Omg...i Might Be On To Something

[nikki-uk]

I'm like that, too. Especially now, with the holidays and everything.

I go to the hospital for my surgery in 2 weeks. I am so afraid of eating while there. I plan to bring everything I need with me--but have no idea what shape I'll be in after the surgery. I am thinking this thing to death, and honestly, it's driving me nuts.

After I get home, the recovery period is 6 weeks. The last tme I had abdominal surgery, (a c-section), I did too much too soon and developed adhesions--which I still feel after 22 years. The doctor is fixing those and my old scar, but this time, I want to give myself time to heal correctly. I am terrible at asking for help--just yesterday I told my parents to wait to come down until after I was feeling better. Can't stand the thought of someone doing my housework for me as I lay around. It's just is the way I am.

My husband says he and Matt will pick up the slack--they will, but I know this whole thing is going to be hard. I may hire someone to come in once a week to do the basics. I'm just overwhelmed, and I haven't even let myself thing about the surgery itself--just all the other stuff.

I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in February!

Oh Patti - don't stress yourself out!!!

You've got to learn to accept help in whatever means possible - and if it means that it isn't done to 'your own' standard so be it!..otherwise you will make yourself ill and you won't recover.

Lecture over

Carla, you are so lucky to have Morgan and I think it's great that all the kids help out.

I'm thinking of teaching my eldest how to iron as it's mostly his bits that need ironing!!

..but I wish I could have a cleaner (and I'm not even ill!! )

[AndreaB]

Andrea-

I am a puzzle girl too-

Crosswords and sudoko. I am really a dork and look forward to new york times weekend crosswords- Yes really a dork.

You are not a dork. Those types of things keep your brain in good working order. We need a challenge of some sort for brain health.

I used to do things like Mia, "If I don't do it now, I certainly won't do it later." But now I find I physically cannot do things I used to do. If I try, I will get dizzy and worry about falling down. I've never actually fainted, but I've come close.

Carla,

That does not sound good. I hope this herxing (or whatever it is) calms down soon. Good plan to take it easy for Christmas.

After I get home, the recovery period is 6 weeks. The last tme I had abdominal surgery, (a c-section), I did too much too soon and developed adhesions--which I still feel after 22 years. The doctor is fixing those and my old scar, but this time, I want to give myself time to heal correctly.

My husband says he and Matt will pick up the slack--they will, but I know this whole thing is going to be hard.

Good idea for you to either have extra help or be content with the help hubby and Matt can offer.

I overdid it after my 2nd c-section as well. That was while I was in the hospital, but with the drugs it wasn't that bad. When I went off of them when I got home I had a severe burning type pain whenever I got up. Mitch had to elevate the head of the bed to make it easier for me to get up. It took a couple weeks longer to heal because of that. I didn't repeat that mistake my third time around.

I've been thinking of you.

[AndreaB]

..but I wish I could have a cleaner (and I'm not even ill!! )

I hear you!

[Rachel--24]

Merry Xmas to all. Its hot as hot here and we have Xmas in shorts and have cold cold food like snapper, crayfish and prawns !

Georgie...I couldnt even imagine a HOT Xmas....and everyone wearing shorts!

OMG...maybe I need to move to Australia.

Actually I dont think it would feel much like xmas if it were hot out...but I know I would sure *feel* alot better.

I think you're friends daughter could have Lyme.....its often misdiagnosed as CFS. I think it would be hard to find a Dr. who's knowledgeable about Lyme over there though....that could be the most difficult part....but I'm not really sure. Maybe there are some LLMD's over there??

[Rachel--24]

I am a puzzle girl too-

Crosswords and sudoko. I am really a dork and look forward to new york times weekend crosswords- Yes really a dork.

I like puzzles too...crosswords, word searches, all that stuff. I think right now it would hurt my eyes too much though.

[happygirl]

x

[Rachel--24]

Rachel-

I can just imagine in rachelville we would get awards- the categories-

Who has the leakiest gut

Worst gluten intolerance

Most food allergies

best recovering from a glutening

best bad doctor story

etc.

Nope...cuz in Rachelville we are NOT sick...remember??

We would have awards like who can eat the most gluten-free pasta!!

[AndreaB]

I like puzzles too...crosswords, word searches, all that stuff. I think right now it would hurt my eyes too much though.

Oops, quoted the wrong quote......I was going to say maybe you could live in Australia during our winter and in California during our summer.

Nope...cuz in Rachelville we are NOT sick...remember??

We would have awards like who can eat the most gluten-free pasta!!

[happygirl]

From my reading so far, I think it means I have an autoimmune problem.... thats about all I got

[Rachel--24]

I got some blood work back today and some of the ones that I had questions about are my autoimmune thyroid:

thyroglobulin AB: 62 (less than 20 is normal)

thryoid peroxidase AB: 62 (less than 35 is normal)

I didn't have my tsh/t3/t4 run this time because they are ALWAYS normal....so what does this mean? Please help!

I dont know a ton about this....even though I should since I have autoimmune thyroid disease.

It means that your body is producing antibodies against your thyroid. Its more auto-immune stuff.

I keep thinking more and more that all this autoimmune stuff...Celiac, thyroid, RA, etc....starts occurring when the immune system is under alot of stress. If we are genetically "set-up" for developing some of these conditions....it'll start happenning.

You should see an endocrinologist but keep in mind that they dont try to figure out *why* you have thyroid antibodies.

They nuked my thyroid to stop the autoimmune stuff but it actually made me worse I think. Probably because the raditation lowered my immune defenses even more.

I probably still have thyroid antibodies in my blood.

You might send a pm to Nancym....she knows alot about autoimmune thyroid stuff.

Sorry I cant help out more.

[happygirl]

x

[Rachel--24]

I am definitly more sensitive now than I ever was before I ahve said this before but I swear the more I cut things out and the longer I am off something the more sensitive I become.

This is what happens with me as well. I dont think I'm getting *more* sensitive though. I think I've been sensitive to everything all along.......its just more noticeable to me after I cut it out for awhile. So that when I eat it again I can really feel it.

[Rachel--24]

I happen to have an appt with a nurse practitioner of the doc i'm going to start seeing (tomorrow is with the np) so hopefully she can shed some light. i dont know how they tell if you have graves or hashimotos, though?

I had Graves. This is how they were able to tell....first my TSH was very low and my FT4 and FT3 were elevated. They did more testing and I had antibodies. Then they did an iodine-uptake test.

The thyroid absorbs iodine....in order to function it *requires* iodine.

So they gave me a dose of iodine. I left for a couple hours....went back and they measured how much of that iodine had already been absorbed by my thyroid.

A "normal" thyroid would have absorbed only a small amount....whereas my thyroid had absorbed nearly all of it. My thyroid was working in super fast mode...producing too many hormones and speeding my metabloism WAY up. It used up all that iodine with the quickness.

So then they also did a scan of my neck. The radiologists were commenting on the pics and showed me how enlarged my thryroid was. I saw it right there on the screen. They said I had Graves but "technically" they dont make the diagnosis....they just send the results back to the Endocrinologist.

So thats how they determine Graves...Hashimotos is the opposite and I dont know what specific tests they run for it. Hashimotos is an "underactive" thyroid whereas Graves is "overactive".

[Green12]

I dont know what specific tests they run for it.

I had a simple blood test to check for Hashimotos.

Hello everybody! Just passing through and wanted to say hi, hope all is well with everyone. I am surrounded by snow! Over 2 feet of it.

Wub to all

[AndreaB]

Hello everybody! Just passing through and wanted to say hi, hope all is well with everyone. I am surrounded by snow! Over 2 feet of it.

Wub to all

I'm glad you checked in. I was wondering if you had power.....I assume you do if you posted.

[jerseyangel]

Julie,

I was thinking about you this morning--I saw all of the snow out there! I heard anywhere from 18-25 inches had already fallen, and this was at 8AM!

Guess it's safe to assume that you will have a White Christmas

[miamia]

I'm like that, too. Especially now, with the holidays and everything.

I go to the hospital for my surgery in 2 weeks. I am so afraid of eating while there. I plan to bring everything I need with me--but have no idea what shape I'll be in after the surgery. I am thinking this thing to death, and honestly, it's driving me nuts.

After I get home, the recovery period is 6 weeks. The last tme I had abdominal surgery, (a c-section), I did too much too soon and developed adhesions--which I still feel after 22 years. The doctor is fixing those and my old scar, but this time, I want to give myself time to heal correctly. I am terrible at asking for help--just yesterday I told my parents to wait to come down until after I was feeling better. Can't stand the thought of someone doing my housework for me as I lay around. It's just is the way I am.

My husband says he and Matt will pick up the slack--they will, but I know this whole thing is going to be hard. I may hire someone to come in once a week to do the basics. I'm just overwhelmed, and I haven't even let myself thing about the surgery itself--just all the other stuff.

I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in February!

we are os alike it would kill me to watch someone else do my housework. I am very bad at just realxing and if there is anything to do forget it relaxing is out of the question. It is so funny the way we operate. Obviosly the surgery is the big deal here but we focus on housework- its kind of funny. I know you will be fine though and I will ahve to find out your hubees email so I can tell him to tie you down while you recooperate- this way you won't be tempted to clean or do anything else!!!

Miamia

[georgie]

Hashimotos is an "underactive" thyroid whereas Graves is "overactive".

Actually this isn't quite right. Hashis swings between hypo and hyper as the autoimmune attacks happen. The swings can be weeks, months or years apart depending on the attacks. Many people have been told they are Graves when they are actually just at a hyper stage of Hashis.

Happygirl - you have autoimmune thyroid and need to get those antibodies suppressed before they do damage. The best med for that is Armour and used correctly ( symptoms as important as labs ) you should not have problems. The traditional way to dose Armour was to slowly increase every month until hyper and then back down slightly. My Dr uses blood tests as well but uses my symptoms first. One reason why Endos don't like dosing the TSH to 0 is that they have been trained that it causes osteoporous. Synthroid dosed that way will - but Armour has calcitonin and will actually improve bone density. But Big Pharma doesn't like that - as they make alot of money from osteo drugs ... And Armour won't work if you have adrenal insufficency the fact sheet says. So you need to be aware of that. After 6 months my antibodies are 0 now - and I am starting to feel great. Its a lifelong med which isn't nice but I had no alternative....

[georgie]

blink.gif

Georgie...I couldnt even imagine a HOT Xmas....and everyone wearing shorts!

OMG...maybe I need to move to Australia. unsure.gif

Actually I dont think it would feel much like xmas if it were hot out...but I know I would sure *feel* alot better. biggrin.gif

I think you're friends daughter could have Lyme.....its often misdiagnosed as CFS. I think it would be hard to find a Dr. who's knowledgeable about Lyme over there though....that could be the most difficult part....but I'm not really sure. Maybe there are some LLMD's over there??

:lol: :lol: Shorts and Xmas hats is a good look !!

My friend's daughter is suffering so much but they hadn't even thought of Lyme ! But its hardly recognised here in Aust and would be near impossible to get dx. But thinking overnight and her rash looks like DH. Does that often go crazy even if she is gluten-free ? Or can it go crazy with just a little Glutenening ? I had the rash myself this year and am sure mine was DH but it went away when I went gluten-free. But I am strict with being gluten-free - so this girl may not be ????

But the multi food allergies and CFS reminds me of Lyme.

Hi to everyone else but how do you do multiple cut and pastes ??? I meant to answer more but can't

[CarlaB]

Georgie, my Lyme rash looks a lot like DH. I even read somewhere that some of the Lyme rashes look like DH. Mine does not go away eliminating gluten.

Laura, my mind is mush right now, but I read somewhere that Lyme can cause autoimmune conditions in the body. This was not an article that said there was no such thing as Lyme, some people think there is post-Lyme syndrome, not Lyme, and that it causes autoimmune problems. This was NOT that. This said that you have autoimmune trouble with Lyme ... which I apparently have. Sorry I can't give more info than that, but that might give you enough to Google!

[happygirl]

x

[dlp252]

Well, whatever I've got has moved up into my ear. I can't hear out of my right ear, and earlier it hurt a lot (until I took a tylenol). I woke up this morning at 1:00 and coughed my head off for about 3 hours, which oddly made my throat feel better, I gess cuz it cleared some junk out. I just picked up my antibiotic cocktail for the H.Pylori stuff, and I'm hoping it will help with whatever I've got going on now...it contains Clarithromycin, amoxicillin and previcid. Sheesh, the darned things came in a box in a brown paper bag...I'm used to getting my prescriptions in a little Walgreens pouch thing...this thing looked like a lumberjack's lunch bag, lol.

Anyway, I stayed home from work today and will tomorrow to. I already talked to the office assistant who said I can "borrow" some time off, so that way I can just rest without having to go through the process in the morning of feeling guilty cuz I'm calling in sick.

Hi Julie...about to email you!

[georgie]

Well, whatever I've got has moved up into my ear. I can't hear out of my right ear, and earlier it hurt a lot (until I took a tylenol). I woke up this morning at 1:00 and coughed my head off for about 3 hours, which oddly made my throat feel better, I gess cuz it cleared some junk out.

Take care Donna. That is how my whooping cough started a month ago. www.whoopingcough.net Stage 2 of W cough starts after 2 weeks but its too late to do much about it by then. I thought I had a normal sore throat / cough until stage 2 - and when I was nearly choking all the time - read up on it. Stay away from babies if you are suspicious for w cough !

[CarlaB]

Laura, I hope you don't have to wait till after the new year! When my samento came the other day, there was no way I was waiting till after Christmas to start taking it!! I want to feel better the earliest day possible!!

Sometimes I feel like Drew Barrymore's character on 50 First Dates ... I forget everything! I guess mush is better than nothing.

Donna, I hope the antibiotics help with whatever it is you have in addition to what they were prescribed for.

Andrea, what I described is my normal ... today it's just intensified. Sometimes Adam won't let me go places alone ... he can tell when I'm bad better than I can. I pretty much always feel the same, but sometimes get "spaced out" more than others.

[Rachel--24]

Actually this isn't quite right. Hashis swings between hypo and hyper as the autoimmune attacks happen. The swings can be weeks, months or years apart depending on the attacks. Many people have been told they are Graves when they are actually just at a hyper stage of Hashis.

Happygirl - you have autoimmune thyroid and need to get those antibodies suppressed before they do damage. The best med for that is Armour and used correctly ( symptoms as important as labs ) you should not have problems. The traditional way to dose Armour was to slowly increase every month until hyper and then back down slightly.

Laura....you really need to see an Endocrinologist to get it figured out. I did not have Hashis which was swinging between Hyper and Hypo. I had Hyperthyroid *only*.

I had it for probably alot of years before getting diagnosed. I only became symptomatic when stressed. I *never* once had a single symptom of Hypothyroidism in 30 years...I had classic Hyper symptoms only.

I had Graves disease....no doubt about it. If you have Graves taking Armour would be WORSENING your symptoms and causing alot of stress on your body. Its like adding fuel to a fire which is already burning out of control.

If your thyroid were Hyper and producing too much hormone....why would you then add more?? That would be insane.....and DANGEROUS.

The point is that you dont know what is going on because your labs are normal....all you know is that you have thyroid antibodies. I *highly* doubt any good Dr. would prescribe Armour at this point.....without further investigation. Most Endocrinologists dont use Armour these days anyways...they use synthetics instead....but thats a whole other ball of wax. Its generally the naturopaths who prescribe Armour.

My Endo. did allow me to use Armour...but I think I was his only patient using it. I was very persistant and he was very sick of me. Other Dr.'s I saw refused to ever prescribe it.

Antibodies dont always mean that your thyroid isnt producing enough hormone.....lots of people have Graves and are producing too much already. Whenever my symptoms flared up while under stress I took an anti-thyroid medication. Its prescribed to people with Graves or hyperthyroid. It reduces the amount of hormone produced so that the thyroid levels go back down to normal.

The meds worked for me for several years. They were very effective and I'd only have to take them for about a week and all of my symptoms would be gone.....until the next time my stress level got way out of hand and I became hyper again.

The only thing I fluctuated between was feeling normal with normal labs and feeling Hyper with labs indicating I was *indeed* Hyper.

I would request to see an Endocrinologist....try to get in with someone who has good references and alot of experience. You cant *guess* as to whats going on and you certainly need to get an answer before you start adding more hormones into your system.

This is *your* body....you are in charge of it. You have every right to get answers to your questions...and I'm sure you will.