells where I get overwhelmed thinking about what needs to be done at the COTTAGE to make it livable and how slow we are moving on it. When the workers on the remodeling are the two of us and self isn't well, it gets to me.
Hubby had an excellent appointment last week about his Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and a not so good one for the thyroid. His Thyroid Cancer may have come back. This is upsetting. We have to be our OWN ADVOCATES when it comes to health issues. We have to investigate and have a general knowledge as to what is going on and what can be done. Lord, I ask for your help and wisdom concerning health.
Before, our Endocrinologist allowed him to fall through the cracks when it came to my husband's thyroid cancer. The Endocrinologist poo-pooed him off and said to wait another year before he'd check into it. In the mean time, Hubby was getting sicker and sicker. He ended up going back to our primary care physician to get some help about a very sore, enlarged lymph node which led to discovering he had thyroid cancer requiring surgery. Why we stayed with this endo and company, I don't know. In some ways, I believe that all the endos around here are in the same box about medicines and treating thyroid cancer with T4 only treatments.
It's been a week since we had our 2022 Endocrinologist Appointment. It has taken some time for me to process all that was said. The overall feeling of being rushed and ignoring questions was apparent. I take a print out of questions with me to ask the APRN. After studying what thyroid advocates and some unique medical doctors have said about thyroid health, I was prepared to hear the pat answers this APRN would regurgitate to me. I wasn't shocked at his answers as they were what I was expecting to hear.
My conclusion concerning the Endocrinologist is this...as long as a patient's TSH is within the range bracket, they have done their job. It doesn't matter to them if you are still having hypothyroid symptoms as long as you are in range. Their belief is if your TSH is off it is because the patient isn't taking their medicine. No checking into if T4 is converting well into T3. No concerns how well the thyroid hormone is entering into the cells. No concerns if something else is wrong with one's health, they will tell you to go to primary doctor for additional test. This one is good advice, but to overlook that if the TSH is in the range then that's all they need to do, isn't thorough enough.
They will not inform you what being OPTIMAL is. This was something I had to ask about. It wasn't volunteered from the medical staff. They will do no more investigation to find out why you don't feel well. There will be no attempt to assist you in feeling better. They pass the buck. Have your primary doctor do test to find out why you feel awful, are fatigued, gaining weight, have insomnia, foggy brain, etc. There will be no need to investigate how well the T4 is converting to T3. There will be no investigating to find out how well the thyroid hormone is getting into the cells.
I have been working at suppressing my TSH since I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer 12 and a half years ago. I was never told how long I should be suppressed for after having Thyroid Cancer until last week. I was told I didn't have to be suppressed anymore after a comment I made. I messaged my APRN and asked how long after having Thyroid Cancer is suppression done. He answered back 5 years. Well I hit my 5 year mark 7 and a half years ago. I have been over suppressed 7 and a half years meaning that suppressing my TSH has been ongoing for too long.
When I looked over my records, when I was suppose to be suppressed, I wasn't. AND when I shouldn't have been suppressed, I was. Suppression for too long can lead to heart issues and osteoporosis. Dementia is in there somewhere.
I regret staying with this practice for as long as I have. The questions I needed to ask, I didn't know what they even were. Then there's the brain fog that attaches itself to how my brain has been working. When I am with the doctor or APRN, I am not fully able to recall all that was said. The questions I wanted to ask vanish. Like a fleeting thought.
One good thing is that when I have asked a question from my paper that I brought along with me, their answers are what I had read they would be and when I hear them speaking the answers the info I had read does come back to me. That's a bonus.
I had decided that I wouldn't challenge the APRN during my appointment with what I had read. There'd be no debate or argument. Just simply hear his side of the answer and go on as if that satisfied my curiosity.
NDT info. Natural Desiccated Thyroid. At one point of this journey when I asked about taking Armour (natural) instead of Synthroid (man-made synthetic) for treatment, I was told that no one in the office is prescribed Armour. Only Levothyroxine (T4) like Synthroid or a generic brand. I was given the song and dance about the evils of Armour. It isn't FDA approved. When studying up about Synthroid, it was actually taken off the shelves at one point for having bad batches out there. Something the doctor told me about the evils of Armour was that they couldn't get the batches the same. Synthroid wasn't FDA approved for 46 years before being prescribed by Endocrinologist. It was FDA approved in July 2002. Armour may not be FDA approved, but it is FDA regulated and in the 1980s regulations were put into place that made hormone levels just as precise in NDT as they were in synthetic drugs. I tolerate Armour better than Synthroid. Synthroid made me overheat and sweat terribly.
This particular practice has been T4 only treatment. They may prescribe T3 now, but earlier in my journey they didn't. Cytomel (T3). The APRN told me that I might feel better if I took T3 along with my T4 only treatment, but the APRN didn't agree to do this. Why wouldn't I want to feel better then what I was? I was grossly fatigued, gaining weight, hair falling out, nails brittle, over heating...why wouldn't I want to feel better than this?
Synthroid made me over heat and sweat which is one of the side effects for people who do not tolerate Synthroid very well. Even though I was telling the doctor and APRN my symptoms, the symptoms were not acknowledged and I continued to fell rotten. Looking back I wished I had pressed in and been hard nosed telling them I needed more investigation into why I continued to feel rotten. I just went along with them, but started researching and reading about thyroid health by thyroid advocates. I confess, I had brain fog and couldn't comprehend all of what I was reading and I couldn't recall most of it which led to rereading the same information over and over. My notes were in a multitude of different notebooks and I'd lose my notes.
This last appointment, I asked the APRN if my TSH numbers are in range but I'm still having hypothyroid symptoms what do you suggest should be done? I got a story about pregnant women having luscious hair and good nails. After she had a baby her nails broke. Like an idiot I allowed the conversation to go in a different direction. I should have pulled back on the reins and asked again what do you suggest I do about still having hypothyroid symptoms when my TSH numbers are within range.
I know that the way my brain works these days that I get easily side tracked and I am not as fast as I once was when it comes to being involved in a conversation. While the other person is talking, I may come up with a question to ask and then it fades away before I can ask it. This is frustrating when wanting to carry on a conversation or hear what a medical expert has to say. The conversation gets away from me. Now, what did they say? What are they saying? This is where brain fog enters the picture.
The one with brain fog can be taken advantage of. The deep rooted questions that need answered may go into the outer space of the subconscious mind being out of reach. It can fade away getting lost in my train of thought then resurface at three o'clock in the morning when at home no longer able to ask the medical expert the question. If I jot the question down, there's a strong possibility that I will misplace it.
I have noticed that I lose my train of thought more so now than ever before. I can be looking up something on the computer and before I get to that sight, I come up with more things to look up, get side tracked and go elsewhere looking for a different issue. If I'm lucky, the thought comes back to me and I return to looking up the original thought.
I have begun to look for a different Endocrinologist. I hesitate because I have been with these guys for over a decade. I hesitate because I may get someone worse. I hesitate. So I will be praying for direction as to what to do.
WALK IN LABS (dot) com has blood test you can order without a doctor's permission needed. We just did a lab on my husband to see what the results are so we can compare with what was done. We can monitor the results and compare to see what is happening with his thyroglobulin tumor marker. APRN said we'd check again in 6 months to see about the numbers since it has risen. Hubby and I agreed that we'd check this out on our own before 6 months passes by. What we have been reading is that if this tumor marker rises there is a huge probability that the cancer has returned.
With all the footwork my husband did concerning thyroid cancer and lymph nodes the first go round, the Endocrinologist failed us. It was because my husband was persistent about his physical condition that he sought out our primary doctor and together they came up with a plan and discovered that he needed the lymph node examined which led to other tests leading to surgery. Now, with the thyroglobulin rising when it's been in a safe zone, the APRN says we'll wait 6 more months to recheck it isn't resting well with us.
PAUSE.
Weather is gorgeous outside. Beautiful. When we drove across the prairie, I could see AUTUMN in the trees. The French doors are open allowing fresh air inside. I love days like this. Love it. I have been beat down with health issues and paper to deal with. I am not very happy with all the paper. I have to forge ahead. I have to. I'm drowning in it. Blogging helps me to come up for air so I can continue forging through the paper. Oh Lord, help. me.
PAUSE.
Eating a restricted diet hits me hard at times. Today, I am hungry. HUNGRY. I can feel it in my body when I am burning calories. Not a comfortable feeling, but doable. Getting in tune with my body in this way is different. Difficult. I have to do this or I will remain too heavy. My attitude about losing weight is a good one. I feel determined to achieve this goal like running a race. It's not a sprint...it's a marathon. I can eat some peanut butter on this food program. Think I will go get some out of the fridge...that's organic. Drink some spring water. Take a break.
Lunch was a large plate of zucchini, squash, onions and a small amount of potatoes cooked in olive oil. I topped it with salsa. More veggies. I felt satisfied after eating it. If I can continue beefing up the vegetables then I know I will lose weight. I have to.
Labs in November to check how I'm doing with cholesterol and diabetes. My cholesterol numbers are too high and I want to keep my A1c lower than a 6. I am sleeping better and waking easier in the mornings since I stopped taking Metroprolol and the OTC sleep aides. I will continue taking the Lisinopril/HCTZ until I lose more weight and if my blood pressure comes down then I may be weened off of this medicine as well. I'm hoping.
SO much thought has gone into health issues. Eating healthier will help with the health issues. I have found out that TSH can be effected by nutritional deficiencies, chronic stress, weather/seasons, hormone imbalances.
When I talk to myself about eating a restricted food program, I tell myself, I am not deprived. I have enough to eat. I am blessed.
PAUSE.
It is helpful to have a hobby that brings enjoyment and fulfillment encouraging better mental health. Detoxing from stress. I have to get back to the paperwork and decluttering. The junk room awaits me.
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