Last night I woke up and my eye was pretty wonky. There were definitely some flashing lights. After the mini panic attack, I calmed myself down and just stared into the dark to see exactly what was happening. I got up to get some water and realized that everything was OK.
I am definitely seeing more bright spots in my vision that go away just about as fast as they come on. Yesterday my eye was pretty good. Didn't notice anything until late last night when I asked my husband if there were fireflies out (lightning bugs) and he told me no...lol So obviously I was seeing some spots last night too.
When I woke up today for the day, my eye was not good. It felt very heavy and there was this strange pressure on the left side of my head. Thankfully that discomfort has gone away for the most part and the vision seems better now. If I can make it through this week to my next eye appointment, I will be relieved. Right now I just feel like it could "go" at any moment and I'll have to call the emergency number on the doctor's card.
I asked my hormone doctor exactly what I would need to do if I needed surgery and I'll have to mega stress dose before and after any type of surgery. He said to take 50-60mg of HC an hour before the surgery and then another 50-60mg of HC afterward as well. Then I might have to taper down the next day or not. I need to be ready for whatever happens.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Second Opinion on my eye problems
Today I got my second opinion on my eye and it looks like the retina is thinning. There is a risk for a detached or tore vitreous and retina, so I have to go back in a week to see if it is progressing.
This is certainly not something I was looking to deal with, but that's life right?!
There is no correlation between my meds, pituitary tumors or my medical conditions that would be causing this. It is likely because I am very nearsighted which drastically increases your risk for it. My dad also had a torn retina about 10 years ago, so that puts me at higher risk too. Needless to say I am really scared. At least this new doctor is concerned about it and wants to keep checking it on a weekly basis for at least a few weeks to see what happens. Obviously if the flashes get worse or if more floaters show up, then I have to call him immediately!
I'll keep everyone posted on how this turns out.
Ninja edit---I found a picture of what I have here...If you scroll all the way down to where it says "3.) White Without Pressure" You can see what my retina looks like atm.
This is certainly not something I was looking to deal with, but that's life right?!
There is no correlation between my meds, pituitary tumors or my medical conditions that would be causing this. It is likely because I am very nearsighted which drastically increases your risk for it. My dad also had a torn retina about 10 years ago, so that puts me at higher risk too. Needless to say I am really scared. At least this new doctor is concerned about it and wants to keep checking it on a weekly basis for at least a few weeks to see what happens. Obviously if the flashes get worse or if more floaters show up, then I have to call him immediately!
I'll keep everyone posted on how this turns out.
Ninja edit---I found a picture of what I have here...If you scroll all the way down to where it says "3.) White Without Pressure" You can see what my retina looks like atm.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Eye Problems
Last week some time I noticed that the vision in my left eye got really bad overnight. It was really nice here so I was wearing my contacts rather than my glasses. I hate wearing the clip-on on my glasses.
Then a few days later, I noticed that my eye was not "feeling" right. It felt heavy, almost like it "needed to rest". It sounds really weird, but I felt like I needed to take my eye ball out and let it sleep for a while. I knew something wasn't right, but just shrugged it off.
Then 3 days ago I started to get a flash of light in the far peripheral vision of my eye. It wasn't all the time and I only really noticed it when it was dark out or if I was in a dark room. Needless to say that scared the shit out of me, so this whole entire holiday weekend I was anxiously waiting to call the eye doctor.
Today I finally saw the eye doctor and he kind of blew it off at first saying it was likely an optical migraine (because I'm so young). This was the first time in 15 years that the eye doctor dilated my eyes (because I'm so young). Gosh darnit, I am really sick of being young and getting treated like shit.
Anyway...When he dilated my pupils and began the exam, he said that my vitreous is "tugging" at the retina on my left eye. They use a bunch of mirrors and lights to look deep into the retinas and he said when he flashed the light in that area, it had a milky appearance which indicates tension. He said not to worry about it too much (uh-huh right), but he told me what to look out for/warning signs for a detached or torn retina. Technically I already have some of the symptoms, but he said if the lights get worse or if more floaters show up out of no where to call him immediately or get to the ER.../sigh
In addition to this, my prescription went up -0.50 in less than 6 month's time. Something is not right! That puts my left eye at -5.00. It is only -0.25 away from the right eye which has always been my "bad eye" ever since 4th grade. Consistently there was always -0.75 difference between the eyes.
Now as you can imagine, I'm totally freaked out! I've been needing to stress dose... My dad had a torn retina about 10 years ago and his vision has never been the same since. He has permanent floaters in his eye and he still to this day has flashing lights.
So I think I might go for a second opinion just to calm my nerves. Of all the things I'd never want to lose, that is my eye sight. LOL It's kind of important...just a little bit.
Then a few days later, I noticed that my eye was not "feeling" right. It felt heavy, almost like it "needed to rest". It sounds really weird, but I felt like I needed to take my eye ball out and let it sleep for a while. I knew something wasn't right, but just shrugged it off.
Then 3 days ago I started to get a flash of light in the far peripheral vision of my eye. It wasn't all the time and I only really noticed it when it was dark out or if I was in a dark room. Needless to say that scared the shit out of me, so this whole entire holiday weekend I was anxiously waiting to call the eye doctor.
Today I finally saw the eye doctor and he kind of blew it off at first saying it was likely an optical migraine (because I'm so young). This was the first time in 15 years that the eye doctor dilated my eyes (because I'm so young). Gosh darnit, I am really sick of being young and getting treated like shit.
Anyway...When he dilated my pupils and began the exam, he said that my vitreous is "tugging" at the retina on my left eye. They use a bunch of mirrors and lights to look deep into the retinas and he said when he flashed the light in that area, it had a milky appearance which indicates tension. He said not to worry about it too much (uh-huh right), but he told me what to look out for/warning signs for a detached or torn retina. Technically I already have some of the symptoms, but he said if the lights get worse or if more floaters show up out of no where to call him immediately or get to the ER.../sigh
In addition to this, my prescription went up -0.50 in less than 6 month's time. Something is not right! That puts my left eye at -5.00. It is only -0.25 away from the right eye which has always been my "bad eye" ever since 4th grade. Consistently there was always -0.75 difference between the eyes.
Now as you can imagine, I'm totally freaked out! I've been needing to stress dose... My dad had a torn retina about 10 years ago and his vision has never been the same since. He has permanent floaters in his eye and he still to this day has flashing lights.
So I think I might go for a second opinion just to calm my nerves. Of all the things I'd never want to lose, that is my eye sight. LOL It's kind of important...just a little bit.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Waiting on New Blood Results and More
It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy with some work related things.
I had some new blood work drawn on Monday, so I am waiting to hear back on those results. TSH, FT3,FT4, DHEA-S and my electrolytes were checked. I'm very curious to see what my thyroid is doing. I've been having that weird feeling in my throat again.
I managed to burn the sh*t out of my right arm on the oven. What I did was really stupid. I reached in without pulling the grill out and I bumped the top of my forearm on the metal tray on top. My skin made that scary *tsss* noise and I immediately freaked out. I had to stress dose after that little event! lol Now I'm trying to get this wound to heal, but it's going to take a long time. Probably a few weeks and up to a few months until it's back to normal. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow--(it's too late right now).
The HC and florinef have been going really well. I went back down to 27.5mg of HC and 3/4 tab or florinef daily which is my sweet spot at the moment. The weather has been pretty hot and humid and I can say without a doubt that these meds are helping me. My heart rate isn't going into the 150's simply from standing up. My blood pressure isn't dropping into the 70's/50's simply from standing up. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to go outside and play with my dog and weed the flower garden without literally almost dying from it.
The one complaint I do have is the fluid retention in my feet at night. I need to talk to the doctor about this because it's pretty bad some days. My feet and hands are swelling REALLY bad, but I don't think I can back off either the HC or florinef. If anything, I think I need to raise the florinef another 1/4 tab, but I'm waiting to see what the electrolytes say!
That's all for now.
I had some new blood work drawn on Monday, so I am waiting to hear back on those results. TSH, FT3,FT4, DHEA-S and my electrolytes were checked. I'm very curious to see what my thyroid is doing. I've been having that weird feeling in my throat again.
I managed to burn the sh*t out of my right arm on the oven. What I did was really stupid. I reached in without pulling the grill out and I bumped the top of my forearm on the metal tray on top. My skin made that scary *tsss* noise and I immediately freaked out. I had to stress dose after that little event! lol Now I'm trying to get this wound to heal, but it's going to take a long time. Probably a few weeks and up to a few months until it's back to normal. I'll get some pictures up tomorrow--(it's too late right now).
The HC and florinef have been going really well. I went back down to 27.5mg of HC and 3/4 tab or florinef daily which is my sweet spot at the moment. The weather has been pretty hot and humid and I can say without a doubt that these meds are helping me. My heart rate isn't going into the 150's simply from standing up. My blood pressure isn't dropping into the 70's/50's simply from standing up. It's a wonderful feeling to be able to go outside and play with my dog and weed the flower garden without literally almost dying from it.
The one complaint I do have is the fluid retention in my feet at night. I need to talk to the doctor about this because it's pretty bad some days. My feet and hands are swelling REALLY bad, but I don't think I can back off either the HC or florinef. If anything, I think I need to raise the florinef another 1/4 tab, but I'm waiting to see what the electrolytes say!
That's all for now.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Finding my dose
Now that I've backed down to 27.5mg of HC, I am feeling much better. I lost all of that weight almost immediately too, which is really strange. haha! I'm still a little heavier than I would like to be, but I think the last few pounds I'll need to exercise off. Unfortunately I don't think I'm quite ready for heavy exercise yet. I'd like to give myself another few weeks on the HC to see how it goes. My thyroid may also be causing some weight gain too.
I've been taking my florinef a little closer together. Yesterday it was pretty nice outside, so I was weeding the driveway and raking up some old leaves. I could feel my salt-wasting symptoms coming on just slightly, so I decided I'd take another 1/4 tab of florinef to see what would happen! Well it fixed me right up! My heart palps chilled out and I was good for the rest of the day. I skipped my night time dose of florinef and was totally fine this morning. This little experiment has given me some insight. I think I burn through the florinef really quickly for some reason.
My mood has been much better on this lower dose of HC and I've been wanting to get up around 8:30-9AM every morning! It's an absolutely wonderful feeling to start the day off early!!! My appetite has been better too (in a good way). Some days I'd barely eat because I was not hungry at all and now I feel like I'm eating more regularly. Because of this, I've been trying to get better at cooking different meals. This week I made some wild caught cod, homemade stuffed peppers, buffalo flank steaks, gluten-free pancakes and more! I've been eating breakfast too, which is completely unheard of for me. I haven't eaten breakfast since I was 13 years old. Every morning I used to be so nauseous I would puke if I ate...[No I was not pregnant, everyone would always say that to me.../sigh].
All and all I think things are going pretty well. I'm certainly not perfect yet and if I get startled I get the shakes, which tells me to begin stress dosing immediately. I'm still trying to figure all of this out and it's really quite confusing.
I've been taking my florinef a little closer together. Yesterday it was pretty nice outside, so I was weeding the driveway and raking up some old leaves. I could feel my salt-wasting symptoms coming on just slightly, so I decided I'd take another 1/4 tab of florinef to see what would happen! Well it fixed me right up! My heart palps chilled out and I was good for the rest of the day. I skipped my night time dose of florinef and was totally fine this morning. This little experiment has given me some insight. I think I burn through the florinef really quickly for some reason.
My mood has been much better on this lower dose of HC and I've been wanting to get up around 8:30-9AM every morning! It's an absolutely wonderful feeling to start the day off early!!! My appetite has been better too (in a good way). Some days I'd barely eat because I was not hungry at all and now I feel like I'm eating more regularly. Because of this, I've been trying to get better at cooking different meals. This week I made some wild caught cod, homemade stuffed peppers, buffalo flank steaks, gluten-free pancakes and more! I've been eating breakfast too, which is completely unheard of for me. I haven't eaten breakfast since I was 13 years old. Every morning I used to be so nauseous I would puke if I ate...[No I was not pregnant, everyone would always say that to me.../sigh].
All and all I think things are going pretty well. I'm certainly not perfect yet and if I get startled I get the shakes, which tells me to begin stress dosing immediately. I'm still trying to figure all of this out and it's really quite confusing.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Yep--Too Much HC!
Okay these weird pains and weight gain is from either too much HC, florinef or a combination of that with hypothyroid. haha My goodness...
Under doctor's orders, I am supposed to experiment with my dosing to see if this fluid retention calms the hell down. Gaining 8 lbs in 2-3 days is not normal whatsoever. The new pants I bought just last week are tight! YIKES!
I think I'm going to go back down to 1/4 tab florinef, twice daily. Perhaps 1/2 tab in the morning is just too much for me right now with the higher dose of HC.
My game plan tomorrow is...
1/4 florinef in AM
1/4 florinef in PM
10, 10, 7.5, (maybe a night dose if I feel I need it)
This dosing method was making me nauseous in between pills so I'll have to see if this happens again (which is why I was told to up my dose). Maybe it was just the increase in florinef? I'm going to get this figured sooner or later.
Under doctor's orders, I am supposed to experiment with my dosing to see if this fluid retention calms the hell down. Gaining 8 lbs in 2-3 days is not normal whatsoever. The new pants I bought just last week are tight! YIKES!
I think I'm going to go back down to 1/4 tab florinef, twice daily. Perhaps 1/2 tab in the morning is just too much for me right now with the higher dose of HC.
My game plan tomorrow is...
1/4 florinef in AM
1/4 florinef in PM
10, 10, 7.5, (maybe a night dose if I feel I need it)
This dosing method was making me nauseous in between pills so I'll have to see if this happens again (which is why I was told to up my dose). Maybe it was just the increase in florinef? I'm going to get this figured sooner or later.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Terrible Shin Pain Today
My left shin is hurting so bad today. I have no idea what is causing this as I didn't do a damn thing yesterday. It was hurting last night too, but didn't think much of it.
I was on a higher dose of HC and I wonder what is happening. I've had shin pain when on 27.5mg of HC, so I'm not convinced it's only from the HC. Maybe my thyroid has finally decided to stop working. I've been having a lot of hoarseness in my voice. I have also been having trouble swallowing and eating food. Stuff keeps getting stuck down there as it moves into the esophagus. The doc wanted me to up my nighttime dose to see if I slept better and sadly I have been. I'm not feeling good throughout the rest of the day though.
I think tomorrow I'm going to try 10, 10, 7.5 10. It's really a weird way to dose HC, but the doc told me to try the 10mg at night for a full week. I'm not about to abandon that idea right now.
I'm also very agitated and annoyed today. Now that can be a sign of too much HC, so I'll have to keep an eye on things. In addition to that I've gained another 8 lbs! Yay. That does a lot for the self-esteem.
I was on a higher dose of HC and I wonder what is happening. I've had shin pain when on 27.5mg of HC, so I'm not convinced it's only from the HC. Maybe my thyroid has finally decided to stop working. I've been having a lot of hoarseness in my voice. I have also been having trouble swallowing and eating food. Stuff keeps getting stuck down there as it moves into the esophagus. The doc wanted me to up my nighttime dose to see if I slept better and sadly I have been. I'm not feeling good throughout the rest of the day though.
I think tomorrow I'm going to try 10, 10, 7.5 10. It's really a weird way to dose HC, but the doc told me to try the 10mg at night for a full week. I'm not about to abandon that idea right now.
I'm also very agitated and annoyed today. Now that can be a sign of too much HC, so I'll have to keep an eye on things. In addition to that I've gained another 8 lbs! Yay. That does a lot for the self-esteem.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Increasing HC Dose
I got word just a few moments ago that I need to increase my HC dose and that I should not be experiencing nausea just before the next dose. That means I am getting far too low!
Today I will be dosing 12.5mg, 12.5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg. The 10mg at night might seem pretty high, but I am still experiencing night sweats and increased thirst. We've tried lower doses (2.5 and 5mg) and that didnt' cut it either.
I only have to try this dose for a few days to see how it works and I can always back off if need be. We'll see how this goes! I am feeling nauseous right now because I haven't taken my dose yet. I wasn't expecting to stay awake this long, so I should probably get my meds in me now before I crash.
I think I have a UTI, so I have to get that checked today. There's always something going wrong, I swear...
Today I will be dosing 12.5mg, 12.5mg, 7.5mg, 10mg. The 10mg at night might seem pretty high, but I am still experiencing night sweats and increased thirst. We've tried lower doses (2.5 and 5mg) and that didnt' cut it either.
I only have to try this dose for a few days to see how it works and I can always back off if need be. We'll see how this goes! I am feeling nauseous right now because I haven't taken my dose yet. I wasn't expecting to stay awake this long, so I should probably get my meds in me now before I crash.
I think I have a UTI, so I have to get that checked today. There's always something going wrong, I swear...
Friday, May 1, 2009
Feeling Crazy Today
I feel absolutely out of my mind today. Jittery, nervous, anxious and very very shaky. My hands are trembling quite a bit. This morning I took 1/2 tab of florinef and yet my pulse is high and blood pressure is falling upon standing.
Sitting Pulse 102/77 HR 113
Standing Pulse 96/76 HR 123
AHHH my pulse was doing so well too....I think I'm worse today because the humidity has finally climbed. It is 70% humidity and 71 degrees. That may not seem hot to those of you who live in a dry climate. I assure you that 70% humidity isn't good no matter what temperature.
I'm supposed to continue adding florinef 1/4 tab at a time. My doc said most people are optimized at 1-2 tabs and I only started taking 3/4 tab today.
We'll see what happens. I hope the shaking hands are just low cortisol symptoms.
Sitting Pulse 102/77 HR 113
Standing Pulse 96/76 HR 123
AHHH my pulse was doing so well too....I think I'm worse today because the humidity has finally climbed. It is 70% humidity and 71 degrees. That may not seem hot to those of you who live in a dry climate. I assure you that 70% humidity isn't good no matter what temperature.
I'm supposed to continue adding florinef 1/4 tab at a time. My doc said most people are optimized at 1-2 tabs and I only started taking 3/4 tab today.
We'll see what happens. I hope the shaking hands are just low cortisol symptoms.
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