I knew it was a long time since I last posted, but seeing the date on that last post… wow. It really has been a long time!
I wanted to write up a quick post (or not so quick) to explain my absence in a bit more length. I think it’s important to do so because, well, maybe one of you feels the way I felt and maybe I can help you. No, this will never turn into a “health” blog, ever. I just wanted to give a little background on what happened to me.
I had been feeling really lousy in September 2014. I went through a two-week period of nausea/vomiting and lethargy. Being that I am stubborn I did not seek medical attention and assumed it was some kind of flu/stomach bug/virus/etc. October was better, I was applying for some side jobs and second jobs (graphic design being my first). I was still very tired, though, and couldn’t even get up the energy to make everything anything I wanted to make or post more on the blog. Halloween was great, albeit quiet since Jay worked and I was still feeling meh.
By November, I was feeling tired ALL the time. That feeling progressed into feeling exhausted all the time. I was also getting hot flashes, or rather, I couldn’t tolerate the heat in the house or in stores. I was constantly lowering the heat and Jay would come home and freeze (it’s NY, in late November). I had just started a new job and tried to write everything off as holiday or new job stress. Around the middle of November, my legs started to feel weak. I couldn’t go up and down the stairs as fast as usual, they ached and my calf muscles felt tight. Almost as if I couldn’t stretch out fully. This, too, got worse. Add to that everyone telling me I was losing weight- which I didn’t see. My dad (ex-NYC EMS) told me I was a classic case of hyperthyroidism. This didn’t seem urgent to me, so again I just dealt with it.
When December rolled around, I was pretty much acting as if I was a 90-year old woman. Jay insisted I go to the doctor, but I had just switched and my new doctor couldn’t see me until February. So off to urgent care I went. And at urgent care, they gave me an EKG and wouldn’t touch me. They told me to go immediately to the hospital. My heart rate was 160.
And so to the hospital I went, unfortunately.
I was admitted on December 17th and kept for two days. I had an IV, was pumped full of fluids because I was dehydrated, magnesium because I was deficient, beta-blockers to lower my heart rate, and in total I had about 9 vials of blood taken. My left hand blew up twice its size from the IV in my arm. I was on two different heart monitors. When the tests came back, it was true: I was hyperthyroid.
The endrocrinologist came in to see me and told us that I was very close to having a thyroid storm. A thyroid storm is:
a rare but severe and potentially life-threatening complication of hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland). It is characterized by a high fever (often above 40°C/104°F), fast and often irregular heart beat, vomiting, diarrhea and agitation. Heart failure may occur, and myocardial infarction is encountered. Death may occur despite treatment.[1]Most episodes occur either in those with known hyperthyroidism whose treatment has been stopped or become ineffective, or in those with untreated mild hyperthyroidism who have developed an intercurrent illness (such as an infection).
Thyroid storm requires prompt treatment and hospitalization. Often, admission to the intensive care unit is needed.[3] Inorganic iodide (ideally potassium iodide and not Lugol’s iodine) and antithyroid drugs (methimazole or propylthiouracil) are used to reduce the release of thyroid hormone from the gland, and beta blockers to reduce the effect of circulating thyroid hormone on end organs. In high fever, temperature control is achieved with paracetamol/acetaminophen, and frequently fluid replacement, mechanical ventilation and corticosteroids. Any suspected underlying cause is also addressed.
Yeah.
So basically they explained that it was good that I came in (unwillingly). I could have went totally into this storm and died had I waited, and yes, they told me that a few months before a patient did come in in the middle of a thyroid storm and went into cardiac arrest. That put it into perspective for me. Also, as shitty as being in there was, they definitely helped to save me.
At any rate, after being sent home with Atenolol to control my crazy heart rate, I made an appointment to have radioactive iodine treatment. My thyroid was 4-5 times larger than it ought to be, and I had Graves’ disease (thankfully not with that weird eye bulging thing, though) and what felt like nodules, so they recommended this course of treatment. I looked into it and I decided that yes, I wanted this over with, and that no thyroid was better than the shitty one I had.
What happened to me is this: for a week prior, I was on a low-iodine diet. It sucks, yes. You can’t eat out at restaurants, you can’t have potato chips unless they’re unsalted, no more than 6 ounces of fresh meat per day, no iced tea unless it was homemade, nothing with red dye #3, no cheese (none!!!!) and no dairy at all, etc. and NO FISH! Ugh. Not even a shrimp. So on New Year’s Eve, all I could eat were salt free snacks and food made with non-iodized salt. Which wasn’t horrible, since that’s all I use for cooking anyway, but the snacks and processed food-checking was annoying. Not to mention the no cheese thing. NO CHEESE. It was like torture! Thank god champagne (and wine, and beer, and liquor…) was okay! Anyway, on Monday, January 5th, I went to Nuclear Medicine at North Shore LIJ Manhasset (which is where I was in admitted to back in December) and I got a pill with a very small dose of radioactive iodine. I went home, and went back the next day for scans. After the scans they explained to me that instead of absorbing the normal amount (around 32%) I absorbed 85%. That’s not unusual.
He said I definitely had Graves’ and that there were two courses of action. I immediately said I wanted the radioactive iodine and I wanted it immediately (the diet REALLY sucked). He called and made sure I could come in the next day, and I did. That day I had the final pill. The actual dose: 10 micro curies.
The diet basically makes the thyroid starved for iodine, so it absorbs all or most of the dose in the pill. And the radioactivity kills the thyroid, either making it hypoactive or killing part of it and making it function normally. Ta da! Magic.
For five days I had to isolate myself. I had to use my own utensils, my own dishes, my own glasses. Couldn’t drink out of a plastic bottle or can. my napkins/tissues/etc had to be torn into tiny pieces and flushed (by me). I had to flush the toilet three times. Wash my hands every hour. Shower twice a day. I slept alone for over 2 weeks. My clothes/laundry had to be bagged and kept separate. After that I could be with people but keep 6 feet away. But I had to sit on sheets and not make contact with the couch/chair/car, etc. Then after January 19th, I was finally allowed to go back to normal life. Today I can officially be in the company of pregnant women and babies! Too bad I don’t know any. So yeah, its back to normal. Except until I’m off the heart pill, I have to drink decaf. Meh.
So my first checkup is on February 4th, to see how the radioactive iodine worked. Once it’s straightened out, I should feel better. Which means I can get back to blogging! I’m hoping to do that sooner rather than later, and I’ve already began compiling awesome new recipes.
Thanks to everyone who wished me well and stuck around during this crappy time. I love my readers!
So glad that you are starting to feel better. Missed you ♥
I’m so happy to hear you’re on the road to recovery! Thanks for being transparent and sharing your story. Be well.
XO,
Ashley
Very scary! But glad you are starting to feel better! My mom has Graves Disease and she is constantly struggling with medication regimens to get her body acting normal. Her weight and appetite fluctuates drastically, she has a lot of fatigue, and she tends to sweat a lot (that has gotten a lot better with the meds). Oh and her eyes don’t bulge either, thank goodness! Keep fighting and getting better!!
Yikes! What an ordeal! So glad to hear you’re feeling better.
OMG, that sounds like an incredibly stressful & difficult experience! I’m glad you did go get diagnosed and treated. Take care of yourself!
Marilla, I am so glad you got treated! It sounds very scary and stressful. Best wishes for your good health.
Wow! You have been through hell! So glad to hear your on the mend and can’t wait til you are up and blogging again! ❤️
Hi M,
I have thyroid issues myself. I recently overheard a nurse talk about something called a thyroid storm and I was curious about what that was. Now because you told your story I know more about it and know what signs to watch out for. So thank you for that.
I’m sorry for your trouble and hate that you went through such a rough time. I’m so glad you’re doing better.
You have so many wonderful days to look forward to. Thank goodness those difficult days are behind you.
I’m a praying woman so I will keep you in my prayers regarding this.
Sincerely,
Pola
THANK YOU! Thank you all for the sweet comments, it makes me feel so good. Really.
Pola- be good to yourself & stay healthy ❤
Its such as you read my thoughts! You appear to understand a lot approximately this, such as you wrote the e-book in it
or something. I feel that you just can do with some p.c.
to power the message home a bit, but instead of that, that is excellent blog.
An excellent read. I will certainly be back.
continuously i used to read smaller posts that also clear their motive, and
that is also happening with this paragraph which I am
reading now.
Greate pieces. Keep posting such kind of information on your site.
Im really impressed by it.
Hello there, You have done a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to
my friends. I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this web site.
Hi, this weekend is nice designed for me,
as this time i am reading this enormous educational article here at my house.
Hey are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new
to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my
own. Do you require any html coding expertise to
make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I likewise believe thus, perfectly pent post!
First of all I would like to say great blog!
I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your mind prior to writing.
I have had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
I do take pleasure in writing but it just seems like the
first 10 to 15 minutes are lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any ideas or hints?
Appreciate it!
Wow, this post is nice, my younger sister is analyzing such
things, thus I am going to tell her.
I read this piece of writing fully on the topic of the resemblance of latest and earlier technologies, it’s remarkable article.
Wow, this post is nice, my sister is analyzing these things, so I am going to inform
her.
I have been exploring for a little bit for any
high quality articles or blog posts on this kind of space
. Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this web site.
Reading this information So i’m glad to show that I have a
very just right uncanny feeling I came upon just what I needed.
I most without a doubt will make sure to don?t put out of your mind this web site
and provides it a look regularly.
whoah this blog is magnificent i really like studying
your posts. Stay up the great work! You already know, lots of
people are searching around for this info, you can aid them greatly.
I’m pretty pleased to discover this site. I wanted to thank you for ones
time for this particularly wonderful read!!
I definitely liked every little bit of it and I
have you bookmarked to see new stuff in your web site.
With havin so much content do you ever run into any
problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of exclusive content I’ve
either written myself or outsourced but it seems a lot of it
is popping it up all over the web without my agreement. Do you know any solutions to help prevent content
from being ripped off? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
It’s actually a cool and useful piece of information. I am glad that you just shared this helpful information with
us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
Link exchange is nothing else however it is simply placing the other
person’s webpage link on your page at proper place and
other person will also do same in support of you.