Old Friends, Dessicated Thyroid Meds, and Moving

A week ago I found an old friend on FB. I lost track of her almost 40 years ago. I’ve asked about her occasionally but never got any information. We had no friends in common. A couple of weeks ago I checked FB again as I have done periodically and there she was. We have been exchanging messages ever since discovering how much we were and still are really alike and different.

I have not blogged since Christmas 2012. Slowly before then and since I have felt the life drain out of me. Doctors really could not figure out what was wrong (and probably dismissed me as depressed). Every CBC that I had showed for several years a very slow but consistent decline in every cell count…white, red, platelets, hemoglobin…my GP sent me to the hematologist twice but all they ever said was “That’s just you. Some people have lower counts.” I finally talked to my alternative MD and showed him the results of my lab work over time. He immediately said, “Your thyroid medication needs to be increased.” The thyroid stimulates the bone marrow to produce blood cells.

I have been on thyroid medication since I was 17. At first until about 10 years ago I was on synthroid. I finally changed doctors (insurance changes) who listened to me. He granted me a prescription for Armour thyroid. We experimented with levels until I felt it was right. Most doctors just look at the test levels. He respected my sense of well being.

Due to my GP’s death, I found an endocrinologist a couple of years ago who tested my TSH levels every six months. He always told me they were in the normal range on the dosage that I was on. I always told him how I was feeling. He never listened. Not only that, through research on the net, I have discovered that the thyroid doctors revised “normal range” to be lower than what my doctor was using. The change in normal range happened ten years ago! Now I’ve never asked him if he ever prescribes Armour thyroid to anyone else. I’m just glad he didn’t insist on putting me back on synthroid. He keeps telling me that only one T4 test is necessary (or maybe it’s T3) when there are several other tests available. It’s all about only the TSH test results. You see there is a tremendous battle going on between those who believe in dessicated thyroid and those who believe in the synthetics. Medicare has even stopped paying for anything but the synthetics.

I started taking the recommended increased dosage and it’s almost like waking up. Not every day, but more frequently I FEEL GOOD! SO GOOD! For me feeling how other people feel (normal) is a God send. I don’t know if I could handle ecstatic. This is good because I’m in the process of packing all my earthly belongings and moving in three weeks. I never would have been able to even contemplate such physical exertion a couple of months ago. When I visited my son at Christmas I had to request a wheel chair at the airport because it was too tiring to pull a suitcase and walk to the gate. I will be ready having done all the packing by myself when the packers come to load the pods. That is a success story for me.

What does this have to do with my friend? The last few messages I’ve sent to her have been rather long. It was almost as if I were writing a blog. I realized how I feel has a direct connection with my desire to write. I decided to see if my blogs could still be found. With changes to wordpress I was frustrated about how to even log in and write a new blog. I have to relearn how to post pictures and videos like I once did.

There’s been so much I want to say but didn’t have the energy to say it. I think I’m ready to share my opinions again.To me it is fun. I”ll have so much to say about my new home town. If you were an old follower, thanks for reading. If you are new, I can’t promise a blog every day like I used to do, but I will sincerely try to be more frequent with my posts. Namaste Attic Annie