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hel_anaWent to the doctor for a physical and the results of all the blood tests that were done last week. It's kind of refreshing, in a wierd way, to be going for a routine checkup.
Weight is down, a bit, but it's still in the 10 pound range that it's been in since the surgery. Need to get it down more. I went swimming today, and I'm going tomorrow, too. Hopefully I can get into a habit.
Blood pressure is 120/70, which isn't surprising. My BP has always been textbook normal, which usually surprises people until they've taken my vitals a few times.
Pulse was 98, which is actually a bit higher than usual.. probably the fact that I was running late (and running into the office).
Blood tests were mostly good.. my good cholesterol is up, my bad cholesterol is down, and my total is 184 (should be >200).
All the minerals are within normal range (which in the case of my calcium is very good news), except alkaline phosphatase, which is an enzyme found in all tissues -- damaged tissues can release it into the blood, so higher concentrations can be concerning. My doctor wants to follow up in 3 months, since it could just be damaged tissue from the surgery.
I had a slightly elevated sedimentation rate, which could be from any number of things (or could be yet another bit o' thyroid wackiness, from what I've read). Nothing really to worry about, it's only a bit elevated.
Everything in the CBC (complete blood count) are nice and normal. As is normal in a person who grew up in Canada, I tested positive for Rubella antibodies (thank you MumpsMeasles/Rubella innoculation). I don't have herpes (yay me!)
What I *do* have is Epstein-Barr Virus antigens running around my body, drinking too much, jumping on tables, wearing lampshades on their little antigen heads, and generally being a pain in the ass. It's dormant, apparently, since there aren't huge numbers of antibodies trying to clean up the place. However, it's something to keep an eye on. Grr.
And, of course, we did a thyroid panel. My TSH is supressed! Yay! And there was much rejoicing. It's currently sitting at .03, with a Free T4 of 1.4. They didn't include Free T3 in the full thyroid panel. So my thyroid numbers are at acceptable levels.
I asked him to drop my levothyroxine dosage by 25 mcg and write me a scrip for Cytomel (T3). He agreed, after some arguing, though only for three months. Then we can have the argument again, I guess. He's going to send me some articles about *why* he doesn't want to use it long term. Anyway. The important thing is that I can try it, at least.
Funny.. the physicians assistant came in to look at me (I think he spends a lot of time looking for work to do, or he's there to appease patients kept waiting) and he wanted to write me a scrip for the birth control. He took my chart, then came back a while later with scrips for the BC and the thyroid meds. Except he'd lowered the levothyroxine dosage by 50
mcg, which is what I was on before. ::sighs:: He's cute, but he's got some stuff to learn about treatment for thyroid stuff beyond simplehypothyrodism. My doctor made a notation on my chart that my TSH was to be kept suppressed to .06 or below, which is a number I can well live with, and should hopefully provide a clue bat to the heads of the clueless in the future.
I also had a pap smear -- probably the most painless one I've ever had in my life (and I usually don't mind them at all). We won't have the results of that for a bit.
So that's it.. I'm a normal healthy 31 year old woman, though I need to loose some weight, and maybe regularize my sleep schedule. Yay me!
Weight is down, a bit, but it's still in the 10 pound range that it's been in since the surgery. Need to get it down more. I went swimming today, and I'm going tomorrow, too. Hopefully I can get into a habit.
Blood pressure is 120/70, which isn't surprising. My BP has always been textbook normal, which usually surprises people until they've taken my vitals a few times.
Pulse was 98, which is actually a bit higher than usual.. probably the fact that I was running late (and running into the office).
Blood tests were mostly good.. my good cholesterol is up, my bad cholesterol is down, and my total is 184 (should be >200).
All the minerals are within normal range (which in the case of my calcium is very good news), except alkaline phosphatase, which is an enzyme found in all tissues -- damaged tissues can release it into the blood, so higher concentrations can be concerning. My doctor wants to follow up in 3 months, since it could just be damaged tissue from the surgery.
I had a slightly elevated sedimentation rate, which could be from any number of things (or could be yet another bit o' thyroid wackiness, from what I've read). Nothing really to worry about, it's only a bit elevated.
Everything in the CBC (complete blood count) are nice and normal. As is normal in a person who grew up in Canada, I tested positive for Rubella antibodies (thank you MumpsMeasles/Rubella innoculation). I don't have herpes (yay me!)
What I *do* have is Epstein-Barr Virus antigens running around my body, drinking too much, jumping on tables, wearing lampshades on their little antigen heads, and generally being a pain in the ass. It's dormant, apparently, since there aren't huge numbers of antibodies trying to clean up the place. However, it's something to keep an eye on. Grr.
And, of course, we did a thyroid panel. My TSH is supressed! Yay! And there was much rejoicing. It's currently sitting at .03, with a Free T4 of 1.4. They didn't include Free T3 in the full thyroid panel. So my thyroid numbers are at acceptable levels.
I asked him to drop my levothyroxine dosage by 25 mcg and write me a scrip for Cytomel (T3). He agreed, after some arguing, though only for three months. Then we can have the argument again, I guess. He's going to send me some articles about *why* he doesn't want to use it long term. Anyway. The important thing is that I can try it, at least.
Funny.. the physicians assistant came in to look at me (I think he spends a lot of time looking for work to do, or he's there to appease patients kept waiting) and he wanted to write me a scrip for the birth control. He took my chart, then came back a while later with scrips for the BC and the thyroid meds. Except he'd lowered the levothyroxine dosage by 50
mcg, which is what I was on before. ::sighs:: He's cute, but he's got some stuff to learn about treatment for thyroid stuff beyond simplehypothyrodism. My doctor made a notation on my chart that my TSH was to be kept suppressed to .06 or below, which is a number I can well live with, and should hopefully provide a clue bat to the heads of the clueless in the future.
I also had a pap smear -- probably the most painless one I've ever had in my life (and I usually don't mind them at all). We won't have the results of that for a bit.
So that's it.. I'm a normal healthy 31 year old woman, though I need to loose some weight, and maybe regularize my sleep schedule. Yay me!
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-24 02:29 pm (UTC)Not sure I would say "normal", exactly.....
no subject
Date: 2004-06-25 05:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-25 05:39 am (UTC)In general, thyroid hormone suppression therapy is targeted towards distinct levels of TSH suppression. Therapy at the greatest extreme aims to suppress TSH to an undetectable level, usually expressed as being less than 0.01 mU/L. Therapy at more moderate levels aims to suppress TSH either to just below the normal range (expressed as 0.1 - 0.5 mU/L) or the lower end of the normal range (expressed as 0.5 - 1.0 mU/L).
A number of factors are considered in determining the target range of suppression. If recurrent growth of thyroid cancer seems likely, TSH should be suppressed to an undetectable level. If the risk of recurrence seems low, it may be acceptable to suppress TSH to the lower end of the normal range.
So I'm somewhere between an "extreme" and "moderate" approach, though closer to the extreme at this point.
Do I need an extreme approach? Probably not.. the tumour, while a bit largish, was completely encapsulated and there was no involvement outside the thyroid bed. So the chances of recurrance are fairly low. Ultimately, .03 is close enough to .01 that I'm pleased with it (especially since my April checkup had a tsh of .19, which was too high, IMO)
no subject
Date: 2004-06-25 03:23 pm (UTC)I did have slight spread as I had a bit of esophagus muscle removed and 2 lymph nodes, one being stuck to the thyroid.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-25 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-26 02:17 pm (UTC)I hope I hear from the specialist this week, my energy has dipped a bit (last of thyroid tissue dying off?) and I really need an adjustment.