Sunday, May 24, 2009

Super Diabetes!

Tonight I was making a Blueberry Pineapple cobbler that is NOT diabetes friendly! HA! It's for the Memorial Day party we are attending tomorrow. Gabe helped me whip it up and as we were sprinkling the final 1/4 cup of sugar on the top he said, "Mom, if you ate this you'd get SUPER DIABETES!"

HA! I love this kid.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Follow Up... Thyroid Issues

I went to the endocrinologist and got a lot of blood work done. Like "holy cow I need a muffin or something after seeing that many tubes" amount of blood work done. The good news is.... my kidneys are perfect, my liver is perfect, I don't have lupus, my A1c is 6.8%. The bad news is my thyroid levels are low... which in a way is good news because now we know and we can start to fix it. My doc upped my Synthroid dosage. And said that'd be step one. If I don't feel better in 3 weeks he said to call him and we'd add a T3 hormone supplement.

I brought up the Armour idea and he wasn't thrilled with that. (I'm not sure if him being Jewish had anything to do with his dislike for a drug made from slaughtered pig thyroids? HAHA) So we'll go his way first and if that doesn't work, then I'll further pursue this idea. I really do like and trust my doctor so I'm okay with this decision for now.

So far, I don't notice much of a difference, but he said it would take a while for everything to adjust and kick in.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Blessed, but Depressed?



I live a blessed life. My childhood was amazing and I had a mom and dad who went to great lengths to ensure I had a "normal" childhood despite my diagnosis at age 7. I have an incredible family and amazing friends who I interact with daily. I am blessed to be able to stay home most of the time with my children. On the days that I DO work I get to get paid by doing things I LOVE most in this life, teaching music and planning and playing in worship services. Though we are not rich by any means, God has always provided everything we need and then some. Which is why I've tried to avoid writing this post for sooooo long. It made me feel guilty that I felt so yucky, despite the amazing life that I live. As soon as I considered that I may be struggling with depression, I figured if I couldn't "pray it away" then my faith was weak and I didn't trust God enough. So as terrifying as it is to write this post... here I go....

Several months ago I weighed in at one of my highest weights of 148, though still not bad... my little 5'3'' self was not comfortable and just felt out of shape and icky in this body, so I completed the P90x fitness program with my husband and now weigh in at 118. I'll admit, since I stopped working out, I've mentally been struggling more with lack of energy and fatigue... but because I am tired and fatigued, I have a hard time trying to work out! Vicious cycle!

I've had hypothyroidism since I was about 12. I've always woken up every morning and taken my Synthroid (levothyroxine .1 mg) like a good little girl and not paid much attention to anything else. To be honest, I didn't really even know what hypothyroidism meant until a few weeks ago when I noticed my sugars were very level for several days in a row on my Dexcom, and yet I still felt horrible and fatigued, like how I feel when my sugars are bouncing around. This is when I started "Googling" and seeing an ABUNDANCE of connection between thyroid disease and depression. I also started researching all the different options for thyroid treatment including several different prescriptions, what they are made from, the side effects of the meds, etc.

I've been trying to eat healthier, gave up Diet Coke (okay, I've cut back A LOT!!!) and have been filling my body with good things.... and yet I still feel FATIGUED and even SAD sometimes.

This is when I reached out to some of my friends, both online and real life. And overwhelmingly I was advised to be honest with my doctor and get some help. Because bottom line, this is probably a medical issue concerning some type of hormonal or chemical imbalance and we need to get to the root of what's causing it. I have days where I get so fed up with having to think about medical things that I just end up ignoring it. But I know that only ends up hurting me more in the long run. So off I go to my endo today at 1:30 pm to spill my guts to him and hope for some answers!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

My $30 shopping trip



Great week at Publix, CVS, and Walgreens for me. Here's what I got at the three stores, I saved 68% at Publix today using sales and coupons. I was extra excited about all the free Schick razors, sour cream, and all the cheap Smart Balance items! Also the V8 juices were only $1 each at Walgreens after the $2 off coupons. My husband will also be enjoying the sugary cereal which was .67 per box at CVS (after coupons and ECB's)


Also, don't forget on Wednesday you can get a FREE 8x10 picture enlargement on Walgreens.com with promo code MOTHER at check out.

On the diabetes front.... I have a cold and I feel like CRAP. I am really concerned about my hypothyroidism and am planning to call my endo on Monday to schedule an appointment to talk about the EXTREME fatigue I've recently started feeling. Something is wrong and I am going to push for further blood work and testing because I know this is not right....