Thyroid a year later......and more

Hello!

I know I have a problem with not updating my blog very often, I attribute that to being busy and forgetful! I have good intentions but when it comes down to it I falter.......I'm sorry for that, I really am!

So, it's been a year since I had my thyroid removed and I can tell you that I notice nothing different. My levels are still wacky, I'm losing hair by the handfuls, I still lack energy and god forbid I want to lose a little weight - it takes an enormous amount of effort and it always comes right back. So, having my thyroid removed didn't help me with any of my major issues. At least I don't have growths anymore but my levels still have not leveled out. I started on 150 mg of Synthroid last year and am now on 100 mg - I continue to be adjusted to lower levels without it helping.

So since it's been a bit since I've updated let's see what's been happening:

January-March 2016 - I started back to college at an online University - Ashford University. It's been 7 months and I'm doing great! I have straight "A" grades and just last week was invited to become a member of Alpha Sigma Lamda Honor Society. This is an honor society for exceptional adult learners. It was such a great surprise and honor. So being that I have such great grades should also tell you I spend a lot of time with my schooling. I haven't had time to be sick or tired or sore or anything other than focusing on school. My intention of going back is to complete the degree I started right out of high school - which was a long time ago.........I'm studying "Social and Criminal Justice" and will graduate with my BA in 7/2018.

Regarding my FMS and CFS I'm still holding steady. I haven't had any major flare up of either condition. I have learned to just listen to myself and if I'm tired, I go to bed. I still have issues with my hips being achy and locking up after sitting down for a bit but overall I can't complain. I have a lot of contact with people who have FMS really bad and I feel terrible for them but at the same time am grateful I have been able to reverse a good majority of my issues with FM and keep it under control.

April - July 2016 - I ended up in the ER on my birthday, April 5th - with what I thought was chest pain - it was bad, had me convinced I had a blockage - after a night stay and many tests that came back negative I was sent home and referred to a cardiologist. A few more tests and nothing. I still get these weird chest pains but haven't gone back to the cardiologist because he already determined it's not my heart but of course, as with most things they don't know why I'm having these pains. I thought maybe heartburn but I really don't think so since I never get it. So chalk it up to another strange thing related to FMS I guess.....

I was just talking with my mom about when I first got sick back in 2010 and took up juicing to get better. It definitely worked after a period of time - between juicing AND taking many supplements I brought my nutrition levels back to where they needed to be and was able to reverse a lot of my symptoms that had me bedridden for several months. Everyone also is different so what worked for me may or may not work for another - but it's all worth a try! In fact, coming back to my juicing information I've decided to juice a metabolism boosting juice and see if it helps me shed a few lbs like it says it does.

In other news, I've been off work since the first week in June and it's been great! Since I work in a school, I have the same schedule as the kids do and it's fantastic. We go back in just 3 wks from now......summer vacay goes way too fast! But it will be good to get back on a schedule. When I have no schedule not much gets done because I don't have to....it's bad.

My daughter is going into her senior year of high school - I can't believe in just a short year she will be going to college. My "baby" girl is grown into such a beautiful young woman. Makes me sad that she will be leaving but I know it's coming quickly. My son is starting his sophomore year - he is another one that I can't believe has grown so much both physically and mentally. The past several months have been big in the growth area for him. My daughter will be playing volleyball with the school over the next few weeks leading up to try outs - in fact next week we go to a big college camp with some girls who were invited from the school - should be fun!

I hope this update has found you all well! I would like to say that I will update in a month but, I've said that before and 7 months later I show up ...... I know I suck at this but I'm trying! I will be back soon, how is that???

My thyroid numbers and medicine changes

First, let me start off by saying how great I've been feeling!  I think having my thyroid removed is a huge part of why I'm feeling so great!  For years I had a suspicion that a good majority of my medical issues were because of a faulty thyroid - even though the blood work always came back "fine" I knew things were not "fine" and now that I have been without my thyroid for a good 2 months I really believe that the be the case.

After my surgery, I started on 150 mg of Synthroid.  I had my blood drawn on Aug 8th and it came back with a low TSH of 0.028 - the normal range is 0.0450-4.5000 so my Dr lowered my dose to 137 mg.  What I find most interesting though is that my other numbers are significantly higher than they have ever been.  Prior to my surgery and going on the medication my numbers were always in the low range of normal.

Before my surgery, my numbers were:

TSH - 0.749 (within the normal range)
T4 or Thyroxine - 5.4
T3 Uptake - 30
Free T4 1.6

My most recent numbers show improvement and I'm sure why I feel so much better:

TSH - 0.028 (according to my Dr, the number being so low means I have high thyroid hormone which could cause heart problems and why she wanted to lower my medication dose)
T4 -9.8 (up significantly since starting thyroid medication)
T3 Uptake - 34
Free T4 - 3.3

You will see an increase in all the hormones which makes me even more certain that the lower numbers were causing much of my fatigue, fibromyalgia pain and overall lack of being healthy in general.  I would argue with anyone who says otherwise considering that it's the only thing that has changed in my life and the result is me feeling like a "normal" person most of the time now.

I will go in and have my numbers checked again later this month or early October to see how the medication adjustment has changed the numbers.  I was really worried that dropping the dose of my medication would significantly effect me but so far things seem fine.

On another note, I've lost 18 lbs in the last 3 months.  I'm on a mission to lose another 40 to get back to where I was before getting sick.  With the new found energy I have, I'm able to get myself to the gym a few days a week to lift weights.  I'm really pleased with the changes that I'm starting to see overall.

That's it for this update - I just wanted to be sure to update my numbers and share my success thus far since Surgery - it's really just been about 9 weeks since the surgery but so far everything is going really good.

Until next time - to your health!

January round up.....

To summarize this first month of 2015 I would have to say it's been so, so....

I've been feeling ok but not optimal.  I'm having pain in my hips again, which was the original thing that started me on the road to get a diagnosis of FMS.  I've also been fighting getting sick, which right now has me home under the weather.

Both my kids have also been fighting health this month.  Days out of school due to not feeling well add up for sure and effect them where school is concerned.  It's so hard to catch up after being out a day or two.

Hopefully February and beyond will bring better health for the family.

We do have a big trip planned in March that we are all looking forward to.  We are going on a cruise and can't wait!  This will be the first for my kids (15 and 13) and the first for my husband and I since our honeymoon 20 yrs ago.  So as you can see, it's a trip that we are all looking forward to - very much!  We will be cruising to Jamaica, Grand Caymen and Cozumel over 7 days.  It's going to be great!  I just wish I was 30lbs lighter for it!

Speaking of my weight, oh what a terrible time I've had trying to lose it!  I honestly believe it's because my thyroid isn't functioning correctly. I do have an appt with my endo this month to check it.  Not sure if I've ever mentioned this but I have several large "goiters" consuming my thyroid.  Every time I've had it checked the tests come back "normal" which I don't trust one bit.  I am going to try to get my Dr to put me on a hypothyroid medication this time to see if it helps any of my "symptoms" that I think are totally related to my thyroid.  The symptoms for Hypothyroidism are listed below and the ones I have are highlighted in Yellow:

• Fatigue
• Increased sensitivity to cold
• Constipation
• Dry skin
• Unexplained weight gain
• Puffy face
• Hoarseness
• Muscle weakness
• Elevated blood cholesterol level
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints
• Heavier than normal or irregular menstrual periods
• Thinning hair
• Slowed heart rate
• Depression
• Impaired memory

You would think when a patient has 11 out of 16 symptoms the Dr would look at that in addition to the blood work.  We'll see!  I will definitely update once I see her in Feb.

Of course, a lot of these symptoms also go hand in hand with FMS and CFS - at this point, who knows what's what?!?

What I do know is that I would love to have energy, feel good and lose the weight I've put on. I feel like I do all the "right" things to lose weight but nothing happens.  The only thing I don't do is exercise due to my fatigue and lack of energy to get out and do it!  I keep telling myself "tomorrow" but tomorrow comes and goes without the exercise.  It's a vicious cycle I live in.

So this month has been full of ups and downs in my health and the health of my family.  I'm hoping February brings us all many more good than bad days.

Volleyball has started up and we have games almost every weekend.  We love watching my daughter play so I look forward to those long days in the gym.

That's all for now, until next time......to your health!