A New Twist

It's been an interesting past few weeks.....

(Sorry for the absence from the blog. I've actually caught up with a bunch of entries, so if you just stopped by be sure to keep reading down.)

I've had lots of checkup appointments this month with a variety of doctors. Most pretty uneventful, which I was thankful for. At one appt I asked for a thyroid check. It's been a while since they checked it. I was followed pretty closely after Julia was born for postpartum hyperthyroidism, but things were okay at last check. I've been feeling out of sorts for the past 8 months and thought maybe that was it. A nurse called several days later and said my counts were all out of whack, but left it at that. I took matters into my own hands and called my endocrinologist. At the appointment, they took one look at my labs and pronounced, "You have Grave's disease". I heard that term once before, but they were convinced my issues after having Julia were pregnancy-induced and not chronic. Guess we were wrong. I was left with a scheduled iodine study and contrast scan. (That was last week.) Tomorrow I meet with the doctor to discuss my options- I have the choice between immunosuppresants, radioactive therapy, and surgery to remove my thyroid.

It was a lot to process at first, but I've gotten used to it now. We've done a lot of research and talked to people who've experienced it. At this point I am leaning toward having surgery. As much as I was overwhelmed at first, a sense of relief has set in. I have had seemingly unrelated medical issues for the past almost 20 years. My thyroid was always considered as a possible problem, but never conclusively identified. I've had problems with migraines, my heart, my liver, ulcers, night sweats, ovarian cysts, insomnia, losing hair, anxiety, irritability, etc. and all of this is likely related to this condition. It brings such relief to finally have answers and to not be left to wonder what could be wrong or to feel I just have to accept this as normal. As much as I am not looking forward to possibly having surgery, I am giddy at the thought of feeling good again! I never thought this would happen. I was beginning to think this was what getting older felt like and I just needed to get used to it. I have felt trapped in my own skin lately and frustrated by my own disposition. It just wasn't me and I felt bad for my husband and kids having to put up with it.

I have faith that we have finally found a real answer and we can start moving forward from here. It has been really neat to see how God has put all the pieces together. I have had no less than 2o people share their personal experiences with me- seems almost everyone's family has someone with this condition. I've also had great support from my medical friends and received some great advice. We'll see tomorrow what the plan will be. God has been so good through it all and I have felt really good this past week. Thanks for all the prayers everyone!!