#Thyroid wellness

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #685

Lampreys!

While some lampreys turn to a parasitic lifestyle as adults, drilling into the sides of bigger animals to feed on their flesh and blood, lamprey larvae, ammocoetes, are actually filter feeders! The lamprey larva life stage can last up to a decade, and they spend their time being half-buried in sandy substrate, consuming whatever tiny organic particles float to them. Ammocoetes' feeding rate is the slowest of any suspension-feeding animal, and due to this they require a habitat very rich in nutrients.

[ruthlesslistener]

as a trans guy with Fucked Up and Evil menstruation, testosterone was a magic bullet that solved all my problems. I hope it does the same for you! Wish ya luck!

Tysm! I'm hoping that once I'm on a higher dose that I'll experience the same, because I have- and this is no fucking joke- been bleeding almost every single day of 2023 so far. I'm no longer having debilitating periods along with nonstop bloodloss where I almost can't get out of bed because I'm so weak, disoriented, and in pain (hypothyroid medications have solved that), but then I just switched to bleeding at every day, with periods just being more bloodflow than usual, and my doctors have no idea why. Testosterone has further reduced the migraines, exhaustion, and muscle weakness with no side effects other than a little bit of nausea when I first started (opposite of estrogen, which made me so nauseous and sensitive i couldn't eat), but since I'm on such a low dose I don't think it can eliminate it entirely, so hopefully once I'm allowed to increase the dose it'll get this broken-ass organ to shut up entirely. Only reason why I'm not on a higher dose rn is because my hormone levels were all terribly out of whack when I started it, so they don't want to throw my body into shock lmao

[shitty-check-please-aus]

“your cholesterol looks wonderful” hell yeah I’m getting a good grade in bloodwork, something that is normal to want and possible to achieve

[boyobjectifier]

made two phone calls, one of which was successful and the other ended in needing a call back tomorrow to schedule an endocrinology appointment i’ve been trying to schedule for over a month and a half now :-)

but tbh i’m glad i got it over with bc i’ve been meaning to make these calls and keep forgetting until it’s the weekend lmfao

[taralen]

/pos 😏

I get the impulsive desire to dye my hair black, but I'm dealing with hair loss at the moment (likely due to my inability to keep food down and one of my meds), so I don't think that'd be a very smart idea. LOL

Also, my scalp felt like it was on fire when I applied an herbal serum earlier. Apparently, that's a sign of irritated hair follicles from stress, anxiety, or depression. Wow, I suffer from all three! GREAT!

I'm weaning off the medication that I highly suspect is contributing to the hair loss, but I'm also more manic without it... Which you know what? @#$% it. I would rather be loopy, hyper, and maniacally laughing at random $%^& than stress out over possibly going bald. LMFAO

Also, I started therapy. It's been a while since I've seen a therapist, but I got referred to a program that lets you choose the one you think will work with you rather than just assigning you to a random person. The guy seeing me thought I was amusing and hilarious, so hopefully, it goes well. AHAEAHAE

[yaoiconnoisseur]

it's looking like our 15 year old cat is reaching the final stage of her life.. she's not eating much anymore and she's just as skinny and lethargic as my dog was the month before she died a couple of years ago.

[thatscarletflycatcher]

On hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have made that suicide joke in front of my GP.

[sleepyfemme]

slightly frustrating doctor’s appointment today because my doctor seemed pretty set on not taking me seriously that something is wrong. she basically told me that i flagged pretty high on the depression questionnaire so maybe it’s just depression (when literally all the questions were like “do you feel lethargic and unmotivated and unfocused?” which are all also symptoms of being physically unwell) and didn’t seem to take it seriously when i told her that i’ve been depressed plenty of times in my life and i know that that’s not what i’m experiencing right now. she also tried to tell me that maybe i’m just stressed about my board exams (which…. i’m really not at all) and i’m just feeling frustrated because i’ve been feeling so awful lately and i had a lot of hope riding on this appointment

[luffylaws]

I am officially diagnosed with "needs to go back to therapy" and on sick leave for now thank fuck

[cloutchaserkineme]

fail, girl!

5:49 p.m. Friday, on a straw mat, with peel-off lipstick on

When we were in a journalism competition, a newspaper columnist came and held a small workshop for us small budding high school students. She was one of those old-Martial Law era types, the ones who got the grit and experience necessary to survive being a journalist here in the Philippines, a dragon with callused wings swanning into a place full of ickle baby lizards with fresh bits of slick membrane still clinging to our scaly lids.

She asked who among those of us competing for the copyreading category in the room wanted to become a journalist. I was the only one who tentatively raised a hand.

She was confused, and a bit disappointed that none of these little reptiles who managed to clear the first two rounds of the competitions wanted to pursue fact-checking and editing and newswriting in totality. I thought she was just reacting as an animal bred for her field- her life was words, and she couldn't fathom anyone else trying so hard to succeed in a field they weren't going to nurture and continue in any way.

At least, that's what I thought she thought then. Now I know she was probably just confused. No other deeper meaning to it.

Like I am right now. I have not been a law student in two to three weeks, just simply going to events and covering them and interviewing clients and transcribing quotes and attempting and failing to write the articles I need to write from them.

I feel impotent and stupid and just plain useless. Those kids who didn't raise their hands... they were smart. They were onto something. They knew that this wasn't a field to pursue if you wanted to be successful in the long term. These smart kids, achievers and top ten placers in their school with their latinate appellations a soft launch for their three-to-four letter profession markers in their certificates.

They were just there because the journalism competition held a lot of points in class and school rankings, not because asking people and getting answers and writing those down and spreading them out was fun and nice to do. They were smart, playing the game like that. I just played with whatever they gave me and never thought to do anything that required higher thinking skills with it.

They gave me a pencil, then a pen, pointed me to people and events and ideas- and I wrote. I didn't think anything beyond that.

Now I type, heavily and with such excess. I don't like what I type, and I think I hate typing...even writing this update is very tiring for me. I don't like it anymore. I don't like the updates getting from my bosses and coworkers, I don't like being jealous and envious of my coworkers having their ducks in their row and effortlessly slaying this industry I thought I was a good fit for. I don't like working for people who use money to do fucking shit in my place, I don't like platforming [type of company redacted for anonymity purposes] on our articles, and I fucking hate talking to people in a large crowd.

A few days ago I met a journalist who never asked questions (fully online desk reporter, though she worked in local print media like I did) and was more anxious than me and I felt a kinship with her and she was nice. Until I saw a friend of mine during the same event, and she congratulated me for getting into law school, and that my cousin from my father's side who failed the bar exam thrice but was married to an attorney he met in law school was surprised that I was still there and why I haven't quit the silly little news writing thing I was doing. And this journalist congratulated me for doing such a good job. I felt like a fraud, like I have inadvertently put her under the same illusion I somehow cast over everyone else- the spell of "oooh look at her she is a competent person who has her ducks in a row".

She has expectations of me that I don't know how to meet!

And I was stressed but I wasn't as stressed as my friends who were also working in offices with solid hours and good career prospects and great work-life-school balance and they had three midterm exams back-to-back.

You know what I did with those same hours? Nothing. Just daydreaming and sleeping thinking about fictional characters being loved and nothing else and I have put off so much. The gig I took, the articles I am three to four days late in passing, the fucking law school!

Killing myself isn't even going to cut it anymore, the phrase has been slicing over so many thoughts in my head for nine months now that the edge of it has dulled and it can't pierce through the brain fog right now.

I want to have my cake and eat it too, like the greedy Jupiter-Venus person that I am (but the Mercury-ruled detriment of both these planets is literally knowing that this isn't practical or realistic or rooted in explainable and measurable actions). So yeah... we go fucking on? I don't know. I don't have much faith in myself any more.

Do I learn how to say no? Or how to stop saying yes?

(30) 6:34 p.m.

[bloody-shadow666]

dear lord please grant me the patience to not call my doctors new nurse a fucking idiot to her face amen

[lith-myathar]

.

[dranchinkalia]

Dr. Anchin Kalia is a renowned specialist in chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, thyroid issues, and wellness management. With expertise in treating conditions such as asthma, arthritis, and more, Dr. Anchin Kalia is widely recognized as the best physician in Jaipur. If you're seeking top-tier medical care for chronic conditions, Dr. Anchin Kalia is the professional to trust.

[myhealingera]

Two weeks after this photo was taken, I received a phone call that nobody ever wants to receive.

I was dealing with a slew of health issues: an inability to lose weight, hair loss, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue so intense that getting out of bed felt like a miracle, and severe brain fog. My joints were in so much pain that I found myself using a heating pad for most of the day.

I consulted my aunt, who is a pediatrician, and she reviewed my recent blood work. She observed that my TSH levels were consistently borderline high, often surpassing the normal threshold. Encouraged by her insight, I visited my OBGYN and shared my symptoms. She ordered hormone testing and referred me to a rheumatologist, given that lupus runs in my family. The results indicated elevated TSH, DHEA, and C-reactive protein levels.

I then saw a remarkable rheumatologist who conducted over 120 tests. All came back normal except for my thyroid antibodies, and I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hands. Around this time, my neck began to swell, feeling as though something was stuck in my throat. My primary care physician scheduled an ultrasound, which revealed swelling in my neck and a lymph node, and identified a nodule or "ectopic" tissue.

Returning to my primary care doctor, I was told my lab results were normal and advised to follow up in a year, despite continuing to experience swollen lymph nodes and being told that the neck nodule was unrelated to the swelling. At this point had been to urgent care 3 times, completed 3 rounds of steroids, a z-pack, and tested negative for mono, Covid, and strep.

Despite my tendency to avoid conflict, something felt off, and I knew I wasn't okay.

I requested a referral to an endocrinologist, which I received, but they couldn't see me until after Christmas. Not wanting to wait, I found another endocrinologist who could see me on Halloween. At my first appointment, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and hypothyroidism. She ordered a biopsy "to be safe," emphasizing that a finding warrants investigation. Even at the hospital for my biopsy, the PA questioned its necessity given my primary care's advice to wait a year.

On 12/22, my endocrinologist informed me that the biopsy results were suspicious for thyroid carcinoma. I returned on 1/5 to discuss the findings.

They had sent my sample for Afirma testing, a genetic test for medullary thyroid cancer, due to the unusual results and the aggressive nature of the potential cancer.

I was then referred to an ENT, who suspected the nodule might actually be a lymph node. A CT scan confirmed this suspicion, revealing a lymph node suspicious for thyroid cancer, yet with no nodules on my thyroid itself.

The decision was made to remove the lymph node, with intraoperative pathology consultation to decide whether to also remove the thyroid.

On 2/24, the lymph node was removed, but pathology was indeterminate, leading to the decision not to remove the thyroid.

The following week, I was informed that my results had been sent to a larger university hospital for further analysis and a second opinion, an ominous sign according to my ENT.

Ultimately, it was confirmed as papillary thyroid cancer that had begun to metastasize to the lymph nodes, indicating occult thyroid cancer, typically undetected until it spreads to the lymph nodes. Likely, there are microcarcinomas on my thyroid undetectable by imaging. Thus, another surgery is required.

My complete thyroidectomy is scheduled for 4/24.

Honestly, none of this truly sank in until I received a call from the hospital's oncology department to schedule a radiation consultation for post-surgery RAI treatment.

It’s been an incredibly tough start to the year, to say the least.

[whentherewerebicycles]

wedding was wonderful but I’m very happy to be curled up in bed with the dogs now listening to the rain and finishing a novel. I give myself full permission to be a hermit all afternoon and then I think I’ll hang out and cook with my sister tonight. tomorrow I get bloodwork done in the morning and then will probably have a busy social day with liz + sam which is good as it’ll prevent me from being glued to my phone waiting for the results. at this point I don’t even know how to feel. I’ve read enough journal articles and forum posts to know that the odds are against me but that there is a small chance I’ll be one of the lucky ones whose body just follows a different course than your average pregnancy. I’m expecting to learn that I’m going to miscarry but obviously hoping against hope that I don’t… and also hoping, in a more clear-eyed realist sort of way, that if it has to happen it’s via miscarriage rather than an ectopic pregnancy, and that the process itself doesn’t take too long (so I can start again this summer instead of having to wait weeks or months). but ah well—I need to settle back into waiting mode, as I probably won’t get the test results back until tuesday morning and can’t change anything or make anything happen by obsessively googling in the meantime.

[ovaruling]

having chronic hypoglycemia this past week for the first time in about 4 years and i want to kms i hate this so much it’s like living in petrified fear all day long every day unable to do a single task bc even the slightest exertion tanks my blood sugar and then i have to be drinking apple juice and eating constantly and i feel ill from it like i cannot stand all this pure sugar it’s so gross it’s rotting my stomach and i have no energy i hate everything so much. my life has become nothing but waiting for the next blood sugar drop and i thought i was done w this years ago like wtf do you want, body!!!!! i give you so much food every day you are NOT in danger wtf!!!! please just stop this i’m so stressed i just want to cry but i CANT cuz it’ll prob tank my glucose lmfao!!!!!