It has been awhile!
In a nutshell, here is what has been going on….
I went to see my Endo in June for a follow up. I had still been having a lot of issues with
lack of energy, always sleepy, emotional (more than usual!) So, he decided to
up my Synthroid dosage….again. As my
appointment was ending, he says, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I am leaving
the practice, and there will no longer be an Endo on staff here, so we need to
get you into another Dr.”. Part of me
was excited, because I had been wanting to get in with someone in San Antonio,
rather than having to drive almost to Austin for Dr. appointments. Another part of me was nervous because I know
how hard it is to get in with an Endo in San Antonio (hence why I was going out
of town to begin with).
So, I decided to try to get in with the Dr. in San Antonio
that I had wanted to see from the beginning.
Wouldn’t you know, 3 ½ month waiting list. I explained that I had a Dr. Referral, and
that I needed to be seen sooner since we needed to do blood work, refill meds,
etc. Finally they scheduled me for
August 10th (this was around July 1st). So then I get a call cancelling my August 10th
appointment, and trying to reschedule me for October 23rd. I threw a fit (remember I said I was extra
emotional right now???). Long story
short, they got me in due to a cancelation last Wednesday, August 1st.
Let me start by saying I LOVE MY NEW DR.!!! It is no wonder her waiting lists are so
long. She is wonderful. She personally sat with me for almost an
hour, going over my history, explaining her concerns about the care (or lack
thereof) that I had been receiving, and she explained everything that had been
going on with me in a way it had never been explained before. In a way I could understand it, and in a way
that showed me that she knew exactly what she was talking about.
I don’t want to bash my old Dr., but he really had no clue
what he was doing with me. My new Dr.
says that looking at the method of treatment he was giving me, she really didn’t
think that he had dealt with many thyroid cancer cases, nor total thyroidectomies. She was very concerned with the fact that he
treated my cancer, and then that was it.
We never talked about the cancer again.
But the fact of the matter is, this cancer has a likely chance of reoccurring. And if we aren’t vigilant with our scans, and
blood work, we might not catch it early.
So the first thing she did was make a “cancer game plan” with me. While her initial comment about the cancer reoccurring
scared me, the fact that she followed that with a game plan gave me a calming
feeling about it all.
The next thing she did was order A BUNCH of blood work. She told me that she would call me with the
results the following Wednesday. So, I
made myself a note to call her, because I don’t think a Dr. has ever followed
up on this promise with me. So imagine
my surprise when my phone rang last night, and it was my Dr. with my
results. My first thought, “My actual
Dr. is calling me, a day earlier than she said she would….must be bad news.”
But it wasn’t! GOOD
NEWS: my tumor markers are LOW! That is great news, and a relief to me since
the Dr. was so concerned that my old Dr. hadn’t checked this since my radiation
back in Jan/Feb. Next, she is keeping my
Synthroid dose where it is for now. But
she is also adding a T3 supplement. This
will only make sense to those of you who understand the thyroid issues, but
basically, the Synthroid has my T4 & TSH levels in an “ok” range for my
condition. However, my T3 levels are extremely
low. (which explains the sluggish/drowsy/blah
feeling that I have been having) She
says that once I start taking the T3 I will feel a BURST of energy. She said it will be noticeable since I have
been so low for so long. I am looking forward
to that!
So, what comes next?
Well, I will go back for more blood work in October. We will check tumor markers again. If they are still low, we will go about with
our game plan. They will also check my
other levels (T3, T4, TSH) and make any adjustments to my meds that might be
needed. Then we will do that again in a
couple of months. As far as the “cancer
game plan”, as long as the tumor markers stay low, I will have full body scans
in January of the next 3 years (2013, ’14, ’15)
After that, it changes, but that is so far away, we will cross that
bridge when we get there. I have been
told many times, by many different people, with different thyroid issues, that
the most frustrating part of it all is getting your meds where they need to
be. And this will always change, because
we as humans are constantly changing.
All I know is I long for the day when I feel normal again. When I have the energy to keep my house
clean. When I can stay awake to watch a
movie with my husband after the kids go to bed.
When people aren’t constantly asking me what is wrong because I always look
tired, and like I am about to cry. I
long for normal. And I know I will get
normal, someday.
How is everything else going??? GOOD!
The girls are growing and changing every day. Brilyn starts Kindergarten in 2 ½ weeks. She is beyond excited, and I am starting to
stress about it….uniforms, school supplies, bus routes, afterschool pick up….etc. Jacelyn will be 2 on October 1st. I can’t believe it. Where have the last 2 years gone? She is such a ham, and keeps us
laughing. She is definitely different
than her big sister. The differences in
their personalities amazes me. But they
are BFFs. I see lots of memories being made between those 2. Steve is doing good. He is
still with Preferred Landscape & Lighting and he recently got a promotion. It is keeping him busy. But I think that he is enjoying doing something
a little different than he had been. I
guess that is all. I will try to update
in the next couple of weeks and let you all know how the new meds are working,
and how Brilyn likes school! J
