My asthma/allergy specialist likes me to come in 2-3 times a year. My asthma is mild so I'm not sure why I have to come in so often... I'm sure it just because it makes him money. In order for me to see him, I have to get a referral from my PCP (primary care physician). For the past year or so they've been giving the referral without making me come in to the office, but this time they said I'd have to come in since it's been such a long time.
My doctor left some time ago to practice in a different city so I have not been thrilled over the prospect of seeing a different doctor. In spite of the fact that he suggested depression medication when my thyroid test came back normal I liked him because he left me alone. My visits with him were basically, "How's it going? Fine? Okay, here's your referral, see you next year." And that was that.
I made an appointment and went in last Friday.
I do NOT like my new doctor and I am going to see if I can work up enough energy to find a new one.
I refuse to rehash every little annoying thing that came from her mouth. I will mention the two good things. 1) She agreed to do a full thyroid panel test, 2) she didn't say a word about my weight.
The standard thyroid test very often comes back normal and so it is sometimes a fight to get one's doctor to listen to them and do the full test. So that at least is a positive outcome for this visit.
I went in strictly to get my referral. I have been trying to work up the energy to get my thyroid checked at a different doctor's office, I guess also trying to come up with the money since my insurance probably wouldn't have covered it. But now the test will be done and my insurance will pay for it. Just a couple of weeks ago I was asking myself how long was I going to continue to live like this? With barely enough energy to get through each day. I do have energy sometimes - for 2 or sometimes 3 days in a row but it comes rarely. I used to experience it monthly, but now it is more like 3 months to 4 months before I get another energy burst.
I have mixed feelings, because I don't like taking medication. And I believe there are ways to naturally improve thyroid function but I am at such a low energy level that I can't do much. So I am hoping that my doctor will agree that I could use help with my thyroid. If she doesn't, at least I have the test results and can go to another doctor who might interpret the results differently.
I have also suspected that my adrenals are exhausted. Adrenal fatigue can make thyroid function worse.
I have slowly been reading this long article The Adrenal Glands. It is quite fascinating to me. One of the many paragraphs that drew my attention was "Adrenal Fatigue and Craving for Salt". I am known for my love of salt. Is it because my adrenals have always been fatigued?
I remember my life being one stressful situation after the other from the time I was five years old and my father abandoned us. My mother's life was very stressful starting at the age of four. Could my mother's adrenals have been exhausted during pregnancy?
Pregnancy is quite a stressor for many women. A common occurrence, however, is the woman who, upon reaching her third trimester of pregnancy, says that she all of a sudden “feels better than I have felt in years.” This is often the case when the first two trimesters were particularly difficult. The fetus’s adrenal glands mature to the point of being able to produce hormones at about the beginning of the third trimester. If the mother is in the exhaustion stage of the GAS, it is not uncommon for the baby’s adrenals to try to make enough adrenal hormones for both the baby and the mother. The mother feels great. The baby’s adrenals are really supporting the mother’s adrenals. But the baby’s adrenal glands are being stressed before it is even born! The results are doubly negative. The baby is born in a state of adrenal depletion and often exhibits symptoms of hypoadrenia. These symptoms may be varied, but two of the more common symptoms are allergies and recurrent infections. During chronic stress states, the thymus and other lymphatic structures atrophy, lowering the capabilities of the body’s immune mechanisms.
Likewise, with the support of the baby’s adrenals pulled out from under her, the mother is dropped back into a state of adrenal exhaustion. This accounts for the common occurrence of “post partum blues” or even psychosis. Quite frequently, both mother and child must be treated for hypoadrenia.
Look at what they say about the connection between asthma and hypoadrenia:
Any person who has abnormal lung function, especially asthma or bronchitis, should be checked for hypoadrenia. This is particularly true if the person’s symptoms are relieved by using an epinephrine inhaler. The muscles related to the lungs (deltoid, serratus anterior, etc.) are usually strong in these persons. Many lung problems are related more to the adrenals than to the lungs.And this bit about hypoglycemia:
Hypoglycemia, without proper snack and meal placement, also encourages overeating when food is available. The overeating causes rapid weight gain because the increased insulin is circulating in your blood, ready to usher that excess energy (glucose) from the extra food into your fat cells where it can be stored as fat. Even though you may not like its effects, this is an elegant compensatory mechanism that has helped us survive.
This is me right here. I know I have to keep myself fed properly but it is hard sometimes and I get tired of having to keep food at hand. The worst time for me is the trip home after work. I am so hungry and by the time I get home I'm ravenous. I don't feel like I'm being "encouraged" to overeat by my body, it feels more like possession. I feel possessed and it is difficult to control my hunger.
There are many more things in this article that caught my attention and resonated with my experience.
I have renewed my attempts to take better care of myself, here is what I've been doing:
- Taking my vitamins. A multi-vitamin, B50 Complex, Cod Liver Oil, Dessicated Liver tablets, Vitamin C.
- I've started taking my kefir again. I'm not pushing myself too hard, I'm only taking 1/4 cup each day.
- I've avoided coffee this entire week even though I've been sleepy during the day. I don't drink coffee regularly, but I do when I'm feeling sleepy as a "pick me up" but this article states that caffeine is very hard on our adrenals (which duh, I already know that). I can only tolerate about four ounces at a time because any more than that makes me very shaky.
- I've been going to bed early and trying to get more sleep. Usually I can only stay in bed 7 hours but I seem to be doing better. The last two days I've actually been able to sleep 8 hours. This means I need to get into bed at 6:30pm so I can get up at 3am.
- Three mornings ago, I began drinking 3 cups of room temperature water upon waking each morning with 1/2 teaspoon of Redmond's Real Salt mixed in. This is so interesting because normally if I'd drink that much water I'd be in the bathroom getting rid of it. But with the salt in there, it isn't affecting me that way - and it is very tasty, love the salt! I read about a Japanese "cure" on this site, search for the phrase "It is popular in Japan" which says to drink 4 cups of water upon wakening and it's supposed to heal several diseases, including diabetes and high blood pressure within 30 days. Well, I'm not sure if it can do that but I decided to try drinking water in the morning just to see how I'd feel. They don't say to drink salt, but the adrenal article says not to drink large amounts of water without salting it. The site with the Japanese "cure" looks a bit hokey, I must admit.
- I'm trying to avoid sugar and excessive carbohydrates.
- I'm trying to eat smaller portions. I bought some salad plates tonight to use as dinner plates. We'll see if that works to trick myself into eating less. :-)
I'm not sure when my test results will be back. I haven't heard anything yet. I guess it would be a good idea to check my home phone voice messages. Although I do think I gave them my cell phone number. Now that I think about it, I'm kind of dreading hearing that woman's voice again.
Until next time.
