As you know, in addition to POI, I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Monday I had yet another followup appointment with my doctor. After my latest round of bloodwork, and for the first time in just over a year (by 2 weeks!) my TSH values would appear to be normalized and in optimal range. Triumph! I've made some definite progress since my last thyroid checkup in April. My numbers have come back the best ever, and not just my thyroid results.
My TSH is currently at 1.0. Free T3 is chillin' at 2.95, and free T4 is looking good at 1.17. These are all rather good numbers. The 137mcg of Levoxyl seems to be doing the trick, even while I'm on the pill. I thought for sure we'd have to double the dosage (the steroidal estrogen in the pill binds to the thyroid hormone in my medicine, zeroing out the actual amount of thyroid hormone I receive) but apparently the jump from 125mcg to 137mcg was enough to do the job. Symptomatically, I feel the best I have in a year. The brain fog is basically gone and I'm not walking around like a zombie. I still get fatigue, but I imagine it's likelier the result of diet, going to bed at 1am every night, and stress. My doc mentioned something about iron deficiency, so he's having my iron levels tested.
The numbers that surprised me the most were my lipid panel. My total cholesterol went down from 222 in January to 194 in June! No medication, no exercise... all just changes to my diet. (Speaking of- given the recent loss of my grandmother, we might have fallen off the good eating wagon a little hard.) My LDL and HDL numbers look good too; they've also decreased since January. I fully credit Dr. Organic with this progress. My triglycerides were high at 196; more indicative of insulin resistance than anything else. The doc recommends sticking with lifestyle change at this point, because it's clearly working, and triglycerides can be managed by lifestyle.
The only bad numbers I had were my vitamin D levels. I'm a bit low. Not in the "gonna get rickets" range, but I seriously need to start taking the supplements that my doc prescribed and I never got filled... oops.
These are the first positive set of numbers I've had all year, and I've got symptoms (or lack thereof) to back them up, which is vital to proper thyroid management. I just need to keep an eye out for my adrenal function. Basically, Hashi's is an autoimmune thyroid disease where my body just kind of eats my thyroid until it stops working. As my anti-thyroid antibodies are so high (over 1000), my POI is most likely caused by autoimmune disfunction as well. It is very possible that I could develop polyglandular autoimmune disorder where the next thing my body goes after is the adrenal gland. That would not be good at all, so I need to be on the lookout. The doc ordered that blood test as well.
Speaking of blood tests... It took one hour, three phlebotomists, and six- yes six attempts to draw just one vial of blood from me. I have awful, awful veins, and the two I can count on refused to cooperate Monday. I tried hydrating, hot compresses, pumping my fist, letting my arm hang down - you name it, I did it. I may look a wee bit like a junkie with bruises all over the insides of both arms and the back of my right hand.
Other testing: I'm getting a mammogram on Saturday. Not too thrilled about that; less upset about the discomfort and more about the fact that I'm 28 and now have to start regular mammograms. My doc wants this as a baseline but recommends that I have them done annually since I'm now on HRT. The test itself doesn't unnerve me, but the implications for what it could detect does. Cancer does run in my family (mostly bladder, colon, and skin) so yanno, in my paranoid mind I'm quietly freaking out. Oh, and I got my annual gyno exam and pap smear. Love the boob massage- I mean breast exam, hate the "wham bam thank you ma'am" tone of the pelvic exam.
Assuming my iron levels and anti-adrenal antibody tests come back normal, I don't need to see the good doctor for six months. It feels a little weird, I won't lie; I've been at his office every six weeks like clockwork and now to have this stretch into potentially the end of the year... Sometimes it's hard to let the idea that I'm actually getting better sink into my brain.
Other medical news: my back is doing leaps and bounds better. My x-rays revealed that yes, I have degenerative arthritis in my lower spine (AWESOME) and that it could flare up again. One (hopefully) last chiropractor appointment on Friday. I can now sleep through the night sans pillows around my legs and back and don't need to ice it as frequently. I've also stopped taking Advil like it's going out of fashion, so that's good. My stomach lining and liver are appreciative, I'm sure.
The healing that I've worked so hard on in my mind is finally starting to make an appearance in my physical body.
The butterfly has transformed.
Photo and original body art by Ally Averell via Flickr in honor of Thyroid Awareness Month 2010.
7 comments:
Yay for progress! I know first hand how frustrating it is to feel constantly unwell and how wonderful it feels to have a few good days - or weeks - or even months!
Noticing your back issues, may I offer some friendly advice? As you are contemplating your adoption paperwork, I would encourage you to consider keeping your acceptable age at under a year and/or starting a weight training program to strengthen your abs NOW. When we adopted our son at 22 months - I was in no way ready to physically manage a growing, moving toddler. I swear I was paying my chiropractor's mortgage for the first two years. Starting out with a little bundle under 16 pounds that doesn't move very fast would have been much easier physically and mentally.
Having said that - I do know that Maxx was always meant to be part of our family. I just wish I had been more prepared. :)
Hooray for great progress! It sounds like you got some good news all around. Can I ask what diet changes you made to lower your cholesterol? Mine is always a little high, and I would prefer to get it down on my own rather than take cholesterol meds (though with my family history, I fear that'll be my path regardless).
Good luck with the mammo. I had one back in January and it wasn't fun. BUT, it's better than the alternative.
You have made incredible progress! It's so nice to read good news.
awesome news on the thyroid front! I also have thyroid issues and know how annoying it is to never quite feel right. Glad you are at a peak of levels and feeling good :) Sorry about the blood work...ouch but sounds great that you are taking care of yourself :) Good work and take care.
I am so happy to read about such good things and numbers , you sound GOOD and i love hearing that.
This whole post made me SMILE. Have a great weekend!!!!
Yippee!!! I'm so glad that you're feeling better and that your body is cooperating. :-)
I'm really glad things are working out for you! My Endocrinologist has me on Iron and Vitamin D, and also monthly B12 injections that have finally made me feel mostly normal too. I hope that you continue to feel better. It's nice to be able to function like the rest of society.
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