The date has been set!

I had a consult today with my surgeon.  We have set the date for my surgery for December 28th.  While not the exact date I was hoping for, it works. And I'm glad to have it scheduled. And ready to get it over with. And knowing how busy December is, I know that it will be here before I know it!

And, I loved meeting my surgeon. He eased my fears, explained all possible complications, and what they will do to prevent them. He was just awesome and an answer to my prayers.

That's the update for now. If anyone wants more info, you know how to reach me!  :-)

All Clear for Surgery!

**YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE??? When you have a blog all typed up, and then it disappears before you can hit "publish". That is what I hate!!!**


I had an appointment with my Endo today, and he has cleared me for surgery! The meds that they gave me to get my levels down have worked, so we are good to go. I have a consult scheduled with the surgeon for Tuesday, and we will schedule the surgery then. But the goal, for all of us, is to have the surgery mid-late December. I know, you are probably thinking, why would she want to have surgery and deal with all of that stress during the holidays?!?! But honestly, that will be perfect for me. I can combine my vacation days I have left for the year, with the holidays, and I can still use this years deductible towards all the costs. :)

One curve ball that has been thrown in the plan: my Endo is closing his private practice Dec 1st and joining a group. And it is located even further away. But, we have come this far, so I am sticking with him. We agreed that it would be best to stay with him until the surgery is complete, and I am on new meds, and have adjusted completely to them. Then I can see about getting in with someone that I don't have to drive an hour away to see. :)

Thank you all for the texts/emails/phone calls. They mean more than you know. :)

Hello out there!

Well, so far, I haven't done a great job of keeping this thing updated, huh?!?  Life just gets busy sometimes, you know?

Anyway, here is a brief update of our lives right now:

~ Steve got a little promotion of sorts at work this past week. He is now a part of the Holiday Lighting Division. His company does holiday lighting for malls, shopping centers, big commercial buildings, etc. all throughout Texas. So, he left yesterday, and will be on the road until the 8th or 11th or something like that. So, I'm learning to be a single mom of 2. Lol

~ Brilyn & I were very fortunate to get to go to the Taylor Swift concert last Tuesday night. It was an amazing experience to share with her. I hope she remembers it forever.

~ The girls are excited for Halloween. Brilyn is going to be a farmer and Jacelyn will be her cow. Their costumes are adorable! We are going to a trunk-or-treat tonight, and then we will do it all again on Monday. Pics to follow!

~ I have been feeling alright, I guess. I can tell a little difference since I started taking the meds. But, I'm still tired, and I still see some of the other symptoms daily. But I still think we are on the right path. I will have blood work done next week, and then see my Dr. the next week, and we will get surgery scheduled, as long as my levels are where they need to be.

I guess that's a good update for now! :) Thank you to everyone for their continued thoughts & prayers & kind words.

rlb

Results Day!

Good news! No sign of cancer in any of the blood work or scans. We will still have to remove the thyroid completely, due to the size and nature of the nodules (growths).  I am starting some meds today to bring my thyroid levels down prior to surgery.  So I'll start the meds today, and then we will do blood work in about a month to see where my levels are. We will make any adjustments necessary, and go from there.  We are currently looking at surgery around the end of the year.

Once the thyroid is removed, they will biopsy it to be 100% sure there is no cancer. Surgery should be fairly simple, and recovery shouldn't be all that bad.

Thank you all so much for the prayers and kind words.  It is so encouraging and uplifting to know how much people care. Please continue to pray that things all go according to the plan we have laid out. 

Thank you all, and God bless!  ~ rlb

OK, so now you are up to speed. Here is a picture to give you an idea of what it looks like. (It is obviously a lot more noticeable in person....and you can only see the largest of the 2 in this picture.)

To Bring You Up To Speed....

OK, so I know a few of you know what is going on, and a few of you have no clue. And a few of you have sensed that something is wrong, but don't really know what....so here I go in an attempt to fill you all in....

In mid-late August, I started having really bad back pains. I finally gave in and went to the chiropractor. As he was doing my initial check-up, he noticed that my thyroid was extremely swollen. Throughout the rest of my visit, he was more concerned about my thyroid than my neck and back, which is his area of expertise. Anyway, at his urging, I went to see my Primary Care Dr. to see what he thought.

(OK, timeout for a minute....I guess you are wondering, "if her thyroid was that swollen, why hadn't she noticed it?!?!" Well, I had, I had just ignored it. As stupid as this sounds, when someone in my family has something like this "pop up" it always ends up being something serious. So this scared me. I guess I just kinda thought it would go away....I was wrong)

OK, so I made an appointment with my PCP and went in to let him take a look at it. He showed concern as well, and ordered some blood work and an ultrasound of my thyroid. I had those tests done, and went back to see him for the results. He basically said, "yeah, something crazy is going on in there....you need to see a specialist."

So, I got on the phone and started calling every Endocrinologist in SA that takes our insurance. All of them had at least a 3 month waiting list. Are you kidding me?!?!?! I have had 2 different doctors tell me I need to have this looked at ASAP, and you want me to wait 3 months?!?!? So, I got creative, and started calling Endo's in the surrounding areas. I finally got in with a great guy in San Marcos. Yes, it sucks having to drive an hour for doctor appointments when I live in a city with so many great doctors, but I know that I am seeing this guy for a reason, because my prayers to God led me to him.

So I finally went in to see this Endo and he instantly diagnosed me with hyperthyroidism. But he said that was far from the extent of my problems. He said there is a 99.9% chance that we will need to remove my entire thyroid. There are 2 growths on there, and they are both considered "large". One of them is bigger than the other, and he feels the largest one can not be shrunk with radiation without destroying the thyroid anyway. So removal is pretty much inevitable. He also started me on a heart medication right away due to heart palputations (sp?). But hopefully that will all subside once the thyroid issue is taken care of. (this is why P90X has been put on the back burner....)



He wasn't happy with the extent of the tests my PCP had done, so he wanted to do more. He ordered a CBC so that he could see everything going on in my blood (HOLY COW they took a TON of blood out of me!!!) and then he ordered an ultrasound of my whole neck, not just my thyroid. He was concerned about some other swelling he detected in the lymphnodes in my neck. He also had me do a "radioactive iodine" scan.



So, blood work has been done. Ultrasound has been done. And radiation scan has been done.


Tomorrow is the day of truth. Tomorrow I go in and get the results. I get some answers. And we make a plan of action.



In the days leading up to this, my mind has been going 100 mph in 100 different directions. I am constantly hearing from different people, "my so-and-so has thyroid issues, and they are fine". But the fact of the matter is, there are still so many unanswered questions with me, and I don't like people comparing me to them or anyone else. It has been frustrating thus far. But there is one thing for sure that I know. God has got this. He is holding me in His hand. And no matter what the outcome may be, I will be ok. I know I will. Another reason I know I am going to be ok?? I have an amazing support system....an awesome husband, great friends, and a wonderful family.



It should go with out being said, but I could really use some prayers. Prayers for strength, courage and understanding.



Thank you all, and God bless! ~ rlb

(sorry that the format is all messed up....I've been out of the blogging world for awhile and I'm going to have to learn all the tricks again.....)