Sunday Weigh In August 9, 2020

[Barb135]

Good morning.  How's it going this morning?  The sun is bright and it looks like it's going to be another hot day in the south.  

My week was pretty quiet... Florida is still having thousands of new COVID-19 cases/deaths every day (my county is in the hundreds of new cases/day), so we're still only going out for groceries and/or medical care, etc.  The big issue here is options for school starting.  It looks like this is something parents all over the country have to decide on.  I'm glad I don't have kids in school.   I'm even down to seeing my chiropractor on a 2-week basis now vs weekly, so I didn't even have that to go to this past week.  Good thing, too, since I haven't felt that great and don't feel a lot like going out.  

I got back blood work that I had done the week before and my thyroid levels are off even further than they were 6 weeks ago.  I did get a call from my endo's office and they said to continue the dosage I'm on - wow, how could they??  Of course, it's always a nurse that calls, not the doctor so you can't really argue with them or anything.  All I was able to do was tell her that I still have the same symptoms I've had, only worse, plus list a few more and ask her to relay my request for an increase in medication.  It didn't take her long to call back and tell me that he said no because he thinks my thyroid is under control (good ole' TSH...ughhhh) and my symptoms aren't thyroid related.  Amazing because he says he adheres to the American Thyroid Association guidelines and I took my list of symptoms directly from their patient information booklet... If he doesn't consider symptoms taken directly from ATA's handbook as thyroid related, I wonder what he would consider thyroid related or what might prompt him to cough up an increase in medication.

Anyway, I see my pcp tomorrow morning and he's also got a copy of my thyroid related blood work since he orders it, as well.  I'll see if he's willing to do anything and if he's not, there are 2 more doctors I can check out.  I was told that one of them actually does all the proper testing, prescribes all the possible thyroid hormones, etc. She'll be the first one I check out.

I did dig out some of my previous thyroid medications and start taking a little extra each day, since it's been difficult to stay awake during the day, or even get out of bed in the morning.  The extra helps a little bit, but I've increased the amount I'm taking very slowly as I don't want to raise any red flags with my pcp or for sure, he won't be willing to help me.

So - since I haven't been feeling very well, I haven't been doing a whole lot, which means I haven't done a lot of exercising, though I have been trying to reduce the amount of food I've been eating though I don't eat a large volume of food, as well as trying to eat less "easy to fix" things like sandwiches, etc.

I haven't weighed yet this morning, but as of yesterday, I was down approximately 3 lbs from last week.  I have some edema/fluid retention this morning, so I doubt that's going to be my weigh in weight.  At least, it's down instead of up, for once.  

So - that's my unexciting life... what about you?  I hope you had an awesome week and reached whatever goals you set for the week.  

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~

**Stay safe and wash your hands**

[AnnieBrooke]

I've been doing only a small amount of exercise (I think my mental health is taking a hit with the pandemic -- it shows up in my being less willing to even take a walk). So it was no surprise to weigh this morning and find I'm .4 of a pound up from last week.

We have had a warm week but not hot. Covid cases are lower here by far than in Florida, but now are going up slightly. My son's school district offered two choices -- all online for the whole year, or two days per week in the classroom and two days online, with interactive class meetings, etc. Anyway, they have now decided that even those kids doing the hybrid model will start school all online, no in-class instruction until at least November. They are worried people will die and have made it clear the district does not consider this an acceptable risk. It makes me wonder whether there was a lot of arguing behind the scenes to get to this decision, or if there was unanimity of opinion. The district in the past has given a lot of weight to the problems of less affluent families, the most likely to have to go to work while the kids stay home. They did manage to get all kids in the district a laptop and access to a hot spot, but that doesn't guarantee that kids left alone will be able to handle school being all online. It's not easy for my son and he's got me and his dad rooting him on and trying to keep him motivated. This virus stinks, and I won't say our country's management of it has been any better.

Well, I think it would be better to sign off than to go further into the problems of the pandemic. See you next week and good luck getting that new doctor, Barb. It sounds like your present one is a total idiot.

[Barb135]

I'm sorry to hear about your 0.4 lb increase but you've been doing well and maybe that's just fluid or something?

I know what you mean about the pandemic.  Our governor has said that schools must open this month and although some opted to do online/virtual classes, I heard the governor say, the other day, that those not opening the brick and mortars could lose funding...  

I suppose if I'm really honest, some of the way I feel could be related to the pandemic as well, though I don't really have any place to go or any specific things I "need" to do, etc.  It's just disheartening to realize we've gone through what we have and there are still no resolutions and things keep getting worse.  We have so many people refusing to wear masks because they think their rights are being taken away, that it limits some of us as to where we can go and what we can do.  

As for my doctor... I won't see the endo again, even though I've only seen him once... his reaction to my blood work is, basically, all I need to realize he's not going to work for me.  I will see my pcp in the morning and if he's willing to step up and give me an increase in med, I'll let him take over managing my thyroid again.  If not, I'll do further research on the doctors I was told about and see if one of them might be more in line with what I need.  I do hate the thought of giving up my pcp of 11 yrs, though so I'm hoping he'll come through for me.  

Have a good week.