Where shall I begin this little trip down memory road concerning my thyroid?
Well it started innocently enough with an appointment with a dermatologist due to some skin issues on my face and in my hair. I was given some meds, some advice and told to return if the problems didn't clear up.
Well I returned and as the good doctor looked at me she stated, 'do you know your thyroid is enlarged'? It was news to me. Frankly I never thought about my thyroid but because of that singular statement I found myself on the roller coaster of appointments. From the dermatologist to my own PA. Blood tests and an ultra sound. Blood tests came out find but the ultra sound did not. Seems there were nodules on both sides of my sweet thyroid. The right side larger and impeding my airway enough to make me cough.
This information sent me over the Keene to a specialist and the next thing I knew I was having a partial thyroidectomy, the theory being, my thyroid functioned, so the doctor did not want to take it all out, just half (the right half), in hopes that what was left would take over the job completely. Two weeks after the operation and after more blood letting the conclusion was the surgery was a success but the patient died. In other words, my thyroid was not working any longer. So I started on a med for that.
Months passed and slowly my energy level started to improved. More good days then bad but my weight started inching up. I went to one dietician a couple of times and she saw nothing really wrong with my eating habits although I could practice more portion control, oh duh.
I dropped her like a hot potato and started looking around at other options. I will state here I am not a touchy feely person. I hugs those in my family and that I know excessively well and I shake hands with everybody else. I don't even think about air kisses. So in looking into alternative medical treatment I first and foremost needed to find people that would respect this idiosyncrasy about me.
I tried a return visit to a place I had gone to about 10 years ago. The practitioners were young, new and huggers back then. Scared me right off. But I figure time had past, they and I had grown older maybe we all could handle each other. Seems that was the ticket. They have learned that I have a right not to be hugged and I have learned I can open up to them.
So we have started down this road. My first entry in my journal was for Sept. 27, 2013. At that time I weight in at 227 lbs. My most recent entry for Dec. 26, 2014 I weigh in at 242.8 a gain of 15.8 lbs.
I had spent 18 months or there abouts, 3 years ago losing 30 lbs. I cut back on portions and I walked and walked and walked. I had weighed closer to 260 back then. But at some point I got tired of walking maybe that was the first indication of something going wrong. I maintained my weight for a year quite easily and then I became tired. I would gain a pound or two but I always managed to lose it. Seems I can't do that any more. It became harder and harder to function. It's not like suddenly these things happened. It was insidious and slow. Oh and of course once you are staring six oh in the face everybody want to blame your age.
I admit I let thing go for a long time. I have had in the past 15 years 4 major surgeries, I haven't been in the best of health, but I still believe I can improve my health.
So now I am trying. I hate the elliptical we have but it is easier than dressing in many layers of clothes and trying to walk down a frozen dirt road. I also can set up my computer and watch documentaries, they do help the time go by. I started doing stretches first thing in the morning. Right now I am a balancing act. This stuff is new to me so it is like balancing on a fence. I am never quite sure if I will get the work done or fall off the fence, hit the couch and turn on the TV. I am a procrastinator by nature and this is hard, really hard. So I thought I would write about it. Maybe seeing it down on paper (as is were) I will make me feel like my efforts are real and I have a responsibility to me, to try, to succeed so I'll be around for awhile. Not in a 'home' or a walker, but up and participating in life.
Well it started innocently enough with an appointment with a dermatologist due to some skin issues on my face and in my hair. I was given some meds, some advice and told to return if the problems didn't clear up.
Well I returned and as the good doctor looked at me she stated, 'do you know your thyroid is enlarged'? It was news to me. Frankly I never thought about my thyroid but because of that singular statement I found myself on the roller coaster of appointments. From the dermatologist to my own PA. Blood tests and an ultra sound. Blood tests came out find but the ultra sound did not. Seems there were nodules on both sides of my sweet thyroid. The right side larger and impeding my airway enough to make me cough.
This information sent me over the Keene to a specialist and the next thing I knew I was having a partial thyroidectomy, the theory being, my thyroid functioned, so the doctor did not want to take it all out, just half (the right half), in hopes that what was left would take over the job completely. Two weeks after the operation and after more blood letting the conclusion was the surgery was a success but the patient died. In other words, my thyroid was not working any longer. So I started on a med for that.
Months passed and slowly my energy level started to improved. More good days then bad but my weight started inching up. I went to one dietician a couple of times and she saw nothing really wrong with my eating habits although I could practice more portion control, oh duh.
I dropped her like a hot potato and started looking around at other options. I will state here I am not a touchy feely person. I hugs those in my family and that I know excessively well and I shake hands with everybody else. I don't even think about air kisses. So in looking into alternative medical treatment I first and foremost needed to find people that would respect this idiosyncrasy about me.
I tried a return visit to a place I had gone to about 10 years ago. The practitioners were young, new and huggers back then. Scared me right off. But I figure time had past, they and I had grown older maybe we all could handle each other. Seems that was the ticket. They have learned that I have a right not to be hugged and I have learned I can open up to them.
So we have started down this road. My first entry in my journal was for Sept. 27, 2013. At that time I weight in at 227 lbs. My most recent entry for Dec. 26, 2014 I weigh in at 242.8 a gain of 15.8 lbs.
I had spent 18 months or there abouts, 3 years ago losing 30 lbs. I cut back on portions and I walked and walked and walked. I had weighed closer to 260 back then. But at some point I got tired of walking maybe that was the first indication of something going wrong. I maintained my weight for a year quite easily and then I became tired. I would gain a pound or two but I always managed to lose it. Seems I can't do that any more. It became harder and harder to function. It's not like suddenly these things happened. It was insidious and slow. Oh and of course once you are staring six oh in the face everybody want to blame your age.
I admit I let thing go for a long time. I have had in the past 15 years 4 major surgeries, I haven't been in the best of health, but I still believe I can improve my health.
So now I am trying. I hate the elliptical we have but it is easier than dressing in many layers of clothes and trying to walk down a frozen dirt road. I also can set up my computer and watch documentaries, they do help the time go by. I started doing stretches first thing in the morning. Right now I am a balancing act. This stuff is new to me so it is like balancing on a fence. I am never quite sure if I will get the work done or fall off the fence, hit the couch and turn on the TV. I am a procrastinator by nature and this is hard, really hard. So I thought I would write about it. Maybe seeing it down on paper (as is were) I will make me feel like my efforts are real and I have a responsibility to me, to try, to succeed so I'll be around for awhile. Not in a 'home' or a walker, but up and participating in life.
