I Want a New Drug

This day has all of the makings of "one of those days." But what are ya gonna do? My windshield washer on my car won't work. Had to drop it off at the shop. If it weren't the middle of winter, I might not worry about it so much. But I gotta have it on days when it snows—ya know, when trucks pass you and splash crap all over your windshield.

Other stuff suggests that I probably should've got out of bed. But I've decided not to go into any of that here.

New Thyroid Drug
Yesterday, my doctor put me on a new thyroid medication. This is a compound from a pharmacy in Canada. I'll let you know how it works out. I was taking Armour Thyroid. But I've heard that they changed the formula and people weren't doing so well on it. I've been sick for a while. Maybe it's related.

When I was first diagnosed with thyroid disease in the early '90s, I took Synthroid. I never did well on it. My hair fell out, finger nails cracked, and I had horrible painful, periods. Those were just some of the things that happened. For the most part, it was like I wasn't taking anything for my disease.

Then I found Mary Shomon's site. What a Godsend. Up to that point, I had no idea that I had options other than Synthroid. I didn't know that doctors only wanted to treat thyroid disease inside a certain range and that anything inside that range was considered OK or normal. After reading her site, I realized I wasn't getting the treatment I really needed. So I found a doctor who would prescribe something other than the hyped up drug currently being touted. That's when I finally started getting better.

So, we'll see. Maybe this new drug will help me get back to being myself. Depression is a big part of thyroid disease, at least it is for me. I'm hoping this will help.

P.S.
I forgot to explain the previous post. I had to post that phrase on my blog so that a blog service I signed up for could verify my blog. Nothing too mysterious. But kinda funny.

Getting My Mojo Back

Prior to the switch in my thyroid medication, my temperature always ranged around 97. Well, last night I took my temperature, and it was 98.5, That's the highest it's been in years. Before, I always felt cold. Now, for the first time in years, I feel warm. I feel like I'm getting it together, too. And all it took was a little more T-3. So many people are different when it comes to the care of whatever ailment they might have. If we were all the same, we would all look alike. And wouldn't that be scary?

I overslept this morning—I'm sleeping better, too—so I didn't get to do the intensive interval workout. But that's OK. I'll get back to it Tuesday—Monday is a holiday. But on a sad note, there's still no aerobics class for September. This is very disturbing. If this keeps up, I'll just go to the university's Rec Center—as it's known. The price is the same, and it's closer to my work. I feel like my workout is suffering because of this. There are at least four people who would take this class. And if they did some better marketing, they might find that more people would be interested. 

Now that I'm getting my mojo back, it's time to get serious about losing the rest of the weight. I think I might be able to come up with an eating plan I can live with—see I didn't say diet. My appetite feels like it's been slightly reduced—I said slightly—so that should be beneficial. I hope. I'm really hoping the changes I'm making will help. This has been a very frustrating experience. (Even my skin looks better.)

There's a football game here tomorrow. Traffic is going to be terrible from now until a good 24 hours after it's over. Mountaineer fans are dedicated if they are nothing else. And there's a pep rally of some sort today. That'll really gum things up. 

And that's about the size of things today. See you next week.

I Feel More Present

I finally got my tooth fixed yesterday. It is so much nicer without that sharp-edged tooth. Anyway, my face was numb for close to five hours. Why is it that the numbing seems to get number after you leave the dentist's office? And my breath had that wonderful I've-just-been-to-the-dentist's-office aroma. Gak. That's really hard to get rid of. Today, it feels tender. But not sharp. Yea.

I got some of my meds changed. I feel better already. I got rid of the Lasix altogether and made a switch in my thyroid medication. I now take it like I did a few years ago. The muscle cramps have subsided. I feel a little more focused (not much, just a little). I guess it's that I feel more lucid. I feel more present. I haven't felt this well in a while. 

I did 45 minutes on the treadmill and 25 minutes on the bike today. If nothing else, my endurance is remarkable. I'm back to eating tons of fruit. I just love it. 

OK. i don't know what else to say.

Bio-identical Hormones for Menopause

I started taking bio-identical hormones for my perimenopausal symptoms. I think I may be feeling a little better. But I've only been taking them for about five days so it might just be my imagination. I had to do something. I felt horrible. I have been sleeping a little better—well, I didn't sleep well on Saturday night but that's another story entirely. I had my girls on Saturday night and they slept with me. The five-year old does OK. She picks a spot and goes to sleep. The three-year old on the other hand spins like a top. Anyway, I didn't get much sleep.

But back to the drugs. I think they help. At least I'm hoping they do. My doctor wrote a prescription for me that I had to have filled at a compound pharmacy—where they actually mix the drugs in house. Most pharmacies don't do it. Anyway, bio-identical hormones contain all of the hormones your body makes itself but loses at menopause and at the levels your body would make them. Anyway, I don't know if that makes sense. 

Taking this compound potion may even help me lose weight. At least some of the stuff online says it might. My doctor said I may have no side effects at all from taking them as well—and that's a good thing, right? God knows I need all of the help I can get in the weight loss department. So, we'll see how this goes.

I worked out this morning. Yea. I got in cardio and strength training. Good way to start the week. With a lot of luck the scale will moving again soon. When they messed with my thyroid meds, I gained a total of seven pounds. I have now lost that weight and am back to where I started. So, I'm hoping things will pick up. It's been almost a year that I've been trying to get my old self back. And I feel better now than have I felt in years. So it's still all good.