In celebration of Good Friday...we all had doctor's appointments.
The babies had their nine month appointment. No shots! Best appointment ever! We got to see Dr. Cattaneo and love him! On a side note: he had on Sock 101 socks. Jeremy's new job is the sales manager for Sock 101. So funny. So, Jeremy is trying to sell him more socks now! Ha!
Max weighed 17lb 15 oz and it put him in the 21%. He has kind of leveled off which apparently is normal since he is pulling up, crawling, and cruising...and burning calories. His height is what I was excited about! He was in the 7% at 7 months. He is now 27.5 inches. This has him in 18%. Still not raising a basketball star, but I was glad that he wasn't too shrimpy. His head circumference was 18 inches which was 68%. He is a growing boy. We are going to have watch his gagging reflex closely in the next month when we check with the doctor again. Max has struggled with the more solid, chunkier foods. He gags at Stage 3 foods that have chunks. Also he sometimes chokes on puffs, veggies, MumMums, etc. Hopefully he does better in the next month because otherwise he will have to see a OP and a possible swallow test.
Harper weighed 19lb 4oz and she is in the 67%. Our chunky girl! Her heights was 27.25 inches, just a tad shy of Max, which was 11%. She fell off the curve a bit but he is not concerned here. Her head circumference was 17.75 inches, which was 83%. We were concerned about Harper's circulation. When she stands, her feet turn red and sometimes bluish. Of course, this didn't happen at the office today. But he checked her circulation and feels comfortable saying she is perfectly fine. Her legs are super plump (and adorable) so that could be reason why...nothing to worry about though.
They are just growing like crazy. I can't believe we set up their one year appointment today. The best 9 months of my life!
On the ME front...I also had my thyroid doctor's appointment today. My bloodwork came back normal. My TSH levels are in the normal range which is showing that the Synthroid dosage is right on. He said by me not feeling any different than before the Synthroid, it tells him that I am a healthy person. So, I guess that is good. I have only lost 3 pounds since my last visit with him. He would like to see me lose 20 pounds by my next visit in August. I would like to lose more like 45 pounds but I know it is not happening in that short amount of time. He doesn't suggest me doing any supplements or medicated weight loss options. Instead, I need to limit my calories to 1000 calories or less a day. Ugh! I know it is necessary but the thought of "dieting" makes me cringe. All of a sudden, I need a cake batter Blizzard from DQ...in a waffle cone.
-Lisa-
Showing posts with label hypothyroid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hypothyroid. Show all posts
Friday, April 18, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
Answers to my Big Neck, Large Thyroid, Wacky Hormone Problems
I had my BIG thyroid specialist doctor appointment last Friday. I wasn't nervous. I knew of the issues based on blood work and ultrasounds that my other doctor had already completed.
I wrote about my initial symptoms and thyroid issues in this post. To break it down: I have put on a TON of weight in a short time since babies, I am tired all the time, I am always cold, I have extremely dry skin, and I just don't feel like myself. Oh, and I have a GIANT neck!
Dr. Sokol is amazing! I have never had a doctor take that much time to really dig deep into my medical history. He spent an hour going over all of my past tests, charts, biopsies, ultrasounds, and listening to my stories. He explained everything as he went and made me feel extremely confident and comfortable with his expertise.
Yes, I have hypothyroidism. I will now be on Synthroid medicine the rest of my life. I will need it to regulate the thyroid gland. He made it clear that my thyroid glands were both so large he wasn't sure that the meds will actually shrink the size of them. But the meds will help with all of the other above mentioned symptoms. I already am starting to feel more like myself. I feel like I am in a better mood after only a week of taking the medication.
I do have to get another biopsy done this spring. My thyroid gland has grown 60% in 18 months so he is a "tiny bit" concerned about thyroid lymphoma. Of course, this sucks and is scary to think about. Dr. Sokol followed this statement up with that he is nearly certain this is not the case but wants to rule it out entirely.
One of our conversations involved Dr. Sokol mentioning that he wished I had seen him back when I was 21 and the goiter was first noticed. (I was never referred to a specialist since my TSH levels were always fine.) He said that I may have never had infertility issues and I definitely wouldn't be in the position that I am now.
Yes, it ticks me off that this entire 4 year infertility battle could've been avoided. However, I would NEVER in a million years wish it away. Jeremy and I would not have Max and Harper without those four years of struggle. It was meant to be. I wouldn't change it.
Now I just take my lovely, yellow pill every morning (FOR...EV...ER-imagine this in the voice from The Sandlot movie) and hope that my symptoms continue to improve. I am hoping they do. I am ready to be back!
-Lisa-
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
All About Mama
I have fond memories of my 5 week postpartum post. It was this post that I was only 20 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight. Ahhh...the memories!
Have you noticed there have been no more "anti-belly" posts since then? That was on purpose. Let me fill you in on "Mama" (Harper says that now by the way!).
I was cleared for exercise at my 6 week postpartum appointment. So, I started jogging/walking in the evenings when Jeremy would get home from work. I would do a 1-2 mile run on the weekends. I was trying to ease my way back into running after a 9 month break from it. It was going really well.
I was exercising and watching my portions. Man, I was going to be back to my size 6 jeans comfortably by Christmas! Ha! I went back to the doctor to get my Mirena placed. At the weigh-in...I had gained weight! What?! How was this possible? I was doing everything right.
October rolled around and I was back to work. Granted my workouts were shortened and eventually non-existent. I was exhausted. I attributed the fatigue to being a twin mommy with a full time job.
I started noticing that my pants I was able to wear in August, I couldn't fit in anymore. Thanksgiving break required a trip to get new work clothes to get me through until I could get more of this darn weight off.
In December, I was on the couch wrapping Christmas presents when Jeremy noticed that my neck was enlarged. If he notices something...it must be true! (I could cut off my hair and dye it purple and he may not notice!) I immediately felt my neck and knew my thyroid was much bigger than normal. It felt like a golf ball.
Why did I know it was my thyroid? You see, I have seen a thyroid doctor since I was 22. My OB at the time noticed I had an enlarged neck. I was sent to see the ENT. It was discovered that I have a goiter from Hashimoto's Syndrome. I have had biopsies done and no cancer. I have had bloodwork done and no hormone issues. I have known about these issues for years. I had to have my levels monitored during pregnancy and again, no issues.
When I felt the giant golf ball in my neck, I called my ENT to get an appointment. Luckily, he could see me the morning of Christmas Eve. I got new bloodwork drawn. I always have normal levels but not so lucky this time!
My doctor said that I clearly have hypothyroidism. This means my thyroid is under active. It isn't producing enough hormones to regulate my metabolism. Apparently, even the most normal functioning thyroid can be thrown into a tailspin after a pregnancy. So no surprise that my already jacked up thyroid is struggling.
-Lisa-
Have you noticed there have been no more "anti-belly" posts since then? That was on purpose. Let me fill you in on "Mama" (Harper says that now by the way!).
I was cleared for exercise at my 6 week postpartum appointment. So, I started jogging/walking in the evenings when Jeremy would get home from work. I would do a 1-2 mile run on the weekends. I was trying to ease my way back into running after a 9 month break from it. It was going really well.
I was exercising and watching my portions. Man, I was going to be back to my size 6 jeans comfortably by Christmas! Ha! I went back to the doctor to get my Mirena placed. At the weigh-in...I had gained weight! What?! How was this possible? I was doing everything right.
October rolled around and I was back to work. Granted my workouts were shortened and eventually non-existent. I was exhausted. I attributed the fatigue to being a twin mommy with a full time job.
I started noticing that my pants I was able to wear in August, I couldn't fit in anymore. Thanksgiving break required a trip to get new work clothes to get me through until I could get more of this darn weight off.
In December, I was on the couch wrapping Christmas presents when Jeremy noticed that my neck was enlarged. If he notices something...it must be true! (I could cut off my hair and dye it purple and he may not notice!) I immediately felt my neck and knew my thyroid was much bigger than normal. It felt like a golf ball.
Why did I know it was my thyroid? You see, I have seen a thyroid doctor since I was 22. My OB at the time noticed I had an enlarged neck. I was sent to see the ENT. It was discovered that I have a goiter from Hashimoto's Syndrome. I have had biopsies done and no cancer. I have had bloodwork done and no hormone issues. I have known about these issues for years. I had to have my levels monitored during pregnancy and again, no issues.
When I felt the giant golf ball in my neck, I called my ENT to get an appointment. Luckily, he could see me the morning of Christmas Eve. I got new bloodwork drawn. I always have normal levels but not so lucky this time!
My doctor said that I clearly have hypothyroidism. This means my thyroid is under active. It isn't producing enough hormones to regulate my metabolism. Apparently, even the most normal functioning thyroid can be thrown into a tailspin after a pregnancy. So no surprise that my already jacked up thyroid is struggling.
Here are some of the many symptoms of hypothyroidism. I pretty much have them all! I now have answers to these questions:
Why have I gained 45 pounds in 4 months? (Seriously, that's what I have gained!)
Why am I tired all the time? (The babies sleep for 10-11 hours so no blaming them.)
Why am I still losing hair by the handful? (Pregnancy hormones are done with.)
Why is my skin unable to be lotioned enough? (I go through gallons of Jergens.)
Why am I always so freaking cold? (I seriously could set our thermostat on 73 and still not be warm enough!)
I have felt so awful since really October. I haven't felt like myself. I am depressed that I am now a size 10!!! I am down on myself for not having the energy to do anything outside of being a walking zombie. I feel sad that I can't be the mother I want to be.
Where do I go from here? Well, I see a specialist next Friday (Happy Valentine's Day to me!). I am hoping that I will have more answers after that visit. I am expecting to be on medications and well monitored. I am also assuming that I will eventually have my thyroid removed, like my mother. I will take thyroid medicine the rest of my life if it means that I have a chance of feeling normal.
I haven't even felt well enough or confident enough to try and work out. I am hoping with the medicine that I will have the energy to get my body and mind back.
So, Mama is hopefully going to get her groove back soon. Then, I can start posting anti-belly posts again!
The twins' 7 month update coming next week, too! Lots of changes and accomplishments! Here is a sneak peek at Max & Harper!
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