Grave's Disease

I have been diagnosed with this autoimmune thyroid condition for a little over 2 years now.  Will link to a good site which covers the basics of having Graves but just want to start a bit of a record of my symptoms. 

Today I am feeling quite bloated and fat :(  I don't own scales but weighed in at about 73 kilos last week at the doctors.  This is about 10 kilos more than I was when my condition was at it's worst (hyperthyroid, too fast metabolism) 2 years ago.  I now suspect I am hypothyroid, meaning my metabolism has slowed right down.  I am feeling so sluggish and am feeling the cold for the first time in years. Ugh!  Blood test this weekend... Endocrinologist appointment next week. I hope my medication (anti-thyroid tablets) are reduced.

13 February 2011

Good news!  Since my last post I have had a blood test and my thyroid levels were very good.  I am almost euthyroid! which means my thyroid is functioning normally.  I say "almost" because I was still on the medication (about 1 tablet a day) at the time of testing and you are not really euthyroid until you are off the medication. 

However at this stage I am only taking the occasional tablet... less than 1 a week.  I'm feeling great and my weight has gone back down to a healthy 68 kilos.  My skin has also settled down.  It's great to know that my liver is getting a break too as it can suffer when on medication for too long.  I have yet to find a local specialist to help me monitor my Graves and this could be tricky.

I'm wondering how much all this good news is due to finally reaching my long term goal of moving back to my hometown to where I have more support.  Maybe my body is producing less stress hormones like cortisol which is reducing all the symtoms?  I have also made small improvements to my diet... avoiding too much bread/yeast especially.  I have read that bread isn't good if you have inflamation type conditions.

Anyhow so far so good!  I hope my next specialist, when  find one, agrees with my choice of treatment which is essentially very unconventional!  if i had listened to my Endo my thyroid would probably have been destroyed by now!

3 May 2012

Well a lot has happened since the last update over a year ago!

I continued to lose weight after reducing my tablet intake.  Around the same time that my husband had a nervous breakdown I felt that my symptoms were starting to increase (probably the stress again) so I saw the doctor, had a blood test and yes, sure enough my thyroid levels were 'up' again.  Not dangerously high... but enough to warrant returning to 3 tablets a day.

I also have recommenced tertiary study... and live on campus up at Armidale Mon - Fri.  The workload is very demanding and until recently, with the return of some very good results (a HD amongst them!) I have been quite stressed by it all.  But the peace and quiet of my room, I think, has helped to keep me centered enough to be calm and therefore mentally healthy.

I have been eating very differently to what I am used to.  Much plainer food, more salads and less sweets. The dining hall doesn't 'do' very good desserts so I usually don't have them.  I have put more salads on my plate than I probably would at home because I've been conscious that I don't have the time to be sick!  I also generally don't eat after about 7pm, that's when the dining hall closes and recently I have stopped keeping food in my room (initially I kept chocolate, fruit and trail mix). I often go to bed on an empty tummy because due to socialising/study I am staying up much later then I used to... midnight is now the common time I go to sleep (as opposed to 9.30pm - 10pm a few years ago) however I am also getting less 'broken' sleep because children aren't here to wake me... nor is my husband's tossing and turning waking me up.

Hopefully it's due to healthy eating habits that is the reason for my continued loss of weight.  I am now down to 59.6 kilos.  Most of the clothes that I wore back when I started this blog don't fit me anymore, especially the jeans/pants.  My skin (except for around my eyes which has dark shadows with too much computer use)  is breaking out less.   I am feeling pretty good about my health in general.  Despite the weight loss I feel that this is actually pretty close to my skeleton's ideal weight.  I worry about the loss of muscle tone, especially in my legs from lack of exercise... but occasionally I'll spend a night dancing on social event nights (like last night) so I hope this helps.  

Singing In My Head Today...

OUR FRANK
(Morrissey)

Our frank and open


Deep conversations

They get me nowhere

They bring me down, so

Give it a rest, won’t you ?

Give me a cigarette

God give me patience

Just no more conversation

Oh, give us a drink

And make it quick

Or else I’m gonna be sick

Sick all over

Your frankly vulgar

Red pullover

Now see how the colours blend



Our frank and open

Deep conversations

They get me nowhere

They just bring me down, so

Give it a rest, won’t you ?

Now will you just give over ?

The world may be ending

But look, I’m only human



So, give us a drink

And make it quick

Or else I’m gonna be sick

All over

Your frankly vulgar

Red pullover

Now see how the two colours blend, my friend

Won’t somebody help ?



Won’t somebody stop me

From thinking

From thinking all the time

About everything

Oh, somebody

From thinking all the time

So deeply, so bleakly ?

So bleakly all the time

About everything ? (who I am, how I ever got here)

Somebody stop me

From thinking

From thinking all the time

So bleakly, so bleakly

So bleakly all the time

Eczema!

Refer to "Giving Up Dairy".

Things that could be causing my facial eczema:

Diet

Cleansers

Make up

Things that might help clear it up:

Moisturising

Application of steriod cream

Avoiding alcohol, parabens, fragrances in cleansers

Oatmeal wash

Giving Up Dairy

After many years of denial I have to concede that I need to at least give this a try.  My skin is in crisis.  I have had facial eczema since January 2010.  It began when I was in hospital with my son for a week.  What started as a small patch beside my nose has spread to both creases from nose to mouth and there is also a patch on my chin.  My doctor has prescribed steriod cream but of course doesn't have the time to discuss actual causes.  I also have periods of acne. I look shocking.

According to the book I have about blood types and the link to disease my type (A) is linked to dairy intolerance.  There are other foods that I regularly eat that should be avoided by type As but I'm going to try to eliminate one at a time.  So.  No more milk.  Daunting.  Today so far (before I decided upon this course of action) I have had a splash of milk in my tea and cup of coffee and butter on my morning toast.  What will I do tomorrow? Soy milk in my tea and maybe Nuttelex on my toast?  Stay tuned.


Tuesday 27th July

Ok got my oat milk.  It's ok, tastes like soy.  Caved in and had some yogurt and cheese today though not much... just finished off what my son didn't eat.  Applied regular oat wash to my eczema yesterday which seems to have helped as it wasn't as red today.

Vintage Hankies

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Top Ten Things To Do When You Have A Cold

1. Bowls of hot steaming soup. Miso and Chicken Broth are excellent.

2. Use cotton handkerchiefs instead of tissues. Your nose won't go as red and sore. A tree doesn't have to be cut down. Hankies are pretty and fun to embroider. Just make sure you don't leave them lying around and wash correctly.

3. Burn these essential oils in your vapouriser: orange, anything citrussy, lemongrass, eucalyptus. Also apply neat to the soles of your feet at night.

4. Keep warm with thick handknitted scarves and bedsocks.

5. Snack on seedless mandarins.

6. Rug up and rest your body. Take a good book or iPad to bed instead of sitting at a computer desk.

7. Don't mix with people and if you feel that you have to ring and warn them before you arrive... They might have low immunity... What is just a cold for you could be a lot worse for them.

8. Make sure your heating/cooling system isn't drying out the air too much. Humidify. Germs thrive in dried out respiratory systems. Drink lots of water. Use a facial steamer with a towel over your head.

9. Watch a funny movie, laughter is great medicine. Try not to mope just because you are ill.

10. Beg, pay for, find childcare for yourself if you are a Stay At Home Mum. You deserve sick leave too!

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Music

With a fuzzy head-cold and not much thought here's my top 10 (in no particular order)

"What Difference Does It Make?" The Smiths

"Bohemian Like You" The Dandy Warhols

"Dead" The Pixies

"Cloud Busting" Kate Bush

"Sea Sick Yet Still Docked" Morrissey

"Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree With Anyone Else But Me" (some dude from the 1940s)

"Pretty In Pink" The Psychodelic Furs

"Glam-Racket" The Fall

"Perfect Skin" Lloyd Cole & The Commotions

"My Favourite Game" The Cardigans

ETA: oooh gonna sneak in one more after flicking through my iPod.

"Drivin' On 9" The Breeders




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My Peg Fetish

Why I Don't Swear... Much

An interesting topic came up for discussion on a forum recently and these questions were asked:

Do you swear? Not a lot. I reserve it for times when I feel extreme emotion and for effect (like Fionas explained, it lends some effect to some stories and situations). Like Tink said I consciously don't swear a lot because I also believe it can become a lazy habit and I love language too much to let that happen. Personally I believe that if you swear a lot it ends up doing the exact opposite to what the swearer intends; people just end up filtering it out of the conversation and they become empty "nothing" words.




If yes when? Only in special circumstances? or is it 'socially acceptable' in your group, family, social outlet etc? I have sworn in times of high emotion... but I'm doing that less and less because it has very little effect and often just makes the situation worse. Somebody could be swearing at me and I don't feel the need to swear back because that can be just their way of derailing the argument so that we get off topic and can work against resolving the issue. I rarely swear in public. You never know who is listening. Swearing is intended to offend whether some people are offended by it or not is beside the point... it is a language with the main purpose to offend and gain attention. All words are not equal either so I don't buy "they are just words" belief. If that were so then there are a lot of racially offensive swear words that could be deemed to be "just words" but everyone knows they are not. Like Rouge i have a very broad cross section of friends and family... some of whom swear as often as they take breath, others who swear sparingly, others not at all. I generally feel more comfortable in the company of people who at least acknowledge that swearing is a bit like picking your nose and farting... should be done with discretion and according to the company at the time.



If not are you offended by it? Like others have said I am offended on behalf of those who don't need to know the associations these words have. Children who don't need to know the explicitly sexual basis for most swear words and for people like the elderly who often feel threatened by it. Personally, like I said, I'm fascinated by it and I have to admit quite judgemental if I feel the person is swearing in a lazy and inappropriate manner.

Beautiful Op Shop Crockery Finds

While we are on the topic of afternoon tea I thought I would include this photo of another favourite biscuit (Venetian) shown here on an Op Shop saucer.


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Nana Would Not Be Impressed

... By the evolution of the Iced Vovo. She used to serve them up for afternoon tea occasionally in her latter years when she couldn't manage cooking homemade as frequently and I swear they were bigger back then (mid 80s).


 Now here is what the pink icing should look like:  

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Sindy: A Present From Nana circa 1980.  Behind Sindy is a rambling rose on white trellis needlework stitched by Nana that I had framed on her birthday last year and now has pride of place in our foyer.

Nana

My dear Nana, in her prime of her life circa 1940. Her father jumped ship while in the Swedish navy near Melbourne... he trekked inland and settled as a farmer in rural NSW where he met his wife. Had six children, all boys except for the youngest: Nana.  She grew up in the same area and had two son's one being my father.  Her husband died young at about 50 of a heart attack on a hillside while helping a ewe deliver a lamb.  She never remarried but remained always cheery and always helping people in some way or another.  She lived well into her 80's and provided so much stability for me over the years where often felt abandoned and misunderstood.  Always had a kind word, gentle encouragement, and a warm bed for me with freshly ironed linen sheets.  She was my strongest role model and taught me grace under pressure and a love of the simple things in life such as cooking and gardening.  I think of her daily and hope to follow in her footsteps of faith, self discipline and doing things with love.  I see much of her in my middle child and feel blessed to call her my Nana.

The Top 10 Things Most People Take For Granted

1. Health, including mental health and the ability to go to a chemist.
2. Family, especially having elderly relatives.
3. Being physically safe and having the protection of a police force and fire brigade.
4. Hot water from a tap inside the house and a working sewerage system.
5. Being able to contact people who live long distances away with ease and within minutes.
6. The accessibility of education and training. Literacy, being able to read this.
7. Mobility, private cars and public transport and roads, foothpaths.
8. The availability of food (that you don't need to grow yourself) and clothing/footware.
9. Abundance of free and diverse entertainment.
10. Time and quietude to think.

Keeping Calm and Carrying On!

I have been very good this week. Rejected wasting hours on the computer in favour of keeping up with the house work. This includes: making the beds, feeding the kids hot breakfasts, putting laundry through and making sure it dries, endlessly picking up things off the floor, cleaning spills as they happen, vacuuming, re-organising things in our storage system, keeping bathrooms clean and dealing with grout mould. All whilst keeping the boys entertained. It is exhausting and I hope I never forget how hard it us to be a stay at home mother with children in the winter school holidays!


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