The THYROID Thread

[luvmarypoppins]

Hi Danny - pop in anytime

Well its the last full day of our trip. Dh and I are taking a break from ds3. He is on a plane now back to work tonight. He ran us ragged. Glad he helped push me when need be, his need be was alot because he said I LKl too slow and he wanted to get places etc.

Its more crowded than I thought it would be. The weather is crazy warm except today its raining.

Best was I got to meet up with snappy (Laurie) from the Breast Cancer Thread on the Comm. Board. She is here with her dd from college.

 

[AllisonK]

I haven't posted her in a few months, but I am still trying to get my dose regulated and it's so frustrating. I gained a total of 16 pounds between June and October and have been on 3 different dosages since my surgery (100, 150 and currently on 137 with two pills on Saturdays). My TSH was 31.9 on the 100 (yes, 31.9....) so my endo bumped me up to 150 and my TSH went down to .8. I felt awesome and less bloated and tired but my PCP thought .8 was low (my PCP and endo are part of the same group so they can both see my lab work) and bumped me down to 137... turns out the endo thought .8 was optimal for me (he wants my TSH under 1) and thought I should never have been bumped down to 137... so now I am taking the two pills on Saturdays to see if the 137 can get my TSH back under 1... if not I will most likely go back up to 150. I just had my blood drawn Thursday so hopefully I will have my results back soon... I am still tired on the 137 but I am slowly losing the weight again. (I had lost 80 prior to my surgery as I was overweight in my teens/early 20s and had kept the 80 off for a year at that point and was down to a healthy 145 lbs, so gaining 16 so quickly felt like such a failure even though I know it was completely out of my control because my TSH was so high...)

 

[Christine]

Allison,

At least it looks like you are heading in the right direction. It's a shame you got pulled off the .150. A TSH of .8 is fine. I guess, though, for people who *don't* have thyroid cancer, they'd rather see you at around 1-2, but 0.8 is close enough. PCPs aren't well on board with endocrinological things. Are they also running a Free T4 and T3 when they do your labwork?

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Just popping in to wish you all a very Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and a Happy and Healthy New year to all!!!

Allison - I am sure its frustrating. Its like a guessing game to try and get the right dosage, but once you get to it, it will be great and you will feel great!! Hang in there!

Macraven - are you in your new place yet??

Squeegee - you need to tell us about your trip!!!

singing mom - I know you mentioned a friend or room mate of your dd who is a cp cm from Australia. Just wondering if she works at Its Tough To Be a Bug. We met the sweetest girl from Australia there.

Christine - I finally found out where dh was. The 2nd most important place in the area, wowsa! is all I can say. I made my goodreads goal of 50 books.I think I will lower it to 40 or 45 this year but I am not getting a lot of childrens books to review. Hope you enjoy the hoildays with your ds and dd. I am sure you are happy to have him home for a while!

Well our trip was great. Loved the weather, saw Osborne light for the last time in the rain, saw all the parades and fireworks. The star wars fireworks were awesome, Dh and I watched them from the room due to my stomach issues again. Hmm, I hear the gastro calling my name, lol! Nexium doesnt work for me, so we will see what he will say.

I thought Meridith Viera did a good job at the candlelight processional. She only made one mistake. MVMCP was crowded but we had a good time. It was too hot to drink hot chocolate. Ds2 got to say hi to his friend at the AK. Shew trains the custodians.

We had pizza and went to see Star Wars last night for ds1 b day. Its the only time we all could get together.

I volunteered to cook sausage and a pasta dish for ds3 to take to work for the nurses tomm. night. I will be busy. Plus we have to be at church at 6pm.

Check in when you are not busy.

 

[SingingMom]

Merry Christmas from the happiest place on earth! Having a lovely time with DD. Moved her into her new apartment. Went to Christmas Eve 6 pm mass at the Basilica. Not getting any time to relax because DD has us hopping. lol. Tomorrow she works, so after lunch DH and I may peek in on her at MK, then come back and sit by the pool. The weather has been HOT and muggy! Not looking forward to leaving my girl Tuesday, but I'll be back at the end of January. Gotta love frequent flyer points!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

singing mom - so glad to hear you and your dh are having a wonderful time with your dd. Pool time sounds great too. We were just too busy like you running around to enjoy it while we were there.

You are brave to put up with the crowds. Its great to use the ff miles for sure.I did it for 2 days free at the Swan last trip.

Well my head is spinning with our new ins. plan that starts Jan. lst. The number 1 frustrating thing right now is the prescription plan they have.
It says you can get the 3 month supply at CVS and save one co pay. It says your dr. must write all new scripts out for a 3 month supply etc. I looked at all my meds this morning. I am going to try and squeeze one more synthroid 30 day refill out of the old plan.

I just feel this will be confusing and the dr. wont like doing it and I am thinking I should just make a little trip to the endo office so they can photocopy my new card, show them the new plan rules etc. I have enough supply till mid Jan. for everything I think.

 

[Christine]

I have the CVS thing and I love it. I get my 90 day supply on everything and no more mail order. It's so much more convenient and I don't have to worry about the heat with some of the medications.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Oh gheesh, this prescription stuff just keeps getting better. I did get 2 more refills from the old plan and then I asked them why my vitamin d script was filled for only 4 pills (once a week) instead of the new dose (twice a week).

The tech tells me on the phone - oh your company (old one) thinks it too much of a dose and wont give it to you, what?????

I did read with the new plan that some meds the dr. may have to justify the use to the ins. company first, oh what fun.

So then I ask the tech - well how much will it cost me if I pay for the 8 pills myself and she says $14.09. That might be worth my sanity at this point I think.

Best christmas present - ds1 was told they will hire him full time in Feb. A miracle after looking for the job for 9 months and they hired him part time in the fall.

Worst gift - ds2 paid us a debt he owed, I said this is not a gift, this is a debt you owed us, so he is on my very, very naughty list. He is already banned from any disney trip with us as he ruined it when he was there before. Ds3 unfortunately is going to be added to the list I think. His unkind comments just stress me out and I want to enjoy the vacation.

I am going to do a little math calculation as one of dh airlines is running a special to buy miles. I will see what an average room will cost versus buying the miles and the bonus and see what works out better financially. I looked at the Passholder rates for the Yacht Club for our next trip probably in May and they are ridiculous, like $335 and I think that is without taxes. I might spring for 2 nights there just because I love the pool but their prices are getting out of control for sure.

Found out over christmas that dh aunt died. His uncle didnt bother to tell us as he almost died himself and was depressed. I felt bad. My boys met her and liked her. She was 91. And one of my best friends from hs just emailed me that her dh died. Dont know if we will go to the funeral as I dont know what state it will be yet. Also found out when doing the christmas cards that another aunt of dh died too and they didnt tell us. We werent close with them anyway. I am getting weary of all of this right now. Need some happy stuff for sure.

 

[macraven]

Happy New Year everyone

Am moved into our new place in Georgia and in the process of unpacking boxes and buying furnishings for the house

It is going to take us two months to get the house in order

Next week having two rooms flooring replaced so house will be a mess until that is completed

Fridge in the house broke down last Saturday so we are eating out still

Went to buy one the night it broke down and expecting delivery on it tomorrow

On the way to our new house we were in an accident
7 miles from the house this happened

Worse issue presently is trying to find an endo as in a month from now, will be out of my meds

That is what is going on in my world so far

But do have to say, everything we have gone through is worth it for the move South.......

 

[Christine]

Happy New Year everyone

Am moved into our new place in Georgia and in the process of unpacking boxes and buying furnishings for the house

It is going to take us two months to get the house in order

Next week having two rooms flooring replaced so house will be a mess until that is completed

Fridge in the house broke down last Saturday so we are eating out still

Went to buy one the night it broke down and expecting delivery on it tomorrow

On the way to our new house we were in an accident
7 miles from the house this happened

Worse issue presently is trying to find an endo as in a month from now, will be out of my meds

That is what is going on in my world so far

But do have to say, everything we have gone through is worth it for the move South.......

Wow, sounds like a lot of stress, but good stress since this is what you wanted to do!!

Good luck on the endo search!

 

[macraven]

Christine, the stress is worth it due to the weather we will have for the rest of our lives!

We could not take the cold and snowy weather winters anymore

We all were tired of shoveling snow period........ Lol.
We could still get some in Georgia but not that much of it
And we will always have milk, bread and eggs in the fridge if we do....

 

[SingingMom]

Christine, the stress is worth it due to the weather we will have for the rest of our lives!

We could not take the cold and snowy weather winters anymore

We all were tired of shoveling snow period........ Lol.
We could still get some in Georgia but not that much of it
And we will always have milk, bread and eggs in the fridge if we do....

.....IF you have a fridge.... LOL

 

[macraven]

Fridge arrived and set up last night

Eggs and milk now in it

WOOT

 

[AllisonK]

Allison - I am sure its frustrating. Its like a guessing game to try and get the right dosage, but once you get to it, it will be great and you will feel great!! Hang in there!

Allison,

At least it looks like you are heading in the right direction. It's a shame you got pulled off the .150. A TSH of .8 is fine. I guess, though, for people who *don't* have thyroid cancer, they'd rather see you at around 1-2, but 0.8 is close enough. PCPs aren't well on board with endocrinological things. Are they also running a Free T4 and T3 when they do your labwork?

Thanks! I believe they are testing my Free T4 and T3 as well. I went for blood work on Dec. 18 and got a call early this week that my TSH was .1, so they had me stop taking the two pills (.137) on Saturdays. It is still very frustrating! I crashed on the couch at 9:30 last night and slept until 8:30 this morning, so I am still having energy crashes by the end of the week.

But, I found out yesterday I passed my English MTEL, which is the Massachusetts teaching licensure test. I went to college for journalism and after working in the field for a few years (and then trying out marketing... SO not for me... I am not the pushy sales type), I started substitute teaching last spring at the high school my mom taught at for the last 29 years (she retired last September). I always had intended to teach until about 10th grade or so, when I took a journalism class at school. After working at a newspaper for three years I saw no possibility for moving forward and I felt stuck. Last summer I made the decision to pursue my teaching credentials. I took the Communications and Literacy MTELs in August and passed those, and took a prep class in October for the English MTEL. I figured the prep class would be helpful as I wasn't an English major in college. It helped! I took the test December 1, and, although I didn't feel very confident, I got the email last night with my score report and I passed! I can now apply for my preliminary license and will be able to be admitted into the post-baccalaureate teaching program at one of the nearby state universities. I have to take two more literature courses (American and world, I took British literature as an undergraduate) and a linguistics course (it's kind of odd that I wasn't required to take one as a journalism major), so I am taking world lit and linguistics this semester and will take American lit over the summer and hopefully start the teaching program in the fall!

 

[macraven]

congrats allison on passing that test.

you have a bright future ahead of you.

it's a better life when you can work in a field that you love.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

macraven - how is the house coming along? I hope you find a great endo. When we first moved and we were looking at a house to rent I was smart and asked the owner who her pediatrician was as I saw she had kids. So funny because the new one in the group became our really good friends and went to our church too.
Also hope that you are recovering from the accident.

Allison - congrats on the test! Sounds like you have found a great path. Also hope the med dose is working out for you.

Christine - hope you are doing well. My Goodreads goal for this year is 45 books and so far I read 3.

Squegee - what was the highlight of your trip?"

Went to the hematologist today. Didnt even see him, only the np. They said my iron level is slowly coming up and I got a B12 shot. Dh and I were talking and wondering if we should go there again. They dont do much and I can go to the regular pcp and get the stuff done cheaper.

Poor ds1 is having alot of hip problems. He needs to go to the dr. Ds3 has applied for the masters program for adult family nurse practicner. He said 400 people applied and 200 got interviews. He said his interview was with a group of 6 people and they were all only asked the same 2 questions. They said they will only accept 80 students and they should know sometime in March. Also in March hopefully ds will be on the day shift, so that will make him happy.

Next month I have the sono an blood tests to get ready for the endo.

And no snow here all winter, yeah!1 Its a dream come true for sure!!!

Check in when you can.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

singing mom - I am sure you are looking forward to your trip to see your dd. Hope you have good weather.

 

[Christine]

LMP--thanks for checking in!

I've set my DIS reading goal of 50 again. I probably won't make it. I was doing well the first 2 weeks of the month since I had a lot of time off work but now that I'm back full-time, I can see my reading progress has slowed to a snail's pace again. There's only so many hours in the day!

Good luck to your son on the NP program!

My endo appointment is on February 3rd. I've starting watching my food intake. I've definitely gained weight. I think 90% of it is my fault and maybe 10% is due to being on a lower dose of Synthroid. I'm going to give it a good effort the next 3 weeks and see if the weight will budge. If it does not, it could be time to increase it slightly.

My menopause hot flashes are still ongoing. They backed off a little bit but in the last 2 weeks they seem like they are strong again. That's really the only menopause related symptom I can complain about. If it wasn't for them, I'd feel perfectly fine.

 

[macraven]

LMP
hooray for DS3
oh no for DS1

hopeful for both to have successful news soon

i'm so far behind in the real world, don't know where to begin.
and i'm sorry i have not been posting on here regularly.

somedays i don't know where to begin as i'm lagging in getting organized with all i need to do.

have completed the things that had deadlines but all else way behind.

had to get a Ga drivers license before the end of the 30 day period of moving here came up.
well, Mr Mac and myself did get in under the wire on the 29th day .....
then to have our car insurance transferred to an agent in this state.
after that, car plates.

this took up hours of one day.
each step followed by the next for car processing, etc

was shocked on how expensive it is to transfer this all in Ga.
plates/title ended up costing us over $2400. and that is with the $53. charge of using a cc to pay for it all.
unbelievable....
but, in the long run, we do think it was worth it to make this move.

still trying to find furniture we need and other furnishings for the house.
some furniture that was ordered came damaged so another wait is in play.
flooring installer comes in another week and will be glad for that to get done.
all the wood is in boxes in the dining room so we just walk around it......
wood was delivered day after christmas time but the installer had no openings until later in January.

my one hurdle now is finding doctors and dentist and car mechanic.

i swear, i never knew it would take this long to set up a house
of course, we lived in our last house for 30 years plus so my experience of constant moving was long over after we did buy one back in the stone ages.

Chrinstine, I wish you the best with the dosage change of medicine.
i know how hard that is on you.
some months before our move, my dosage was changed 3 times/every 6 weeks.
but it sounds like you need a higher dosage by what you have mentioned on how you are feeling at this point.

if i can't find an endo by end of feb, i will be calling my old one in chicago and beg for a script i can use for synthroid.
i'll be completely out of all and any meds by that time period.

hope this new year will be a great one for all of you.
so far i have avoided any snow so i know it will be a good year for me.

 

[SingingMom]

singing mom - I am sure you are looking forward to your trip to see your dd. Hope you have good weather.

I am! Miss her like crazy! She's doing very well, so we are very happy for her. Her apartment is adorable and she gets along well with her roommate. Hubby and I are enjoying our "couple time", but we both miss her - especially her wit & humor.
I'm lucky that we text several times a day, so I'm still involved with her daily life. She was able to take a few days off while I visit, so we will have fun. She's coming home in March to surprise my niece, who has the lead in her high school's spring musical and then we'll go to see "She Loves Me" on Broadway. I think she misses NYC more than she misses Mom & Dad!

Hope everyone is feeling well. I have yearly followup with my internist this week and repeat bloodwork for the endo to see if the new synthroid dosage is good. Never ending, huh?!