Once again, I wasn't really into the Halloween thing this year. It has been a while since I even dressed up. The last couple of years I have been passing out candy, the best part of course is seeing all the clever costumes. This year I missed even that since I had to run some errands this evening.
Otherwise, it has been an exhausting weekend. Not sure if it was my lack of sleep all this past week or what. Both afternoons I ended up crashed out on the couch for a couple of hours. I have also had chest pains / heart palpitations for the past three or four days. I have not had this issue since before my surgeries in May. I can't help but wonder of my thyroid med is behind all of this. Did i just have way too much Starbucks or could it be stress from work? I don't know. I'm planning on having my blood draw for the month (November) this Friday. If anything, that could possibly tell the story for my ENDO.
I was happy to see somewhat of an explanation on my ThyCa email group for very low TSH and above normal Free T4. Her levels are TSH .06 / FT4 1.8 where mine are TSH .01 / FT4 1.6 Supposedly, this is ideal if you are considered higher risk. I'm not sure what risk level my ENDO thinks I am, but based on everything he has told me, I thought he had me at a more low risk level if anything, maybe due to my age. I am still not understanding why lowering my Levoxyl dose should decrease my TSH - shouldn't it increase it? For example, when your TSH is too high, they increase your T4 med. So why then did the decrease lower my my TSH and not my FT4? I am still puzzled.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
ThyCa meeting - October 28, 2010
Another good meeting! I always feel energized after my support group meetings because I'm talking to people who have gone through the same things I have, whether it was a few years ago or even a month or two after I started my ThyCa journey. No one else could ever know what we have to go through - the fears, the frustrations, the very fact that not a lot of ENDOs here in SD are very well versed in ThyCa, and countless people telling us that we have "the best/good/easy cancer to have"....
What we have in our group is recurrence, repeat scans, ENDOs that don't know what they are doing, advocacy. Somewhere along our journeys we all come to realize that no one is looking out for us, so it is up to us to ask, repeatedly, if necessary; to question if we don't understand (our treatments or test results) or if it is not protocol that we know is expected. I'm getting to a point where I really think I need someone else to look at my blood levels and my scans because I'm still not sure my ENDO knows what he's doing.
Anyway, we had a good turn out last night. Several had attended the annual ThyCa conference in TX two weekends ago, so they shared some of what they learned/heard. I'm still bummed that I missed the session that addressed Hurthle cell and some of the other papillary and follicular variants. I guess I'll just have to wait for next year, which I have just learned will be in Los Angeles over the same weekend next year. So, mandatory departmental meeting or not, I'm going to LA for next years' conference!
What we have in our group is recurrence, repeat scans, ENDOs that don't know what they are doing, advocacy. Somewhere along our journeys we all come to realize that no one is looking out for us, so it is up to us to ask, repeatedly, if necessary; to question if we don't understand (our treatments or test results) or if it is not protocol that we know is expected. I'm getting to a point where I really think I need someone else to look at my blood levels and my scans because I'm still not sure my ENDO knows what he's doing.
Anyway, we had a good turn out last night. Several had attended the annual ThyCa conference in TX two weekends ago, so they shared some of what they learned/heard. I'm still bummed that I missed the session that addressed Hurthle cell and some of the other papillary and follicular variants. I guess I'll just have to wait for next year, which I have just learned will be in Los Angeles over the same weekend next year. So, mandatory departmental meeting or not, I'm going to LA for next years' conference!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Dietary changes
In anticipation of rejoining the Weight Watcher at Work program at work this week, I've been eating anything and everything I craved for the past month. Even knowing that the first meeting was this past Monday (10/25), I allowed myself to slip on Monday since I'm still in bday celebration mode - still enjoying bday lunches & dinners, etc. But I can't do that for the rest of the week, not if I plan to actually lose weight. The nice thing about the WW program is that you don't need to strive to be perfect, just consistent - about tracking your food intake and exercising. I wonder how much an hour of rock climbing will earn in 'activity points'. Anyway, I need this so I can survive the holidays this year without gaining all the weight back (28 lbs!) that I lost on WW earlier this year.
Not only am I changing my eating habits, I am also changing Frankie's eating habits. After his GI bleeding episode earlier this month, I realized how important it is for not only me, but my dog to eat fresh, whole foods. He still needs to finish his 'low residue' canned food (prescribed by the Vet for his GI issues), but I'm slowly weaning him off that and transitioning him to a 'RAW' dog food called "Sojos Complete". It costs about the same as his old dry food, EVO Chicken and Turkey, so I will be spending about the same, I think. The food is re-hydrated with water. So far he likes the food. I think it smells a lot like 'Stove-Top Stuffing', but that does not matter, so long as he eats his food.
Not only am I changing my eating habits, I am also changing Frankie's eating habits. After his GI bleeding episode earlier this month, I realized how important it is for not only me, but my dog to eat fresh, whole foods. He still needs to finish his 'low residue' canned food (prescribed by the Vet for his GI issues), but I'm slowly weaning him off that and transitioning him to a 'RAW' dog food called "Sojos Complete". It costs about the same as his old dry food, EVO Chicken and Turkey, so I will be spending about the same, I think. The food is re-hydrated with water. So far he likes the food. I think it smells a lot like 'Stove-Top Stuffing', but that does not matter, so long as he eats his food.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Climbing shoes...
I ended up buying a pair of rock climbing shoes at REI when I was in SF this past weekend. There wasn't much of a selection in my size, for women's or unisex shoes, so the rock shoe guy told me to take the bigger size, and if they ended up being too big, take 'em back. So I made sure I stopped by REI before going climbing last night. I had the local rock shoe guy take out as many different shoes as possible - I even tried on a pair with velcro. Both rock shoe guys had different ideas as to why I should wear a certain kind of shoe (get a 'flat pair', which are easier for beginning climbers to get used to, or 'an air pocket' around my foot/heel means the shoe is too big), but the big thing is that I need to wear them sock-less (yes, that would be bare skin on leather), and it is perfectly fine to remove your climbing shoes between scaling the rocks/walls. In the end, I ended up with a 'more advanced' shoe that turns my feet red after climbing, and I saved $27!
I tried them out last night too. Not bad. I must say that climbing sock-less feels much different than with socks. One of the guys I was climbing with said he was glad to see I got a pair of climbing shoes because it meant that I was committed. You bet!
I tried them out last night too. Not bad. I must say that climbing sock-less feels much different than with socks. One of the guys I was climbing with said he was glad to see I got a pair of climbing shoes because it meant that I was committed. You bet!
ENDO says - part 4
I was a little nervous about my ENDO appt yesterday, but it turned out that he just wanted clarification on my current symptoms. Whew!
I asked what my goal TSH level is, which he said was below 1 (currently it is .01). We went over my current symptoms - not as exhausted, able to sleep more than four hours a night, periods still not regular (although when were they ever regular?!?), depression and crying for no reason all attributed to severe PMS, still have cramping in my legs and feet during pilates, after running, and sometimes while rock climbing. So far he thinks he may need to reduce my Levoxyl dosage to 137mcg, but wants to see what my blood work looks like next month and then again a week before my appt in December.
Otherwise, he is still happy about my treatment thus far. My one year body scan will be next May - one year after my surgery. So far, so good.
I asked what my goal TSH level is, which he said was below 1 (currently it is .01). We went over my current symptoms - not as exhausted, able to sleep more than four hours a night, periods still not regular (although when were they ever regular?!?), depression and crying for no reason all attributed to severe PMS, still have cramping in my legs and feet during pilates, after running, and sometimes while rock climbing. So far he thinks he may need to reduce my Levoxyl dosage to 137mcg, but wants to see what my blood work looks like next month and then again a week before my appt in December.
Otherwise, he is still happy about my treatment thus far. My one year body scan will be next May - one year after my surgery. So far, so good.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
How does my neck look? 10/18/10
The cool thing about hanging out with Viv for a weekend is that we revisit our lives from 17 years ago (when we took a trip to SF over my bday weekend and I decided on the flight back that I'd move to SF with her), up to the time when I left to move back to SD. How much different were we then than we are now. What would have still happened if we both stayed in SF. We both agree that I would still have discovered that I had ThyCa, but she thinks perhaps it would have been detected sooner. I don't know. I imagine it may have presented itself in a different manner, but the surgery, RAI, and everything else would have happened around the same time.
What I'm pretty sure would have been different is my life style in SF. Would it still have been miserable? That would depend on my work and home life. Would I have the same job I have now? Doubtful. But hopefully I would have managed to buy a condo or a house somewhere in the city. Viv said that if I stayed, she would have too. I definitely know that my support group under ThyCa conditions would be as good as they were, if not better so long as I had my sister with me. No doubt.
Anyway, it didn't happen that way. Last year I had other things to worry about, we all did. But so much can change in a year. If you can remember what my neck looked like last year or even several years ago, tell me how you think it looks now.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Rainy SF Sunday
This morning was the first time in a long time that I woke up on a weekend morning and just stayed in bed. The rainy SF weather wasn't helping, neither was my sister, Viv, who continued to sleep peacefully as I stirred. No problem though, as we've been running around town the past few days.
I arrived late Thursday night, but I still managed to arrive at SFO before my boss and co-workers who we saw and chatted with at the curb-side before we left. Friday was a somewhat sunny day, depending on what part of town we were in. We had brunch at Sally's (I've been wanting to eat there since before I left SF six years ago, so was glad when Viv suggested it). I talked her into getting a new cell phone, so we went to the Daly City Sprint store to get her new EVO 4G. She showed me how to do some photo editing in Photo Shop Elements 9 (PSE), then we tried out a few video chat applications for our EVOs. Pretty cool. However, we can't exactly video chat while we drive, LOL. We ordered delivery from Eat24hours.com. They have service in SD as well, so I'll have to try it when I get home.
Saturday, we spent a couple of hours at a Ritz Camera University class in Oakland (since I was missing the class I was signed up for back in SD), then we headed back into SF to catch the SF Trolley Dances. I miss all the arts & culture events in SF - in SD, the arts are not as subsidized as it is here in SF, so while the trolley dances in SD cost $10/$15/$20 (St/Sr/Genl), it only cost a Muni ticket ($2.00 for a 3 hour pass/transfer). I love every single piece I've seen in SD, but was left a little cold with everything I saw here. Viv said it's probably because art in SF is more politically charged here. I loved the political piece, but didn't really care for the others. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to take photos. On a side note, as we walked around the Castro before our tour started, we stumbled upon a table with some "Free" books, which included "An irreverent curiosity: in search of the church's strangest relic in Italy's oddest town". In case you were wondering, the relic is Jesus' foreskin. I decided to leave it there, and if it was still there when I came back, I'd take it. Now I wish I took it when I saw it.
Now, it is a cold, wet, SF Sunday morning. We keep on talking ourselves out of leaving the house. I want to visit my friend Monique and meet her new baby, but she has family and in-laws over today. I also want to go back to the Sports Basement to look at climbing shoes and gear. I also want to take more pictures. Viv is now talking coffee, so I guess we are actually going to leave the house now. Yay. Maybe I can even get a used copy of the Jesus foreskin book.....
I arrived late Thursday night, but I still managed to arrive at SFO before my boss and co-workers who we saw and chatted with at the curb-side before we left. Friday was a somewhat sunny day, depending on what part of town we were in. We had brunch at Sally's (I've been wanting to eat there since before I left SF six years ago, so was glad when Viv suggested it). I talked her into getting a new cell phone, so we went to the Daly City Sprint store to get her new EVO 4G. She showed me how to do some photo editing in Photo Shop Elements 9 (PSE), then we tried out a few video chat applications for our EVOs. Pretty cool. However, we can't exactly video chat while we drive, LOL. We ordered delivery from Eat24hours.com. They have service in SD as well, so I'll have to try it when I get home.
Saturday, we spent a couple of hours at a Ritz Camera University class in Oakland (since I was missing the class I was signed up for back in SD), then we headed back into SF to catch the SF Trolley Dances. I miss all the arts & culture events in SF - in SD, the arts are not as subsidized as it is here in SF, so while the trolley dances in SD cost $10/$15/$20 (St/Sr/Genl), it only cost a Muni ticket ($2.00 for a 3 hour pass/transfer). I love every single piece I've seen in SD, but was left a little cold with everything I saw here. Viv said it's probably because art in SF is more politically charged here. I loved the political piece, but didn't really care for the others. Anyway, it was a good opportunity to take photos. On a side note, as we walked around the Castro before our tour started, we stumbled upon a table with some "Free" books, which included "An irreverent curiosity: in search of the church's strangest relic in Italy's oddest town". In case you were wondering, the relic is Jesus' foreskin. I decided to leave it there, and if it was still there when I came back, I'd take it. Now I wish I took it when I saw it.
Now, it is a cold, wet, SF Sunday morning. We keep on talking ourselves out of leaving the house. I want to visit my friend Monique and meet her new baby, but she has family and in-laws over today. I also want to go back to the Sports Basement to look at climbing shoes and gear. I also want to take more pictures. Viv is now talking coffee, so I guess we are actually going to leave the house now. Yay. Maybe I can even get a used copy of the Jesus foreskin book.....
Friday, October 15, 2010
ENDO says - part 3
Finally heard back from my ENDO's office this morning. Levels slightly above normal (thanks, I already knew that), but no changes; he'll see me in December, as scheduled. What a relief!
I'm still not sure why my FreeT4 would not budge after my Levoxyl dosage was changed, so I'll have to do some research and maybe ask some of the people on my ThyCa listserv for some input. But for now, I'm just glad my ENDO is not worried about it. I can now enjoy my weekend in San Francisco.
I'm still not sure why my FreeT4 would not budge after my Levoxyl dosage was changed, so I'll have to do some research and maybe ask some of the people on my ThyCa listserv for some input. But for now, I'm just glad my ENDO is not worried about it. I can now enjoy my weekend in San Francisco.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Work off-site meeting
Today and tomorrow I'm at my department's "All Hands" meeting. It was a little stressful earlier in the day, but as usual, everything came together after all. We even had a productive team meeting.
I'm still a little worried about Frankie since as of this morning before I left, he had not taken a dump since Monday night. I emailed the vet who wanted to know what it looks like so he can advise me further. I'll have to call Mom and Dad tomorrow morning maybe, if I have time.
I have not heard back from my ENDO's office yet, so I am assuming I don't need to go in earlier than my scheduled December appt. Still seems really odd that my TSH decreased while my FreeT4 didn't budge at all. Will have to google it while I'm waiting for my flight tomorrow night. Meanwhile, hopefully I don't hear from my ENDO's office. I don't think I could handle going through more testing right now, not with my current project load. My boss said it wouldn't make a difference if I had to deal with it now or in two months. Never thought of it that way. I guess I'd rather not have to deal or worry about it, at all.
I do have my weekend in SF to look forward to though, and time spent with Viv and Nick&Jerry's boob-pawing dogs. Hopefully I'll be able to hang with KT as well. Since I'm house/dog-sitting on my bday next weekend, this is my one opportunity to do something for myself.
I'm still a little worried about Frankie since as of this morning before I left, he had not taken a dump since Monday night. I emailed the vet who wanted to know what it looks like so he can advise me further. I'll have to call Mom and Dad tomorrow morning maybe, if I have time.
I have not heard back from my ENDO's office yet, so I am assuming I don't need to go in earlier than my scheduled December appt. Still seems really odd that my TSH decreased while my FreeT4 didn't budge at all. Will have to google it while I'm waiting for my flight tomorrow night. Meanwhile, hopefully I don't hear from my ENDO's office. I don't think I could handle going through more testing right now, not with my current project load. My boss said it wouldn't make a difference if I had to deal with it now or in two months. Never thought of it that way. I guess I'd rather not have to deal or worry about it, at all.
I do have my weekend in SF to look forward to though, and time spent with Viv and Nick&Jerry's boob-pawing dogs. Hopefully I'll be able to hang with KT as well. Since I'm house/dog-sitting on my bday next weekend, this is my one opportunity to do something for myself.
Monday, October 11, 2010
How does my neck look? 10/11/10
So apparently I have been slacking off with my daily neck pictures. I blame it on work since I used to take my neck pictures first thing when I got up, well, soon after taking my Levoxyl dose for the day. Now that I'm back at work, I have an hour to get up, take care of the dogs (let them out/in, feed them), hop on my WiiFit (to be told that yes, I am still fat), shower, get dressed, and head out the door. Don't even go there with the 'you should go to sleep earlier' bit because that doesn't happen over night - I've been trying to for over three years now! So anyway, I take photos of my neck whenever I remember - sitting at my desk at work, but mostly at home sometime in the evening, if I remember at all.
Since today is a (bank) holiday, I managed to take my neck photo just a few minutes ago. I have to say myself that it is becoming less detectable, in pictures, at least, to me. The mirror still let's me know that it ain't going away any time soon.
My annual Dr. appt this morning turned into just a regular appt since my insurance won't cover it unless it has been exactly a year since my annual appt last year. So that has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 11. I had brought some questions for her, so she was happy to answer what she could. She said my vertigo episode yesterday was very mild, but if it gets worse, come back and she'll look more into it. She ordered my labs, and said she'd include a vitamin D and calcium (been seeing a lot of that on the ThyCa email list I am on), and she said the vitamin D is something new that they are testing for now too. Flu shot - she said to get one, and she threw in the DTaP shot which includes Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (whooping cough, which is going around here in San Diego) - my last tetanus shot was in 2000, before I went on that archeological dig in Hungary.
We got around to talking about the latest labs I had drawn last week for my TSH/FreeT4. She said my ENDO was requesting my Tg levels, which is why I had not heard back from his office. She said my TSH was .01 (last draw I believe it was .25), but my FreeT4 was 1.67, which she said was the same as it was last time (I'd have to look at my records, but I thought it was more 1.83 or 2.xx last time), so he would most likely need to adjust something, again. Just a few minutes ago I got a call from my ENDO's office. She said my levels were still above normal. She wanted to know what symptoms I have. I said my sleep issue (not being able to sleep longer than 5 hours a night) was improving, I was getting cramping in my legs (not sure it that was related or not), and my period still hadn't come for the month. She said he may want me to come in sooner, but would wait and see what he had to say. Hmm....not sure I liked anything she said.
Anyway, I took my dad out to lunch. I usually end up taking my mom out since we do a lot of stuff together (and my dad usually opts to stay at home). It was nice because I don't usually have a lot of one-on-one time with my dad. We both ate way too much. He's feeling stronger, ready to go back to his part-time job in a few weeks. I must say his attitude is so much more positive than it was 2 1/2 months ago. Yay, Dad!
Anyway, how does my neck look?
Since today is a (bank) holiday, I managed to take my neck photo just a few minutes ago. I have to say myself that it is becoming less detectable, in pictures, at least, to me. The mirror still let's me know that it ain't going away any time soon.
My annual Dr. appt this morning turned into just a regular appt since my insurance won't cover it unless it has been exactly a year since my annual appt last year. So that has been rescheduled for Thursday, November 11. I had brought some questions for her, so she was happy to answer what she could. She said my vertigo episode yesterday was very mild, but if it gets worse, come back and she'll look more into it. She ordered my labs, and said she'd include a vitamin D and calcium (been seeing a lot of that on the ThyCa email list I am on), and she said the vitamin D is something new that they are testing for now too. Flu shot - she said to get one, and she threw in the DTaP shot which includes Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (whooping cough, which is going around here in San Diego) - my last tetanus shot was in 2000, before I went on that archeological dig in Hungary.
We got around to talking about the latest labs I had drawn last week for my TSH/FreeT4. She said my ENDO was requesting my Tg levels, which is why I had not heard back from his office. She said my TSH was .01 (last draw I believe it was .25), but my FreeT4 was 1.67, which she said was the same as it was last time (I'd have to look at my records, but I thought it was more 1.83 or 2.xx last time), so he would most likely need to adjust something, again. Just a few minutes ago I got a call from my ENDO's office. She said my levels were still above normal. She wanted to know what symptoms I have. I said my sleep issue (not being able to sleep longer than 5 hours a night) was improving, I was getting cramping in my legs (not sure it that was related or not), and my period still hadn't come for the month. She said he may want me to come in sooner, but would wait and see what he had to say. Hmm....not sure I liked anything she said.
Anyway, I took my dad out to lunch. I usually end up taking my mom out since we do a lot of stuff together (and my dad usually opts to stay at home). It was nice because I don't usually have a lot of one-on-one time with my dad. We both ate way too much. He's feeling stronger, ready to go back to his part-time job in a few weeks. I must say his attitude is so much more positive than it was 2 1/2 months ago. Yay, Dad!
Anyway, how does my neck look?
Friday, October 8, 2010
Waiting for latest lab results
I finally got around to emailing my ENDO about my latest symptoms and to see if I should go in for another blood draw since I started the new dosage as of August 15. He didn't say anything about my symptoms but said I should have labs drawn again. So that afternoon (Tuesday 10/5), I got the call that the orders for my labs were submitted. So, off I went, to my usual lab to get my bi-monthly jab in the arm. It has been two full days, and no word yet from my ENDO. Hopefully I get the call tomorrow.
In the meantime, I went rock climbing Tuesday evening. I'm still a little sore, even in my legs. And I didn't stretch well enough after run club Wednesday night, so my legs are not very happy with me. But I think I did a lot better, at climbing, this time than the last time I went. I could have just picked two really easy walls to start off with, but I had a lot more confidence in where I was putting my feet and really tried to push myself up with my legs to get to the next hold or grip thing, whatever it is called. I actually got to meet the guy that sets some of the routes and some of the other guys Serena (and her husband) climb with. I got a few more bruises on my arms and legs, but they were worth it.
Run club was a bit of a disaster. Well, only because I left my Nike Sportband at home. I have this little pouch that holds my sportband, my old 1 GB iPod nano & Nike+ adapter, and the cheap stock headphones that used to come with all iPods, and I left it in my other gym bag. ARGH!!!!. I ended up using the pedometer on my new iPod nano. Better that than nothing, I guess. We all started running in a group, at a faster pace. I was good for about .75 miles, then I slowed down. I jogged and walked the rest of it with the new girl. Turns out she lives in the same neighborhood, and runs at the lake. We are close in pace, so that was comforting. I don't know what my deal was after the run, but I just couldn't get a good enough stretch in. So my body is getting me back now by making me feel that I'm closer to 50 than closer to 41 years.....of being me. Wow - I got calf camps, in both legs, jogging on the treadmill after pilates last night!
With any luck, tomorrow will bring a call from my ENDO's office and much happier leg and arm muscles.
In the meantime, I went rock climbing Tuesday evening. I'm still a little sore, even in my legs. And I didn't stretch well enough after run club Wednesday night, so my legs are not very happy with me. But I think I did a lot better, at climbing, this time than the last time I went. I could have just picked two really easy walls to start off with, but I had a lot more confidence in where I was putting my feet and really tried to push myself up with my legs to get to the next hold or grip thing, whatever it is called. I actually got to meet the guy that sets some of the routes and some of the other guys Serena (and her husband) climb with. I got a few more bruises on my arms and legs, but they were worth it.
Run club was a bit of a disaster. Well, only because I left my Nike Sportband at home. I have this little pouch that holds my sportband, my old 1 GB iPod nano & Nike+ adapter, and the cheap stock headphones that used to come with all iPods, and I left it in my other gym bag. ARGH!!!!. I ended up using the pedometer on my new iPod nano. Better that than nothing, I guess. We all started running in a group, at a faster pace. I was good for about .75 miles, then I slowed down. I jogged and walked the rest of it with the new girl. Turns out she lives in the same neighborhood, and runs at the lake. We are close in pace, so that was comforting. I don't know what my deal was after the run, but I just couldn't get a good enough stretch in. So my body is getting me back now by making me feel that I'm closer to 50 than closer to 41 years.....of being me. Wow - I got calf camps, in both legs, jogging on the treadmill after pilates last night!
With any luck, tomorrow will bring a call from my ENDO's office and much happier leg and arm muscles.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Oh, my dog!
I'm working from home today to keep an eye on Frankie, my dog. He's been having elimination problems. He's had diarrhea on/off since I started back to work. Last week it was black, and he didn't take a dump for four days (Thu-Sun). On Saturday, the vet had me take him off his pain/arthritis med (Metacam) since a side affect is GI bleeding, and put him back on anti-diarrhea meds (Flagyl and a probiotic) + something to help stop the GI bleeding (Sucralfate). Well, he's taken a dump twice in the last 24 hours, the most recent was actually formed, and black and brown, but he also just threw up. So the vet wants to see him. Soonest appt I could get today is at 4pm. I wish I could read Frankie's mind so I knew what was wrong and what I could do to make him feel better. I like to tease my friends with kids because my 'kid' will never ask to borrow the car or wreck said car. Well the down side of it is that he also can't tell me what is wrong and why he's feeling so bad. My poor little guy.
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| A healthier, happier Frankie - last month at the vet 9/18/10 |
Tired (of being tired)
All I have been able to talk about on my posts for the last week or so (perhaps even the last month?!?) is how tired I am in the afternoons. I am definitely tired of being tired all the time. Sure, I now have work stress, the monthly cycle coming on, and weather that can't seem to make up its mind, and possibly my thyroid med needing to be adjusted, but really, why is this the one symptom that sticks out for me? Admittedly, it is a lot better than feeling depressed and crying each day, but this is ridiculous.
Going back to pre-thyroid issue awareness, I would always fall asleep each night, waiting to see the weather forecast on the 10pm local news. I'd fall asleep just before the weather and would sleep right through it, for about an hour so I'd also miss the weather on the local 11pm news. This would happen just about every week night. Then I'd end up not being able to sleep until 2am, could barely get up at 6:15am. But amazingly, I'd be fine at work. No problems, not even after a long walk on my lunch break. It would catch up to me on the weekends though. I'd end up sleeping in until 9 or 10am, then often just laying there trying to decide if I should get up or not. On the rare occasion I had to be somewhere earlier than 8am, I would always manage to get up on time for that.
Nowadays, since I have to take my Levoxyl at the same time each day, I have learned to adjust for it. When I started my Levoxyl regimen, I was taking it at 9am, but I was also out on leave. Now I take it at 6am. So if I go to sleep really late on a Friday or Saturday night, I can still manage to get up at 6am the next morning to take my meds, and have recently been able to go back to sleep, but only so long as my total sleeping hours isn't over 5 hours. I don't know, perhaps this could all be sleep related. Hopefully on my next post I'll have something else to report, other than the fact that I'm still tired in the afternoons.
Going back to pre-thyroid issue awareness, I would always fall asleep each night, waiting to see the weather forecast on the 10pm local news. I'd fall asleep just before the weather and would sleep right through it, for about an hour so I'd also miss the weather on the local 11pm news. This would happen just about every week night. Then I'd end up not being able to sleep until 2am, could barely get up at 6:15am. But amazingly, I'd be fine at work. No problems, not even after a long walk on my lunch break. It would catch up to me on the weekends though. I'd end up sleeping in until 9 or 10am, then often just laying there trying to decide if I should get up or not. On the rare occasion I had to be somewhere earlier than 8am, I would always manage to get up on time for that.
Nowadays, since I have to take my Levoxyl at the same time each day, I have learned to adjust for it. When I started my Levoxyl regimen, I was taking it at 9am, but I was also out on leave. Now I take it at 6am. So if I go to sleep really late on a Friday or Saturday night, I can still manage to get up at 6am the next morning to take my meds, and have recently been able to go back to sleep, but only so long as my total sleeping hours isn't over 5 hours. I don't know, perhaps this could all be sleep related. Hopefully on my next post I'll have something else to report, other than the fact that I'm still tired in the afternoons.
Friday, October 1, 2010
October is here!
Wasn't quite sure how I'd make it through September since it was my first month back at work. I had my ups and my downs, the downs being the afternoon sleepiness that hit me at mid-month. Still not sure what is going on there. I still have the leg cramps, after running and pilates. I'm still trying to get more sleep each night. From what I've been reading on my ThyCa group emails, there is concern over lack of vitamin D and calcium (bone density issues), and athletic ThyCans sometimes need higher does of T4 (Levoxyl, Synthroid, etc.) to keep the TSH level where it needs to be. Since I'm going in for my annual check up with my PCP in a few weeks, I think I'll ask her about testing for vitamin D and calcium, and request a full workup for my labs; all other questions will go to my ENDO.
Holy smokes! - I thought I lost my iPod nano. I accidentally left it at the gym last night. I freaked out when I couldn't find it in my gym bag when I was getting ready to up load my run/walk treadmill workout. Thank goodness a good samaritan at my gym turned it in. I was sure who ever found it would've taken it. As soon as they told me they had it, I went back to the gym to pick it up. So glad I don't have to buy a new one!
The last work day of September was a pretty good one for me. The one thing I love the most about my job is when I uncover a problem and manage to figure it out or fix it all by myself. I had a lot of those moments this week, well, actually I've had several for my first month back, so I actually feel like I do my job well, still, despite the fact that I was gone for four months. Now if I could only just figure out how to do the coding and programming for SharePoint, then I could really make a good case for myself. We had a meeting yesterday morning, one of the topics was what to do about one of the databases (list) I manage. I got a bit lost in the conversation as I had lightning going off outside my office window and a bit of thyroid brain fog competing with the discussion. I came to when one of my co-workers (incidentally I was the only one on the phone for the meeting, everyone else was in SF) asked me what I thought about the plan of action. I heard a few snippets of it, so all I could muster for a reply was "I'll do whatever it takes to get it going", and I then I think I volunteered to go up to one of the LA offices to work on it with said co-worker. Well, the upside is I'm pretty sure I didn't volunteer or agree to anything that would require me to dance on top of tables in a questionable bar somewhere in BFE, so that's a good thing. The potential downside is that I could be driving up to LA for a day or two each week until the end of the year as my boss would like the new incarnation of the database ready by the first quarter of next year. But I'm up for the challenge. As long as my meds are not failing me, I'm good to go....bring it on!
So here we are, in the home stretch of this year, the last quarter, the last couple of holidays. First birthday after ThyCa diagnosis and treatment. I have to say that when I was hoping that my 40's would be unlike any other decade I had completed, I had no idea it would start the way it did. But I'm still here, still trying to be a survivor, still looking forward to whatever comes my way. October is here, after all.
Holy smokes! - I thought I lost my iPod nano. I accidentally left it at the gym last night. I freaked out when I couldn't find it in my gym bag when I was getting ready to up load my run/walk treadmill workout. Thank goodness a good samaritan at my gym turned it in. I was sure who ever found it would've taken it. As soon as they told me they had it, I went back to the gym to pick it up. So glad I don't have to buy a new one!
The last work day of September was a pretty good one for me. The one thing I love the most about my job is when I uncover a problem and manage to figure it out or fix it all by myself. I had a lot of those moments this week, well, actually I've had several for my first month back, so I actually feel like I do my job well, still, despite the fact that I was gone for four months. Now if I could only just figure out how to do the coding and programming for SharePoint, then I could really make a good case for myself. We had a meeting yesterday morning, one of the topics was what to do about one of the databases (list) I manage. I got a bit lost in the conversation as I had lightning going off outside my office window and a bit of thyroid brain fog competing with the discussion. I came to when one of my co-workers (incidentally I was the only one on the phone for the meeting, everyone else was in SF) asked me what I thought about the plan of action. I heard a few snippets of it, so all I could muster for a reply was "I'll do whatever it takes to get it going", and I then I think I volunteered to go up to one of the LA offices to work on it with said co-worker. Well, the upside is I'm pretty sure I didn't volunteer or agree to anything that would require me to dance on top of tables in a questionable bar somewhere in BFE, so that's a good thing. The potential downside is that I could be driving up to LA for a day or two each week until the end of the year as my boss would like the new incarnation of the database ready by the first quarter of next year. But I'm up for the challenge. As long as my meds are not failing me, I'm good to go....bring it on!
So here we are, in the home stretch of this year, the last quarter, the last couple of holidays. First birthday after ThyCa diagnosis and treatment. I have to say that when I was hoping that my 40's would be unlike any other decade I had completed, I had no idea it would start the way it did. But I'm still here, still trying to be a survivor, still looking forward to whatever comes my way. October is here, after all.
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