First update in years!!

It's been more than a couple years since I've posted. So much has happened since.

First, my oldest was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2016. She was 19 at the time of diagnosis. This diagnosis came two years after I kept bringing up symptoms to her doctor that I thought were thyroid related and they blew me off. Repeatedly. I finally asked her gynecologist to run a blood test. Guess what? Yup, thyroid disease. I took those results back to her doctor and she felt her thyroid, turned to me, and said, "Her thyroid is swollen. Do you see that?" Are you FREAKING kidding me? I was livid. An ultrasound and biopsy later, we had a papillary thyroid cancer diagnosis on top of thyroid disease. They removed her thyroid and treated her with RAI (radioactive iodine) to kill off any remaining thyroid cells remaining after surgery. She gets bloodwork done every six months (regular thyroid hormone level tests plus thyroglobulin to check for cancer reoccurrence). It can come back. There is no remission since thyroid cells can always grow (bringing the cancer with it, I guess). She'll have to have labs done for the rest of her life to check for cancer reoccurrence. Because of the RAI, she is also at higher risk for developing secondary cancers down the road and will take thyroid medication the rest of her life (the goal is TSH suppression to keep cancer away).

Learning your child has cancer? Hell.

Telling your child she has cancer? Hell.

Leaving her room when they were taking her to surgery? Hell.

Letting them put radioactive iodine into her body to kill off her current cancer, and hoping it wouldn't bring a secondary cancer down the road? Hell.

My youngest, who was ten at the time, was also diagnosed with thyroid disease at the same time as my daughter's cancer diagnosis. Her pediatrician tried to blow it all off but I insisted on testing. I was right to insist. She is also on thyroid medication the rest of her life.

Three weeks after my daughter finished her thyroid cancer treatment, my kids' school had a school shooting. Three of four of my kids were there. My middle daughter was a couple classroom doors down from where the shooter shot a student and was shooting into classrooms. The kids either broke through windows and jumped out or ran down halls and into fields as far as they could go to safety. The PTSD from that took a few months to get through for my girls. Loud noises were hard. If somebody slammed a door, the look of terror in their eyes was horrible because to them, it sounded like a gunshot. My son seemed like he handled it ok but he also developed chronic physical hives to heat (hot car, blushing, etc.) afterward so I'm not sure he handled it as well as he thought he was handling it.

Then! Oh yeah, there's a then! My youngest was in a school bus accident. She is in physical therapy twice a week as they try to fix the damage this inept bus driver caused. It's been four months and there's not a day that has gone by without pain. Not only did they not check students for injury, they moved them to another bus and went on with their route before the police even arrived at the accident scene!! You'd think our school was being run by a bunch of gomers. You'd be right.

The last few years? Hell.

My thyroid disease? I was doing great until I made the mistake of leaving the "good thyroid doctor" for a doctor closer to home because he agreed to keep the meds the same for that that the "good thyroid doctor" prescribed. Problem? He then retired. The latest doctor cut my thyroid medication down more than half! Talk about going hypo and hashi crazy since Fall. He managed to ruin nine years of feeling good in only a few months. Not only did I gain 25 pounds and become very exhausted, my thyroid or goiter or something is so inflamed that it is pressing on my vocal cords or something because I can barely talk. I haven't had a voice in several months. My husband says I sound like a squirrel. When I went to the doctor a few weeks ago to tell him and request my old dose back, he didn't believe me. He said it was "drainage". FOR MONTHS? I won't be going back to him.

I have since increased my thyroid med dose back to what it used to be on my own and my voice is starting to come back. Instead of sounding like a squirrel now, I sound more like a boy going through puberty with voice cracking but it's coming back.  I feel like I'm coming out of a fog. I can't get into a new, functional medicine doctor until May (meanwhile, I'm trying to get back into the "good thyroid doctor" but they're not taking more patients right now).

So, that's the not so short and not so sweet update. Despite everything, my kids are awesome kids. They're doing well in school and growing into great adults. My husband is always such a sweetheart.

Read more...

Book: Iodine Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It

I became interested in learning more about the importance of Iodine after corresponding with people who claimed that by taking Iodine daily, they had shrunk their thyroid nodules and goiter.  Since I have both, I was very interested in finding out more.

I read Dr. David Brownstein's Iodine Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It.  I actually bought the book when there wasn't a library in all of Ohio who could get it for me (seriously, they checked through their inter-library system).  I am glad I bought it because it is a book to have on hand to go back to.  I read it for the information on how Iodine helps the thyroid but it also talks about its role in breast cancer, prostate cancer, fatigue, detox, skin problems, and more. 

My new doctor was very familiar with the importance of Iodine and supports my taking Iodoral daily.  He did state he doesn't feel that it will shrink anything but does feel Iodine is important.

Read more...

Thyroid Biopsy Results Here

Yesterday, I finally received my thyroid biopsy results. The doctor has only had them since MAY 20TH. Nice of her to hang onto them so long while ignoring my phone calls and emails asking for the results.

Anyway, the results for cancer are negative so the cells they took from my thyroid were not cancerous. From what another doctor told me, biopsies aren't accurate because they only take a small amount of cells out of many, many cells so they could be missing it, but it is a relief anyway.

Read more...

Thyroid Ultrasound Results

I finally connected with the nurse at my doctor's to talk about my thyroid ultrasound results. I've always had multiple nodules on my thyroid that were cystic since developing thyroid disease eight years ago. However, the ultrasound showed that I have several solid nodules now (three to be exact). When I asked her if I should be worried about them being solid, she said, "Well, it's not normal that they're solid."

Alrighty then. I looked it up online and the risk of cancer increases a bit for solid nodules vs. cystic nodules.

She is going to schedule a biopsy at the hospital for me. Something to look forward to eh? It's a little creepy thinking about it.

If you'd like to read up on thyroid nodules, here is some interesting reading.

Read more...

Does a solid nodule indicate cancer?

What does "solid nodule" mean for a person with thyroid disease?

For years, I've had multiple nodules on my thyroid but they were more cystic. After an ultrasound last week, I still have the multiple nodules but now there is a solid nodule as well. What does this mean? Is it indicative of cancer?

My doctor didn't bother to call me. I signed onto the patient portal at her office and saw the results of my ultrasound about the solid nodule and that she was referring me for a biopsy of it. Why would a doctor post something like THIS, which she should imagine would be scary for the patient, without explaining it? She posted this on May 6th. She should have called me on May 6th or May 7th or May 8th! This is just another item on my list on why I am not happy with this doctor. I am going to be searching for a new doctor.

I've been doing a lot of research and I want my TSH levels down to 2 at the maximum. From what I've read online, TSH levels between 1-2 is when most people feel better. Since my TSH levels are so high, it explains why we had such a hard time conceiving our last child. High TSH levels seem to affect fertility.

Read more...

Weight & Thyroid & Cancer

People have the misconception that people who are overweight can't or won't control their eating. They probably imagine overweight people pigging out with more than the "normal" amount of food (damn do I really hate that word "normal" right now). For some, that may be true. For others, like me, I don't eat a lot. It's medical and that makes it worse for me because I feel helpless in being able to do anything about it. Especially when my own doctor won't use up-to-date recommendations so my thyroid is being treated correctly. I hear that is a problem with a lot of thyroid patients. Why won't doctors, and the labs they use, start using the newest recommendations for TSH? People shouldn't have to go years feeling like hell. If I was pigging out and making myself fat, then it'd be my own darn fault. I just want to find a doctor who I can trust. I wish more naturopaths took insurance because I think I'd have better luck getting a doctor who cared.

I was finally referred to an Endocrinologist last week. Then my ultrasound results came back and those say that I have multiple nodules (which I knew) but now there is a solid nodule as well. That worries me. When they were cystic, I didn't worry that much. I don't know what "solid" means though. My doctor didn't call to explain any of it. I had to log onto their system and see the ultrasound results and that they were referring me to a Radiologist type specialist for biopsy (I thought that was what I was going to the Endocrinologist for). So, I have no idea what is what right now. My doctor should have called to explain the findings to me instead of leaving a scary message like that on the patient portal without explanation.

Read more...