More Than a Month

It's been a crazy time, as they say. My husband and I traveled to Texas for a couple of weeks this month, and I've been on a few (fruitless) interviews.

Physically I'm doing pretty great. My weight hasn't changed more than a pound or two, and I've, for the most part, maintained my exercise program. I'm still running, although at this point, I should probably have progressed more than I have, but I'm giving myself a break. The holidays, traveling, and day-to-day life tend to get in the way, and I've still managed to progress in my Couch to 5K program. I'm now running 8 intervals of 90 seconds with 60 seconds of walking, which sounds kind of lame, but I assure you, is HARD. By the end, I'm sweating and panting and praying for death, but it is a great feeling of accomplishment.

My doctor's appointment is at the end of next month, which is why (in part) I am looking for a new endocrinologist. When ever I call, they can't be bothered to call me back, once when I was looking for my path report (which was negative by the way). The office is incredibly disorganized, and I think that the doctor needs to limit the number of patients he takes on ... I made this appointment right after my surgery in October, and he wanted to see me in 8 weeks.

My last endocrinologist was a great doctor, but there was an incident. The nurse was out during my last appointment, so he took my blood sample. As he was preparing to take my blood, I noticed that he did not have gloves on. When I questioned him, he said, "I don't need gloves, I'm really careful." It kind of skeeved me out, and I haven't been back since.

To sum up, keeping the weight maintained, working out, eating better (I still cheat ... I'm eating chocolate covered almonds as we speak), and feeling pretty good.

Couch to 5K to Shin Splints

After having my surgery, I promised myself that I would get myself into shape, which for the most part I've done. I am maintaining my weight, eating better, and exercising regularly. The only thing to do now is to set new goals.

I'm going to be 40 next year, and have been saying for years that I'd like to be one of those hot-looking, healthy 40 year-old women that you see all over South Beach, jogging and walking their dogs. You know, the annoying ones. Years ago, I ran track, and have done one 5K race, but running never took. I would walk 4 miles, go hiking, rollerblading, take aerobics classes (God, I miss my 20's), but rarely ran.

Today I started the "Couch to 5K" plan. If I'm being honest, I started the week before the first week of the plan, since I couldn't complete the first day. What I was supposed to do was 5 minutes of walking, followed by 8 reps of 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking. I immediately pulled a muscle in my right shin, and couldn't start running again until I hit the second mile. The last mile, I did 3 or 4 reps, so I didn't give up, but this is obviously going to be tough for me. Despite my not-so-auspicious start, I am going to continue the plan, and maybe give myself a little extra time to get myself conditioned to the point where I can actually run 5K.

On January 24th, I am signing up for a 5K in Miami. I find that I do better when I've set short-term goals for myself, and I think it would be great, and not too far off the mark to be able to run 3 miles by January, if I stick with the program. I'll try to track my progress here week to week.

I'm feeling pretty good, with short bouts of bleh. What helps is the exercise, I think. Sometimes it takes all of my strength to motivate to workout, but once I'm in the gym, or on the track, I feel amazing, and my general demeanor is pretty great for the rest of the day.

I also am happy to report that my scar looks better every week. I have to admit that I'm not as great about putting Vitamin E on it 3 times a day as I should be, but I make sure to keep out of the sun, and it is slowly fading. By next year, maybe it will be a faded memory.

Medication Issues

Today I called my doctor to refil my prescription, and apparently there is a problem with my medication. The receptionist informed me that the generic medication that I've been taking for the past 25 days of so "isn't as good" as the Synthroid that I had been prescribed. I was told that the doctor insists on his patients taking the namebrand medication.

Yeah, that's great lady. I'm a firm believer in generics. I buy generic cereals, pastas, and pain relievers. I drink store brand milk, eat store brand baby spinach. I don't see the point in spending extra money because the company on the label did a kickass commercial.

I didn't request the generic, but the pharmacist switched it out, and I appreciate it. Money is tight. I haven't worked in almost a year, and my husband is leaving his job shortly. I realize that I probably only saved $5, but I find it hard to believe that the FDA approved a medication that wasn't as good as the original.

I worked out again today ... 45 minutes of walking at a brisk pace, which was tough to do considering it got up to 90 degrees today. Next time, I'll wait until the sun goes down.

Again, for me only

... but really, who's really reading this blog anyway?

Today:

20 minutes of really sad pilates. Although I will say this ... I really, really needed to stretch out. My hip keeps clicking, and yesterday I felt like I was working out hunched over (I have a slight issue with my sciatic nerve). It wasn't my best effort, but at least I did something. Tomorrow, back to the routine.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

My whole life, I've considered myself an insomniac, a trait I shared with my sister and two brothers. The four of us, when living at home, would stay up until 2 or 3 a.m., watching television, eating crap. All of my sibilings still suffer from insomnia. My youngest brother works for a hospital, and often works the overnight shift, simply because he's awake. My sister takes herbal supplements to help her get more sleep. My other brother sends many of his emails overnight, when most people are asleep.

I became aware of what sleep deprivation could do a person, not because of what I was going through, but because a friend suffering from post-back-surgery pain developed sleep deprivation psychosis. Friends and family received barely discernable emails and phone calls. Texts were sent at all hours, in all caps, accusatory and paranoid. He became manic, grandiose, and would tell friends that he had developed relationships with important people in the Boston area, none of which existed. When I would call him to check on him, he would accuse me of being "one of them," meaning that he felt his family and friends were trying to hurt him in some way. He was finally forced to seek help, and now is slowly recovering from his mental break. The medication he is currently taking makes him move a bit more slowly, but he is sleeping, even for 3 or 4 hours per night.

As I was diagnosed with hyper-thyroidism, I did research, and found that a lot of patients had suffered from insomnia. I thought that was interesting, but as I had been an insomniac for years, I didn't think that I would ever be a big sleeper. It drove my poor husband nuts, since he is a fairly light sleeper, and I would constantly wake him up, watching television until the wee hours of the morning.

Following my surgery, I was getting more sleep than usual, but I attribute that to recovering from general anesthesia, and my body needing extra sleep to recover. But since then, I have been sleeping. A lot. I have a hard time staying awake past 11 p.m., which I had to do last night, because I needed to wait until midnight to take my medication. I easily got eight hours of sleep, which I've been doing every night since my surgery.

Yet another benefit ...

Workout

This is more for me than anyone else:

30 minutes on the treadmill
15 minutes on the elliptical
weights
abs

... hungry.

Crazy Couple of Weeks

I'm just back from my whirlwind trip to Boston. I always complain about the weather, and yes, we did have a couple of crummy days, but October is my favorite month in New England. The leaves changing color, the smell of fall. It is really amazing.

I generally felt pretty good over that week. We stayed in hotels over four days of our trip, and I made sure to work out each day that we were there. Part of my choice to maintain an exercise regimen is to avoid weight gain, but part of it is to also keep my energy up. I have to say it worked: my husband remarked that I seemed like my old self, that I seemed pretty "up."

I've also been pretty careful about my overall eating habits. I won't say I'm dieting, but I'm definitely making sure that I eat breakfast every day, which started out as a struggle. I developed horrible eating habits over the years. I'm trying to avoid snacking between meals, and stop eating for the day with dinner. Yes, I had dessert when we ate dinner with friends and family, but no midnight popcorn, and no chips in the middle of the afternoon.

My scar seems to be healing pretty well, too. I'm still a little weird about it, and wear high-necked shirts to cover it, but I'm getting over it. I got some DermaBlend a couple of weeks ago, and I'm surprised how well it works, although it can look a little heavy. I'm trying to remember to put Vitamin E on it at least twice a day, but I have to admit, I'm a little lazy about it.

Now I have to get back into the swing of my workout routine, which starts back up tonight. The Biggest Loser always inspires me!

Waiting ... and Waiting ...

This has been a week of doctors appointments and lab visits. Monday, I had my follow-up appointment with the surgeon, which went well, except that I waited 90 minutes to see him. It was incredibly frustrating, but I kept looking at the woman across from me, holding on to her mammography images, and though shut up. You don't really have anywhere else you need to be, and she is waiting to see a surgeon about her mammogram.

While I waited, my endocrinologist called me back from Friday (more waiting) to give me my path results, which were all good, and gave me lab orders to be filled that day. I knew from experience that the lab would be packed, so I decided not to go until I could get an appointment, which wasn't until Wednesday (today). I met the surgeon, who told me that I could "rip that sucker" off my neck on Friday (by the way, his words, not mine), meaning the steri-strip. He told me that I was healing nicely, and sent me on my way.

This morning, I was feeling pretty ok. Every day, I get back a little more mobility in my neck, and am looking forward to getting rid of this nasty steri-strip on Friday. I took my 2 Oscal 500+ D tablets with my breakfast, and at 11, got my blood drawn for yet another test (I have a fairly large bruise on my right arm, where they inevitably poke me with the needle). While I was waiting (there's always a wait, isn't there?), I finished my book (Change of Heart, Jodi Piccoult ... love), read half my Allure magazine, and then following my appointment, headed to Borders to grab some books for our trip on Friday. I have been really good about taking my medications with meals, and eating meals at certain times of the day, so that I can make sure that my calcium doesn't interfere with my Synthroid (you can't take them within four hours of each other), and also to keep my weight at bay. Today, I was in a fog I guess, because I forgot to the eat the lunch bar that I brought with me, and left my Vitamin D-3 back at the house. I went straight to get my hair cut.

As I sat in the chair, I realized that I really wasn't feeling all that hot. At one point, the stylist noticed, and got me some water. I was sweating, and felt like I was in a fog. When I finally got out of there, I realized that I hadn't taken my Vitamin D-3, and that I didn't have it with me. I ate half my bar, and drove home.

When I got home I took my D-3. Here's when it gets tricky: I am an absolute hypochondriac, and am famous for developing psychosomatic symptoms. All. The. Time. In my 39 years, I have:

• Convinced myself that when I developed pnemonia at twelve that I was dying. In my defense, I was reading a lot of "Little House" books back then, and the characters in those books were constantly dying of pnemonia.
• Snuck out of a doctor's office at twenty-one, because I was afraid of needles.
• After talking with a friend on the phone about the symptoms of autism, convinced myself that I was at least borderline autistic.
• Talked myself into believing that I had early onset menopause.

Knowing this, I sometimes don't trust myself when I start developing any symptoms, since I'm sure that I'm developing them in my head. I also don't trust my memory, because I'm sure that I'm inserting things into my memory that just didn't happen. I started looking online for information about hypocalcemia, which is fairly common for thyroidectomy patients, and notice my hands are shaking slightly, my hands and feet are "pins and needles," my lip is numb, etc. I popped an Oscal for good measure, and kept reading, and the truth is, I'm still not sure if I imagined the whole thing, or if I actually was developing hypocalcemia. Right now I'm feeling slightly tired, and realize that after more reading, I did the right thing taking the D-3 and the Oscal, regardless. I have to call my doctor tomorrow to talk about some other questions, so I will ask him then, and I'm sure I'll have to go in for another blood draw (fun).

Regardless, I realize more and more that I really need to get on a schedule. I need to eat breakfast every day at 8:30 and take my Oscal, lunch at 1 and take my D-3, and dinner at 6, with my synthroid at 10 p.m. I need to sleep when I'm tired, I have to continue to workout (twice this week!), and do what I can to get myself better.

Motivation

Yesterday I mentioned that I am having a hard time motivating myself to workout. Not to say that before the surgery that I was a gym rat, but I did have a little bit of a routine going. A couple of days each week I would hit the workout room in our building to do the treadmill, weight work, and the elliptical machine. Another couple of days, I would briskly walk three miles. Not bad, and it kept my energy up and my weight at bay.

Now I am having a hard time motivating to work out at all. Let's face it ... my energy is nothing like it had been when I was hyperthyroid. I was a hummingbird, even on the medication that I was prescribed to slow me down. Now I could stay in bed all day if you let me. I am making myself work out today, because I feel that if I don't, I will never get my energy up. Kind of a catch-22.

This coming Friday, my husband and I are heading to the Boston area, where we both grew up. We have a wedding to attend on Saturday, and are flitting between friends and family all week. I'm worried about what this is going to mean for my well-being, since I won't have the same schedule that I have now, and this might affect my energy level. Plus, let's face it, the weather isn't ideal for working out outdoors, and sometimes the gray skies just ... get to me. I was home last year for two weeks, and found myself getting a little sad looking out the windows to grayer and grayer skies. Now that I am sans thyroid, I feel cold like I haven't in a long time ... let's face it, I was having near hot flashes for years ... so the idea of 50 degree weather when I'm already chilled wearing knee socks to bed in a 75 degree condo isn't necessarily appealing. I'm concerned about my eating habits taking a dive, simply because I'll be on vacation, and we all know that vacations are never good for maintaining good eating habits.

Having said all this, it's time to get motivated to workout, and put the excuses to rest. My goal today: 45 minutes of cardio.

Introduction

A little about me.

I'm a 39 year-old woman living in South Florida, and have recently undergone a thyroidectomy. I did a ton of research prior to my surgery about risks, possible recovery issues, etc., but have found that a lot of the information out there is antequated, about one specific issue (weight gain), or often written by patients from other counties (the U.K. for instance). While I do appreciate the information, it's not always pertinent, and I really thought that writing about my experiences would not only possibly help someone out there undergoing this surgery, but would also help me deal with the ups and downs that I've been feeling.

Right now, I feel pretty good. I have been out of the hospital for a week, and feel a little better every day. Not to say that I haven't had bad days. Yesterday was pretty horrible.

When you have a thyroidectomy, particularly if you were hyperthyroid to begin with, you are going to feel pretty listless, and your energy levels are definitely not what they used to be. I've been told that this is a temporary side effect, but this remains to be seen. Another side effect can be bouts of depression, which is a little scary, since my mother has had some issues with depression, and I'm a pretty upbeat person most of the time. Yesterday, I spent most of the day on the couch, and cried at the most ridiculous things. What I'm not sure about is this: is this a side effect of the surgery, and lack of natural hormone, an issue related to being close to a shut-in for a week, or both? My poor husband walked into a shitstorm yesterday of me sitting on the couch crying hysterically. Not fun.

Today I woke up feeling ok. I got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, went to the pool. Maybe it was the sun that I needed, or I was cried out, I just don't know. I just know that I'm not over this, and I'm guessing that it might happen again.

Another side effect that you'll hear a lot about is weight gain, again, particularly if you were hyperthyroid to begin with. I have to admit that I developed some pretty bad eating habits in my twenties, because I really could eat just about anything, and would never gain weight. When I was finally diagnosed at 32, I decided that I would ignore it... I mean, I was thin without trying! Ok, I had a swollen neck, and was always hot, but whatever! Yeah, not cool, but if I'm being honest, that's what I did.

Once I finally started medication last year, I started putting on weight because of my bad eating habits. I put up with this for a while until I noticed that I was getting a pot belly. I started exercizing, eating better (still not great), and slowly, got back down to a normal weight. At that point I was probably 5-10 pounds over my ideal weight, but felt ok about it. Then I lost my job.

Long story short, I yo-yo'd over the next six months. I'd go through a time when I worked out five days a week and ate well, and then I'd binge on coffee ice cream and Starbucks Frappuccinos.

Now I'm maintaining. I'm on Levothyroxine, which I take at night before I go to bed. Ultimately, this is saving me. I've always been a late night snacker, and Levothyroxine can only be taken on an empty stomach. So as soon as I'm done with my dinner, I'm done for the night. I'm also on calcium supplements that must be taken with all of my meals, so I'm eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, which helps (no skipping meals). The one thing that has taken a hit is my exercise regimen. I did get back to an abbreviated version of my routine a few days ago, but I was pretty weak, and a little dizzy. I'll continue to workout when it makes sense.

Finally, the scar. Right now I have a steri-strip on my neck, which is coming off on Monday. I honestly don't know what it will look like, but I'm planning on using vitamin E on the scar twice a day to see if I can get it to heal quickly. More on that after my appointment on Monday.