Sunday, May 18, 2014

Distract yourself


How to distract yourself from your thoughts....

Step One:   Have a tickle/wrestle fest with a toddler.  WORKS EVERY TIME



Step Two:   Go to the ZOO with your family and get lost in the magnificent wonders of the animal world!     Take your time to see each animal, take your time to take it all in.  :-)






Getting it under control...


Say hello to my new thyroid meds!

OYE!

So here's what we know so far - synthroid needs to go.    I'm now on a different synthetic paired with cytomel twice a day and vitamin D 50,000 IUI one time per week.    We're trying to shrink what has been found before we go in/ahead with the FNA.    I am trying my best to be patient, but it's tough.   Next appointment and looksie is June 13th!    

Can I just say I WANT THIS THING REMOVED and I have made that PERFECTLY CLEAR TO EVERYONE I AM WORKING WITH?  

I started the new meds this past weekend (Saturday) and on Saturday I just felt EXHAUSTED.    I ended up taking a four hour nap with my son.   I think we both needed it.   However, today I felt I had more energy and we decided to spend the day outside at the zoo.

I've been praying for patience, strength, and answers to questions to be in my favor.

I know God wouldn't give me more than I can handle... I just wish He didn't trust me so much.  

Friday, May 9, 2014

"Something is just not right...."

I've never been a fan of butterflies or secrets so I might as well come clean to my readers and say, "Hey look at that!   My stupid butterfly (thyroid) is causing problems again and this time it's a bit scary."

So the past few weeks have been filled with waiting rooms, labs, and appointments.    Having Hashimoto's and PCOS is interesting - I had been feeling unusually tired.   Unusually cold.    And really just very.... not me.    I went to see my new family doctor after my OB said at my annual - "Something doesn't feel right here.... but I could be wrong, you did say you are coming off of having a cold...."    After seeing the family doc and her running some preliminary tests she had said, "Mmmm yea.... something isn't right Leigh Anne.    I'm not the lead expert on Hashimotos.    Let's get Dr. P on board and hook you up at Hershey Med - there's a lady doctor there I know you will love."  

So in the meantime.... I've had a lot of blood work ya'll.
And the thing with Hashimoto's is if the rest of your body is doing as it should, the thyroid throws a mood swing.   I'm hoping this is just a lumpy throated mood swing and not "the big C."   Seriously though, I'm scared.






I will say I am tremendously blessed with a hubby who "gets" that the last thing I want to do when I'm already incredibly anxious is fill out paperwork.   Kudos to the hubs, well done.    He even remembered my birthday and what I'm allergic to!

It's looking like my TSH is behaving for the most part right now but my T4 is all sorts of whacked out and even the T3 got jealous and thought, 'Hey - let's really get them wound up.'     And I keep having this odd cough and sensations of choking which is especially awkward when you're talking/teaching/singing in Church/eating.  

So more labs were done and there were some more thyroid red flags popping up followed by a few smart people in lab coats saying, "Hmmm that feels interesting" followed by a "Have you ever been screened for thyroid cancer?   Do you have a family history of thyroid cancer?    Tell me, how are you feeling lately?"   And the best question, "Do you find it really difficult to lose weight?"    Um, hello - what do you think?    But hey.... for the record ya'll - I'm down 43 pounds since 2013.    Yea.  On my own.   Working hard.   Slow and steady wins the race.   Gluten free for nine months.

The decision was made that I'm in need of some help with this stupid butterfly thing of ours and I am working with an excellent team.     West Reading and Hershey Med.   I am thankful for amazing health insurance.     Monday I met Dr. Cox and I feel at ease with her.   She gets me.   She listened to me and THAT IS JUST SO IMPORTANT.    Nothing is more infuriating to me than the "smile and nodder" type.   She understood the frustrations I'm experiencing and she explained that this is the nature of an autoimmune disease.    I did nothing to earn this or deserve this - it's just bad genetics and she immediately got me into the lab on Monday to take even more blood to see what levels are doing what.

Finally as this week went by and results came in she said its time to take a more detailed look at the areas that were already previously identified as suspicious.    So today I had one of those super sonic ultrasounds (I don't know if that's the term but it's the highest resolution).    I will now torture you with pictures of pictures via my phone.    The lab tech said she wasn't allowed to print photos of my thyroid ultrasound so when she left the room I took photos of it.   It's my thyroid and I haven't rebelled since I was about 12.   I was due.






So now.... we wait.    I see the doc again Monday evening and then hopefully by the end of the week we'll know what on earth this stupid thing is doing.     I'm annoyed with this because I kinda thought I was done.    History of infertility - lots of pain there - got through it - have an awesome miracle boy - I just don't want to be dealing with more --- just wanna do my thang as a mommy and teacher.  

That's that but hey.... look at my cute kid learning to scoot!   :-)


Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Gluten free WORKS - here's the labs!

One of the frustrations about gluten free I experience is I think people expect to see me thinner than I am.   And although gluten free HAS helped me lose weight....   And I no longer have ridiculous weight gains..... there are also benefits "behind the scenes" such as in lab work.  

Since going gluten free I have officially (as of TODAY) hit my lowest weight in almost FOUR years.
Since going gluten free I have dropped not one, not two, but THREE (and super close to 4) sizes.

Below are lab results from June 2013 and then from this past week.

a1c (AKA Diabetes baby)
June 2013:  5.3  (good, but close to the scary 6)
May 2014:  4.4

Fasting glucose
June 2013:  91 (normal range is 70-99)
May 2014:  77 (yep, down FOURTEEN POINTS)

Urea nitrogren  (kidneys/liver)
June 2013: 15  (range: 7-18)
May 2014:  13

Creatinine (kidney function)
June 2013:  0.73 (Range 0.51-0.95)
May 2014:  0.61

Sodium
June 2013:  140 (range 136-144)
May 2014: 136

Potassium
June 2013:  4.8 (range 3.6-5.2)
May 2014:  4.10

Chloride
Stayed the same at 101 - range is 100-108

Carbon dioxide
Stayed the same at 21 and the range is 21-32

Calcium
Stayed the same at 9.00 - range is 8.5-10.1

Protein
This for some reason isn't on my June test but my May result is 7.00 and the range is 6.4-8.2

Albumin (AKA how does the blood flow/move molecules)
Stayed the same at 3.8 -- range is 3.4-5.0

Percent body fat June 2013:   56%   (EW!!!!!)
Percent body fat May 2014:   39%  




Wheat

Below are a list of articles as to why wheat is now a no-no.

http://authoritynutrition.com/6-ways-wheat-can-destroy-your-health/

http://paleoleap.com/11-ways-gluten-and-wheat-can-damage-your-health/

http://www.dietdoctor.com/new-study-todays-wheat-bad

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/press-media/faqs/

http://wellnessmama.com/3486/do-you-have-a-wheat-belly-interview-with-dr-davis/

It's been a while...

Holy smokes! Life sure can get busy!   I can't believe I forgot about my blog!   Well... eh... I didn't forget... I just... didn...