I love my doctor (or "Graves news")

So, after the excitement of last week's blood tests, ultrasounds, and research, this morning's appointment was almost anti-climactic.

I do have a nodule on the thyroid, and he's sending me to a surgeon to have it biopsied. Hopefully sooner than later.

My TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone, put out by the pituitary gland to, strangely enough, stimulate my thyroid) is 1.8. This is technically in the normal range, which used to be .5 to 5 but is now (at least by the American Endro association) pegged at .3 to 3, although many people, women especially, still report being symptomatic in this range.

My free T4s (T4 is the hormone released by the thyroid, some of which is converted into T3) are at a reasonable level.

However, my thyroid antibodies are very, very high. This means that my body is producing antibodies to attack my thyroid. Stupid body.

All of this together means, he said, a diagnosis of Graves Disease. Not really that big a deal, it's treatable.

After going over this, and me explaining to him the fact that when I looked at the symptoms of hypothyroid and went "that's *me*", he decided (without me asking or suggesting) to put me on a low dose of synthetic T4. I'm to go back and we'll look at how I'm feeling (he isn't interested in treating numbers - he wants to treat me, which is a really, really good thing) and adjust from there.

So I tooled back to Fergus, dropped off my prescription, and went off to browse the magazine racks, a mild concern about the cost of the drugs foremost in my mind. I went back to the pharmacy to pick it up and was stunned.

$8.11

For a two months supply. And that's Canadian dollars.

And then I looked closer at the breakdown. Dispensing fee: $6.47. Cost of the actual drugs? $1.64.

Granted, it is a really low dose (he doesn't want to take the chance of flipping me into a hyperthyroid condition).... but still... $1.64

So, i'm really very happy right now. Hopefully this will deal with a lot of the issues that I've been having (trust me.. it's a bitch to live in a house with a menopausal woman when you're having the symptoms of hypo.) Now just cross your fingers for me that I get the biopsy appointment relatively soon.

Interesting perspective.

An interesting piece of commentary.

( An exerpt )