Another Day, Another Dr Appointment

After my dreadfully long wait (note: total sarcasm there. I had to wait 2 weeks), I got to see my endocrinologist today. I really like her. She is young and smart and deals with her own health issues (she is in a wheelchair). Our appointment went about the way I expected.

Overall, she is very pleased. Since February, I've lost 20 lbs! My heart rate and blood pressure remain pretty close to perfect. My glucose, sodium, potassium, and magnesium levels all look good. So we will be keeping my Prednisone dose at 5mg, which I've been on for a few months now.

The issues I am having now relate to my thyroid. I also have Hashimotos, which I take a medicine called Novotiral for. Back in February, we lowered my dose to 3/4 pill a day, since my TSH was 0.01 (this is suppressed TSH caused by over-medication, known as sub-clinical hyperthyroidism). I have to wait at least 6 weeks before getting the blood test to see if that dosage is working. So I went in April and had a blood drawn. My TSH was still 0.01 so we lowered to dosage again to 1/2 a pill a day. But my last blood test, about 3 weeks ago, showed my TSH had jumped to almost 4.5 (out of range, hypothyroid). The only dose left to try is 3/4 pill one day and 1/2 a pill the next. Amazing how sensitive the body can be!

There are a lot of patients out there who say they feel best with a suppressed TSH. I even had people recommend that I just go back to 3/4 pills a day. But my endo says that suppressing your TSH long term leads to osteopoprisis, cardiac issues, plus you are basically turning off your pituitary gland and it has more to do than make thyroid hormones, so I can see how that doesn't seem like a great idea.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am also taking homeopathic supplements to support my thyroid and adrenal health. This is in addition to the normal, prescription meds.

Much less swollen face on the lower dose of steroids!

It all seems to be working together pretty well, but my energy levels are super low. I could easily stay in bed all day, every day. So hoping that with the slightly increased dose, I start to feel like moving again.

And hopefully lose this last 15 lbs!

Love,

an Addison Alien

who really wish people would stop asking if I "feel better yet?" It's not that kind of disease!

My Incredible Shrinking Face

Dear interwebs,

I'm back!

It's been a long time.

And during that time, a whole bunch of people have been clicking on this little blog. So, I figured I should probably post something for y'all to read.

Things have been going really well, overall. But when you are living with chronic disease, you get used to lots of ups and downs. And round and rounds.

Here's what I've been taking the last few months:

- 5mg Prednisone
- 100 mg Metaprolol
- various doses of Novotiral

- homeopathic meds: thyroid support drops made from NDT, calcium carbonate drops, 2 kinds of sublingual pills, iodine supplement (all recently started)

- vitamins: C, E, D, B complex, DHEA, magnesium, calcium

I see my endocrinologist on Monday to try to figure out what dose of Novotiral (my thyroid med) she thinks is best. When I take 3/4 of a pill a day, my TSH is suppressed to 0.01 (subclicnical hyperthyriodism), which my endo does not like.

But when I reduced to 1/2 a pill a day, my TSH jumped to almost 4.5 (hypothyroidism), I wanted too stay in bed all day every day (and not just because I recently discovered the tv show Dance Moms and want to watch every episode already), my hair was falling out in crazy handfuls a day, and I started regaining some of the weight I worked so hard to lose.

Since I had to wait so long to see my endo (a whole two weeks! I am spoiled by the awesome healthcare here) I went to see the homeopathic doctor a ton of people had recommended. He put me on the thyroid supplement and all the other meds I listed above. While I am still super exhausted all the time, my hair loss seems to have stopped or at least significantly slowed. So, being an averagely vain person, that makes me happy.

For the last 7 months, I have attempted to stick to a vegetarian, plant-based, dairy-free, gluten-free diet. I eat vegan when I can but other times I get crazy and eat Doritos. Or ice cream. In fact, the other day I had to stress dose and I ended up with a serious craving for homemade mac and cheese with bacon. In one meal, I basically ate every single food group I try to avoid. And it was worth every single delicious, cheesy bite.

I drink way more water than anyone I know - about 6 liters a day. I got a Kangen machine and make alkaline water almost every day. While the Kangen people say not to take your meds with this water, I do. I feel like I can take less steroid when I drink it with this water (which your body absorbs at a cellular level) and the less steroids, the less side effects. It also is the only thing in 10+ years that has helped my digestion issues (yes, the steroid helps but this water really makes a difference!). When I take my steroid with regular water, I usually end up taking twice as much.

Remember, I am not a doctor and I'm not giving medical advice! Just stating what works for me.

Another cool thing about the alkaline water is that you can make tea without boiling the water. I add a bag or two of Young Living's Slique weight loss support tea to my 6 liter water jug each day. It tastes delicious!

All these things have resulted in some positive changes in the way that I look. I started trying to take pictures every day but failed miserably. I ended up with about 2 pictures a week for the last few months. So here there are, in all their glory.

Remember, I am sharing these embarrassing and unattractive photos to show how my face has changed. Please be kind!

And yes, I noticed that I rock the messy bun way too often. I also have an appointment for a hair cut this week :)

Love,

an Addison Alien

who would like to remind you that "beauty is not in the face, beauty is a light in the heart". So said Rumi.