Good News--More Questions

The visit with the ENT went great. He was very thorough and felt all of my lymph nodes. He said that everything was OK with them and he said there is no need to get a scan. He was probably one of the nicest doctors and person I've ever seen. He took the time to explain EVERYTHING and because of this I will I can move on to my thyroid issues.

The interesting thing was that he was more concerned about the diabetes insipidus. He was asking me a lot of questions about it and when I was diagnosed. When I told him I had an MRI that came back clear, he looked more relieved. I think the mercury is causing that one. Makes sense to me---didn't tell him that though haha!

Unfortunately I have no answer on why I am itching. Last night we went to the store and while there started to get itchy. My husband said my face was all blotchy...I fought through it and didn't take a zyrtec.

I am very relieved that my lymph nodes are normal. PHEW... I have the thyroid ultrasound scheduled this Friday to see what is up. If nothing comes back with this, I'll just start detoxing again.

ENT Appointment Is Scheduled

I have some good news today! My ENT appointment is this Wednesday! Holy cow. The lady on the phone was like, "how about the 17." I was like..."you mean this month as in like a few days from now?" "Yeah" My jaw dropped. I am glad that I was wrong on the time frame. Everything could potentially be resolved on Wednesday if he looks at the nodes and says nothing is wrong. Then again this could be the beginning of another nightmarish chapter.

I also told the PCP I won't do a radioactive iodine uptake test, but an ultrasound is fine. She said that is OK! Phew...

I visited my family today and had an itchy attack while I was there! YIKES. I immediately took a Zyrtec because I didn't know how bad it would become. The good thing is is that I'm not itchy tonight. The Zyrtec definitely works, but I hate taking it all the time. I forget how bad the itching is when I take it and I want to be able to explain to the doctor exactly how bad it is.

The blood work paper from Dr. Goldstein did not arrive today. Maybe tomorrow.

Didn't Feel Very Good Today

Today I had more of the nausea from last week. I did get some food in me though, so that is good. At one point I thought I was going to vomit, so I laid down in bed. Started to get really cold and took my temperature. 97.5 degrees F. Wow that hyperthyroid is really making me get a fever! (sarcasm)

While laying in bed I started to get itchy. Oh noes and nearly scratched through the skin on the back of my upper leg. Scratching the itch is somehow pleasurable. Like eating a cone of your favorite ice cream flavor or seeing a friend from school. I know it sounds really strange, but I get this. It actually FEELS GOOD.

Once it started to get itchy, I shake and do my usual grunting and grrr noises. I did take a picture of this one, but I'll spare all of you. It wasn't very pleasant looking after digging at it for a while. I can't figure out how a thyroid would make me itchy all over like this. What am I supposed to do about it? I can't take Zyrtec for the rest of my life without ever knowing what is causing the itching. It is one thing to take a medication after you know what is causing it to give you temporary relief until a permanent solution is in place. However this process really shouldn't last more than a few weeks/months in my opinion.

Monday I'm just going to call an ENT and schedule an appointment. Seems like I just have to do things myself. With my insurance I don't need referrals so this shouldn't be an issue. Wonder how long the wait is? I'm going to guess 2 1/2 months and we'll see how close I am on Monday. =)

Complete Break From Detoxing

If you are following my blog, I bet most of you have already assumed this. However, I am taking a complete break from all detoxing until everything else can be either ruled out or diagnosed. A little part of me is "missing" the detox, but my body needs a long break. I'll never know if the mild neutropenia was caused by the DMSA.

I now recommend everyone to get a full blood workup before starting the Cutler detox. You should have kidney, liver, thyroid and adrenal function checked, and a CBC with differential. Adrenal function is usually better tested with a saliva test. This way you have a good starting point. If you never get these done and then 3 months into the detox, your liver starts acting up, you won't know what caused what and may quit the detox indefinitely. Sometimes the liver, kidneys are working at just enough pace that they don't cause you problems until it is stressed more than normal. Detox is stress no matter how "gentle" of an approach you take.

This week I will be calling my doctor (today actually) to see what the results of the blood work were and where we go from here. I will definitely get them faxed over to me as well. I'd like to see an ENT to have him/her check my lymph nodes out. This is what they do on a regular basis, so they will have a better feel (pun intended) of what the lymph nodes should look like. I would like to have my groin lymph nodes examined too, but I don't think an ENT would do that.

/sigh
All of this is so frustrating!