Thyroid Follow-up and Yoga Challenge Update!

Today was my follow-up appointment with the Clinic regarding my hypothyroidism and my thyroid hormone levels.  I went and got my bloodwork drawn last week and the results were excellent today.  They went from an 8 to a 1.2, which the doctor said was well within normal range.  I’ve got another follow-up in four weeks to make sure the levels aren’t fluctuating (which she says can happen sometimes).  Crossing my fingers that it’s not an issue.

She asked if I was feeling any better, and I commented that no, I felt the same, and was still having problems with constant headaches and fatigue.  She suggested I go on a multivitamin specifically with B12.  Since I had to go to Walgreen’s to get my prescription filled anyways, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and get a multivitamin as well.  Do you know how hard it was to find one that had B12 in it, so I wouldn’t have to buy a separate pill??  I ended up having to buy the generic Centrum Silver, which is typically for people over age 50.  I already have a Calcium supplement here at home, so I can add that to the mix.  I wanted to get a Fish Oil supplement for my Omega-3 and Omega-6 needs, but alas they were far too pricey.  Perhaps next payday?

Update on the Yoga Challenge!  I kind of failed a bit on this one.  Day one and two went by fine.  I was a bit shaky and unbalanced, which I attribute to being a complete and utter noob at yoga, but hey, at least I’m trying, right?  My cat, Gaz, seemed to think that me rolling around on the floor meant it was playtime, so she didn’t help matters any.  By day three, I woke up with stiffness and spasms in my back and shoulders.  I assumed this was because my body was adjusting to all the movement.  On day four, I had to work all day, and didn’t have time to exercise.  Shame on me.  Today is day five of the challenge, and I’m determined to get back on the ball.

I asked around a bit on Fitocracy if this kind of pain is normal and should I push through it, and was given the consensus that it’s to be expected, and I should just work through this transitional period, maybe adjusting my schedule to every other day instead of every day.  I might do that, I’m not sure yet.  I’d like to keep going with the yoga though.  I really like it.  Unfortunately, there’s nowhere in my area that I can find that’s affordable with my budget, especially that I can get to by bus.  There’s a YMCA up the street about twenty minutes from me, but the bus doesn’t go that way.  Sigh.

That’s it for the updates for now.  I’m still mulling over that post about sugar, and I have another post that might be up later today about a cookery surprise that Baron made for me the other day.  Toodle-oo!

Apathy Strikes Back!

My mental health condition hasn’t been good as of late.  I cry all the time, my mood is very depressed and I can’t seem to get anything done.  My psychiatrist has decided to add Lamictal – a bipolar antidepressant – to my medication regimen.  I’ve been on the starter dose for a week now, and I’ve found that while my mood is still depressed, I’ve been struck with an overwhelming sense of apathy.  I honestly don’t care about anything right now.  This includes not caring about being at my computer, playing my new video game, watching tv shows with Baron, or pretty much anything else.  Also, I’m not eating.  I’ve been going the whole day without eating until maybe 1am, and even then I’m still not hungry.

My psychiatrist is concerned that I might have to go inpatient, as she’s not sure if she can manage my symptoms on an outpatient basis.  I thankfully talked her out of it.

I’m not sure if this has anything to do with the new medication or not.  I’ve also found that I’m getting kind of sick of all the medication I have to take.  I’m really hating it.  I know I can’t just stop taking it, and I know how bad a shape I’ll be in if I stop taking everything (seriously, it’ll be a royal mess), but I really don’t want to take everything anymore.  At this point, I’m on 5 medications: 3 for mental health issues, 1 for my fibromyalgia and muscle spasms, and 1 for my hypothyroidism.  That’s a lot.  I’m just sick of it.

Friday I go in to get bloodwork done to check my thyroid hormone levels, and I go back to the doctor to get that checked on the 13th.  So far, I don’t really feel any kind of change from the thyroid meds, so we’ll see if that medication needs to be adjusted or not.  I go back to my psychiatrist in six weeks, and hopefully it’ll be better news.  My new medication gets it’s dosage doubled tomorrow, and I’m worried the apathy will get worse.  Guess we’ll see.  Wish me luck!

Bloodwork Results – Where Do I Go From Here?

So yesterday was a rather annoying day of ups and downs regarding getting my bloodwork results.  I thought that being scheduled on a Saturday morning (10:30am) would make things simpler, considering that the one other time I was there on a Saturday they were fairly empty.  I left with plenty of time, stopped off at Dunkin’ Donuts for a bagel and some orange juice, and drove to the appointment.  Upon checking in, I was informed that no, my appointment was not at this particular clinic.  It was at a different clinic twenty minutes away – one that I had only the vaguest notion of how to get to (“Funny, you’re the second person this has happened to today”).  Growing increasingly pissed off, I asked the receptionist if she could call over there to let them know I was on my way, so that they wouldn’t cancel my appointment.  She said sure, and gave me a little brochure with a map of how to get there.  I set out on my journey, bagel in hand.

With a little finagling – and one road detour I hadn’t planned on – I found the place.  The place was nearly entirely empty.  When I approached the receptionist and explained what had happened, she told me she had already marked me as a “no-show”.

“But… the receptionist at the other clinic said she was going to call you.”

“No, nobody called.”

Grrrrr….!!!!

She changed my no-show to show that I was indeed there, and I waited about ten minutes to be seen.  Weight was the same as my last appointment at 202lbs.  Blood pressure was a little high – 120/90 – but pulse and temperature were normal.

The doctor came in, sat down, and started going over my blood test results.  My fasting blood sugar was fine, so no Diabetes.  Very good, since it runs rampant through my family.  My cholesterols were ok – my “good” cholesterol was fine.  My “bad” cholesterol was slightly elevated.  My triglycerides?  That’s where things get a little sticky.  The way she explained it, your triglycerides should be under 150.  Mine were over 300.  The “high” range is 200-499.  Ick.

The second problem we ran into was the thyroid tests she ran.  Thyroid problems run in my family.  A few years ago, I had some bloodwork done and it showed that I tested positive for thyroid antibodies – that means my immune system would eventually identify my thyroid as something foreign, attack it, and stop production of the right kind of thyroid hormones.  At the time, we had no idea when it would happen, just that it would happen eventually.  Apparently “eventually” has arrived.

My thyroid test, which she said should have been under a 4, was an 8, making me test positive for hypothyroidism.  She prescribed me levothyroxine, a replacement thyroid hormone, and I have to take it every morning 1/2 an hour to an hour before breakfast with a full glass of water.  I’ve been told I’ll have to take it for the rest of my life.

Because of everything that turned up, I’ve been running my little fingers mad on the internets, researching what I can about fixing my triglycerides and taking care of my thyroid problem.  It would seem they could be related.  Hypothyroidism can cause elevated triglycerides.  The doctor, however, still wants me to change my diet to reduce my triglycerides.  That means cutting out a lot of sugars and carbs from my diet.  I don’t really consume a lot of sugar as it is, at least, I try not to.  Carbs however are kind of a staple of our diet in the house, and really hard to get around.  It’s frustrating enough trying to find a dietary solution that meets both my needs as someone who wants to go plant-based and Baron’s needs as a more meat-friendly omnivore, now to have to wrestle with this, it’s making it all seem very futile.

At this point I’m hoping that the new medication will help my energy levels, giving me the strength to get out and exercise more and hopefully lose the weight that I’ve put on the past few years.  Our current plan is for me to be on the meds for eight weeks.  I go back for bloodwork in six weeks and get seen in eight in order to check the thyroid levels.  I don’t know if they’re going to make me see an Endocrinologist, specifically, or just keep going to the Clinic.  I guess we’ll see when the time comes.  Wish me luck.