March 22, 2013 - First Endo Appt and Ultrasound of the year!

Been so busy I had to reschedule my normal January appointment to March, so I'm running a little bit behind this year. But....

So had good news on the cancer front! Ultrasound was good, the one node of interest was still unchanged from the last 3 ultrasounds and its last biopsy came back clean so as long as it stays as it is it's nothing to worry about. So, since that all came out well AND the thyroid-goblins are still in hiding I get to go another year without taking those beautiful blue radioactive pills and doing a radioactive iodine scan. Whoohoo!!!

My labs were so good I get to cut one of my other medication doses in half or if the situation is right, skip it altogether. Yea! That's one more step to getting down to only one medication, my thyroid in a bottle Synthroid, balancing my body back from cancer and a lifetime of undiagnosed Hashimoto's Disease. All in all, life is pretty damn good.

Because ALL my lab work was so good I don't have to go back until September, which is AWESOME!!!

Writing this post was kind of hard, I have a life long friend  who was getting his biopsy results the same and and unfortunately didn't get similar good news. I've been on that bad news side and it sucks royally. But if the universe allows that could change for him at least I greatly hope so. ♥

Continued huge thank you to all the friends and family who are my rocks and my rolls!

Love you guys!!!

2013 - Welcome! - Moving into year 3

So far 2013 is looking pretty good. 

The second half of 2012 was kind of wild, extremely busy at work, the majority of our management team jumped ship all at the same time. Several of us stepped up to help pick up the slack, there were some days I wanted to blog but was just too exhausted to do so. But I thought about you guys!

Because of this "management opening" I applied for a new job, didn't get it because the two they gave it to had been HERE longer than the other two of us, but yet, we both had more experience in Medicaid as a whole, and the two of them have as many years with the state together as I do on my own but that is that. Their beds have been made and what is is. I will continue on rockin' it with my awesome self.

All in all, things are going well.  My TSH levels have remained steady through out the year. I am still on 224mg of Synthroid.  I have an ultrasound and an endo appt scheduled for January 30.  So I'll let you know how that goes.

Considering doing Ladies Rock Camp again this year. It's funny, a year ago I longed for a bass of my own. Today, I have three.  My two Lunas posted about previously, and Jeff gave me one of his basses, a Jaguar Jazz bass, in red. I had been looking to get the exact same bass in silver to be my "goofy" bass I was gonna put Hello Kitty on it and such, but since he'd bought a fretless, and had been playing it along with his Getty Lee Fender Jazz he didn't really need it so passed it on to me. Yea!  I'm seriously considering doing it again, but which bass to use. Boy, I'm a Libra, this could take a while.  LOL!!!

Other than that life is good. Sorta started back on South Beach again, kind of more of a "soft" start.  Not being OVERLY strict at this point but starting to cut stuff out. Details on that can be found over on the Beach Bum blog. 

That's it for now. Hope all is well with you and that you had an awesome holiday season and a happy new year! 

Rock on!!!

Dawn

July 2012 Endo Appt

Had an appointment with the endos office Monday.  Things are still rockin' along awesomely.  No thyroidgoblins to be found and TSH still holding at 0.3. My weight is 11 pounds down from my surgery weight. And while that might not seem like a big deal to me it is. Having no thyroid adds a new battle on the weightloss front, I only gained 10 pounds after my surgery before doing my treatment and starting my Synthroid and reaching a stable TSH level. To have lost that 10, plus an additional 10 is a good thing. Oh sure, I could go on a "diet" and loose a lot more even faster, but while rapid loss is great for the "I want to see it all now!" ones, I want to make changes that are permanent healthy changes for myself and my family. I'm not perfect, I know that, hello life long fat kid, and I'm not always going to make the best choices, sometimes life just needs chocolate ice cream. A scoop or two is one thing, half a gallon is another.

For the most part I've been feeling okay.  My back has been a little buggie, the SI joint or piriformis is acting up. All I know is at times, it's a pain in the buttocks! I have stretches and such from my chiro that help, and spending time on the SI wedge that I bought help a lot. I need to be better about my stretches. There is a little summer cold/bug going around, not to mention with all the rain we've had lately that the mold count has exploded, in the 16,000's the other day.  Jeff had the cold/bug last week and I started with it over the weekend.  I think it's starting to move out because as I've been writing this both my ears have popped and stuff seems to be clearing out.

Life on the home front is good, busy, but good.  I got one of the two kitchen garden boxes that my late husband built me back into working order, planted way too many tomatoes in it, with some herbs and a pepper plant. Between the deer eating the plants, the normal Texas heat, and the mother loving, stupid squirrels STEALING my heirloom tomatoes...muttermutter...it's been great having fresh tomatoes and herbs, for what I've been able to get.

My brother is getting married to his long time girlfriend.  Yea! Wedding is set for March 16, 2013. I"m a bridesmaid and I even like the dress.  Already have it ordered too.  Jeff is a groomsman. This I can't wait for, I've never seen him in a suit. We've been together for 5 years next month and I've never seen the man in a suit, let alone a tux. It could get dangerous.  LOL!!!  I'll be taking the pink out of my hair for the wedding. I decided it on my own, no one has said anything or asked me about it, it's out of respect for my brother and Tiffany.  Plus, I really need to have the sections redone professionally so I'll get that done after the wedding.

Jeff is working on a new music project.  I think it's going to be good for him, will defiantly push him to grow. I'm not really sure how you'd classify it, physco-surfer-rockabilly? I think it's going to be fun. Band practice makes for a long day, from the house to the studio it's 100 miles one way. The toll roads make it nice as there isn't much, if any, traffic on them. We don't mind the travel and I will do whatever we need to for the band. With the Humiliators he was always having to travel to South Austin and that's like 50-60 miles from the house.  We just rock on!

My new bass came in. I've named her Ruby, in honor of my granny, plus she's a beautiful red. She is as awesome and perfect as Lucky (my other bass) is. I know some may think that it is silly to have two basses, identical in every way except for their color.  All the guys said it was good to have a back up, and we learned that first hand one night when Jeff broke an E string on stage. We'd brought the 5-string bass but hadn't taken it in, luckily we'd parked right in front of the bar. I had to run out and grab the other bass.  Many things I learned that night, always take a back up, take your heels off before trying to run through a bar with a sloped floor(especially if you are wearing blinking heels, and yes I was), and never miss the bands opening number. I had gone to the bar across the street with two of the other band wives, being the newbie I was trying to be social, we could hear the sound check, but there was no lighten a fire under them and they were in no hurry, I learned when it's time to go, it's time to go, close out and go (if running a tab). If I have any control I will never miss an opening note again.

And to make things even sillier, I'm already considering a third bass.  LOL I know, I know! I love my Lunas. But I want a Fender too, so I've been considering a silver Fender. It's for...range of motion and fretting dexterity. (oh that sounded good LOL) I fear I have contracted GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) from my husband.  LOL  I think it's time to seriously consider building a music/photography studio.  LOL!!!

Jeff's brother came to visit for a few days at the end of June.  They are both HAMs and Justin came down to do Field Day with Jeff. I think they had a good time.

And on a sad note, we had to put our 15 year old lab to sleep. Licorice Whips was the last of the three pups that we kept from the litter our yellow lab had just 15 days after we moved to our property. We had only planned on keeping 1 pup from that litter, but ended up keeping three.  It was an extremely hard decision to make and to live with for a few weeks. I found myself being mad at my late husband. Mad at him for leaving me to have to make this decision. It wasn't like he had a choice in leaving, lung cancer didn't give him much choice, and it only took me seven years to get mad at him for it finally.  It's a normal widow experience they say we will all have at some point, I guess some sooner than others.  I wasn't alone in the decision, Jeff, and our vet, who delivered that litter by C-section that cold, wet, November night, were all there along with me. It's been just over a month and I still find myself going to the door to get her, or if I hear clicking or scraping on the floor going to help her stand up.  I know with time I will learn to live without her.

Okay, now that I've brought everyone down... time for goofy man-ness

"Tell me which is better? 1 or 2? How about 3 or 4?"  LOL!!!

Rock on!

Two Year Endo Appt & Ultrasound

Had my two year endo appointment and ultrasound.

The ultrasound came out good.  That same lymph node was still visible, but it had shrunk some, so since we biopsied it last year and it is remaining basically unchanged then it's just a lymph node doing what lymphs do.  

All my thyroid lab worked looked good, all right where it should be.  I asked about whether or not I have to do another yearly scan and he confirmed that not this year.  He said that they are starting to move away from doing yearly radioactive iodine scan in patients who have had clean scans.  Most likely will do one next year, but we will see when the time comes.  

So for now, just keep on keepin' on! 

I'm currently taking 112mcg Synthroid, 2 tabs in the morning.   This dosage is holding my TSH levels steadily at 0.3.

And life on the Rock front?  We spent some time with Leon out at the Leapin' Lizards Studio.  Keeping my fingers crossed that a new project will come Jeff's way.  After SXSW we've not really been out a lot, but we have been to a few shows.  The long await Skrew show at Hardtails in Georgetown ended just as I expected it.  I was born and raised in Georgetown, Hardtails is basically in my great aunt and uncles back yard.  I kid you know, where her kennels were is their side parking lot.  Half way (if even that far) through Skrew set the stage went dark and silent. Skrew is an industrial metal band, silent is not in their vocabulary.  The industrial metal crowd is not Hardtails normal clientele. We've been there a few times, and I have plenty of friends who are regulars there.  Some of the looks we got when we walked in you would have thought we were chewing on newborn babies or something.  The sound guy claimed he was told by management that it had to be shut down at a certain time.  If that's the case then the sound guy sucks as a time keeper, and allowed all the other bands to run over and take too long getting on and off the stage.  Shutting the headlining act down...not cool man.

I have a new bass coming.  Same brand and model as my current one but this one is in the merlot flame.  The style I had originally wanted. I found it for about a 1/3 or the original price so I couldn't pass it up.  The guys kept telling me I needed a back-up, so after watching it for 4 months, I got it.  Yea!  She should hopefully be here tomorrow.

The Team

Let's meet the team shall we...

The Patient

That would be me. Happy go lucky, born and bred Texas rock girl. Married to the sexiest bass player in the world. Looking to get through this and back to her badgirl self!

The Loving Husband

That would be Jeff. My big hearted Texas boy. A girl could not ask for a more loving, devoted, wonderful man. Looking to get through this and get his badgirl back!

The Surgeon/ENT

Kevin Kriesel, MD. Awesome dude. He was my dad's surgeon and will be mine too. He did a bang up job on Dad and has taken excellent care of him for many other thing over the past five plus years, not just his thyroidectomy. He takes his time and makes sure all your questions are answered and your concerns addressed. He went to the Univerisity of Texas Southwestern Medical School. I know a lot of folks from there and it's a-okay by me!

The Endocrinologist

Thomas Blevins, MD. Again, awesome. He is who my Gyno suggested back in the 90's when I was having a major bleeding disorder that was partly...probably mostly hormonally challenged. But being young...and invincible as Jeff would say, once we fixed the problem...problem fix! But when Dad had his thyroid removed and he was needing an endo he is the first and only one I wanted for my daddy. He has taken excellent care of my dad and so far me too. Can't do much better when you've got the top dog.

Appt with ENT/Surgeon

I relented and scheduled my appt with the ENT surgeon for March 1 . We discussed everything. All my concerns, all of Jeff's concerns, the difference between my dad and me and our cases. That they would be on top of meds from the get go. That unlike my dad I'm going into this feeling fine, unlike Dad who was in a lot of pain, not to mention a few years older than me.

Because Jeff has a couple of gigs booked already for March (March 10 & 23) and Andrea and Richie's wedding is the 20th, and I absolutely refuse to miss it, surgery is schedule for March 29, 2010 at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. My pre-op is on March 22. So for now we live our life and wait.

Ramblings

For as long as I can remember my mom has been hypo and then Dad had his removed. I've watched them and their progressions. I didn't want to be like them, of course they are 20 years older than me, but still! The nightmare that can follow a thyroidectomy scared me...still does. I researched every way possible to maybe get out of loosing my entire thyroid to no avail.

The Biopsy

So on January 26, I was set up for the biopsy. The week leading up to the biopsy was hell. My second husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of 2005. There were months of no answers, answers of "well it just looks weird in there" or no one can figure it out, it's changing so fast. I was finally able to get after a couple of months a simple nonsmall cell diagnosis. But the thought of dealing with cancer again, evening knowing the statistics for thyroid cancer, even having been through Dad's it still did not bring up good thought. I was a basket case. I'd cry at the drop of a hat, I'm sure I was moody as the day is long. Poor Jeff. He had to remind me several times that yes I've been here, I've done this cancer thing before, but he hasn't, he's a n00b I need to let him in on some of it...and to stay off of google. LOL

So biopsy day comes. Jeff goes with me. Just knowing he was there made it a bit calmer. The doc comes in, we talk about what's going to go down, we discuss the nodules. I express that my big concern is the little one that is heavily calcified (per google not a good thing). He agrees that probably need to take a sample of it even though it's size really does rule it out. So we get started. Let me tell you. I have had some procedures done in the office before. Had a lymph node lanced as a kid and that was fun. They can only really deaden the top layer, not really down where the thyroid is or the thyroid itself. So you can feel the needle moving. It's all ultrasound guided so he can see where he is going but still...it's weird. Not in a bad way though. Until he got to that little calcified bugger.

OMG, he had to work to get into it. Not only could I feel the pressure but it felt like he was having to grind away at it. Kind of like having to work your way through a layer of ice to get down to the water. And it hurt. Again, it's a necessary thing...suck it up and get through it. And because I'd agreed to do a research study I got double the number of samples. Yea me!

Afterwards I felt like a pin cushion. Went home, then we went out to dinner with Mom and Dad. The air seemed thick with the inevitable, but it was still a good time. The next morning I awoke with a fever. It wasn't high, I've had enough 104+ fevers in the past couple of years that my ears let me know real quick if it's high. So we obviously had upset something. I felt horrid calling in sick to work, especially unplanned. I know that puts a heavier call load on the others.

Later that might my phone rings, it's the endo. He'd gotten a call from the pathologist and the nodule on the left was suspect for papillary cancer. His recommendation is a thyroidectomy and remove the whole thing. The ENT surgeon he recommended was the one I already had. So we guess this is considered genetic now. Thanks Dad!

The Endo

So on January 5, I went to see the endo. He diagnosed me with Hashimoto's syndrome/disease. I think he said a "classic case." I'll buy that considering my round beach ball face. Based on the ultrasound the nodules didn't feel as large as what they measured them to be and that I probably having a case of thyroiditis when the ultrasound was done. He didn't think that there was much to worry about but thought it a good idea to go ahead and do another ultrasound to see where things were now that the gland wasn't so inflamed. His best tech just happened to have an opening in about 20 minutes. Sweet...I'll wait.

I'll swear that the ultrasound gel smelled like cherries. She slide around on my neck for a few minutes and that was it. There was no heavy handedness, no long time laid back in a funky position. Just a few minutes and it was done. Wait a few days and I get a phone call. The nodules have changed, one is actually larger than it was before and where there was one before now seems to be two...lovely. So he felt a biopsy was a good idea. If for no other reason than to rule the possible out.

So where to start?

I guess we start at the beginning.

I have always been an overweight person. From the time my feet hit the ground I was the fat kid. One of my most earliest memories is being in the doctors office and him saying "She's a perfectly healthy child. Except her weight." And so began 40 years of "diets." Could that be part of what has lead me to where I am...maybe...maybe not.

My thyroid history really I guess in a way begins with my grandmother. Growing up Granny had a massive goiter. When they finally removed it around 1980 it had grown up behind her ears and down into her chest. It was so large they had to go down to labor & delivery to get forceps to "deliver" it.

Then there's my dad. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in January 2004. He had his thyroid removed and has had three rounds of radioactive iodine (I-131). He's been cancer free every since. He does have one spot that continues to light up on scans but it's been in the same spot since the beginning and hasn't moved or changed so they figure it's scare tissue.

So, back to me. In July of 2009 I had a weight jump. Over the past few years that hadn't been an unusual thing. I ended up getting really high fever (105 to be exact) and ended up at the doctor, he found nothing. A week later still nothing. Saw another one of my docs in June, he didn't pick up anything with my thyroid. In July I saw my new family pract doc and I mentioned that my weight had jumped up again...she felt that my thyroid felt a little enlarged. So she sent me for an ultrasound.

The ultrasound was not pleasant. The girl dug around on my neck for what seemed like forever. Now mind you, I was in the process of being for herniated disks in my lower back so laying in that odd position for so long really started to take it's toll, but I sucked it up and hung on cause it couldn't be much longer....oh yeah, she still had to do the other side...UGH. My throat hurt for at least two weeks. A couple of days later my doctors office call to say that there was a nodule and wanted to do a referral to an ENT (ear, nose, and throat for those who may not know). Thanks to my dad's cancer I knew exactly who I wanted, so I asked them to change the referral to him and also send me a copy of the report. When the report showed up, it had not one but five nodules noted. Five. I'm sorry, but that is a BIG difference from one. I'm sure she didn't want to freak me out but hey, I'm a strong girl. If I can survive losing a husband to lung cancer at 35, I can handle hearing I have 5 nodules on my thyroid.