Well... This is a mixed bag of emotion for me.
On one hand, I want to share the news and get advice and help. Provided I am correctly diagnosed, and need to start a management program. On the other hand... I have different fingers. lol. Sorry, needed to not be so serious for a moment. Other hand- I want to keep this private and to myself.
But if that were really the best option, I think, I would not be sitting here writing this... Now would I?
Monday, March 15, 2010 began as a rough day. My kitteh had an eye infection really bad, making her look like a bobble-eye fish. So first and foremost was off to the vet with her... Which, to my delight (and everyone that knows her) she's ended up just fine and had an allergic reaction to something located somewhere in the apartment. Medicated, and given many treats, the kitteh is fine.
I had a Dr. appointment that afternoon, and in doing such I figured it was just going to be a routine physical. Had the blood work done earlier the week before, and this would be a breeze too. Got nearly done, and my Dr. started asking some odd questions. Felt my throat, glands I figured. I didn't feel sick, but questions asked really pertained to what I've been experiencing lately:
Stress
Nervousness
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Insomnia
Fatigue (absolutely no energy)
Fluttery Heart
Hand Tremors
Severe Mood Swings
Weak Limbs- Legs/Arms
Frequent Bathroom Breaks (Gotta pee!)
Velvety Skin (rapid cell turnover)
Difficulty Concentrating
Short Attention Span/Memory Lapse
Restlessness
Heat Sensitivity
I chalked it up to being homesick, to the changing of the seasons... But then I realized, I've felt this way for about 6 months. Maybe more.
The Dr. tells me that my test results came back mostly good... Mostly. That word bothered me. Next, was the descent into her diagnosis:
Hyperthyroidism.
Possibility of Graves Disease.
My blood work for nearly everything came back within the normal ranges- except for TSH and T4(free) levels. TSH is more or less the baseline moderator, produced by your pituitary gland in your brain. The hormone gets sent to your thyroid, and from there your thyroid tells it how much of the hormone to produce, resulting in the other chemicals being made and diffused throughout your body. My brain is producing hardly any of the hormone. Why is this a problem?
The other chemicals that are produced as a result and regulated by TSH go wacky- otherwise, overproduce. My T4(free) levels are too high. Because of the overproduction of the hormones, it's throwing my body out of whack. I'm a lot moodier, with bad emotional swings. I can sleep 10+ hours a night and wake up, only to be feeling 2 hours later I got a half hour of sleep. My back spasms are lasting longer, and I'm losing balance and falling (not frequently...) because all of a sudden my leg won't work. I think that symptom is mostly because of the pinched nerve, but still... The muscle suddenly becoming "rubber" on me is suspect. One symptom is a faster metabolism- which I wouldn't mind... It would help out with the weight loss angle, but alas- not in this situation. lol.
I now face a few more bumps in the road because of this. But, appointments have been made and I'm going to control this.
I'm having both the MRI for my back (to get fixed, once and for all!), and the uptake scan of my thyroid later that morning. Then back the next one for another scan... I'm going to be radioactive- hm, maybe I'll glow!
All kidding aside- this is really worrying me. I'm happy, in a way, to have some sort of answer as to why I've been feeling the way I have lately... But then again, this condition is forever. Risks, that I've found, include only a 20-30% success rate in trying to treat it with the anti-thyroid medication. (I HOPE I fall within that category). Step two would be radioiodine. Yep, you guessed it... Radioactive Iodine. Pro-side is that this method usually works. The con-side is that typically usage of this treatment ends up with 90% of patients getting HYPOthyroidism instead. UGH.
Third, and absolutely last option I'd consider, would be to have the thyroid removed entirely. This consists of living a certain lifestyle, being active, and taking medication forever in order to supplement the body with the hormones it's no longer receiving. That's typically only done in extreme cases- and I'm nowhere near that bad. Thankfully!
The up side of all this is by the time I have to take any action... My back will be fixed, I'll hopefully be pain free... And exercising will be a regular thing for me.
So here's to tomorrow... And what it will bring.
Good news, I'm hoping!
On one hand, I want to share the news and get advice and help. Provided I am correctly diagnosed, and need to start a management program. On the other hand... I have different fingers. lol. Sorry, needed to not be so serious for a moment. Other hand- I want to keep this private and to myself.
But if that were really the best option, I think, I would not be sitting here writing this... Now would I?
Monday, March 15, 2010 began as a rough day. My kitteh had an eye infection really bad, making her look like a bobble-eye fish. So first and foremost was off to the vet with her... Which, to my delight (and everyone that knows her) she's ended up just fine and had an allergic reaction to something located somewhere in the apartment. Medicated, and given many treats, the kitteh is fine.
I had a Dr. appointment that afternoon, and in doing such I figured it was just going to be a routine physical. Had the blood work done earlier the week before, and this would be a breeze too. Got nearly done, and my Dr. started asking some odd questions. Felt my throat, glands I figured. I didn't feel sick, but questions asked really pertained to what I've been experiencing lately:
Stress
Nervousness
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Insomnia
Fatigue (absolutely no energy)
Fluttery Heart
Hand Tremors
Severe Mood Swings
Weak Limbs- Legs/Arms
Frequent Bathroom Breaks (Gotta pee!)
Velvety Skin (rapid cell turnover)
Difficulty Concentrating
Short Attention Span/Memory Lapse
Restlessness
Heat Sensitivity
I chalked it up to being homesick, to the changing of the seasons... But then I realized, I've felt this way for about 6 months. Maybe more.
The Dr. tells me that my test results came back mostly good... Mostly. That word bothered me. Next, was the descent into her diagnosis:
Hyperthyroidism.
Possibility of Graves Disease.
My blood work for nearly everything came back within the normal ranges- except for TSH and T4(free) levels. TSH is more or less the baseline moderator, produced by your pituitary gland in your brain. The hormone gets sent to your thyroid, and from there your thyroid tells it how much of the hormone to produce, resulting in the other chemicals being made and diffused throughout your body. My brain is producing hardly any of the hormone. Why is this a problem?
The other chemicals that are produced as a result and regulated by TSH go wacky- otherwise, overproduce. My T4(free) levels are too high. Because of the overproduction of the hormones, it's throwing my body out of whack. I'm a lot moodier, with bad emotional swings. I can sleep 10+ hours a night and wake up, only to be feeling 2 hours later I got a half hour of sleep. My back spasms are lasting longer, and I'm losing balance and falling (not frequently...) because all of a sudden my leg won't work. I think that symptom is mostly because of the pinched nerve, but still... The muscle suddenly becoming "rubber" on me is suspect. One symptom is a faster metabolism- which I wouldn't mind... It would help out with the weight loss angle, but alas- not in this situation. lol.
I now face a few more bumps in the road because of this. But, appointments have been made and I'm going to control this.
I'm having both the MRI for my back (to get fixed, once and for all!), and the uptake scan of my thyroid later that morning. Then back the next one for another scan... I'm going to be radioactive- hm, maybe I'll glow!
All kidding aside- this is really worrying me. I'm happy, in a way, to have some sort of answer as to why I've been feeling the way I have lately... But then again, this condition is forever. Risks, that I've found, include only a 20-30% success rate in trying to treat it with the anti-thyroid medication. (I HOPE I fall within that category). Step two would be radioiodine. Yep, you guessed it... Radioactive Iodine. Pro-side is that this method usually works. The con-side is that typically usage of this treatment ends up with 90% of patients getting HYPOthyroidism instead. UGH.
Third, and absolutely last option I'd consider, would be to have the thyroid removed entirely. This consists of living a certain lifestyle, being active, and taking medication forever in order to supplement the body with the hormones it's no longer receiving. That's typically only done in extreme cases- and I'm nowhere near that bad. Thankfully!
The up side of all this is by the time I have to take any action... My back will be fixed, I'll hopefully be pain free... And exercising will be a regular thing for me.
So here's to tomorrow... And what it will bring.
Good news, I'm hoping!
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