Hello my adoring fans! (and if you're not, shhh, I can disable the comment feature and stay in my happy little world). I've had a great week playing with 4th graders. I have been hooked to grammar videos on YouTube that students beg me to replay and if I break into song, they sing it in their following classes (one child, I'm sure, is doing it to see if he can get on that teacher's nerves...but ahem, if you wanted a grade, you should have put your name on it to the tune of Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies"...that's too fun to get mad at).
I feel that it's important to write that I enjoy pizza. I don't enjoy wheat pizza because I get instantly sick and basically deal with fatigue so severe I can't fight falling asleep; however, I crave it and I walk past foods in the store and long for the days of my youth when my Daddy made me cast-iron skillet sized pancakes and homemade syrup. Breakfast isn't as fun anymore.
Ever stubborn (or determined), I've found a few solutions along the way. I don't have tons of pizza solutions, but I'm always a budgeting fanatic because of my three children (and since I like eating, I make sure to keep to the budget). I crave pizza like anyone else. I crave pancakes and biscuits and cake, too. I know the majority of my daily nutrition does not include those items, and let's be honest, any healthy nutritional plan should not be heavy on treats. Those items are all treats, but wheat? It's asking me to eat cardboard. I know it smells heavenly, but I don't feel my symptoms remind anyone of heaven. It's easy for me to abstain for that reason alone: avoiding those horrid thyroid symptoms. However, what does one do when they really crave the treat, but not the evil side effects?
You get creative...especially when I once looked up how much it'd cost to get a veggie-topped gluten free pizza from Pizza Hut. $18 had me closing the window (in contrast, Domino's is cheaper). My meal shouldn't cost half of our entire check for a household of five. Course, I figure I'd just have to get used to the slightly chewy crust and have less veggies than I really like. That's my life now, right? Well....maybe not.
Mama Mary's Gluten-Free Pizza Crust
Found at both my local HEB and Walmart, I have frequently made my own pizza using this pre-made pizza crust. I add a plethora of my favorite vegetables like jarred mushrooms, and always, always pepperoni. For the most part, this has been my go-to for pizza cravings. The crust itself is about $4 or $5 and since I pick up the cheaper wheat crusts to make my children pizzas at the same time, the other items I purchase (shredded mozzarella, tomato sauce) are already feeding my minion army. We're set! Thing is, I have to be willing to do some preparation. Isn't the joy of pizza having someone else prepare it? Many times I choose NOT to pick up the pre-made pizza crust because I don't want the cost and the effort.
I recently noticed my small-town grocery stops have frozen gluten-free pizzas. That's changed up a few options and I wanted to share it with my audience. Yes, it's not diet food, but it's also not thyroid-filled allergen foods that cause the thyroid to struggle to function. I can live with that.
Udi's Gluten-Free Uncured Pepperoni Pizza
I found this at my local Walmart. The crust is not as chewy as Domino's and whatever their seasoning is, I was pleased. As price goes, it cost me about $5.76 (since locations can vary). After paying $7.99 just for a Domino's pepperoni and cheese gluten free pizza (no other topics because the price goes sky high), I'm loving this pizza.
Russo's Frozen Pizza
I recently tried the Russo's Mulberry and I'm in love. Though it's a tad pricier with a $6.99 after-coupon deal at HEB, I'm still going to fork over that cash. While Russo's has a nice variety of pizzas, I chose the Mulberry for a taste-test. The crust is not chewy. Not one bit, Sam I Am. It's the best gluten-free crust I've ever had. The mixture of flavors and seasonings have me gladly dropping $7 for that baby.
Half of the pizza filled me up, and I couldn't say that of Domino's very flat-crusted, sparsely topped pepperoni pizza. I didn't consider the Domino's sparsely topped until I checked out Russo's toppings. The Mulberry has Italian sausage, beef, Canadian bacon, and uncured pepperoni, I like it so much that I could exclusively purchase that variety of Russo's pizza, though that may be unfair to not try the others. I might find a variety of new menu options if I'm willing. With such a limited nutrition plan, finding a new food item in the restricted plan that's an actual treat? An option that's actually not "cheating" on your health? That might bring a tear to my eye.
Other Options
I haven't delved too deep in the various ways to have gluten-free pizza. I'm running full-tilt from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. I know there's other pizza options. I have books with gluten-free pizza crust recipes, like George Stella. Other brands offer pre-made crusts and crust-mixes. There's a growing collection of frozen gluten-free pizza by California Pizza Kitchen, Freschetta, and Amy's Organic. I know my lifestyle and its restrictions. For example, I have my stock-pile of agave syrup and coconut flour, but as much as I'd like some low-carb coconut flour muffins, I'm swamped with work. I'm hoping an up-coming 3-day weekend will offer an opportunity to bake coconut muffins or carb-quick cheesy biscuits. I like that I can purchase frozen pizzas and stock them in my deep freezer for those nights when tutorials runs late and I meet a parent walking out the door and do an impromptu conference...and my stomach is nagging me and my children melodramatically act like they're dying of starvation. I have a go-to pop-in-the-oven on late-work days option again. Yes! Put on PJs and start checking my own children's homework after working with other people's children and their homework.
Always Test-Testing New Items
As I finish this post up, my husband hands me a can of Libby's Skinny Fruits made with Splenda. I'll have to try that out and see if it's a fit since I limit one of our daughter's sugar-intake because it spikes her anxiety. I wouldn't suggest eating an entire can in one sitting, because I can do math fairly well. One serving is 6g of sugar (found naturally in the fruit), but a 15 oz can has 3.5 servings. That's 21g of sugar and I'd be taking a forced nap. Course, in contrast, that's also 2.5 cups of fruit. If I keep to the 1/2 cup serving for my daughter and myself, we can enjoy a few more fruit options.
I thanked my husband as he walked away and his response was, "I'm trying." I wonder if he knows how much that means to me: how he goes to the store for me, how he looks for new products, and how he's learned to limit foods that affect the girls in his household. I know I would not be as successful in my healthy pursuits if I lacked his support.
With that, I hope you enjoy some of the consumer items that are popping up these days. If my town is finally offering these choices, then these options are becoming more prevalent. It becomes a matter of scoping out aisles you don't always look at anymore. Eating healthy shouldn't be boring. It should not take Betty Crocker effort, either. I'd starve if that was the case (or eat dressing-less salad because 99.9% of dressings are made with soybean oil). Gluten-free living is looking up.
Happy eating!
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Thyroid Health and Weight Loss Miracles
Even though I have been absent from the blogging keyboard for longer than I want, it hasn't been from lack of activity. On the contrary, life has been exceedingly full-tilt. Since my coworker's passing, I have the task before me of revamping my entire curriculum, lesson-creation/presentation, and daily schedule.
I do tutorials 4 days a week. Two are for struggling writers and the other two are for ELL students (of my 4 teaching certifications, one is for English Language Learners). Four days this past week alone, my conference period at work has been absorbed for parent conferences. Time? That exists? I just want to yank that necklace off Hermoine's neck and start a little time-redo each day so I might get close to accomplishing the must-do list each day. That, or I need to successfully clone myself.
As it is, I'm finding myself awake a little past 10pm sloughing away through grading essays and awake at 4:30am to get some much-needed quiet with at least one cup of coffee before it's time to chase children (i.e. herding cats). It's not as much as a high school teacher who may have upwards of 120 students, but it took me a week. My student load is 70; however, the beginning writer needs considerable TLC. This woman is tired of reading run-ons with "and then" to combine 20 thoughts across one sheet of lined paper...but when I share the funnest method to correct these sentences, the essays show how hard my students are working to fix these beginning writers' mishaps. So, last Sunday when I spent my entire day off pasting, cutting, printing, typing and creating colorful file-folder tri-folds for triage stations....it's paying off.
I'm calling them triage stations, though that's now what they're really called. It's triage in my eyes because I can't fix all the bleeding. Beginning writers need encouragement and advice and immediate feedback. Writing teachers often receive the ever pressing question of, "Is what I wrote good?" Thing is, you can't read 24 essays during the class and give feedback....quality feedback. If you do, there are idle (and then loud, going-to-entertain-themselves) students. The time is wasted. Stations fix that. I rotate around the room to each station and do mini-triage. I have grouped students to listen to each other read their stories and given them tricks to catch their run-ons and change passive voice into active voice. It's working.
In all that glorious, teaching mess called writing...some beautiful things have been happening. I have been too active to write in my blog, for one. Negative things surround my life, too, and there are some I wish I could deal with. Two family members had surgery this past week. I couldn't be with either one, nor visit them out of town. I have absolutely ugly attitudes from coworkers in my wing. I can't do anything about those persons who prefer to complain about everything. I can't join them (or rather I refuse to join them and now the focus has turned towards me). Thing is, I'm too busy coming up with my own solutions and from sunup to sundown, my hands are too busy to let my heart worry about them. I'm there for my students and no one else.
Yes, my title is about weight loss miracles, though my beginning doesn't seem to show I'm on track. I give you this example of my life because two years ago, this lifestyle did not exist. I couldn't stay awake past 6:30 or 7:00pm. It didn't matter how healthy I ate, I continued to gain weight. Twenty months ago, my life started turning around with actual, true medical treatment for my thyroid. That treatment included a low-sugar/sugar-free and low-carb/wheat-free diet (that evolved into peanut-free, limited-soy diet).
The first day I sat across from the doctor (and started crying when he pulled out his prescription pad because it meant he wasn't turning me away without helping me like all the other doctors did), he walked out into his waiting room and shook my mother's hand. I had told him about her, how she held the dutiful chauffeur's position the past months ferrying me to one idiot doctor to MRI scans and finally to this excellent professional. His words at that time were, "Give it about 6 to 12 months and your girl will be healthy again."
Well, he was true to his words. Not only that, he made this incredible weight-loss miracle occur in this body that once-upon-a-time, five weekly exercise sessions never accomplished. I've never been one about bragging. There's some personality trait of mine that holds accomplishments on my tongue and not released into the air, but I decided it's time to share the exact numbers in weights loss (cause it keeps decreasing and readers needed numbers to be convinced of why pushing for their health is paramount).
I didn't believe doc when he said he'd get me to a certain number. I'm approaching that number. He wasn't lying or a quack. It is, in all actuality, happening. This past doctor's appointment (I see him monthly at this point), he increased my desiccated thyroid to 45 (I have to cut a 90 in half because the way the prescription comes are in 30 increments). It's perfect! 60 was giving me hot flashes and thinking issues.
Weight loss-wise, this 5-foot 3 and 3/4 inch woman weighed 199 pounds in March of 2014. I now weigh 151 pounds. In all my adult years, my lowest weight was 164. Even in high school, my weight was 164. I do not recall any lower weight on my frame save 5th or 6th grade when it was 77 lbs and the boys had taken a bet to see if I was, indeed, the lightest in the class since I was the smallest and skinniest (in my defense, I'm a summer baby and barely hit the September 1 cutoff with an August 29 birthday, so I graduated at 17. Of course I'd be smaller than my classmates; I was technically a year younger). But I doubt that weigh-in counts (as a goal) just because I remember it.
I'm two pounds shy of a 50-pound weight-loss. My husband, who likes curves, already stated I can stop losing weight any time now. Doc's goal sit close to 135 pounds. My goal? My goal is healthy. If I did not lose another pound (and I've said this that last 13 or so pounds), I won't care. I have energy again. That thought alone makes me weep with joy. I stay up past my children's bedtime. I handle my job and it's so interactive and fun, when I signal to students it's the end of the class period, I receive disappointed "aww" in response (though one student has started answering my "Oh students" signal with "Ohhh nooooo!" when it's really "Ohhh yessss!" because he knows it's signalling the end of the class time and their fun). Because of all these health changes, I enjoy my students and enjoy my children. I don't even pay as much attention to the scale as I once did. I used to do daily weigh-ins because it told me when I needed to tweak my diet. Now, I go days and days between and today's weigh-in was a shock. When did I do that?
I promise you all, I'm an avid eater. My portions have shrunk over time, but even as a child, I preferred grazing. There's no starvation happening for this weight-loss (and those of us who are hypothyroid know that starvation only causes more weight gain because of the stress starvation puts on the body and stress equals weight gain in hypothyroids). This is all happening because I have the correct medicine dosage, diet, and lifestyle.
If unauthorized food is offered to me, it's easy for me to shake a finger and say, "No way, but thank you." Even hubby knows what can hit the dinner table and he's awesome about it. There's one lady at work who's excellent at remembering that I eat only sugar-free. She keeps her candy dish filled with a mix of both regular and sugar-free candy. That makes my heart sing. I still have a sweet tooth (Blue Bunny ice cream made with Splenda, I love you) and I'm sure there are people whose hearts sink when I always say no (think how they went to that effort to gift their coworkers?). But I always refuse something I know my body cannot process and will cause the rest of the day to spiral into unhealthy symptoms. No thank you! Even the sweet cafeteria ladies know I don't eat cafeteria food. Their salads have taken on a new element this year, and I know two days a week, if I forget my lunch, there is a backup plan I can participate in (just not chicken salad-salad day...not until I know how much sugar goes into their recipe).
I'm better at handling the stress at work. I don't mind making tri-fold stations or staying late at work each day. Those moments are for or with children. I often dream about students or lessons. So I'd say my waking hours are filled with could-be stresses, but it's not limited to my waking hours and anything for children is not stressful. Often, my biological children are with me in the room (depending on the day). I LOVE those moments.
The moments that cause me stress are with other adults. It's always been other adults. My mother often said that of her educator career, too. We true educators love children and if we could be in rooms with children all day, the job would be absolutely perfect...but adults skew that entire plan. However, I'm better at reminding myself I cannot do anything about other adults' attitude. There is no need to take their remarks personal. Whatever lies in their heart, whatever personal stresses they have, whatever personal issues they have not dealt with...those are not my fault, not my doing, and not mine to solve. It is their's. That's something that goes on inside their head. I have no power to change that. Now, when it affects a child, the gloves go on.
When it comes to meetings and someone lies, tries to take credit, or just complain (where no solution is good enough)...those events cause me stress...and my tongue let loose the last official meeting. With the negative events in my hallway this week, I approached my principal (and friend, because I met her through my principal courses) that communication isn't happening. With the passing of my coworker and writing interventionist, the dynamics have unbalanced themselves to extremes. It's two negatives against one. We have a quasi-plan that we hope replaces a balance in our department. The former 4th grade writing teacher (whose spot I took over) is coming back as my interventionist. I have history with her and we adore each other. She was quite pleased when she learned it was me taking her spot. She felt better about walking away from her position knowing students would be in good hands (mine). So, am I excited to see her arrival tomorrow? You betcha!
In the final analysis, having my health allows me to handle the normal stresses of life. The present stresses in my life are a recurrent theme of my almost 15 year career. I have to use both hands to count individuals I have come up against who have caused negativity in the work place and for some reason, I rubbed them wrong (mainly because I'm awesome and without trying, make others look bad or I ask questions that provoke quality education changes and some people don't like that). So, stress will always be present. That is life. How am I reacting to it? Much better now that my thyroid is under control. Anxiety attacks are a thing of the past. Taking people's garbage attitudes personal are a thing of the past. I got a job to do. I see a need, I'm going to take action to fill that need. It's not about anything else but what students need.
Take my life as an example of what proper medical treatment can do for your life. It's important to be determined about seeking quality care. You are authorized to fire a doctor that does not have your best interest at heart. You are authorized to request (perhaps demand) those in your life to support your diet needs and refrain from saboteur tactics. Skinny does not have to be a goal - feeling good and feeling like you fulfill some aspect of your life's task here, that does. I know I was put on this earth for children. I have the energies to put towards that end and it fills me with such peace doing that.
I still have students who will cry over my coworker's passing. There's one sweet girl, in 5th grade. Her guardian angel passed away. She would ask after her grades, scold her, give advice, and make her do tutorials to get caught up...and now she's gone. So, I find a little head pressed against my arm from time to time. This past week, we had progress reports and I'm busy looking at former students' reports, "Who's passing? Who do I need to scold?" There's one boy, I swear, loves to hear me scold him. And I look down at this little head pressed against my arm and I see tears streaming down her cheeks. I don't have to ask any questions why those tears are there. I just grab her, hug her, and praise her for her grades and most importantly, tell her how proud our guardian angel would be. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I have to focus on. I need my health to do it.
I do tutorials 4 days a week. Two are for struggling writers and the other two are for ELL students (of my 4 teaching certifications, one is for English Language Learners). Four days this past week alone, my conference period at work has been absorbed for parent conferences. Time? That exists? I just want to yank that necklace off Hermoine's neck and start a little time-redo each day so I might get close to accomplishing the must-do list each day. That, or I need to successfully clone myself.
As it is, I'm finding myself awake a little past 10pm sloughing away through grading essays and awake at 4:30am to get some much-needed quiet with at least one cup of coffee before it's time to chase children (i.e. herding cats). It's not as much as a high school teacher who may have upwards of 120 students, but it took me a week. My student load is 70; however, the beginning writer needs considerable TLC. This woman is tired of reading run-ons with "and then" to combine 20 thoughts across one sheet of lined paper...but when I share the funnest method to correct these sentences, the essays show how hard my students are working to fix these beginning writers' mishaps. So, last Sunday when I spent my entire day off pasting, cutting, printing, typing and creating colorful file-folder tri-folds for triage stations....it's paying off.
I'm calling them triage stations, though that's now what they're really called. It's triage in my eyes because I can't fix all the bleeding. Beginning writers need encouragement and advice and immediate feedback. Writing teachers often receive the ever pressing question of, "Is what I wrote good?" Thing is, you can't read 24 essays during the class and give feedback....quality feedback. If you do, there are idle (and then loud, going-to-entertain-themselves) students. The time is wasted. Stations fix that. I rotate around the room to each station and do mini-triage. I have grouped students to listen to each other read their stories and given them tricks to catch their run-ons and change passive voice into active voice. It's working.
In all that glorious, teaching mess called writing...some beautiful things have been happening. I have been too active to write in my blog, for one. Negative things surround my life, too, and there are some I wish I could deal with. Two family members had surgery this past week. I couldn't be with either one, nor visit them out of town. I have absolutely ugly attitudes from coworkers in my wing. I can't do anything about those persons who prefer to complain about everything. I can't join them (or rather I refuse to join them and now the focus has turned towards me). Thing is, I'm too busy coming up with my own solutions and from sunup to sundown, my hands are too busy to let my heart worry about them. I'm there for my students and no one else.
Yes, my title is about weight loss miracles, though my beginning doesn't seem to show I'm on track. I give you this example of my life because two years ago, this lifestyle did not exist. I couldn't stay awake past 6:30 or 7:00pm. It didn't matter how healthy I ate, I continued to gain weight. Twenty months ago, my life started turning around with actual, true medical treatment for my thyroid. That treatment included a low-sugar/sugar-free and low-carb/wheat-free diet (that evolved into peanut-free, limited-soy diet).
The first day I sat across from the doctor (and started crying when he pulled out his prescription pad because it meant he wasn't turning me away without helping me like all the other doctors did), he walked out into his waiting room and shook my mother's hand. I had told him about her, how she held the dutiful chauffeur's position the past months ferrying me to one idiot doctor to MRI scans and finally to this excellent professional. His words at that time were, "Give it about 6 to 12 months and your girl will be healthy again."
Well, he was true to his words. Not only that, he made this incredible weight-loss miracle occur in this body that once-upon-a-time, five weekly exercise sessions never accomplished. I've never been one about bragging. There's some personality trait of mine that holds accomplishments on my tongue and not released into the air, but I decided it's time to share the exact numbers in weights loss (cause it keeps decreasing and readers needed numbers to be convinced of why pushing for their health is paramount).
I didn't believe doc when he said he'd get me to a certain number. I'm approaching that number. He wasn't lying or a quack. It is, in all actuality, happening. This past doctor's appointment (I see him monthly at this point), he increased my desiccated thyroid to 45 (I have to cut a 90 in half because the way the prescription comes are in 30 increments). It's perfect! 60 was giving me hot flashes and thinking issues.
Weight loss-wise, this 5-foot 3 and 3/4 inch woman weighed 199 pounds in March of 2014. I now weigh 151 pounds. In all my adult years, my lowest weight was 164. Even in high school, my weight was 164. I do not recall any lower weight on my frame save 5th or 6th grade when it was 77 lbs and the boys had taken a bet to see if I was, indeed, the lightest in the class since I was the smallest and skinniest (in my defense, I'm a summer baby and barely hit the September 1 cutoff with an August 29 birthday, so I graduated at 17. Of course I'd be smaller than my classmates; I was technically a year younger). But I doubt that weigh-in counts (as a goal) just because I remember it.
I'm two pounds shy of a 50-pound weight-loss. My husband, who likes curves, already stated I can stop losing weight any time now. Doc's goal sit close to 135 pounds. My goal? My goal is healthy. If I did not lose another pound (and I've said this that last 13 or so pounds), I won't care. I have energy again. That thought alone makes me weep with joy. I stay up past my children's bedtime. I handle my job and it's so interactive and fun, when I signal to students it's the end of the class period, I receive disappointed "aww" in response (though one student has started answering my "Oh students" signal with "Ohhh nooooo!" when it's really "Ohhh yessss!" because he knows it's signalling the end of the class time and their fun). Because of all these health changes, I enjoy my students and enjoy my children. I don't even pay as much attention to the scale as I once did. I used to do daily weigh-ins because it told me when I needed to tweak my diet. Now, I go days and days between and today's weigh-in was a shock. When did I do that?
I promise you all, I'm an avid eater. My portions have shrunk over time, but even as a child, I preferred grazing. There's no starvation happening for this weight-loss (and those of us who are hypothyroid know that starvation only causes more weight gain because of the stress starvation puts on the body and stress equals weight gain in hypothyroids). This is all happening because I have the correct medicine dosage, diet, and lifestyle.
If unauthorized food is offered to me, it's easy for me to shake a finger and say, "No way, but thank you." Even hubby knows what can hit the dinner table and he's awesome about it. There's one lady at work who's excellent at remembering that I eat only sugar-free. She keeps her candy dish filled with a mix of both regular and sugar-free candy. That makes my heart sing. I still have a sweet tooth (Blue Bunny ice cream made with Splenda, I love you) and I'm sure there are people whose hearts sink when I always say no (think how they went to that effort to gift their coworkers?). But I always refuse something I know my body cannot process and will cause the rest of the day to spiral into unhealthy symptoms. No thank you! Even the sweet cafeteria ladies know I don't eat cafeteria food. Their salads have taken on a new element this year, and I know two days a week, if I forget my lunch, there is a backup plan I can participate in (just not chicken salad-salad day...not until I know how much sugar goes into their recipe).
I'm better at handling the stress at work. I don't mind making tri-fold stations or staying late at work each day. Those moments are for or with children. I often dream about students or lessons. So I'd say my waking hours are filled with could-be stresses, but it's not limited to my waking hours and anything for children is not stressful. Often, my biological children are with me in the room (depending on the day). I LOVE those moments.
The moments that cause me stress are with other adults. It's always been other adults. My mother often said that of her educator career, too. We true educators love children and if we could be in rooms with children all day, the job would be absolutely perfect...but adults skew that entire plan. However, I'm better at reminding myself I cannot do anything about other adults' attitude. There is no need to take their remarks personal. Whatever lies in their heart, whatever personal stresses they have, whatever personal issues they have not dealt with...those are not my fault, not my doing, and not mine to solve. It is their's. That's something that goes on inside their head. I have no power to change that. Now, when it affects a child, the gloves go on.
When it comes to meetings and someone lies, tries to take credit, or just complain (where no solution is good enough)...those events cause me stress...and my tongue let loose the last official meeting. With the negative events in my hallway this week, I approached my principal (and friend, because I met her through my principal courses) that communication isn't happening. With the passing of my coworker and writing interventionist, the dynamics have unbalanced themselves to extremes. It's two negatives against one. We have a quasi-plan that we hope replaces a balance in our department. The former 4th grade writing teacher (whose spot I took over) is coming back as my interventionist. I have history with her and we adore each other. She was quite pleased when she learned it was me taking her spot. She felt better about walking away from her position knowing students would be in good hands (mine). So, am I excited to see her arrival tomorrow? You betcha!
In the final analysis, having my health allows me to handle the normal stresses of life. The present stresses in my life are a recurrent theme of my almost 15 year career. I have to use both hands to count individuals I have come up against who have caused negativity in the work place and for some reason, I rubbed them wrong (mainly because I'm awesome and without trying, make others look bad or I ask questions that provoke quality education changes and some people don't like that). So, stress will always be present. That is life. How am I reacting to it? Much better now that my thyroid is under control. Anxiety attacks are a thing of the past. Taking people's garbage attitudes personal are a thing of the past. I got a job to do. I see a need, I'm going to take action to fill that need. It's not about anything else but what students need.
Take my life as an example of what proper medical treatment can do for your life. It's important to be determined about seeking quality care. You are authorized to fire a doctor that does not have your best interest at heart. You are authorized to request (perhaps demand) those in your life to support your diet needs and refrain from saboteur tactics. Skinny does not have to be a goal - feeling good and feeling like you fulfill some aspect of your life's task here, that does. I know I was put on this earth for children. I have the energies to put towards that end and it fills me with such peace doing that.
I still have students who will cry over my coworker's passing. There's one sweet girl, in 5th grade. Her guardian angel passed away. She would ask after her grades, scold her, give advice, and make her do tutorials to get caught up...and now she's gone. So, I find a little head pressed against my arm from time to time. This past week, we had progress reports and I'm busy looking at former students' reports, "Who's passing? Who do I need to scold?" There's one boy, I swear, loves to hear me scold him. And I look down at this little head pressed against my arm and I see tears streaming down her cheeks. I don't have to ask any questions why those tears are there. I just grab her, hug her, and praise her for her grades and most importantly, tell her how proud our guardian angel would be. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what I have to focus on. I need my health to do it.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Reverse T3...the Saga Continues
Sometimes my eyes cross while I'm researching medical information on my thyroid. It's like that little butterfly-shaped organ in my throat does this constant 20-ball juggling act. It's gotten itself off balance and I'm struggling to get it back. Thankfully, I have a master juggler throwing the balls back into balance.
When I met my doctor this past week, he confirmed my reverse T3 (rT3) ratio is 0.308. A range under 0.2 is preferred (there can be issues if you're under 0.1, but that's another thyroid story). Now, I've taught math to young persons and looking at those numbers probably mean nothing to most people. My immediately makes the numbers into hundreds for a comparison.
Reverse T3 Number Crunching:
0.308 is my reading.
0.200 and under is a target range my doc looked for
0.100 and under is another area that needs attention
My math shows that my body is producing 150 to 200% of what it should be (for my math geeks, I got 150% by dividing 308 by 200 and 200% by dividing 308 by 150 because 0.150 would be a middle-ground area between 0.2 and 0.1 optimal reading).
Thus the question is...why is my body doing that!? Oh my heavens, that's way too much rT3 production!! The Holistic Thyroid Solution website explained the role of T3, T4, rT3, T2, adrenal, cortisol, an host of other issues that connect to rT3. I liked this site the most because my eyes were crossing with my other research material. I need someone to speak English, please, not medical jargon. I have an Education degree and I only speak education jargon with fellow educators and my family (because they're stuck with me). With that, let me give a breakdown of what I understand has been happening with my body and how it can help you and perhaps someone you know.
Reverse T3 is often not the go-to blood test that doctors opt for when diagnosing thyroid health issues, but that's a huge mistake. Even the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism states that most useful marker for tissue hypothyroidism is the T3/rT3 ratio because it's showing the "diminished cellular functioning" at the tissue level.
The most useful image I can give is a Stargate docking station...and rT3 is refusing to open the docking station. Well, when you can't get supplies delivered or ready to be shipped off to the areas that need them, emergency situations happen.
When a doctor chooses to run tests for T3 and T4 only, the problem is that T3 tests measure both active T3 and reverse T3 because they're biologically the same. So, a doctor will review T3 results and say, "Oh, you're body is making enough T3." The ratio is the only method that accurately shows if your body has the correct balance of thyroid hormones being produced. In fact, excess rT3 will make T4 labs show that a patient has enough or too high levels of T4. That's because the body's making more T4 because the thyroid knows things aren't working right, so it's overcompensating.
Let's add those doctors who rely only on TSH (a pituitary gland test). The above description of how rT3 makes T3 and T4 lab tests "normal" or "high" levels also make TSH appear like it's normal, too. This is how people continue to have NO treatment for hypothyroidism. That would explain why I've been told repeatedly, "Your lab results are normal," and sent on my miserable way.
To make it even more confusing, rT3 affects T2 production. T2!? That's a movie! Where did that futuristic Arnold come from in my system? I haven't read about T2 before, but apparently, there's many docking stations and supply management our thyroid is in charge of. If T2 gets out of balance, it causes less T3 production too (and that is just a horrid domino effect).
Fixing rT3
After awhile, it makes you feel like you can't win. I'm thankful for my doctor because he is knowledgeable about thyroid health, even the most obscure pieces of information that many doctors are unaware of. This is why I always promote the sentiment that if you're doctor is not healing you, fire him/her. Find someone who will keep searching for the answers for you. I told my doctor this past week, "As soon as I think we have this thyroid in balance, it pulls a fast one and goes 'na-na-na-na-boo-boo.'" We've worked so hard and we're still tweaking my health regimen? I see this gentlemen on a monthly basis still. I don't mind the copay (though the rT3 was a $94 copay and one site I reviewed mentioned that most have a $60 fee, it just depends on your insurance). The point is, even when things aren't working the way I'd like them to...I can look back about 20 months ago and see a huge difference in my health. I've lost 45 pounds. I never thought that possible. I've always been overweight and it doesn't matter how many salads I eat or how often I exercise.
Stress
One of the biggest issues I personally face is that stress is a culprit. It affects your thyroid's health more than you know. Adrenal fatigue is real (that's when your body produces too much cortisol and over time, your adrenal glands just start petering out). Some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue is waking up at 3am (mine is more like 1:30-2:30am) and your mind is racing. You're starving. It doesn't matter that you're tired and all you want is to go back to bed. Your body feels it's resources are tanking, even having your blood sugar plummet and it's screaming for help. I didn't really put two and two together whenever doc asks me if I sleep well. I don't think I've ever slept through the night since having children. I wake at many little noises in the night, but it didn't hit me those times I wake up and my mind is racing and I struggle to go back to sleep was something more. I now have another item of discussion to talk to my doctor with at my next visit. It's less than a month away.
I know I've been in some pretty stressful situations. I haven't always had a healthy work environment. This past school year, I lost someone close to me who was also my work partner. I've been grieving as well as adjusting lessons. I don't feel the coworkers in my wing do their part. They only do things if it's a directive from our principal. So, I'm the only schmuck who's doing more because I see the need. My moral compass will not let me do otherwise.
This past week, these lovely coworkers decide to have a last-minute meeting and didn't inform me what it's about. For some random reason, they decide to start questioning discipline measures in our wing. I assume this is because a matriarch of our school passed away, the one I shared a daily class schedule with. Often, I find myself the only one putting a hallway of 70 or so students in check (especially after recess) without adult backup...and they're starting a conversation about "I don't see how it's fair for an entire class to loose recess..."
Oh I lost my temper. I don't like doing that at work because I don't feel it's professional, but my meeting notebook got slammed down on a desk and I started talking. When others aren't available to help supervise and manage 70 students, you as the sole disciplinarian have to be stricter. No other teacher was present when my classroom management tactics couldn't be heard and my only helper is a new assistant who is learning, but no where near as loud as me. I can tell you honestly that lines gets quieter when I walk into the hallway (and most mornings, I'm the only adult i the hallway as students approach) because I nag about it daily. If you're quiet, you can hear directions. I hate time being wasted because of excessive talking. I have too much to teach and I don't want my throat to hurt all the time. My classroom management skills work, but 70 students? That's pushing it.
The way they approached it wasn't right. If you have a grievance, don't surprise your grieving coworker with a last-minute meeting. I felt attacked. I had no idea that was coming. I think it would have been wiser for those individuals to meet with our boss on their own to air their grievances because I even point-blankly stated, "This should be a conversation between me and you only" as I point to myself and my principal. My boss is the only person who can tell me my discipline measures need work. Another person's complaints should not decide it right then and there and it comes back to that phrase, "Be ye without sin the first to cast a stone." If you're not present to help with discipline, then you can't be upset with how I discipline.
Stress is always my beast of burden. I'm still slugging through backlogged papers and journals to grade because a funeral and rosary and candelight vigil takes a lot out of you. Emotionally, I've been wiped out. I'm struggling with teaching concepts alone and having to reinvent my teaching wheel mid-stride. I often wake up at 2am with a grand idea for teaching...and then struggle to fall back asleep so I can have the energy to start the idea in the morning.
I'm a stubborn individual. I feel so strongly about quality education that I don't let myself off the hook. I have met parents that grow angry with us teachers when we don't do things exactly so, but we're not infallible. Life hits us below the waist just like it does anyone else and the workload doesn't lessen. My standards certainly don't. I know stress-management is key for my thyroid's health. I just seem to be batting a thousand when it comes to stressors in life. Thing is, I see my principal, also a friend, and how she wears herself out because she's taking care of us teachers, our school, our students. I know our matriarch was the same way. Many times we don't push ourselves because of our personal sense of standards but because there are people we love and we help them carry the burden. We love education. We love children. And now we're walking with one less person. Do you think I'm going to give myself a break when there's even more to carry? That's where my stubbornness causes my own stress levels.
Maybe all it comes down to, folks, is that your health is valuable. Fight for it. Life is stressful in general. You learn to do certain things that improve your life. You either let people treat you a certain way - from your spouse, coworkers, boss, doctor, tax assessor, family, or friends - or you stand your ground and set boundaries. After awhile, things get better. I'm getting better at being mouthy and setting boundaries. Now if I could just get Hermoine's necklace where you can repeat the last hour so I could get more done...well, that'd be nice. Until then, I have to continually find balance in each day and continue doing those things that give me fulfillment and teaching gives me that feeling. I love it when I signal to students it's the end of class and they go, "Noooo!" or state, "Wow, this class always goes by so quickly." That means they're having fun and they have no clue how much I made them work. It shows me I'm doing more than alright.
Take care, readers!
When I met my doctor this past week, he confirmed my reverse T3 (rT3) ratio is 0.308. A range under 0.2 is preferred (there can be issues if you're under 0.1, but that's another thyroid story). Now, I've taught math to young persons and looking at those numbers probably mean nothing to most people. My immediately makes the numbers into hundreds for a comparison.
Reverse T3 Number Crunching:
0.308 is my reading.
0.200 and under is a target range my doc looked for
0.100 and under is another area that needs attention
My math shows that my body is producing 150 to 200% of what it should be (for my math geeks, I got 150% by dividing 308 by 200 and 200% by dividing 308 by 150 because 0.150 would be a middle-ground area between 0.2 and 0.1 optimal reading).
Thus the question is...why is my body doing that!? Oh my heavens, that's way too much rT3 production!! The Holistic Thyroid Solution website explained the role of T3, T4, rT3, T2, adrenal, cortisol, an host of other issues that connect to rT3. I liked this site the most because my eyes were crossing with my other research material. I need someone to speak English, please, not medical jargon. I have an Education degree and I only speak education jargon with fellow educators and my family (because they're stuck with me). With that, let me give a breakdown of what I understand has been happening with my body and how it can help you and perhaps someone you know.
Reverse T3 is often not the go-to blood test that doctors opt for when diagnosing thyroid health issues, but that's a huge mistake. Even the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism states that most useful marker for tissue hypothyroidism is the T3/rT3 ratio because it's showing the "diminished cellular functioning" at the tissue level.
The most useful image I can give is a Stargate docking station...and rT3 is refusing to open the docking station. Well, when you can't get supplies delivered or ready to be shipped off to the areas that need them, emergency situations happen.
When a doctor chooses to run tests for T3 and T4 only, the problem is that T3 tests measure both active T3 and reverse T3 because they're biologically the same. So, a doctor will review T3 results and say, "Oh, you're body is making enough T3." The ratio is the only method that accurately shows if your body has the correct balance of thyroid hormones being produced. In fact, excess rT3 will make T4 labs show that a patient has enough or too high levels of T4. That's because the body's making more T4 because the thyroid knows things aren't working right, so it's overcompensating.
Let's add those doctors who rely only on TSH (a pituitary gland test). The above description of how rT3 makes T3 and T4 lab tests "normal" or "high" levels also make TSH appear like it's normal, too. This is how people continue to have NO treatment for hypothyroidism. That would explain why I've been told repeatedly, "Your lab results are normal," and sent on my miserable way.
To make it even more confusing, rT3 affects T2 production. T2!? That's a movie! Where did that futuristic Arnold come from in my system? I haven't read about T2 before, but apparently, there's many docking stations and supply management our thyroid is in charge of. If T2 gets out of balance, it causes less T3 production too (and that is just a horrid domino effect).
Fixing rT3
After awhile, it makes you feel like you can't win. I'm thankful for my doctor because he is knowledgeable about thyroid health, even the most obscure pieces of information that many doctors are unaware of. This is why I always promote the sentiment that if you're doctor is not healing you, fire him/her. Find someone who will keep searching for the answers for you. I told my doctor this past week, "As soon as I think we have this thyroid in balance, it pulls a fast one and goes 'na-na-na-na-boo-boo.'" We've worked so hard and we're still tweaking my health regimen? I see this gentlemen on a monthly basis still. I don't mind the copay (though the rT3 was a $94 copay and one site I reviewed mentioned that most have a $60 fee, it just depends on your insurance). The point is, even when things aren't working the way I'd like them to...I can look back about 20 months ago and see a huge difference in my health. I've lost 45 pounds. I never thought that possible. I've always been overweight and it doesn't matter how many salads I eat or how often I exercise.
Stress
One of the biggest issues I personally face is that stress is a culprit. It affects your thyroid's health more than you know. Adrenal fatigue is real (that's when your body produces too much cortisol and over time, your adrenal glands just start petering out). Some of the symptoms of adrenal fatigue is waking up at 3am (mine is more like 1:30-2:30am) and your mind is racing. You're starving. It doesn't matter that you're tired and all you want is to go back to bed. Your body feels it's resources are tanking, even having your blood sugar plummet and it's screaming for help. I didn't really put two and two together whenever doc asks me if I sleep well. I don't think I've ever slept through the night since having children. I wake at many little noises in the night, but it didn't hit me those times I wake up and my mind is racing and I struggle to go back to sleep was something more. I now have another item of discussion to talk to my doctor with at my next visit. It's less than a month away.
I know I've been in some pretty stressful situations. I haven't always had a healthy work environment. This past school year, I lost someone close to me who was also my work partner. I've been grieving as well as adjusting lessons. I don't feel the coworkers in my wing do their part. They only do things if it's a directive from our principal. So, I'm the only schmuck who's doing more because I see the need. My moral compass will not let me do otherwise.
This past week, these lovely coworkers decide to have a last-minute meeting and didn't inform me what it's about. For some random reason, they decide to start questioning discipline measures in our wing. I assume this is because a matriarch of our school passed away, the one I shared a daily class schedule with. Often, I find myself the only one putting a hallway of 70 or so students in check (especially after recess) without adult backup...and they're starting a conversation about "I don't see how it's fair for an entire class to loose recess..."
Oh I lost my temper. I don't like doing that at work because I don't feel it's professional, but my meeting notebook got slammed down on a desk and I started talking. When others aren't available to help supervise and manage 70 students, you as the sole disciplinarian have to be stricter. No other teacher was present when my classroom management tactics couldn't be heard and my only helper is a new assistant who is learning, but no where near as loud as me. I can tell you honestly that lines gets quieter when I walk into the hallway (and most mornings, I'm the only adult i the hallway as students approach) because I nag about it daily. If you're quiet, you can hear directions. I hate time being wasted because of excessive talking. I have too much to teach and I don't want my throat to hurt all the time. My classroom management skills work, but 70 students? That's pushing it.
The way they approached it wasn't right. If you have a grievance, don't surprise your grieving coworker with a last-minute meeting. I felt attacked. I had no idea that was coming. I think it would have been wiser for those individuals to meet with our boss on their own to air their grievances because I even point-blankly stated, "This should be a conversation between me and you only" as I point to myself and my principal. My boss is the only person who can tell me my discipline measures need work. Another person's complaints should not decide it right then and there and it comes back to that phrase, "Be ye without sin the first to cast a stone." If you're not present to help with discipline, then you can't be upset with how I discipline.
Stress is always my beast of burden. I'm still slugging through backlogged papers and journals to grade because a funeral and rosary and candelight vigil takes a lot out of you. Emotionally, I've been wiped out. I'm struggling with teaching concepts alone and having to reinvent my teaching wheel mid-stride. I often wake up at 2am with a grand idea for teaching...and then struggle to fall back asleep so I can have the energy to start the idea in the morning.
I'm a stubborn individual. I feel so strongly about quality education that I don't let myself off the hook. I have met parents that grow angry with us teachers when we don't do things exactly so, but we're not infallible. Life hits us below the waist just like it does anyone else and the workload doesn't lessen. My standards certainly don't. I know stress-management is key for my thyroid's health. I just seem to be batting a thousand when it comes to stressors in life. Thing is, I see my principal, also a friend, and how she wears herself out because she's taking care of us teachers, our school, our students. I know our matriarch was the same way. Many times we don't push ourselves because of our personal sense of standards but because there are people we love and we help them carry the burden. We love education. We love children. And now we're walking with one less person. Do you think I'm going to give myself a break when there's even more to carry? That's where my stubbornness causes my own stress levels.
Maybe all it comes down to, folks, is that your health is valuable. Fight for it. Life is stressful in general. You learn to do certain things that improve your life. You either let people treat you a certain way - from your spouse, coworkers, boss, doctor, tax assessor, family, or friends - or you stand your ground and set boundaries. After awhile, things get better. I'm getting better at being mouthy and setting boundaries. Now if I could just get Hermoine's necklace where you can repeat the last hour so I could get more done...well, that'd be nice. Until then, I have to continually find balance in each day and continue doing those things that give me fulfillment and teaching gives me that feeling. I love it when I signal to students it's the end of class and they go, "Noooo!" or state, "Wow, this class always goes by so quickly." That means they're having fun and they have no clue how much I made them work. It shows me I'm doing more than alright.
Take care, readers!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Life's Curve Balls
Dear Readers,
I must apologize for my blogging absence. It's not because I have given up on my cause, but rather life has decided to throw several curve balls at once. The fatigue and other symptoms that plagued my recent daily life turned into extreme faintness in the middle of the work day. When I called my doctor's office, I got a rather patronizing nurse and I was not pleased with her response. She quizzed me on what I ate (everything I should and nothing I shouldn't) and she tried to make it seem like my protein intake was the problem. Come again? The diet I have eaten the last year that has made me healthy, energetic, and 45 pounds lighter is suddenly the issue? I call shenanigans. It was reminiscent of all those previous doctors who didn't believe me when I said there's a problem with my health and they'd sent me packing with a "it's all in your head" or "you're perfectly healthy" fairy tale ending. If I haven't changed anything in my diet, supplements, or exercise routine...tell me what I'm doing wrong, please. All you're doing is fueling the fire that makes me push for the desired outcome and I'll prove you wrong.
The very next day, a Friday, I received a call while at work. Anyone who is a teacher understands you don't get to answer personal calls during classroom time. My personal phone is on vibrate and I check it during my conference period, which happens to be at 3:00pm this year. The advice on the phone was too late to follow through with. I was advised that if I still felt that faint, I should go to a walk-in clinic. I was rather displeased with the message because of bad timing. And yes, I did not make that decision on my own the day before because, guess what, I'm used to not having help. The only good that came of it is that the nurse has to retract her statement to me from the day before because when the doctor read her notes from our phone conversation, he had a completely opposite viewpoint. He suggested seeking medical care immediately if it persisted.
I knew a walk-in clinic was not a viable option. Are they thyroid experts? It's more like mini-triage for flu, dehydration, spider bites, high fevers, etc. My thyroid results routinely come back "normal range" and the like and I don't get help with 99% of the medical population (quite frustrating). I could seek ER help, but we know what that'll end up as...a ridiculously high medical bill where I receive zero help. I knew my general practitioner wouldn't take any walk-ins after 2:30pm and, let's add, getting a sub the last hour of the work day is just so easy, right? Ha ha ha! Not! Besides I was heading to a parent conference in the next 30 seconds after hanging up the phone. Oh yes, thanks for helping. I called you on a day when I had time to make arrangements to receive help...and didn't receive it. Just lovely.
Since timing was bad and I didn't expect any help until my next doctor's appointment mid-October, I simply did what I had done prior to finding this doctor. I overate carb-meals for the next week (carbs I can eat, like corn tortillas and rice) knowing that weight gain would happen, but I also wouldn't keel over from my body over-reacting to what it thought was lack of food. Doc told me at my last doctor's appointment that it sounded like my body didn't want to lose anymore weight and he'd like to run blood testing to verify his theory. In essence, my body's communication had crossed some wires and it thought I wasn't eating enough fuel and it demanded more or it'd throw a temper tantrum in the fashion of dizziness and black vision. That means that I was right back where I used to be before this doctor, an undiagnosed thyroid patient feeling ravenous to the point of extremely distracted when she had eaten a healthy, satisfying, and filling meal one or two hours previously.
So, I made a choice to overeat calorie-wise because I knew that would balance out my body's crossed-wires communication systems and get me through each work day. I lucked out. It was 6 Weeks test taking time and used that time to sit and lean against my small-group table when the world started swimming (and no, snacking didn't help, only overeating did). I knew I wouldn't get to press the issue the following week because I had planned a trip months in advanced and I wouldn't even be in-state. I slept that weekend and I hadn't napped like that since last summer when my body was still slowly healing with the new medical help.
This out-of-state trip, simply stated, included visiting an extremely good friend because her city hosts a Comicon each September. I considered it a belated birthday celebration since my birthday is at the end of August. I was only out three work days and I slept on the plane and took a slower pace. When I started getting faint with swimming black vision, we ate and rested. I rested often.
The day prior to leaving I received an additional curve ball. I was absolutely devastated to hear a close colleague of mine, someone I considered a dear friend, had passed away. She and I worked closely with 4th grade writing. Literally, not only did I lose a friend, but my work-partner. I've had to change my students' academic schedule (we would split students each class period) and I'm still adjusting my curriculum because I know, for a fact, she's going to be extremely hard to replace. Not because of any bias on my part, I assure you. She was an expert veteran and you grow into those positions. And those individuals who are that awesome are all working somewhere by this time of year. I'm on my own. We discussed and agreed upon curriculum, lessons, resources, and Saturday School tutorials. I shared each test result with her and we identified who needed what kind of help. We talked to parents together. We ate lunch together almost every day.
To say the least, I've spent the last week absolutely heartbroken...and then progressively concerned because I'm an intelligent woman who is often brutally honest with herself. I recognize what I have to do alone. I know they can't replace her easily. My grade-level coworkers aren't much of team players and I'm not a charmer that can motivate them towards that end. I'm a passionate educator and that sometimes charms other educators because passion can be infectious, but my grade-level coworkers prefer focusing on negativity. I lost my only positive teammate. So, forgive me my blogging absence. I've had more than a few curve balls to juggle, bat, or dodge. I'm still trying to figure out which ones I can toss back and say, "In your face, you thought you had me!" I think I've tossed at least one of those curve balls back just to be pummeled by the others.
My Reverse T3 blood test I took came back Wednesday. I learned this on the automated answering service my doctor's office has. Since our local laboratory facility is slow to return the results to the doctor and often do not get them to the doctor by my appointment, I decided to do it asap. It cost me almost $100 copay, which I've never experienced before but when you're desperate to have improved health, you pay it. Surprisingly, results were in under a week (maybe some angels expedited the process).
The automated message stated that my thyroid is sluggish and we're upping my desiccated thyroid from 30mg (which I've been on about 20 months) to 60mg. At this point, I'm not going to the doctor earlier than my already-scheduled October appointment. I'm just doubling my present prescription and I was directed to call their office and they'll call my pharmacy about my new prescription.
The morning after my first increased thyroid dose, I didn't hit my alarm 4 times before actually getting up. I hit it once. The next day, I didn't hit it at all. For the previous 3 weeks, I was hitting the alarm button 4 or 5 times and then moving very sluggishly and getting to work at 7:30am instead of my regular 7:00-7:10am. Now, I'm not falling asleep during homework time with my girls, which is often about 5 or 6pm. I'm not experiencing that crazy faintness and swimming black vision. So, here's one curve ball I can toss back into the ether and shout, "You thought you had me, but I'm too stubborn to give up on my health! I don't mind nagging my health professionals. Ha ha ha!"
Thyroid problems are not easy to deal with. It's a hidden devil. All I can say is, if you have a friend or family member that appears to have frequent problems, don't think it's lack of will power that they're gaining weight. Don't think they're sneaking food because you see them eat a salad every day at work, but they're gaining weight so they must be sneaking food. Don't think they're making it up because you don't have conclusive symptoms like a fever (in fact their temperature will be lower than anyone else's). They're always donning a sweater or about to pass out if they're in summer heat for just 15 minutes. Thyroid symptoms are easy to miss.
Thyroid is a silent, invisible beast and make thyroid patients - diagnosed and mistreated or undiagnosed and not treated - give up and bit by bit, lose parts of their lives. I've heard and read stories of people who've lost spouses and had to quit dream careers because they couldn't maintain a simple life pace. I've known women that menopause caused a sudden collapse and their thyroid was at fault. I've met people (and suspect I am one) where childbirth triggered a malfunctioning and sputtering thyroid.
If you know someone like me, don't use tough love to browbeat them and push them into being better or doing more because you think it's all in their heads. It's not an attitude adjustment they need. If you see family or friends with fatigue, depression, or anxiety, these are symptoms of a hidden health issue. If someone is so fatigued, a doctor diagnoses them with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, it might actually be a thyroid problem. If someone has health problems all over their body, it's not that they want all this attention. Their thyroid is giving them health issues all over their body.
If someone who knows is in so much pain as to affect a brief outing at the zoo (and you're not remotely worn out)...and quite possibly, they've been diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia...it could be actually be their thyroid. They'll probably experiencing many health tests that have no conclusive data to prove any diagnosis, but yet their fatigue, daily pain, and grogginess persists and interferes with relationships and social calendars.
I press these points because I've been that person that doctors and close people didn't believe. I was told I was weak or it was all in my head. I just had to have mind over matter. I was told I was wasting money on supplements and foods and doctor's appointments. I was told that my thyroid theory was off base because nothing I tried was working....that it was all in my head. I was told I needed to see a psychiatrist.
I'm more stubborn that most in that passive-aggressive way. I knew all those voices were wrong. You won't know I'm disagreeing with you until I take action later on. But I was right to be stubborn about firing this doctor and pursue another course...and then fire that doctor and move on again. I found a miracle practitioner who is helping me and it's not an over-night event. We're still tweaking my health needs 20 months after our initial appointment and diagnosis. You must be proactive and you must complain. The squeakiest wheel gets the oil, after all. The ether is greasing their pitch and you think you'll never get a homerun. Life throws you curve balls, so what? Just understand you gotta keep dodging them however you can and you'll get knocked down some. Keep picking the balls back up and volleying them back as soon as you have the strength. Do not give up. You're literally fighting for your life.
If you read this not because you have health issues but because someone you care about does...support them in every way. Don't buy them donuts as a treat. Don't suggest fast food for lunch. And when a doctor says "there's nothing wrong," encourage them to fire that quack and hire a new one. The support we get is paramount in the help we receive and how quickly we are able to live our lives again.
So, here's throwing a curve ball back. I missed several weeks of blogging, but I'm back.
I must apologize for my blogging absence. It's not because I have given up on my cause, but rather life has decided to throw several curve balls at once. The fatigue and other symptoms that plagued my recent daily life turned into extreme faintness in the middle of the work day. When I called my doctor's office, I got a rather patronizing nurse and I was not pleased with her response. She quizzed me on what I ate (everything I should and nothing I shouldn't) and she tried to make it seem like my protein intake was the problem. Come again? The diet I have eaten the last year that has made me healthy, energetic, and 45 pounds lighter is suddenly the issue? I call shenanigans. It was reminiscent of all those previous doctors who didn't believe me when I said there's a problem with my health and they'd sent me packing with a "it's all in your head" or "you're perfectly healthy" fairy tale ending. If I haven't changed anything in my diet, supplements, or exercise routine...tell me what I'm doing wrong, please. All you're doing is fueling the fire that makes me push for the desired outcome and I'll prove you wrong.
The very next day, a Friday, I received a call while at work. Anyone who is a teacher understands you don't get to answer personal calls during classroom time. My personal phone is on vibrate and I check it during my conference period, which happens to be at 3:00pm this year. The advice on the phone was too late to follow through with. I was advised that if I still felt that faint, I should go to a walk-in clinic. I was rather displeased with the message because of bad timing. And yes, I did not make that decision on my own the day before because, guess what, I'm used to not having help. The only good that came of it is that the nurse has to retract her statement to me from the day before because when the doctor read her notes from our phone conversation, he had a completely opposite viewpoint. He suggested seeking medical care immediately if it persisted.
I knew a walk-in clinic was not a viable option. Are they thyroid experts? It's more like mini-triage for flu, dehydration, spider bites, high fevers, etc. My thyroid results routinely come back "normal range" and the like and I don't get help with 99% of the medical population (quite frustrating). I could seek ER help, but we know what that'll end up as...a ridiculously high medical bill where I receive zero help. I knew my general practitioner wouldn't take any walk-ins after 2:30pm and, let's add, getting a sub the last hour of the work day is just so easy, right? Ha ha ha! Not! Besides I was heading to a parent conference in the next 30 seconds after hanging up the phone. Oh yes, thanks for helping. I called you on a day when I had time to make arrangements to receive help...and didn't receive it. Just lovely.
Since timing was bad and I didn't expect any help until my next doctor's appointment mid-October, I simply did what I had done prior to finding this doctor. I overate carb-meals for the next week (carbs I can eat, like corn tortillas and rice) knowing that weight gain would happen, but I also wouldn't keel over from my body over-reacting to what it thought was lack of food. Doc told me at my last doctor's appointment that it sounded like my body didn't want to lose anymore weight and he'd like to run blood testing to verify his theory. In essence, my body's communication had crossed some wires and it thought I wasn't eating enough fuel and it demanded more or it'd throw a temper tantrum in the fashion of dizziness and black vision. That means that I was right back where I used to be before this doctor, an undiagnosed thyroid patient feeling ravenous to the point of extremely distracted when she had eaten a healthy, satisfying, and filling meal one or two hours previously.
So, I made a choice to overeat calorie-wise because I knew that would balance out my body's crossed-wires communication systems and get me through each work day. I lucked out. It was 6 Weeks test taking time and used that time to sit and lean against my small-group table when the world started swimming (and no, snacking didn't help, only overeating did). I knew I wouldn't get to press the issue the following week because I had planned a trip months in advanced and I wouldn't even be in-state. I slept that weekend and I hadn't napped like that since last summer when my body was still slowly healing with the new medical help.
This out-of-state trip, simply stated, included visiting an extremely good friend because her city hosts a Comicon each September. I considered it a belated birthday celebration since my birthday is at the end of August. I was only out three work days and I slept on the plane and took a slower pace. When I started getting faint with swimming black vision, we ate and rested. I rested often.
The day prior to leaving I received an additional curve ball. I was absolutely devastated to hear a close colleague of mine, someone I considered a dear friend, had passed away. She and I worked closely with 4th grade writing. Literally, not only did I lose a friend, but my work-partner. I've had to change my students' academic schedule (we would split students each class period) and I'm still adjusting my curriculum because I know, for a fact, she's going to be extremely hard to replace. Not because of any bias on my part, I assure you. She was an expert veteran and you grow into those positions. And those individuals who are that awesome are all working somewhere by this time of year. I'm on my own. We discussed and agreed upon curriculum, lessons, resources, and Saturday School tutorials. I shared each test result with her and we identified who needed what kind of help. We talked to parents together. We ate lunch together almost every day.
To say the least, I've spent the last week absolutely heartbroken...and then progressively concerned because I'm an intelligent woman who is often brutally honest with herself. I recognize what I have to do alone. I know they can't replace her easily. My grade-level coworkers aren't much of team players and I'm not a charmer that can motivate them towards that end. I'm a passionate educator and that sometimes charms other educators because passion can be infectious, but my grade-level coworkers prefer focusing on negativity. I lost my only positive teammate. So, forgive me my blogging absence. I've had more than a few curve balls to juggle, bat, or dodge. I'm still trying to figure out which ones I can toss back and say, "In your face, you thought you had me!" I think I've tossed at least one of those curve balls back just to be pummeled by the others.
My Reverse T3 blood test I took came back Wednesday. I learned this on the automated answering service my doctor's office has. Since our local laboratory facility is slow to return the results to the doctor and often do not get them to the doctor by my appointment, I decided to do it asap. It cost me almost $100 copay, which I've never experienced before but when you're desperate to have improved health, you pay it. Surprisingly, results were in under a week (maybe some angels expedited the process).
The automated message stated that my thyroid is sluggish and we're upping my desiccated thyroid from 30mg (which I've been on about 20 months) to 60mg. At this point, I'm not going to the doctor earlier than my already-scheduled October appointment. I'm just doubling my present prescription and I was directed to call their office and they'll call my pharmacy about my new prescription.
The morning after my first increased thyroid dose, I didn't hit my alarm 4 times before actually getting up. I hit it once. The next day, I didn't hit it at all. For the previous 3 weeks, I was hitting the alarm button 4 or 5 times and then moving very sluggishly and getting to work at 7:30am instead of my regular 7:00-7:10am. Now, I'm not falling asleep during homework time with my girls, which is often about 5 or 6pm. I'm not experiencing that crazy faintness and swimming black vision. So, here's one curve ball I can toss back into the ether and shout, "You thought you had me, but I'm too stubborn to give up on my health! I don't mind nagging my health professionals. Ha ha ha!"
Thyroid problems are not easy to deal with. It's a hidden devil. All I can say is, if you have a friend or family member that appears to have frequent problems, don't think it's lack of will power that they're gaining weight. Don't think they're sneaking food because you see them eat a salad every day at work, but they're gaining weight so they must be sneaking food. Don't think they're making it up because you don't have conclusive symptoms like a fever (in fact their temperature will be lower than anyone else's). They're always donning a sweater or about to pass out if they're in summer heat for just 15 minutes. Thyroid symptoms are easy to miss.
Thyroid is a silent, invisible beast and make thyroid patients - diagnosed and mistreated or undiagnosed and not treated - give up and bit by bit, lose parts of their lives. I've heard and read stories of people who've lost spouses and had to quit dream careers because they couldn't maintain a simple life pace. I've known women that menopause caused a sudden collapse and their thyroid was at fault. I've met people (and suspect I am one) where childbirth triggered a malfunctioning and sputtering thyroid.
If you know someone like me, don't use tough love to browbeat them and push them into being better or doing more because you think it's all in their heads. It's not an attitude adjustment they need. If you see family or friends with fatigue, depression, or anxiety, these are symptoms of a hidden health issue. If someone is so fatigued, a doctor diagnoses them with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, it might actually be a thyroid problem. If someone has health problems all over their body, it's not that they want all this attention. Their thyroid is giving them health issues all over their body.
If someone who knows is in so much pain as to affect a brief outing at the zoo (and you're not remotely worn out)...and quite possibly, they've been diagnosed as having Fibromyalgia...it could be actually be their thyroid. They'll probably experiencing many health tests that have no conclusive data to prove any diagnosis, but yet their fatigue, daily pain, and grogginess persists and interferes with relationships and social calendars.
I press these points because I've been that person that doctors and close people didn't believe. I was told I was weak or it was all in my head. I just had to have mind over matter. I was told I was wasting money on supplements and foods and doctor's appointments. I was told that my thyroid theory was off base because nothing I tried was working....that it was all in my head. I was told I needed to see a psychiatrist.
I'm more stubborn that most in that passive-aggressive way. I knew all those voices were wrong. You won't know I'm disagreeing with you until I take action later on. But I was right to be stubborn about firing this doctor and pursue another course...and then fire that doctor and move on again. I found a miracle practitioner who is helping me and it's not an over-night event. We're still tweaking my health needs 20 months after our initial appointment and diagnosis. You must be proactive and you must complain. The squeakiest wheel gets the oil, after all. The ether is greasing their pitch and you think you'll never get a homerun. Life throws you curve balls, so what? Just understand you gotta keep dodging them however you can and you'll get knocked down some. Keep picking the balls back up and volleying them back as soon as you have the strength. Do not give up. You're literally fighting for your life.
If you read this not because you have health issues but because someone you care about does...support them in every way. Don't buy them donuts as a treat. Don't suggest fast food for lunch. And when a doctor says "there's nothing wrong," encourage them to fire that quack and hire a new one. The support we get is paramount in the help we receive and how quickly we are able to live our lives again.
So, here's throwing a curve ball back. I missed several weeks of blogging, but I'm back.
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