22 weeks!

I had an appointment with  my thyroid specialist this week, and after my most recent bloodwork results, she has told me I can discontinue my thyroid medication for now!!  This was the hope/plan all along.  With Graves disease, in pregnancy, usually by the second trimester, the body's need for thyroid hormone increases, so I don't need to be on medication.  She said that about 4-6 weeks after the baby is born that my thyroid could flare up, and I will probably need to back on medication then.  I am happy to have one less thing to worry about.  I will still go for monthly bloodwork, and my doctor will call/text me with results, but things have seemed pretty 'textbook' so far, and I don't see any reason to believe they won't continue to be.

After spending a week or so looking at paint swatches, I decided on a paint colour and decided to paint last weekend.  It wasn't too bad, but I was really tired after spending a few hours painting.  I did the second coat on Monday, and I have to say I like the colour.  I think it will look nice with the white crib and dresser that I ordered from Ikea the other day.  They should get here before Easter, and I am looking forward to assembling them and starting to get the baby's room put together.

Jason and I are planning a little road trip to Calgary for the weekend after Easter.  We decided it should be a good time to get away, before I am feeling too tired/etc and we hope to do some shopping and enjoy some good food and maybe check out some good coffee shops.  We had always shied away from downtown Calgary, but after tackling Vancouver and Seattle last summer, we are feeling pretty confident in our navigation skills and will venture down to see what we have been missing :)

The weekend after our trip to Calgary I am taking a continuing education course.  I need to get a certain number of credits every three years to maintain my membership in the massage therapist association, so I figured I had better take something this year, as I didn't do anything other than first aid last year, and once the baby comes I will probably not be wanting to take any courses for at least the rest of this year.  The course I am taking is a three day course and will get me about half of my required credits.  I hope that my energy reserves are still okay by that point.  I will be 26 weeks pregnant....hopefully I will make it through three days of course.

I am sure after three very busy weekends in a row, I will be really happy to do absolutely nothing the weekend after!  Then the weekend after that is May long weekend already!  Man, time is just flying by :)

Insomnia

I have NEVER had trouble sleeping.  There is the occasional night that my mind gets going and I can't fall asleep, but other than that, I typically sleep like a log.  I think even after Jay and I got married and I had to get used to not only sharing a bed with someone else, gettting used to Jay sitting up in bed and turning on the light to go pee.  That took a bit of time, but usually even if I woke up when he got up to pee, I would be back to sleep within a couple of minutes.

I got a call from my thyroid doc last week after going for bloodwork that my thyroid is starting to tend towards hyperthyroidism again.  At that point, when she called I was a little surprised, as I hadn't really noticed any symptoms.  However, since she called, I am definitely feeling more aware of symptoms.  One of which is insomnia.  I don't know if 'insomnia' is the right term.  I feel like I am sleeping most of the night, just not restful sleep.  There have been a couple of nights that I have been aware of tossing and waking up every hour or so.  There was one night that Jay even woke me up to ask me if I was okay because I was tossing and turning and groaning in my sleep.  The last couple of mornings I have woken up feeling tired.  This morning I felt like I had slept better, but Jay said he noticed me tossing when he was awake at night, and by 10am I was feeling ready for a nap.  I have also noticed that I have been hot/sweaty while giving massages and if I get hungry my hands get jittery. 

I know that there are far worse/serious things that could be wrong with me, but this is definitely frustrating.  It seems like my body will go through about a 7-8 month cycle.  In January of 2012 my thyroid went hyper after lowering my dose the previous summer to see if I could possibly be weaned off my medication.  So we upped the medication, and by last August my thyroid had gone hypo.  So lower the dose, and now, in Feb/Mar my thyroid is hyper again so up the dose.  I hope that because we caught this early, and my symptoms seem to be fairly minimal that it will not take my body long to regulate back to a normal range.  I do not look forward to the hypothyroidism that seems inevitable that will likely hit in late summer/early fall because my hair is finally long and I don't want to lose a bunch of hair.  Ugh!  Hopefully if I go for regular blood work each month we will be able to adjust the doses as soon as something seems a little bit off.

My Not So Gluten Free Weekend

I started to do some research last week about how long a person should do an elimination diet before you notice a change.  Everything I have read said that six weeks should be more than enough time to see a change if you are going to.  Today would have been six weeks gluten free.

I have been asked by a number of people over the last six weeks if I have noticed a change in how I feel.  Each time I thought about it, and tried my best to find something that was different, I couldn't.  I felt pretty much exactly the same.  My energy levels were the same, my digestion felt about the same, my thyroid didn't seem to be making leaps and bounds in the right direction (though I did get a call after my last blood work a couple of weeks ago that my levels are back in the normal range, so I am to keep on the same dose of medication and do blood work again in a month).  I really think that has more to do with the medication than the diet. 

In my research I also found that once you have cut something out of your diet for a period of time, that you can 'test the waters' so to speak by eating some of the product and see how your body reacts to it.  I decided to test this out this weekend, mainly because we were invited to the Samurai for supper for a friend's birthday on Saturday.  I figured at a place like that where they are bound to use soy sauce and other gluten filled sauces to cook everyone's food on the same grill, right in front of you, that there was bound to be gluten at least in the form of cross contamination.  I decided to take my chances.  I made that decision on Friday, and Friday afternoon, one of my clients just happened to bring me a decadent cupcake from Crave in Saskatoon.  I figured since I would be testing things out on Saturday at the Samurai that I might as well eat the delicious looking cupcake that my client so kindly brought me for dessert on Friday evening.

I ate the cupcake and felt rather nauseated afterward.  However, I chalked that up to the ridiculous quantity of icing on top of the cupcake.  I ended up feeling kind of crampy and uncomfortable during the night but again kind of chalked that up to the richness of the cupcake.  After that passed I felt fine all day.  We had an AMAZING supper at the Samurai and again, I felt just fine.  I felt great on Sunday, so after church we decided to BBQ our last package of premade hamburger patties that we made in the spring (with soda crackers in them) and I had it on a wheat bun.  I still feel fine.  So I think after six weeks of gluten free eating, I am going to go back to eating gluten.  I just don't think that my body is benefiting from the gluten free lifestyle.  I am sure that it wouldn't hurt me, but it is definitely inconvenient.

As for the whole thyroid/autoimmune disease/etc.  I don't know.  I have another appointment with my thyroid doctor next week, so maybe I will ask her what she knows about gluten free diets in regards to autoimmune diseases.  I do not count this as a failure, I just wanted to give it an honest try, and I feel like I did.

I don't get it

The more I think about my thyroid, the more confused I get about modern medicine's approach to treating it.  I am certainly not the type of person who blindly trusts everything my doctor has to tell me, just because they are a doctor.  I respect their opinions because they do have a lot more knowledge and training than I do.  I do, however, know that there are places that our medical system fails its patients.

When I take the time to think about the typical treatment protocol for Graves Disease (that is what I was diagnosed with three years ago), which is an autoimmune thyroid disease, typically a doctor will prescribe antithyroid medication.  In hyperthyroidism caused by Graves Disease, the immune system starts producing antibodies that stimulate the thyroid to produce too much thyroid hormone which leads to the hyperthyroid symptoms.  The antithyroid medication will block the thyroid's ability to create thyroid hormones, which will, over time decrease or eliminate the hyperthyroid symptoms.

In my experience, and from what I have read, usually they will use antithyroid medication for a few years and sometimes it will put the thyroid into 'remission' and you will get back to normal.  If this does not happen, or if the medication is not effective, doctors will usually recommend a treatment of radioactive iodine.  This will basically kill off part of the thyroid so you do not overproduce thyroid hormones anymore.  However, in most cases, and everyone I have talked to that has had it done, radioactive iodine will kill off too much of the thyroid and you will become permanently hypothyroid.  This is what I don't understand.  Why is it better to kill off a portion of the thyroid, leaving a person hypothyroid, than to either keep treating with medication, or try to determine what is causing the autoimmune reaction and try to eliminate that factor?

I realize that no one knows for sure what causes the autoimmune reaction.  I am sure there are genetic factors, but this is why I am going to try going to gluten free.  I have read a few online articles, such as this one or this one, that better explains the reason there could be a connection between autoimmune thyroid disease and gluten sensitivity.  I am hoping to avoid more extreme measures to get my thyroid and the rest of me healthy again.

Gluten Free

I am going to start my gluten free diet on Monday.  I am a little nervous.  It doesn't feel so bad right now, but when I get a craving for something big and bread-like, I guess we will see how I manage.  I have always had a terrible time with will power when it comes to food, but I think there comes a time when you need to decide what is important. 

My plan at this point is to give this a try for a few months and then reevaluate how I am feeling.  I am sure in that time I will go for some blood work to keep an eye on my thyroid hormone levels.  I will talk with my doctor about this lifestyle change next time I see her, but since I still plan to keep taking my medication I don't see any reason to talk to a doctor before I start this diet.

I think that my biggest anxieties lay with not really being able to eat out.  Or being very selective about what I can eat when we do eat out.  We enjoy eating out.  I know that in the scheme of things, this is a pretty small thing to be worried about, but it's up there.  I also worry about traveling.  If this is something that works for me, this will be a forever thing, and I do expect that we will go on holidays at some point.  I guess in time I will become familiar with what I can and can't eat, or what I should avoid if I am uncertain about it.  I will also need to learn to plan ahead.  If I am eating away from home, I may need to bring some food along.

I have been reading a lot of websites, and searching specific foods and ingredients, and honestly, there are a lot of things that don't have gluten in them.  I just have to be careful of anything that is processed/prepackaged/etc.  Some things that I thought for sure would be off limits are okay.  The more I read about this, the more manageable it seems.  However, this is coming before I have officially started.  This is coming from someone who has never been on a restrictive diet before.  Well, I suppose I did go dairy free for a time in the past, but it wasn't hard to do when each time I ate dairy I ended up with diarrhea.  I don't know if gluten is what is making my immune system attack my thyroid, but I feel like it is a small price to pay if it will help me feel well again.

I am really thankful for my supportive hubby during this time.  I know that he was initially apprehensive about this change.  I am sure he still is somewhat.  But he did tell me today that he is excited for a new challenge.  He is not going to eat gluten free, but he will support me.  We have even talked of starting a gluten free food blog.  We had toyed with a food blog for a while, but now figured that a gluten free food blog might be a bit more a niche (though I know there are lots of them, just not as many as there are regular food blogs).

The Thyroid Saga Continues

About a month or so ago I started to notice that I was losing more hair than usual.  I started to wonder if maybe my thyroid had gone hypo again.  That's the only time I noticed hair loss, was when it was low a couple of years ago.  I decided to give it a couple of weeks then go for blood work.  I figured if something was wrong, my doctor would call, which she usually does and adjust my medication.  I didn't hear from her for a couple of weeks so assumed that maybe it was just my imagination and since I had an appointment scheduled with her for the beginning of August that I would ask her about the hair loss then.  She actually did call me a couple of days ago (I am assuming that maybe she was away on holidays in July) and ended up leaving a message that said I should call her because my medication needed adjusting, but because I was due to see her today, I just decided rather than playing phone tag that I would just wait to see her.

Sure enough, my thyroid has gone hypo or low.  Not by much, but enough to make my hair want to jump off of my head apparently.  The plan is to cut my medication back by half, and for me to go for blood work again in a month.  We will keep a close eye on it this time, so it does not end up hyper again, like it did when she cut the medication back last summer. 

I made a comment on Facebook about my thyroid woes and received a comment from one of my friends who also has thyroid problems.  She said she has done a fair bit of research and has found that for her it has been very beneficial to start a gluten free diet.  I have read a few websites today and it really does seem to make sense.  Most thyroid disease is caused by an autoimmune attack on the thyroid.  What I am reading is that a good number of people with autoimmune thyroid disease also have gluten sensitivity or intolerance which can cause autoimmune problems in the body.  So by treating the cause of the autoimmune reaction you can reduce the severity of the body's reaction toward your thyroid.

I know most people hear gluten free diet and think "Oh my goodness, I could never do that!"  I think that if I do decide to try that route, it will certainly be challenging.  I think there are foods that I will miss.  However, there is no food that tastes better than being healthy feels.    

What hyperthyroidism feels like

I got a call from my internal medicine doctor this morning, and as I suspected, my thyroid has gone wacky again.  I guess my thyroid doesn't like being on less medication, but it took about 5-6 months to realize it.  When she called this morning I was so glad to hear from her, when she asked how I was doing, I said I am doing great.  She said, are you sure?  I have your blood test results here and I would think you aren't.  I told her that I wasn't feeling too spectacular, but I was glad to be hearing from her. 

I was thinking about how to describe how the symptoms feel.  I think the best way to describe some of the most annoying symptoms is to say it feels like I just ran up a flight of stairs, constantly.  My heart is beating around 100-120bpm, and as I said the other day, I think the average resting heart rate for an adult is 60-90bpm.  I feel slightly out of breath.  I only seem to notice that when I am giving a massage and trying to talk to a client at the same time.  I also have been getting overheated when giving a massage.  So I am massaging, my heart is racing, I am sweating and finding it hard to speak a sentence without having to stop to take a breath in the middle.  On top of that my hands feel jittery, and I wonder if my clients can feel it?  What I read is that having hyperthyroidism is like having adrenaline running through your system.  And I would tend to agree.  I also find it a little hard to focus my thoughts right now.  I have to say that I don't think I have lost a bunch of weight like I did last time, but I think normally I might have gained a little over the Christmas season, and I didn't.  I also haven't been ravenously hungry all the time like I was last time.  I have had a headache off and on for the last week or two and I am wondering if that isn't connected to the heart rate issue. 

I am sure there are a lot of people who have much worse illnesses, and I am thankful that this is so treatable with medication.  I suppose we have learned our lesson that Angie's thyroid doesn't like less medication.  Even though I am on a pretty small dose, it keeps my thyroid happy, and having a happy thyroid makes me happy.  I just hope taking more medication will get it whipped into shape quickly.  

Thyroid....sigh

Last summer when I started seeing a different thyroid specialist she figured that I should be able to start weaning off of my thyroid medication.  I have cut the daily dose by half since August and just in the last couple of weeks I thought I might be starting to have hyperthyroid symptoms again.  *sigh*  I have had times in the past when I thought I was having symptoms, but now I am almost certain. 

My plan is to go for blood work today and if I don't get a call from one of my doctors in the next couple of days I may call my thyroid doctor and see if I can get in to see her.  I am sitting here at the computer and it feels like my heart is racing.  A little while ago I checked my resting heart rate and it was 102.  According to the internet, normal resting heart rate for an adult is 60-90bpm.  I remember when I first was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and I was waiting to see Dr. Sharma for the first time and they took my heart rate at the hospital and it was 124bpm, which is crazy!  I have noticed a few other symptoms, and I would like to keep this under control.  I guess I may need to be on medication for the rest of my life :P

All Quiet on the Angie Front

Sorry it has been so quiet around here lately.  I just don't feel like I have much that is worth saying.  I am anxiously awaiting news from my coworker about the birth of her baby.  She was due on Sunday and is very impatient and uncomfortable waiting for the little guy to make his appearance.  It's been a while since a friend has had a baby, so it's sort of fun waiting to hear news of the little one.  I am also anxious to give her the baby blanket.

It has been crazy busy at work the last two weeks.  I am not sure what it is....I think part of it is because Mieka is off on mat leave, so we are covering her regular clients.  But really, I think this week I will maybe treat three of her clients, and in total, I will treat 18 clients if they all show up and no more get booked (though I think I only have one more opening on Friday afternoon for a half hour massage).  I am happy to earn some extra money.  I would say my body seems to be holding up okay, though I really do feel like I could use a massage myself.  I am thankful that so far I only have one regular client of Mieka's that I find is quite physically challenging.  He likes a lot of pressure, but doesn't like to have elbows used on him.  So by the time I am done treating him, my fingers and thumbs are pretty fatigued and sometimes a little sore.

After seeing my thyroid doctor in July and being told to cut back the doseage of my medication, after a couple of weeks (while we were on holidays) I started to feel some symptoms that I was sure were thyroid related.  I didn't want to feel crappy on holidays, so I upped the dose to my previous amount and stayed on that for another week or two.  I then decided that I needed to give it another try.  So about two weeks ago I decided to try again.  I am pretty sure that I am having symptoms.  Nothing too crazy, but I would say that I feel quite hungry and when I get hungry I feel like I need to eat NOW.  I feel like I have been sweating more than usual at work.  I feel fatigued most of the time, not severely, but just never feel really well rested.  I think that frequent urination must be a thyroid symptom, because that seems to be the case.  Occasionally I feel a bit jittery, again nothing too serious, but it just takes me back to how I felt before I was diagnosed with Graves disease and I don't like it.  I decided that I would try to suck it up for another week or two then go for bloodwork and I would hope by then if my hormone levels are abnormal that I would get a call from the doctor and get further instruction.  I go back to see the thyroid doc for a follow up in October, but I don't want things to get too out of whack.  I also think that my goiter might be a bit bigger....but maybe that's just my imagination.