Unfortunately adding in the armour is NOT going well at all. The insomnia is out of control. Today I was told by my doctor not to take any to see if my heart rate calms down a little. Just a moment ago I took my blood pressure and it was 124/76 with a HR of 119! This was upon standing so it is NOT salt wasting as my blood pressure went up rather than down. Obviously the armour has made me go "hyper" or I'm pooling the hormone in my blood. Regardless, this is the worst I have felt since starting the hormone replacement. I just can't take this dark depression I've been in for the past week and nothing I do snaps me out of it.
I have absolutely no motivation to do anything and would have no problems just staring at the wall for hours on end. That is one hell of a drastic change from me just 2 weeks ago where I was feeling fantastic.
Tonight I am curious to see how I feel and if I can even sleep. If I can sleep, I think that alone will help my mood lift.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Eyes Seem Bad Today
For whatever reason my eyes seem pretty bad tonight. Lots of lights in both eyes and my floaters are driving me absolutely insane. GRRR! Sadly I know things will only get worse for me as time goes on, so I have to learn to live with this.
I completely forgot to post a picture of that burn I had a couple weeks ago, but now I can't find the camera it's on! It's actually healing a lot faster than I imagined, so that is good.
The armour is going OK. My temps have been running a little high, so I'm not sure what to think yet. I don't feel hyper at all, so I'm just going to keep taking it to see what happens!
If the weather cooperates tomorrow (and I can find the camera) I'm going to show you all what I worked on this past week.
I completely forgot to post a picture of that burn I had a couple weeks ago, but now I can't find the camera it's on! It's actually healing a lot faster than I imagined, so that is good.
The armour is going OK. My temps have been running a little high, so I'm not sure what to think yet. I don't feel hyper at all, so I'm just going to keep taking it to see what happens!
If the weather cooperates tomorrow (and I can find the camera) I'm going to show you all what I worked on this past week.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Started On Armour Today
I asked my doc if I could go ahead and start Armour a little early since the DHEA isn't causing me any problems and he said sure.
Today I started on 1 grain of Armour. I split the dose of 1/2 in the morn and then another 1/2 at lunch time. I definitely felt a little different today, but I can't say whether it was a good or bad different. My temps were actually running a little high and I needed to stress dose the HC (2.5mg) which calmed me rather quickly.
It's also a pretty hot day here (well in the house at least), so I've been watching my salt-wasting symptoms and trying to remember to drink water. I took a 1/4 tab extra of Florinef today once I realized that it was going to be about 86 degrees in the house. Right now it says 85 and we've had fans running all day to get air circulating through.
I know most people will say that starting on 1 grain of Armour all at once is not right. I looked into this and saw that most people recommend 1/4 to 1/2 grain to start. I asked my doc about this and he said that he thinks that would actually make me feel worse. Sort of like when you only take 10mg of HC, it shuts down the ACTH feedback loop and you feel worse off than if you hadn't taken any. I'm keeping an eye on my temps which are definitely higher today, but it's also really hot the house too.
So far I feel pretty decent considering it's hot outside and I started the Armour. I had 2 things hit me today! haha
In 2 weeks I increase it by another 1/2 grain up to 2 grains total.
PS-- I think I got the old Armour formulation, which seems to be dissolving without any trouble. It looks like my hubby got the new formation, which he said tastes like butt. LOL
Today I started on 1 grain of Armour. I split the dose of 1/2 in the morn and then another 1/2 at lunch time. I definitely felt a little different today, but I can't say whether it was a good or bad different. My temps were actually running a little high and I needed to stress dose the HC (2.5mg) which calmed me rather quickly.
It's also a pretty hot day here (well in the house at least), so I've been watching my salt-wasting symptoms and trying to remember to drink water. I took a 1/4 tab extra of Florinef today once I realized that it was going to be about 86 degrees in the house. Right now it says 85 and we've had fans running all day to get air circulating through.
I know most people will say that starting on 1 grain of Armour all at once is not right. I looked into this and saw that most people recommend 1/4 to 1/2 grain to start. I asked my doc about this and he said that he thinks that would actually make me feel worse. Sort of like when you only take 10mg of HC, it shuts down the ACTH feedback loop and you feel worse off than if you hadn't taken any. I'm keeping an eye on my temps which are definitely higher today, but it's also really hot the house too.
So far I feel pretty decent considering it's hot outside and I started the Armour. I had 2 things hit me today! haha
In 2 weeks I increase it by another 1/2 grain up to 2 grains total.
PS-- I think I got the old Armour formulation, which seems to be dissolving without any trouble. It looks like my hubby got the new formation, which he said tastes like butt. LOL
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Got my hair cut!
I got my hair cut and it's fantastic! I had about 5 inches cut off the end and went ahead with a side sweeping bang. I haven't had bangs for at least 15 years. When she cut it, the inner voice in me went---"Oh goodness what have YOU done!"---, but it looks so young, trendy and I love how it hangs
in my face. I know that sounds really strange, but I like having those pieces fall around the face. It helps to frame my face which is good.
I can now wear my hair up and can hide the final bald spot with the bangs!
With my new hair style, I needed a flat iron to keep the bangs from trying to flip out strange. I have a very slight wave in my hair, which normally I don't mind. However with the bangs, I need to get it as straight as possible so it doesn't stick out weird.
I have one coming in the mail and should be here in a few days! I'm so excited!
in my face. I know that sounds really strange, but I like having those pieces fall around the face. It helps to frame my face which is good.
I can now wear my hair up and can hide the final bald spot with the bangs!
With my new hair style, I needed a flat iron to keep the bangs from trying to flip out strange. I have a very slight wave in my hair, which normally I don't mind. However with the bangs, I need to get it as straight as possible so it doesn't stick out weird.
I have one coming in the mail and should be here in a few days! I'm so excited!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Findings at the Eye Doc's
Today I had my next appointment and things are OK. It appears that the "White without pressure" is in fact in BOTH eyes. I saw a different doc this time, so I've now had 4 people look at my eyes.
This doc said that I have way more floaters in my right eye than my left. I told him that I thought I had a few more but couldn't tell which eye it was in. Thinking that only left eye was an issue, I told him I just assumed it was my left eye. Well all of that goes out the window now. He said the peripheral retina thinning in my left eye is much more advanced than in my right eye, but he said he thinks I'm probably seeing lights in both eyes. Oh great!
He told me to avoid any heavy lifting and to pay more attention to the lights, when it happens and which eye it is in. Now that I know it could be either eye, I'm trying harder to figure it out. I told him the heaviest thing I lift is probably doing the dishes, which he was very happy to hear. He said that I do not need to be putting anymore strain on the eyes and that lifting something heavy could cause the vitreous to pull away from the eye...FUN!
I think I've had this problem for a long time now, but this is the first real eye exam I've had in about 15 years...lol Who knows long this has been going on for!?
That's about it. I have another appointment in 4 months, but if anything comes up I should immediately call. This definitely makes me feel a little better because it hasn't gotten any worse in a week's time. I am a little concerned about the long term though. I am certainly too young for the vitreous to detach/tear. This is something that isn't supposed to happen until you are in your 60's-70's.
This doc said that I have way more floaters in my right eye than my left. I told him that I thought I had a few more but couldn't tell which eye it was in. Thinking that only left eye was an issue, I told him I just assumed it was my left eye. Well all of that goes out the window now. He said the peripheral retina thinning in my left eye is much more advanced than in my right eye, but he said he thinks I'm probably seeing lights in both eyes. Oh great!
He told me to avoid any heavy lifting and to pay more attention to the lights, when it happens and which eye it is in. Now that I know it could be either eye, I'm trying harder to figure it out. I told him the heaviest thing I lift is probably doing the dishes, which he was very happy to hear. He said that I do not need to be putting anymore strain on the eyes and that lifting something heavy could cause the vitreous to pull away from the eye...FUN!
I think I've had this problem for a long time now, but this is the first real eye exam I've had in about 15 years...lol Who knows long this has been going on for!?
That's about it. I have another appointment in 4 months, but if anything comes up I should immediately call. This definitely makes me feel a little better because it hasn't gotten any worse in a week's time. I am a little concerned about the long term though. I am certainly too young for the vitreous to detach/tear. This is something that isn't supposed to happen until you are in your 60's-70's.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Some Blood Work
Here's some blood work I had done. It came back the day I went to the eye doctor, so I haven't been thinking about it much. hehe
I started on 12.5mg of DHEA yesterday on the advice of my doc. Then after 2 weeks take 1/2 tab twice daily.
Electrolyte Panel
Sodium 141 (135-145) Good
Potassium 4.0 (3.5-5.2) Pretty decent
Chloride 104 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 24 (20-32)
FT4 1.25 (0.61-1.76) Doc says the range should be 1.0-1.76
FT3 3.4 (2.3-4.2) Mid-range
TSH 2.095 (0.450-4.500) Little high
DHEA-S 24 (65-380) WoW!!
With these thyroid labs, my doc wants me to start on Armour in 2 weeks once I get the DHEA up to 25mg daily. He doesn't want to change 2 things at once, which makes sense.
Something weird that has come up out of no where is this strange pain near my right rib cage. It actually woke me up yesterday morning and was excruciating for about 15 seconds. Then it faded some--thankfully. It MIGHT be a pulled muscle, but I'm going to give it some time to see what happens. I have been doing some painting in the house, so it's definitely possible. heh I don't know why my muscles are so weak if that's the case.
Tonight my eye is not good. Very strange with lights near my peripheral vision, but I'm going to hang in there unless a shower of floaters come up out of no where. If that's the case I'll be calling the emergency number.
I started on 12.5mg of DHEA yesterday on the advice of my doc. Then after 2 weeks take 1/2 tab twice daily.
Electrolyte Panel
Sodium 141 (135-145) Good
Potassium 4.0 (3.5-5.2) Pretty decent
Chloride 104 (97-108)
Carbon Dioxide 24 (20-32)
FT4 1.25 (0.61-1.76) Doc says the range should be 1.0-1.76
FT3 3.4 (2.3-4.2) Mid-range
TSH 2.095 (0.450-4.500) Little high
DHEA-S 24 (65-380) WoW!!
With these thyroid labs, my doc wants me to start on Armour in 2 weeks once I get the DHEA up to 25mg daily. He doesn't want to change 2 things at once, which makes sense.
Something weird that has come up out of no where is this strange pain near my right rib cage. It actually woke me up yesterday morning and was excruciating for about 15 seconds. Then it faded some--thankfully. It MIGHT be a pulled muscle, but I'm going to give it some time to see what happens. I have been doing some painting in the house, so it's definitely possible. heh I don't know why my muscles are so weak if that's the case.
Tonight my eye is not good. Very strange with lights near my peripheral vision, but I'm going to hang in there unless a shower of floaters come up out of no where. If that's the case I'll be calling the emergency number.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
What's My Eye Gonna Do?
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Sweet Tasting Water and Still Recuperating
I am still trying to recuperate from yesterday. This morning I had some self-ordered labs drawn and I think I picked an excellent day to have them done. I am quite curious to see what the results are of my electrolytes.
About 20 minutes ago I began to feel really sick again. Like someone is pressing on my throat. I immediately took 5mg of HC, but think I should probably take some more. This was one of my first symptoms yesterday. It's almost difficult to swallow. It's a sensation that I cannot explain properly.
Water has been sweet tasting all day long. It is driving me completely insane because it takes terrible. Take a glass of water and put in 2 large spoonfuls of stevia. That's exactly what plain water tastes to me at the moment. My doctor doesn't know what causes this, but it must have something to do with dehydration, electrolyte imbalance or low aldosterone.
Let's hope I can get through this. If not I will be heading to the ER. I just hope to God they know what to do if it gets bad again. I'm worried that they won't take me seriously.
About 20 minutes ago I began to feel really sick again. Like someone is pressing on my throat. I immediately took 5mg of HC, but think I should probably take some more. This was one of my first symptoms yesterday. It's almost difficult to swallow. It's a sensation that I cannot explain properly.
Water has been sweet tasting all day long. It is driving me completely insane because it takes terrible. Take a glass of water and put in 2 large spoonfuls of stevia. That's exactly what plain water tastes to me at the moment. My doctor doesn't know what causes this, but it must have something to do with dehydration, electrolyte imbalance or low aldosterone.
Let's hope I can get through this. If not I will be heading to the ER. I just hope to God they know what to do if it gets bad again. I'm worried that they won't take me seriously.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Adrenal Crisis--What an experience!
Well I had a mini adrenal crisis today. /sigh Even stress dosing didn't make going to court any easier and I completely lost it just as the arbitration was about to begin.
I began to shake uncontrollably, hyperventilate and went from being hot to cold all in a matter of seconds. My husband said that my lips, hands and face were pale and turning blue and I was staring at the ceiling making bubbles with my lips! LOL He said I was not responding to him and that my pupils were dilated. He was about 15 seconds away from calling 911 when I finally heard him and said that I could hear him.
I have contacted the doctor and am shopping for a medic alert bracelet right now. If my husband hadn't been there, I think I would have died. I told him yesterday what to look for in adrenal crisis. I had him read over a few websites and he acted accordingly. Thank God!
Now I'm just trying to pick up the pieces. I feel like crap and don't know what I should do. I have contacted the doctor about what happened. I'm just glad that I am OK.
I began to shake uncontrollably, hyperventilate and went from being hot to cold all in a matter of seconds. My husband said that my lips, hands and face were pale and turning blue and I was staring at the ceiling making bubbles with my lips! LOL He said I was not responding to him and that my pupils were dilated. He was about 15 seconds away from calling 911 when I finally heard him and said that I could hear him.
I have contacted the doctor and am shopping for a medic alert bracelet right now. If my husband hadn't been there, I think I would have died. I told him yesterday what to look for in adrenal crisis. I had him read over a few websites and he acted accordingly. Thank God!
Now I'm just trying to pick up the pieces. I feel like crap and don't know what I should do. I have contacted the doctor about what happened. I'm just glad that I am OK.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
More Blood Work and HC
I got my blood results back finally and here's what it said.
More of nothing...
21-Hydroxlyase Antibodies <1.0--(<1.0)
Antiadrenal Antibodies, Quant Negative--(Negative))
IGF-1 214--(116-358) Doc said this was a little low
17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone 104 (30-100 Follicular) Doc said this isn't high enough to worry about.
I guess I should be thankful that my body isn't attacking my adrenal glands, but...I am back to not understanding WHY my adrenals aren't working. Maybe it's just mercury toxicity? I wanted to know the reason, so that I could move on with my life. I have this condition yet no doctor can pinpoint the reason...
There is some good news.
The doctor had me start on 30mg of hydrocortisone on Thursday and it's really helping. In combination with the florinef, I can already tell a difference in my heat intolerance. While I'm not completely better yet, it must have been 85 in our house yesterday and I felt pretty good. I was extremely thirsty all day yesterday and just kept a filled Berkey water bottle next to me. It helped to keep me hydrated.
My sleep on the other hand has been absolutely terrible. I keep waking up at night, hot, sweating and extremely thirsty. Sometimes I have to use the bathroom too. Is this low aldosterone, low cortisol or do I really have diabetes insipidus? At this point, I have no idea. I haven't been taking my DDAVP recently because I wanted to see what the florinef would do for me. I'm still not sure.
Yesterday I didn't feel as good as the first day, but I'm hoping the irritability was just PMS...lol All and all I am very pleased. I am trying to wake up at a more "normal" time, so my HC doses are right. Unfortunately today I woke up around 9AM, but that' isn't too bad considering our sleep schedule used to be really screwed up waking up at 8PM and going to sleep when most folks are eating lunch.
I think I might be getting some low potassium symptoms (chest pains, irregular heart beats, leg cramps), so I self-ordered some blood work through econolabs.com. I ordered a CBC with differential and a CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel) to check my blood counts, liver enzymes and electrolyte balance. As I was writing this I checked my email and the requisition form was sent to me email already! That was really fast.
I'll have to wait and get this checked on Tuesday because Monday morning we have to go to court and I'm already nervous about it.
More of nothing...
21-Hydroxlyase Antibodies <1.0--(<1.0)
Antiadrenal Antibodies, Quant Negative--(Negative))
IGF-1 214--(116-358) Doc said this was a little low
17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone 104 (30-100 Follicular) Doc said this isn't high enough to worry about.
I guess I should be thankful that my body isn't attacking my adrenal glands, but...I am back to not understanding WHY my adrenals aren't working. Maybe it's just mercury toxicity? I wanted to know the reason, so that I could move on with my life. I have this condition yet no doctor can pinpoint the reason...
There is some good news.
The doctor had me start on 30mg of hydrocortisone on Thursday and it's really helping. In combination with the florinef, I can already tell a difference in my heat intolerance. While I'm not completely better yet, it must have been 85 in our house yesterday and I felt pretty good. I was extremely thirsty all day yesterday and just kept a filled Berkey water bottle next to me. It helped to keep me hydrated.
My sleep on the other hand has been absolutely terrible. I keep waking up at night, hot, sweating and extremely thirsty. Sometimes I have to use the bathroom too. Is this low aldosterone, low cortisol or do I really have diabetes insipidus? At this point, I have no idea. I haven't been taking my DDAVP recently because I wanted to see what the florinef would do for me. I'm still not sure.
Yesterday I didn't feel as good as the first day, but I'm hoping the irritability was just PMS...lol All and all I am very pleased. I am trying to wake up at a more "normal" time, so my HC doses are right. Unfortunately today I woke up around 9AM, but that' isn't too bad considering our sleep schedule used to be really screwed up waking up at 8PM and going to sleep when most folks are eating lunch.
I think I might be getting some low potassium symptoms (chest pains, irregular heart beats, leg cramps), so I self-ordered some blood work through econolabs.com. I ordered a CBC with differential and a CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel) to check my blood counts, liver enzymes and electrolyte balance. As I was writing this I checked my email and the requisition form was sent to me email already! That was really fast.
I'll have to wait and get this checked on Tuesday because Monday morning we have to go to court and I'm already nervous about it.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Not Much To Report
It's been quiet. My blood work still isn't back from the doctor, so I just continue to wait.
Unfortunately cutting back on the salt has not made all of the weight go away, so today I bought 4 new pairs of pants. Hopefully this will keep me covered for a while. I can tell it is ALL water weight though. My calves are very full looking again and I have been even more strict with my diet. Nothing is helping at all.
I hope this week I find out whether or not I have adrenal antibodies.
I raised my florinef yesterday. Now I am taking 1/4 tab, twice a day. It's helping me, but not enough yet!
Unfortunately cutting back on the salt has not made all of the weight go away, so today I bought 4 new pairs of pants. Hopefully this will keep me covered for a while. I can tell it is ALL water weight though. My calves are very full looking again and I have been even more strict with my diet. Nothing is helping at all.
I hope this week I find out whether or not I have adrenal antibodies.
I raised my florinef yesterday. Now I am taking 1/4 tab, twice a day. It's helping me, but not enough yet!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
ER Blood Work
I finally got the blood work back from the ER visit at the end of December and there are 3 things on there that were interesting.
Here's all of the results. Remember I went in there with chest pains, so they did all the cardiac and blood clot tests. I know nothing about those to be honest.
December 29, 2008
PT TEST 10.7--(9-12)
INR 1.1--(0.9-1.2)
PTT TEST 28.7--(20-35 seconds)
D-Dimer 0.51--(0.54-2.09) LOW But it states this underneath-
"To maximize the negative predictive value for the purpose of ruling out DVT or PE, a cutoff value of less than 1.0 is used.
A D-Dimer of less than 1.0 and otherwise normal patient history equals a low probability of DVT or PE. At levels below 1.0 the negative predictive value for DVT and PE approaches 100%.
Conversely, a value of 1.0 or greater cannot be used for the diagnosis of DVT or PE without the use of radiological procedures. IF a D-Dimer is great than 1.0, the investigation should be continued as clinically indicated."
Troponin I 0.00--(0-0.3)
Glucose 99--(70-99) Very high?
Bun 8--(7-22)
Creatinine 0.9--(0.5-1.3)
Bun/Creat 8.9--(8-27)
Sodium 142--(136-147)
Potassium 3.5--(3.6-5.3) LOW...
Chloride 107--(98-110)
CO2 Content 24--(22-34)
Anion Gap 11--(2-12)
Calc Osmol 281--(269-297)
Calcium 9.8--(8.7-10.7)
T Bili 0.5--(0.1-1.2)
ALK Phos 65--(30-128)
SGPT (ALT) 58--(5-47) HIGH again?
SGOT (AST) 36--(5-40) High normal
Total Protein 8.0--(6-8.4)
Albumin 4.7--(3.3-5.1)
Globulin 3.3--(1.8-4.2)
A/G Ratio 1.4--(1.0-2.5)
WBC 5.5--(3.8-10) Best I've ever seen my counts
RBC 4.95--(3.88-5.11)
HGB 14.1--(11.5-15.7)
HCT 40.8--(36.3-47%)
MCV 82.4--(84-101.1) LOW again
MCH 28.5--(27-34)
MCHC 34.6--(30.5-35)
RDW 12.5--(11-15.5)
PLT 256--(130-400)
MPV 10.4--(8-11.1)
Neutrophil# 2.83--(1.6-6.7)
Lymphocyte# 2.1--(0.9-3.1)
Monocyte# 0.34--(0.11-1.0)
Eosinophil# 0.2--(0.0-0.5)
Basophil# 0.0--(0.0-0.2)
Neutrophil% 51.7--(43.6-74.5)
Lymphocyte% 37.6--(15.5-44.5)
Monocyte% 6.2--(3.6-12)
Eosinophil% 3.8--(0-6) First time I've seen this normal in 2-3 years.
Basophil% 0.7--(0-2)
Chest X Ray at ER
CLINICAL DATA: Chest Pain
TWO-VIEW CHEST
History: A 24-year-old female with chest pain.
Comparison Studies: None
Findings: The lungs are free of consolidation, congestion, or effusions. The cardiac silhouette is not enlarged. There are no hilar or mediastinal abnormalities.
IMPRESSION No acute pulmonary disease.
The elevated ALT is interesting. That means my ALT was elevated for the entire month of December. It hasn't been checked since then, so I don't know if it's still elevated. I will definitely be bringing this up to Dr. L. My research into ALT tells me that unlike some of the other liver indicators which might be a metabolic problem somewhere else down the line, ALT specifically means damage or inflammation in the liver. The cells die and then leak into the bloodstream. Obviously there is some cell death in everyone, since the range is 5-47. Now it doesn't mean its serious, but the fact that I don't drink alcohol, take OTC pain pills or prescription drugs tells me it needs investigated further. Now if it's not elevated anymore, then I'll just assume it was from the DMSA and move on. But if it's still elevated now, then I might refer myself to another doc. I just like to make sure everything is clear here. I'm 24 years old and certainly want to keep my liver healthy as long as possible! I've seen a few medical websites that say celiac can cause high ALT.
The low potassium doesn't surprise me. Well actually it does a little because I was actively trying to raise it then. And low potassium can cause chest pains, so I might have gone to the ER because of low K! haha That makes me laugh a little inside.
The high glucose worries me. My last fasting blood draw in March was creeping up into the 90's and I certainly don't need diabetes to worry about on top of everything else.
In other news, the itching has been back. Not as severe as it used to be, but I am worried it will continue to get worse. It's the same spots as before...
Here's all of the results. Remember I went in there with chest pains, so they did all the cardiac and blood clot tests. I know nothing about those to be honest.
December 29, 2008
PT TEST 10.7--(9-12)
INR 1.1--(0.9-1.2)
PTT TEST 28.7--(20-35 seconds)
D-Dimer 0.51--(0.54-2.09) LOW But it states this underneath-
"To maximize the negative predictive value for the purpose of ruling out DVT or PE, a cutoff value of less than 1.0 is used.
A D-Dimer of less than 1.0 and otherwise normal patient history equals a low probability of DVT or PE. At levels below 1.0 the negative predictive value for DVT and PE approaches 100%.
Conversely, a value of 1.0 or greater cannot be used for the diagnosis of DVT or PE without the use of radiological procedures. IF a D-Dimer is great than 1.0, the investigation should be continued as clinically indicated."
Troponin I 0.00--(0-0.3)
Glucose 99--(70-99) Very high?
Bun 8--(7-22)
Creatinine 0.9--(0.5-1.3)
Bun/Creat 8.9--(8-27)
Sodium 142--(136-147)
Potassium 3.5--(3.6-5.3) LOW...
Chloride 107--(98-110)
CO2 Content 24--(22-34)
Anion Gap 11--(2-12)
Calc Osmol 281--(269-297)
Calcium 9.8--(8.7-10.7)
T Bili 0.5--(0.1-1.2)
ALK Phos 65--(30-128)
SGPT (ALT) 58--(5-47) HIGH again?
SGOT (AST) 36--(5-40) High normal
Total Protein 8.0--(6-8.4)
Albumin 4.7--(3.3-5.1)
Globulin 3.3--(1.8-4.2)
A/G Ratio 1.4--(1.0-2.5)
WBC 5.5--(3.8-10) Best I've ever seen my counts
RBC 4.95--(3.88-5.11)
HGB 14.1--(11.5-15.7)
HCT 40.8--(36.3-47%)
MCV 82.4--(84-101.1) LOW again
MCH 28.5--(27-34)
MCHC 34.6--(30.5-35)
RDW 12.5--(11-15.5)
PLT 256--(130-400)
MPV 10.4--(8-11.1)
Neutrophil# 2.83--(1.6-6.7)
Lymphocyte# 2.1--(0.9-3.1)
Monocyte# 0.34--(0.11-1.0)
Eosinophil# 0.2--(0.0-0.5)
Basophil# 0.0--(0.0-0.2)
Neutrophil% 51.7--(43.6-74.5)
Lymphocyte% 37.6--(15.5-44.5)
Monocyte% 6.2--(3.6-12)
Eosinophil% 3.8--(0-6) First time I've seen this normal in 2-3 years.
Basophil% 0.7--(0-2)
Chest X Ray at ER
CLINICAL DATA: Chest Pain
TWO-VIEW CHEST
History: A 24-year-old female with chest pain.
Comparison Studies: None
Findings: The lungs are free of consolidation, congestion, or effusions. The cardiac silhouette is not enlarged. There are no hilar or mediastinal abnormalities.
IMPRESSION No acute pulmonary disease.
The elevated ALT is interesting. That means my ALT was elevated for the entire month of December. It hasn't been checked since then, so I don't know if it's still elevated. I will definitely be bringing this up to Dr. L. My research into ALT tells me that unlike some of the other liver indicators which might be a metabolic problem somewhere else down the line, ALT specifically means damage or inflammation in the liver. The cells die and then leak into the bloodstream. Obviously there is some cell death in everyone, since the range is 5-47. Now it doesn't mean its serious, but the fact that I don't drink alcohol, take OTC pain pills or prescription drugs tells me it needs investigated further. Now if it's not elevated anymore, then I'll just assume it was from the DMSA and move on. But if it's still elevated now, then I might refer myself to another doc. I just like to make sure everything is clear here. I'm 24 years old and certainly want to keep my liver healthy as long as possible! I've seen a few medical websites that say celiac can cause high ALT.
The low potassium doesn't surprise me. Well actually it does a little because I was actively trying to raise it then. And low potassium can cause chest pains, so I might have gone to the ER because of low K! haha That makes me laugh a little inside.
The high glucose worries me. My last fasting blood draw in March was creeping up into the 90's and I certainly don't need diabetes to worry about on top of everything else.
In other news, the itching has been back. Not as severe as it used to be, but I am worried it will continue to get worse. It's the same spots as before...
The Journey Continues...
Here is My story-Part 3!
All eight amalgams were removed in September '08 and I began to chelate with low dose DMSA following Dr. Cutler's frequent dose protocol. I didn't realize that EDTA, cilantro, challenge tests and chlorella were dangerous before. I no longer recommend them to anyone. My hair started to grow back within a few days of chelating with DMSA.
Unfortunately during my 8th round of chelation in October '08 I crashed. I don't know if it was the chelation, a mercury dump or it was just destined to happen. I began to get very itchy. It started off with hives and then led to skin itchiness, which completely controlled my life. This went on for 2-3 months. Finally I started to lose weight/night sweats and went to a PCP in the area. She told me I had swollen lymph nodes near my collar bone and was quite concerned about me. She did the standard basic blood work and my TSH came back undetectable. The PCP was convinced I had a hyperthyroid and sent me for testing. However I refused to undergo the radioactive scan/uptake test. I did the ultrasound which came back completely normal. More blood work actually suggested secondary hypothyroid because I had low FT3/FT4. She completely dismissed this and thinks TSH is the know all for the thyroid. Worthless, useless doctor and she didn't really want to hear about it anymore and just referred me to an endo. Yes she was a DO btw. Some people think these types of docs are wonderful... Well in my experience they are terrible too.
Dr. Goldstein wasn't sure about all of this and he told me to see an endo as well. During this time, the itching was just so bad. It would make me shake. Some blood work showed an elevated ALT , low neutrophils and WBC's. This is when I completely discontinued chelation and decided my body needed to rest.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the itchiness got better on its own. I developed severe chest pains in the middle of December which were terrible too. At first it was quite sharp, but then became this dull ache that last for several weeks. A trip to the ER did not reveal much of anything. They told me I pulled my chest wall. I just recently got the labs from that ER visit and it shows my potassium was low, which can cause heart problems and my ALT was elevated again. None of this was ever mentioned to me when I was there. Apparently they didn't think it was important... The lesson here to ALWAYS GET COPIES OF YOUR BLOOD WORK!
While waiting for the endo appointment to arrive, I started looking online for more answers. I needed help and knew the endo would be a waste of my time. I just wanted to be as prepared as possible for the appointment with a stack of labs in hand, so I didn't have to come back again. Thankfully I found a few yahoo groups and a hormone support group with other people suffering from the same symptoms as me! They were able to tell me which labs needed checked especially since I was dx with diabetes insipidus. During all of this, I was recommended a doctor about 5 hours from me and after some thinking decided to go see him.
It was the best decision I ever made in my life. After all of this craziness, I think I might actually get some help. No offense to Dr. G but he never helped me in the entire year's time I saw him and wasted that entire year chasing bullshit. I was never given florinef even though he saw my low aldosterone numbers. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. The new doctor questions whether I really have Diabetes Insipidus and that it may only be low aldosterone symptoms. He has diagnosed me with adrenal insufficiency (the cause we are still investigating), low aldosterone, and hypothyroid.
I just started on florinef and will slowly raise it over the next few weeks. I can't wait to see what it does for me! Maybe I can handle the hot weather again. Once I reach 1 tab of Florinef, I will begin 30mg of HC. After I am stable on Florinef and HC, then we will be rechecking my thyroid numbers to see if I will need Armour too. I have a feeling that I will but, who knows?
Things I am still investigating and will be battling:
--Why has my ALT been elevated?
--Why does my TSH fluctuate so much?
--HC/Florinef dosing--trial and error
--What is causing the adrenal insufficiency? Enzyme deficiency? pituitary?
--Can I cure all of this with chelation?
All eight amalgams were removed in September '08 and I began to chelate with low dose DMSA following Dr. Cutler's frequent dose protocol. I didn't realize that EDTA, cilantro, challenge tests and chlorella were dangerous before. I no longer recommend them to anyone. My hair started to grow back within a few days of chelating with DMSA.
Unfortunately during my 8th round of chelation in October '08 I crashed. I don't know if it was the chelation, a mercury dump or it was just destined to happen. I began to get very itchy. It started off with hives and then led to skin itchiness, which completely controlled my life. This went on for 2-3 months. Finally I started to lose weight/night sweats and went to a PCP in the area. She told me I had swollen lymph nodes near my collar bone and was quite concerned about me. She did the standard basic blood work and my TSH came back undetectable. The PCP was convinced I had a hyperthyroid and sent me for testing. However I refused to undergo the radioactive scan/uptake test. I did the ultrasound which came back completely normal. More blood work actually suggested secondary hypothyroid because I had low FT3/FT4. She completely dismissed this and thinks TSH is the know all for the thyroid. Worthless, useless doctor and she didn't really want to hear about it anymore and just referred me to an endo. Yes she was a DO btw. Some people think these types of docs are wonderful... Well in my experience they are terrible too.
Dr. Goldstein wasn't sure about all of this and he told me to see an endo as well. During this time, the itching was just so bad. It would make me shake. Some blood work showed an elevated ALT , low neutrophils and WBC's. This is when I completely discontinued chelation and decided my body needed to rest.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the itchiness got better on its own. I developed severe chest pains in the middle of December which were terrible too. At first it was quite sharp, but then became this dull ache that last for several weeks. A trip to the ER did not reveal much of anything. They told me I pulled my chest wall. I just recently got the labs from that ER visit and it shows my potassium was low, which can cause heart problems and my ALT was elevated again. None of this was ever mentioned to me when I was there. Apparently they didn't think it was important... The lesson here to ALWAYS GET COPIES OF YOUR BLOOD WORK!
While waiting for the endo appointment to arrive, I started looking online for more answers. I needed help and knew the endo would be a waste of my time. I just wanted to be as prepared as possible for the appointment with a stack of labs in hand, so I didn't have to come back again. Thankfully I found a few yahoo groups and a hormone support group with other people suffering from the same symptoms as me! They were able to tell me which labs needed checked especially since I was dx with diabetes insipidus. During all of this, I was recommended a doctor about 5 hours from me and after some thinking decided to go see him.
It was the best decision I ever made in my life. After all of this craziness, I think I might actually get some help. No offense to Dr. G but he never helped me in the entire year's time I saw him and wasted that entire year chasing bullshit. I was never given florinef even though he saw my low aldosterone numbers. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. The new doctor questions whether I really have Diabetes Insipidus and that it may only be low aldosterone symptoms. He has diagnosed me with adrenal insufficiency (the cause we are still investigating), low aldosterone, and hypothyroid.
I just started on florinef and will slowly raise it over the next few weeks. I can't wait to see what it does for me! Maybe I can handle the hot weather again. Once I reach 1 tab of Florinef, I will begin 30mg of HC. After I am stable on Florinef and HC, then we will be rechecking my thyroid numbers to see if I will need Armour too. I have a feeling that I will but, who knows?
Things I am still investigating and will be battling:
--Why has my ALT been elevated?
--Why does my TSH fluctuate so much?
--HC/Florinef dosing--trial and error
--What is causing the adrenal insufficiency? Enzyme deficiency? pituitary?
--Can I cure all of this with chelation?
Friday, April 3, 2009
Florinef Is Doing...Something
Day 2 of 1/4 tab of florinef (well the generic) and it is doing something just not enough of it. haha! I will definitely need more and am looking forward to the increase in 2 weeks. Last night I woke up (like always) but I wiggled my hands, feet and they were not as swollen as they usually are at that time. My face was not as swollen this morning either. That's really good.
However, I still feel dehydrated, very thirsty etc. Last night before bed, my urine looked like water. I really hope I don't have diabetes insipidus and that the florinef will take away all of these symptoms (clear urine, desert mouth, peeing a lot). I haven't had any low potassium symptoms...yet, but I am paying close attention to my muscles and heart. The first signs of them, I will be running to Labcorp for more blood tests.
That's it for today. I slept 9 hours last night and I actually feel pretty good. I might have been able to skip my morning coffee...My husband said he slept better and I'm like maybe it's because I slept better? We'll see what happens tonight!
However, I still feel dehydrated, very thirsty etc. Last night before bed, my urine looked like water. I really hope I don't have diabetes insipidus and that the florinef will take away all of these symptoms (clear urine, desert mouth, peeing a lot). I haven't had any low potassium symptoms...yet, but I am paying close attention to my muscles and heart. The first signs of them, I will be running to Labcorp for more blood tests.
That's it for today. I slept 9 hours last night and I actually feel pretty good. I might have been able to skip my morning coffee...My husband said he slept better and I'm like maybe it's because I slept better? We'll see what happens tonight!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
New Doctor: The First Appointment
Sorry I've been away for a little bit. My husband and I traveled out to the eastern side of the state to see a doctor that was recommended to me. The trip was a lot worse than we were anticipating, but we made it there and back in 1 piece.
I am very happy with the new doctor. He isn't convinced that I have a pituitary disorder and has diagnosed me with primary adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism and low aldosterone. I'm not really sure how I feel about it, but I really don't care anymore. I just want to FEEL better.
Honestly I am just too tired right now to rewrite my thoughts about the doctor, so I am just copy/pasting my post from the Hormone Support group. We went target shooting today and I am wiped out.
"He wants to check for adrenal antibodies and wants to see rule out elevated 17-OH-progesterone. The high saliva progesterone levels piqued his interest and says I may be deficient in the enzymes that create cortisol. He said the saliva test might be picking up this form of progesterone. Typically though a woman would have increased hair growth with this condition, but he just wanted to rule it out. It sounds rather interesting, so I say why not check it?
He also wants to investigate why my potassium is chronically low even with a good diet with fruits/vegetables. He said he might send me to a nephrologist to investigate this further, but wanted to see what happens on florinef. He told me he has seen patients potassium levels actually go UP on florinef, which he admits doesn't really make sense. I have a blood sheet ready if I start to show symptoms of low potassium and wants me to check this immediately if that happens to see what my electrolytes are doing. He tells patients that foods are the best way to get potassium and that's what he usually recommends.
Once the blood work is done, I am to start on 1/4 tab of florinef and go from there. He told me to not raise it any faster than 1/4 tab every 2 weeks. At 2 weeks take 1/4 tab twice a day. Ultimately he told me once I hit 1 tab, to start on the 30mg of HC. 10-10-5-5 dosing schedule. He said the bedtime dose may prove to be important for me since I wake up every single night (around the same time). He said he starts everyone at 30mg now because at lower doses he has seen people crash very hard and says it's better to have too much HC for a short period of time, than being under treated. He says, that my ACTH will be suppressed with this dose and that we'll have to watch my DHEA and other hormones. He told me the reason why my salt wasting symptoms got worse on 20mg HC was because my ACTH was suppressed causing the already low aldosterone to fall even further.
This doctor was quite knowledgeable. He certainly contradicts some of the things that Chris from the Hormone Support group goes by (low potassium, low sodium, low renin means secondary AI, ACTH<50 is secondary AI), but at this point I'm just glad to have a doc prescribe me florinef. I might have been able to get my other doc to do it, but I really trust Dr. L. He is only an email away too, which is just awesome!
This doc loves unique, complicated and bizarre cases. It seems like my case was pretty easy for him to be honest. I had 2 saliva tests from Diagnos-Tech Inc and that was enough for him. The results were almost identical and he felt pretty strongly that I was having serious adrenal problems (combined with my symptoms)."
Today I started on the 1/4 tab of Florinef immediately following the blood work. I don't feel much of anything--good or bad. Still thirsty, still peeing a lot and still feeling lightheaded when I stand up. I definitely think I'll need a full tab to feel better, but I intend to follow his instructions exactly.
I am very happy with the new doctor. He isn't convinced that I have a pituitary disorder and has diagnosed me with primary adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism and low aldosterone. I'm not really sure how I feel about it, but I really don't care anymore. I just want to FEEL better.
Honestly I am just too tired right now to rewrite my thoughts about the doctor, so I am just copy/pasting my post from the Hormone Support group. We went target shooting today and I am wiped out.
"He wants to check for adrenal antibodies and wants to see rule out elevated 17-OH-progesterone. The high saliva progesterone levels piqued his interest and says I may be deficient in the enzymes that create cortisol. He said the saliva test might be picking up this form of progesterone. Typically though a woman would have increased hair growth with this condition, but he just wanted to rule it out. It sounds rather interesting, so I say why not check it?
He also wants to investigate why my potassium is chronically low even with a good diet with fruits/vegetables. He said he might send me to a nephrologist to investigate this further, but wanted to see what happens on florinef. He told me he has seen patients potassium levels actually go UP on florinef, which he admits doesn't really make sense. I have a blood sheet ready if I start to show symptoms of low potassium and wants me to check this immediately if that happens to see what my electrolytes are doing. He tells patients that foods are the best way to get potassium and that's what he usually recommends.
Once the blood work is done, I am to start on 1/4 tab of florinef and go from there. He told me to not raise it any faster than 1/4 tab every 2 weeks. At 2 weeks take 1/4 tab twice a day. Ultimately he told me once I hit 1 tab, to start on the 30mg of HC. 10-10-5-5 dosing schedule. He said the bedtime dose may prove to be important for me since I wake up every single night (around the same time). He said he starts everyone at 30mg now because at lower doses he has seen people crash very hard and says it's better to have too much HC for a short period of time, than being under treated. He says, that my ACTH will be suppressed with this dose and that we'll have to watch my DHEA and other hormones. He told me the reason why my salt wasting symptoms got worse on 20mg HC was because my ACTH was suppressed causing the already low aldosterone to fall even further.
This doctor was quite knowledgeable. He certainly contradicts some of the things that Chris from the Hormone Support group goes by (low potassium, low sodium, low renin means secondary AI, ACTH<50 is secondary AI), but at this point I'm just glad to have a doc prescribe me florinef. I might have been able to get my other doc to do it, but I really trust Dr. L. He is only an email away too, which is just awesome!
This doc loves unique, complicated and bizarre cases. It seems like my case was pretty easy for him to be honest. I had 2 saliva tests from Diagnos-Tech Inc and that was enough for him. The results were almost identical and he felt pretty strongly that I was having serious adrenal problems (combined with my symptoms)."
Today I started on the 1/4 tab of Florinef immediately following the blood work. I don't feel much of anything--good or bad. Still thirsty, still peeing a lot and still feeling lightheaded when I stand up. I definitely think I'll need a full tab to feel better, but I intend to follow his instructions exactly.
Friday, March 27, 2009
DI In A Bad Phase?
This is somewhat embarrassing, but I almost peed myself this week, TWICE! The first time we went for a walk at the park and I went before leaving the house. We got to the park and my bladder filled up so fast. I was ready to pee in the woods, but there wasn't enough cover. haha We had to cut our walk short, but I walked 2 miles on a full bladder...I still don't know how I did it.
The other time was when we went grocery shopping a few nights ago. I had to go so bad when we got there, then about 5 minutes after we pulled away, I had to go again. We don't spend a lot of time in the store, so it made no sense that I had to go again.
These two near accidents has me taking my DDAVP again for the time being. It's helped a lot. I just wish I could understand why this happens to me. Everytime I take a spray, I have to cross off a dose because each bottle only has 50 full dose sprays but there's always left over fluid. I put the date on each dose. I skipped almost all of February, but january I took it every single day. March was sort of weird. Some weeks I took it others I didn't. I have a feeling that April I will be taking it every day.
Since my DI is bad, I wonder what my TSH is doing. I can't wait to see what this new doc says about my crazy labs. I was told he loves puzzles and is interested in complex cases. This gives me hope. :-)
Today I feel pretty good overall. I am tired because we had to get up early, but aside from the lack of sleep, I'm thirsty but good.
The other time was when we went grocery shopping a few nights ago. I had to go so bad when we got there, then about 5 minutes after we pulled away, I had to go again. We don't spend a lot of time in the store, so it made no sense that I had to go again.
These two near accidents has me taking my DDAVP again for the time being. It's helped a lot. I just wish I could understand why this happens to me. Everytime I take a spray, I have to cross off a dose because each bottle only has 50 full dose sprays but there's always left over fluid. I put the date on each dose. I skipped almost all of February, but january I took it every single day. March was sort of weird. Some weeks I took it others I didn't. I have a feeling that April I will be taking it every day.
Since my DI is bad, I wonder what my TSH is doing. I can't wait to see what this new doc says about my crazy labs. I was told he loves puzzles and is interested in complex cases. This gives me hope. :-)
Today I feel pretty good overall. I am tired because we had to get up early, but aside from the lack of sleep, I'm thirsty but good.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
I Already Feel Less Bloated
I'm not great, but I can already tell a difference in the bloat. Last night though was quite hellish to say the least. I woke up like 5 times having major night sweats. I don't know if that was my body's way of shedding the extra water or what.
I was dying of heat for most of the night and had to kick the cat away from my feet and move my husband over to the other side of the bed! haha I was burning up and dying of thirst. I gulped down 16 ounces of water in about 10 seconds and was still desert mouth (that's what I call it). Obviously this is something OTHER than diabetes insipidus because I took my meds at 11:30 PM last night. I went to bed pretty late last night because I was working, but the meds should have last well through out the night and into the today.
When I woke up my pee was a normal dark color so it is working, but it didn't stop the dying of thirst feeling I'm getting. I am drinking more water right now to see when my thirst goes away. Obviously my body wants the water, so I'm drinking to see how much it wants.
The constant battling of dehydration is so damned irritating. I don't know anyone else that goes through this and it really pisses me off.
I lost 4 pounds from yesterday. My legs feel thinner. I can see more definition in the muscles, so the salt is cut...for now.
I was dying of heat for most of the night and had to kick the cat away from my feet and move my husband over to the other side of the bed! haha I was burning up and dying of thirst. I gulped down 16 ounces of water in about 10 seconds and was still desert mouth (that's what I call it). Obviously this is something OTHER than diabetes insipidus because I took my meds at 11:30 PM last night. I went to bed pretty late last night because I was working, but the meds should have last well through out the night and into the today.
When I woke up my pee was a normal dark color so it is working, but it didn't stop the dying of thirst feeling I'm getting. I am drinking more water right now to see when my thirst goes away. Obviously my body wants the water, so I'm drinking to see how much it wants.
The constant battling of dehydration is so damned irritating. I don't know anyone else that goes through this and it really pisses me off.
I lost 4 pounds from yesterday. My legs feel thinner. I can see more definition in the muscles, so the salt is cut...for now.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Salt Supping Is Making Me Blow UP!
Well I've finally figured out what is making me gain so much weight and I think it's the salt supping.
I've put on 12lbs since I start adding a little sea salt in water 2-3 times a day depending upon my salt wasting symptoms. My entire body looks puffy and my face looks like a balloon. I don't know what to do. My blood pressure isn't rising at all, so I'm not worried about that.
Not being able to fit into my clothes is a problem though and I've been too sick to deal with trying clothes on in the store. It's also difficult to even FIND pants these days since every store is ready for summer. I hate that...
130 is officially the heaviest I've been in probably about 8 years and I'm certainly not PROUD of that achievement. I'm going to lay off the sea salt and see what happens.
The past 2 weeks have been TERRIBLE for me. The fatigue is out of control. Anything that is stressful or requires extra concentration makes me crash within an hour. I tried target shooting and I couldn't even do it. The noise made me shake and I had a panic attack. Thankfully it was just me and my husband. We came home and I slept for 2 hours or so.
It's been a pretty terrible week, which is why you haven't heard from me.
Time to make coffee or I'll be going back to bed.
I've put on 12lbs since I start adding a little sea salt in water 2-3 times a day depending upon my salt wasting symptoms. My entire body looks puffy and my face looks like a balloon. I don't know what to do. My blood pressure isn't rising at all, so I'm not worried about that.
Not being able to fit into my clothes is a problem though and I've been too sick to deal with trying clothes on in the store. It's also difficult to even FIND pants these days since every store is ready for summer. I hate that...
130 is officially the heaviest I've been in probably about 8 years and I'm certainly not PROUD of that achievement. I'm going to lay off the sea salt and see what happens.
The past 2 weeks have been TERRIBLE for me. The fatigue is out of control. Anything that is stressful or requires extra concentration makes me crash within an hour. I tried target shooting and I couldn't even do it. The noise made me shake and I had a panic attack. Thankfully it was just me and my husband. We came home and I slept for 2 hours or so.
It's been a pretty terrible week, which is why you haven't heard from me.
Time to make coffee or I'll be going back to bed.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Feeling Agitated
Today I am feeling so agitated. Right now I feel like screaming, throwing stuff and punching holes in the walls. AHHHHHHH!
What is causing this? I can't think straight either. My fatigue has been really bad today because I pushed myself to go grocery shopping last night. I had no choice, downed some caffeine, just so I could stand up. I woke up in the middle of the night last night with swollen fingers, had to pee and was itching. My fingers get so swollen I can't even move my wedding ring when usually it is pretty loose.
I can't take this anymore!
What is causing this? I can't think straight either. My fatigue has been really bad today because I pushed myself to go grocery shopping last night. I had no choice, downed some caffeine, just so I could stand up. I woke up in the middle of the night last night with swollen fingers, had to pee and was itching. My fingers get so swollen I can't even move my wedding ring when usually it is pretty loose.
I can't take this anymore!
Lower Back Ache
For the past ~1 1/2 weeks I've been getting a dull ache in my lower back. I know what kidney pain feels like and it is in that same region, but I'm betting it's the adrenals! Kidney pain is usually much more severe, hurts to whack on it and typically follows a UTI with blood in the urine. I've had true kidney pain before and this isn't it.
In the morning before I get up for the day, this ache has been a common occurrence with me for years. In fact the back pain is usually what gets my butt OUT of bed! haha
However it is different now because the pain can be at any time. I've been trying to pinpoint exactly when it occurs and still haven't figured it out. It switches sides too!
In addition to this, the chest pain was back today. It was so sharp for about an hour and then went away. I thought it would continue throughout the day, but it's completely gone. Muscle pain doesn't go away like that! Especially when it hurts just sitting in a chair...
Somehow all of this, the itching, back ache and chest pains must be related.
In the morning before I get up for the day, this ache has been a common occurrence with me for years. In fact the back pain is usually what gets my butt OUT of bed! haha
However it is different now because the pain can be at any time. I've been trying to pinpoint exactly when it occurs and still haven't figured it out. It switches sides too!
In addition to this, the chest pain was back today. It was so sharp for about an hour and then went away. I thought it would continue throughout the day, but it's completely gone. Muscle pain doesn't go away like that! Especially when it hurts just sitting in a chair...
Somehow all of this, the itching, back ache and chest pains must be related.
Some Answers for the Labs
Well I had 2 of the most knowledgeable people online that I know give me their opinions on my lab results.
First off, the lab ranges Quest Diagnostics use are pathetic. The one lady suggest I get everything retested on Day 3 of my cycle at Labcorp or some other lab. I'm still thinking about what I will do. If I had known that Quest's lab ranges were so terrible, I would have gone to labcorp for these. Ugh...I feel like all the effort I put into this was for nothing. I don't want to pester Dr. Goldstein again AND my biggest fear is that the insurance company will deny it the 2nd time around! The blood work would have cost about $2500 out of pocket!
The lab ranges specifically for cortisol, ACTH, IGF-1 were awful. The one lady said that the IGF-1 result looks terrible, but with the really weird lab range she has no idea how to interpret it! My growth hormone is very low too, but I know some people say this isn't accurate because it goes out in pulses. Who knows. Considering I'm only 24 years old, it should be pretty high IMO.
Secondly, they both say that my results clearly indicated secondary adrenal insufficiency because of the low potassium, low sodium and low renin. My low aldosterone goes along with all of this.
Thirdly, serum cortisol is both free and bound so I can't compare saliva results to blood results. For some reason I have a lot of bound cortisol (which can't be used by the body) and a very small amount of free cortisol (that can be used by the body). One lady suggested testing Total & Free cortisol and CBG in the blood, but only Quest Diagnostics can do this! haha
The one lady asked me a bunch of questions, but I have yet to hear back from her. She was wondering why my saliva progesterone was so high and thought I was taking HRT for it! I had to set her straight on that.
Fourthly, regardless whether it is primary or secondary, I am definitely hypothyroid according to both women. No surprise there either, but I wish I understood why I go through weird cycles.
In addition to the lab results, today I went up 5 pounds now 130#. I couldn't even make this up! I ate about 800 calories, went for a short walk and yet up and up I go. At around 7:30PM I just about collapsed from fatigue. Obviously caloric intake has nothing to do with this weight gain, so I'm just going to eat whatever I want. Since my fasting glucose was kind of high, I didn't buy any sweets this week. I want to see how I feel without the chocolate! heh
I am itchy tonight and definitely didn't have any wheat, so I don't know what in the hell is going on. I might have to take a benadryl at this point so I can sleep. Zyrtec tends to keep me up for some reason.
First off, the lab ranges Quest Diagnostics use are pathetic. The one lady suggest I get everything retested on Day 3 of my cycle at Labcorp or some other lab. I'm still thinking about what I will do. If I had known that Quest's lab ranges were so terrible, I would have gone to labcorp for these. Ugh...I feel like all the effort I put into this was for nothing. I don't want to pester Dr. Goldstein again AND my biggest fear is that the insurance company will deny it the 2nd time around! The blood work would have cost about $2500 out of pocket!
The lab ranges specifically for cortisol, ACTH, IGF-1 were awful. The one lady said that the IGF-1 result looks terrible, but with the really weird lab range she has no idea how to interpret it! My growth hormone is very low too, but I know some people say this isn't accurate because it goes out in pulses. Who knows. Considering I'm only 24 years old, it should be pretty high IMO.
Secondly, they both say that my results clearly indicated secondary adrenal insufficiency because of the low potassium, low sodium and low renin. My low aldosterone goes along with all of this.
Thirdly, serum cortisol is both free and bound so I can't compare saliva results to blood results. For some reason I have a lot of bound cortisol (which can't be used by the body) and a very small amount of free cortisol (that can be used by the body). One lady suggested testing Total & Free cortisol and CBG in the blood, but only Quest Diagnostics can do this! haha
The one lady asked me a bunch of questions, but I have yet to hear back from her. She was wondering why my saliva progesterone was so high and thought I was taking HRT for it! I had to set her straight on that.
Fourthly, regardless whether it is primary or secondary, I am definitely hypothyroid according to both women. No surprise there either, but I wish I understood why I go through weird cycles.
In addition to the lab results, today I went up 5 pounds now 130#. I couldn't even make this up! I ate about 800 calories, went for a short walk and yet up and up I go. At around 7:30PM I just about collapsed from fatigue. Obviously caloric intake has nothing to do with this weight gain, so I'm just going to eat whatever I want. Since my fasting glucose was kind of high, I didn't buy any sweets this week. I want to see how I feel without the chocolate! heh
I am itchy tonight and definitely didn't have any wheat, so I don't know what in the hell is going on. I might have to take a benadryl at this point so I can sleep. Zyrtec tends to keep me up for some reason.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Keep Gaining Weight
I keep going up and up. I am now up to 125 pounds. My pants definitely don't fit me now and will probably have to go buy some. This is the heaviest I've been since I married my husband 5 years ago! YIKES! I have to figure this out or I'm going to go crazy.
Being fat is one of my biggest fears. Emotionally I'm already a wreck. It makes me extremely depressed. At one point in my life, I used to self-mutilate by burning lines into my arms with needles. If one looks real close at my forearms you can see the scars, but thankfully they healed pretty well. In the summer, they are more obvious because they won't tan.
My goodness, I don't want to start down that destructive path. I need to get this sorted very soon before it does. Weight gain is no laughing matter for me. It can lead to serious psychological problems.
Being fat is one of my biggest fears. Emotionally I'm already a wreck. It makes me extremely depressed. At one point in my life, I used to self-mutilate by burning lines into my arms with needles. If one looks real close at my forearms you can see the scars, but thankfully they healed pretty well. In the summer, they are more obvious because they won't tan.
My goodness, I don't want to start down that destructive path. I need to get this sorted very soon before it does. Weight gain is no laughing matter for me. It can lead to serious psychological problems.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Round 10, Day 3 Mercury Detox
I got through the second night taking 25mg of DMSA every 4 hours. Wow I forgot how annoying it was to take the pills in the night. It's really kicking my butt! Every 4 hours is much easier than every 3 though. Waking up only twice isn't so bad!
These past two days I've barely been sleeping. I wake up suddenly having to check the timer to see if I missed it. I'm not sure why I am doing this, but it's driving me crazy. I put new batteries in the timer, so it's louder than ever and there's NO way I can sleep through the buzzing, flashing light and annoying beeping sound.
The good news is that I have no detoxing symptoms. I've been feeling pretty good (aside from all of my other problems) and haven't even had a headache! I was a little concerned starting back up on the higher dose of DMSA after taking many months off. I will end this round when I go to sleep tonight.
I have decided my rounds will be 3 days, 2 nights. Rather than 3 days, 3 nights or 4 days, 4 nights. I think that may have too much for me and the interruption of sleep is not good. It really messes with my adrenals and this lets me sleep the whole night through after a round of chelation. With equal days/nights, I was chelating through the last night and then having to wake up tired, weak and without my body repairing itself overnight.
I've been having stabbing lower back pain right over my kidneys/adrenals area for over a week now (started before chelation). But with my new test results, I'm not even sure what to believe. I'm just going to keep chelating until it makes me crash again. Sort of stupid, but I'll use that crash to check my thyroid again to see what's going on with it!
These past two days I've barely been sleeping. I wake up suddenly having to check the timer to see if I missed it. I'm not sure why I am doing this, but it's driving me crazy. I put new batteries in the timer, so it's louder than ever and there's NO way I can sleep through the buzzing, flashing light and annoying beeping sound.
The good news is that I have no detoxing symptoms. I've been feeling pretty good (aside from all of my other problems) and haven't even had a headache! I was a little concerned starting back up on the higher dose of DMSA after taking many months off. I will end this round when I go to sleep tonight.
I have decided my rounds will be 3 days, 2 nights. Rather than 3 days, 3 nights or 4 days, 4 nights. I think that may have too much for me and the interruption of sleep is not good. It really messes with my adrenals and this lets me sleep the whole night through after a round of chelation. With equal days/nights, I was chelating through the last night and then having to wake up tired, weak and without my body repairing itself overnight.
I've been having stabbing lower back pain right over my kidneys/adrenals area for over a week now (started before chelation). But with my new test results, I'm not even sure what to believe. I'm just going to keep chelating until it makes me crash again. Sort of stupid, but I'll use that crash to check my thyroid again to see what's going on with it!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Feeling Pretty Lost, Depressed
I got the lab results back and I am lost. I feel everything I've researched has failed me. Nothing is making sense anymore. My labs are just insane contradicting my saliva results! If any of you have any suggestions, idea or thoughts please leave me a message. These past 2 days I've been extremely depressed. I don't think I'm ever going to get better now.
I'm still waiting for a reply on the hormone support forum to see what they think. I posted on the naturalthyroidhormones yahoo group and they think I could have Hashi's even though the antibodies aren't showing OR that my pituitary is going through cycles. I think these are two very good ideas that I need to consider. I know that I go through cycles, but I can't figure out what is happening. Unfortunately there isn't a commercially available lab to check for pituitary antibodies. If there were I'd be begging to have them checked.
Since I got these labs, I started to chelate. Today is day 2 of Round 10. I am using 25mg of DMSA every 4 hours and have been doing good. Actually I haven't had any symptoms at all, but we'll see how I do tomorrow when I stop.
Here's the test results! I know nothing about sex hormones, so I can't even comment on those.
Basic Metabolic Panel
Glucose-------------91 (70-99) Seem rather high considering I was fasting.
Bun------------------10 (7-22)
Creatinine----------0.8 (0.5-1.3)
Bun/Creat----------12.5 (8-27)
Sodium-------------139 (136-147) Low Normal
Potassium----------3.7 (3.6-5.3) Low Normal
Chloride------------104(98-110)
CO2 Content-------28 (22-34)
Anion Gap----------7 (2-12)
Calc Osmol---------276 (269-297)
Calcium-------------9.5 (8.7-10.7)
Aldosterone--------6 (<=28) Very Low
Renin----------------2.4 (0.65-5.0) This isn't the salt fasting range.
Cortisol-AM---------26.7 (3.7-19.4) HIGH!
ACTH----------------37 Female (5-27) HIGH!
DHEA-S-------------215 (45-320) My doc wrote in the range he uses (150-250)
TSH------------------3.804 (.35-4.94) This result was the most shocking!
Free T4-------------0.9 (0.7-1.5) Low normal
Free T3-------------3.0 (1.71-3.71) The lab range changed from last time. It used to be (2.3-4.2)
TGA-----------------<20 (<20) I wish this lab would test to 0. If this is a 19, then I have Hashi's.
TPO-----------------<10 (<35)
Sex hormones were tested on Day 21 of my cycle.
Progesterone------12.5 (3.3-26.0) Luteal Gotta love that my saliva results were >1000!
Estradiol------------182 (48-309) Luteal
Testosterone,Total---20 (2-45)
Testosterone,%,Free---1.07 (0.50-2.00%)
Testosterone,Free----2.1 (0.1-6.4) My doctor wrote in the range he uses (3.2-6.4) Low
Prolactin-------------15.9 (3.0-30) Luteal
LH----------------------6.8 (0.5-16.9) Luteal
FSH--------------------2.7 (1.5-9.1) Luteal
IGF-1------------------53.5 (13-73)
Growth Hormone----0.7--(<=10.0)
I'm still waiting for a reply on the hormone support forum to see what they think. I posted on the naturalthyroidhormones yahoo group and they think I could have Hashi's even though the antibodies aren't showing OR that my pituitary is going through cycles. I think these are two very good ideas that I need to consider. I know that I go through cycles, but I can't figure out what is happening. Unfortunately there isn't a commercially available lab to check for pituitary antibodies. If there were I'd be begging to have them checked.
Since I got these labs, I started to chelate. Today is day 2 of Round 10. I am using 25mg of DMSA every 4 hours and have been doing good. Actually I haven't had any symptoms at all, but we'll see how I do tomorrow when I stop.
Here's the test results! I know nothing about sex hormones, so I can't even comment on those.
Basic Metabolic Panel
Glucose-------------91 (70-99) Seem rather high considering I was fasting.
Bun------------------10 (7-22)
Creatinine----------0.8 (0.5-1.3)
Bun/Creat----------12.5 (8-27)
Sodium-------------139 (136-147) Low Normal
Potassium----------3.7 (3.6-5.3) Low Normal
Chloride------------104(98-110)
CO2 Content-------28 (22-34)
Anion Gap----------7 (2-12)
Calc Osmol---------276 (269-297)
Calcium-------------9.5 (8.7-10.7)
Aldosterone--------6 (<=28) Very Low
Renin----------------2.4 (0.65-5.0) This isn't the salt fasting range.
Cortisol-AM---------26.7 (3.7-19.4) HIGH!
ACTH----------------37 Female (5-27) HIGH!
DHEA-S-------------215 (45-320) My doc wrote in the range he uses (150-250)
TSH------------------3.804 (.35-4.94) This result was the most shocking!
Free T4-------------0.9 (0.7-1.5) Low normal
Free T3-------------3.0 (1.71-3.71) The lab range changed from last time. It used to be (2.3-4.2)
TGA-----------------<20 (<20) I wish this lab would test to 0. If this is a 19, then I have Hashi's.
TPO-----------------<10 (<35)
Sex hormones were tested on Day 21 of my cycle.
Progesterone------12.5 (3.3-26.0) Luteal Gotta love that my saliva results were >1000!
Estradiol------------182 (48-309) Luteal
Testosterone,Total---20 (2-45)
Testosterone,%,Free---1.07 (0.50-2.00%)
Testosterone,Free----2.1 (0.1-6.4) My doctor wrote in the range he uses (3.2-6.4) Low
Prolactin-------------15.9 (3.0-30) Luteal
LH----------------------6.8 (0.5-16.9) Luteal
FSH--------------------2.7 (1.5-9.1) Luteal
IGF-1------------------53.5 (13-73)
Growth Hormone----0.7--(<=10.0)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Self-Reflection Volume I
When I started this blog, I really had no idea what it would be about or what would come of it. Sure I knew I'd be talking about adrenal fatigue, but looking back I was so naive. I had no idea what was to come in the next few years. This blog has allowed you (the readers) to follow me through my struggle with searching for answers to my health concerns. In addition to my struggles, this blog has allowed you to see me grow as a person, by breaking down old paradigms and rebuilding new ones. Sometimes my posts are frantic, upset, a little over the top. Other times you can hear the frustration in my words. I type what I am feeling at that moment even if it seems a little out there.
Within these past 2 years, I've gone from the all natural, never take medicine girl, to a person who finally understands why some medicines are necessary. Some examples I am thinking of off the top of my head includes cortef (HC), armour, bio-identical sex therapies, DDAVP etc. All of you have seen this change first hand.
I truly feel that my fear of taking prescription pills (whether synthetic or bio identical) has kept me sick far longer than necessary. That's not to say all Rx's are equal. There are more than plenty out there that will make you sick and even kill you. I see people on the FDC yahoo group that have this fear of medications too. Even with saliva results far worse than mine, they REFUSE to accept the fact that they need to take medicine. They'd rather stay sick than get better!
I found a post of mine from almost 2 years ago on the now closed STTM (stopthethyroidmadness) forum. The moderators were trying to work with me, telling me that I would probably need to take cortef and florinef to feel better. I completely dismissed this idea and said that I would only take licorice or adrenal cortex extract. It's fair to say that I was a total idiot. No wonder they didn't want to deal with me. If I had listened to the moderators, I might have at least felt better for a short time.
I look back at the person I used to be and want to hide my head in shame. I was so naive.
Some of the biggest breakthroughs this year was the discovery of mercury toxicity. It made me change the name and focus of my blog! Everything I thought I knew about chelation was completely wrong. All of these natural chelators are in fact more unpredictable than the synthetic ones such as DMPS and DMSA. If I wasn't open-minded to Dr. Cutler's research, I would have continued to use chlorella making myself sicker and sicker.
I have realized that without an open mind, there's no way I'll ever get better. I can't be afraid to accept whatever diagnosis I am given. I can't be afraid to take low dose hormone support, to give me back the life I used to have--(It's been so long I've almost completely forgotten what that was.)--
If you have found this website through google and suffer from a lot of the same problems as me, are you ready to accept it? Are you ready to take the steps necessary to get better? Even though it may require you to take medications, it will likely require you to make changes to your diets and lifestyles.
Are you ready? I'm definitely ready to do this and move on.
Within these past 2 years, I've gone from the all natural, never take medicine girl, to a person who finally understands why some medicines are necessary. Some examples I am thinking of off the top of my head includes cortef (HC), armour, bio-identical sex therapies, DDAVP etc. All of you have seen this change first hand.
I truly feel that my fear of taking prescription pills (whether synthetic or bio identical) has kept me sick far longer than necessary. That's not to say all Rx's are equal. There are more than plenty out there that will make you sick and even kill you. I see people on the FDC yahoo group that have this fear of medications too. Even with saliva results far worse than mine, they REFUSE to accept the fact that they need to take medicine. They'd rather stay sick than get better!
I found a post of mine from almost 2 years ago on the now closed STTM (stopthethyroidmadness) forum. The moderators were trying to work with me, telling me that I would probably need to take cortef and florinef to feel better. I completely dismissed this idea and said that I would only take licorice or adrenal cortex extract. It's fair to say that I was a total idiot. No wonder they didn't want to deal with me. If I had listened to the moderators, I might have at least felt better for a short time.
I look back at the person I used to be and want to hide my head in shame. I was so naive.
Some of the biggest breakthroughs this year was the discovery of mercury toxicity. It made me change the name and focus of my blog! Everything I thought I knew about chelation was completely wrong. All of these natural chelators are in fact more unpredictable than the synthetic ones such as DMPS and DMSA. If I wasn't open-minded to Dr. Cutler's research, I would have continued to use chlorella making myself sicker and sicker.
I have realized that without an open mind, there's no way I'll ever get better. I can't be afraid to accept whatever diagnosis I am given. I can't be afraid to take low dose hormone support, to give me back the life I used to have--(It's been so long I've almost completely forgotten what that was.)--
If you have found this website through google and suffer from a lot of the same problems as me, are you ready to accept it? Are you ready to take the steps necessary to get better? Even though it may require you to take medications, it will likely require you to make changes to your diets and lifestyles.
Are you ready? I'm definitely ready to do this and move on.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Itchiness Is Back
Remember that rash I was getting a few months ago? Well it is back, but this time I think I know what it is from. No DMSA this time, no supplements this time.
For 8 weeks my husband and I went on a wheat free, gluten free, egg free and almond free diet. He was holding all dairy but I still had a little in my coffee since I HATE goat milk. YUCK.
The day we added wheat back into our diet, I was itchy. I didn't think about it though. Then the one day I had a sandwich on some sprouted bread and within 45 minutes I had tiny little itchy bumps on my arm, face and legs. It is the same exact spots that itched before.
Yesterday we had some pizza and I was so itchy that I had to take a zyrtec! It was unbearable.
I think I might be allergic to wheat. That's the only thing that makes sense. I'm am going to restrict my wheat/gluten intake for a week and see how I feel.
For 8 weeks my husband and I went on a wheat free, gluten free, egg free and almond free diet. He was holding all dairy but I still had a little in my coffee since I HATE goat milk. YUCK.
The day we added wheat back into our diet, I was itchy. I didn't think about it though. Then the one day I had a sandwich on some sprouted bread and within 45 minutes I had tiny little itchy bumps on my arm, face and legs. It is the same exact spots that itched before.
Yesterday we had some pizza and I was so itchy that I had to take a zyrtec! It was unbearable.
I think I might be allergic to wheat. That's the only thing that makes sense. I'm am going to restrict my wheat/gluten intake for a week and see how I feel.
Saliva Test Results Back
Yesterday the saliva test results came back and it is pretty interesting. Click on any picture to see it larger.
Feb '09 (new test)
Saliva Cortisol Chart--This shows that my noon is the highest throughout the day, which is not normal. The morning value is supposed to be the highest, near the top of the range at 23. Then fall throughout the day. I was wondering if the blood draw from that morning made my cortisol higher at noon. I was turned away at the outpatient lab and had to go to the hospital. The lady there wasn't that good at finding my small veins. I definitely think it's a possibility, but why would it affect my result 3 1/2 hours later?
Sex Hormone Results--Some people say saliva isn't a good indicator, but the crazy high progesterone is interesting considering I don't supplement with it. We'll have to see what the serum levels show. Look at the Luteal lab ranges.
Feb '09 (new test)
Saliva Cortisol Chart--This shows that my noon is the highest throughout the day, which is not normal. The morning value is supposed to be the highest, near the top of the range at 23. Then fall throughout the day. I was wondering if the blood draw from that morning made my cortisol higher at noon. I was turned away at the outpatient lab and had to go to the hospital. The lady there wasn't that good at finding my small veins. I definitely think it's a possibility, but why would it affect my result 3 1/2 hours later?
Sex Hormone Results--Some people say saliva isn't a good indicator, but the crazy high progesterone is interesting considering I don't supplement with it. We'll have to see what the serum levels show. Look at the Luteal lab ranges.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Weight Gain: I can't take it
In the past few months, I've been dealing with some weight gain. It is very strange though. I go through cycles where I lose a ton of weight for no reason. Then the cycle switches and every little thing I eat goes right to my butt and hips. Meanwhile my upper body looks emaciated and sickly with my ribs jutting out in my back. My body is very fat and puffing, even though I'm thin. There is a lot of fat where muscle used to be. I don't know what has caused this to happen, but my toned legs have become soft. My stomach used to be very toned is soft too.
My arms have nothing left on them and anytime I get my blood pressure taken or blood work done, that's what everyone talks about. "You sure do have small arms". Thanks jackass! I wasn't already self-conscious about it.
It's this cycle that gets me in trouble because I haven't been able to figure it out. My thyroid antibodies were normal and nothing in my diet changes. There is no reason for these cycles to occur, but they do. I have to keep several pants sizes in my house just so I have clothes for each cycle. Weird...I know. The pants I buy to replace the ones I have on, will probably only last me a few weeks. Then I'll have to buy new bigger ones. That's how it's been these past few months. As soon as I wear in the pants, I need new ones because I wake up one day and they no longer fit.
I've gone from wearing a size 1/2 comfortably to being unable to wear my new size 5/6 jeans. I'm going to have to go up to a size 7/8. I haven't been this size for at least 5 years and it is making it very nervous. Eight years ago I suffered from anorexia and almost killed myself from it. I abused Stacker 3's and probably should have died a few times, but somehow I made it through all of that hell. There were some nights, where I didn't think I'd wake up. I'd write goodbye letters to all of my friends.
I went from 142# down to 105# in a few weeks time and kept it there for months. For the first time in my life though, I actually enjoyed clothes shopping. I actually enjoyed going to the beach. I actually enjoyed wearing a pair of shorts. It was absolutely amazing. Too bad though I was dying inside.
I went to the doctor and got "help", which consisted of pills. I had to deal with my psychological problems myself because I didn't want any of this on my record. I was "cured", but it took a lot of time and discipline. My family did not support me through this whatsoever. Thank God, I went off of the pills and didn't suffer from any withdrawal symptoms.
About 2 years ago, I decided I wanted to start eating healthier. We ditched all of the packaged crap in our house and really get back to eating real, whole foods. I went from 125 to 117 in a few weeks time and felt fantastic. I was thinner than when I was anorexic and I did all of this eating 3 meals a day. I was so happy for myself and knew this was the size I was meant to be.
Now I am only 122#, but nothing is fitting me. I have no idea what is going on. I only gained about 5 pounds from when I was wearing a size 2, but apparently these pounds are all in my lower body. Part of me thinks it has to do with my pituitary, but I have no idea.
Unfortunately I just wait and see what happens. Will a new weight loss cycle kick in soon? Or will I continue to put on weight?
Having nearly undetectable TSH (with low frees) might have something to do with it...
My arms have nothing left on them and anytime I get my blood pressure taken or blood work done, that's what everyone talks about. "You sure do have small arms". Thanks jackass! I wasn't already self-conscious about it.
It's this cycle that gets me in trouble because I haven't been able to figure it out. My thyroid antibodies were normal and nothing in my diet changes. There is no reason for these cycles to occur, but they do. I have to keep several pants sizes in my house just so I have clothes for each cycle. Weird...I know. The pants I buy to replace the ones I have on, will probably only last me a few weeks. Then I'll have to buy new bigger ones. That's how it's been these past few months. As soon as I wear in the pants, I need new ones because I wake up one day and they no longer fit.
I've gone from wearing a size 1/2 comfortably to being unable to wear my new size 5/6 jeans. I'm going to have to go up to a size 7/8. I haven't been this size for at least 5 years and it is making it very nervous. Eight years ago I suffered from anorexia and almost killed myself from it. I abused Stacker 3's and probably should have died a few times, but somehow I made it through all of that hell. There were some nights, where I didn't think I'd wake up. I'd write goodbye letters to all of my friends.
I went from 142# down to 105# in a few weeks time and kept it there for months. For the first time in my life though, I actually enjoyed clothes shopping. I actually enjoyed going to the beach. I actually enjoyed wearing a pair of shorts. It was absolutely amazing. Too bad though I was dying inside.
I went to the doctor and got "help", which consisted of pills. I had to deal with my psychological problems myself because I didn't want any of this on my record. I was "cured", but it took a lot of time and discipline. My family did not support me through this whatsoever. Thank God, I went off of the pills and didn't suffer from any withdrawal symptoms.
About 2 years ago, I decided I wanted to start eating healthier. We ditched all of the packaged crap in our house and really get back to eating real, whole foods. I went from 125 to 117 in a few weeks time and felt fantastic. I was thinner than when I was anorexic and I did all of this eating 3 meals a day. I was so happy for myself and knew this was the size I was meant to be.
Now I am only 122#, but nothing is fitting me. I have no idea what is going on. I only gained about 5 pounds from when I was wearing a size 2, but apparently these pounds are all in my lower body. Part of me thinks it has to do with my pituitary, but I have no idea.
Unfortunately I just wait and see what happens. Will a new weight loss cycle kick in soon? Or will I continue to put on weight?
Having nearly undetectable TSH (with low frees) might have something to do with it...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Time to Update My Story
I was reading my story Part 1/2 on the left-hand side column and realized that I need a Part 3 at this point. So much has happened over the past 8 months. For starters, my hair is mostly grown back, I successfully chelated 8 rounds, my pituitary function has called it quits, and much much more. One of my biggest pet peeves is a blog that isn't updated regularly. That just drives me crazy, so I can't let my own get that way.
Once all of the results of the blood work come in either this week or next, I will be writing Part 3 of my story. Without that blood work, I feel like I haven't made any progress at all. Because well...I haven't.
Stay tuned for the update!
Once all of the results of the blood work come in either this week or next, I will be writing Part 3 of my story. Without that blood work, I feel like I haven't made any progress at all. Because well...I haven't.
Stay tuned for the update!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Salt Free Today
In anticipation for the last round of blood work tomorrow, I am on a salt restricted diet for a full 24 hours today. So far I've done a really good job of avoiding salt. Black Pepper is a great substitute!
For some reason I was really craving a yam with some butter. Thankfully we only buy unsalted butter, so I got to indulge! At the last minute I decided to smash it up and add a touch of vanilla extract (the real stuff) and some cinnamon. It was so delicious! Too bad I don't have a picture of my masterpiece to show you. :-)
We are taking a break from our gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, egg free diet plan. Sadly neither of us are showing any difference in our digestions (good or bad), so this 2 month trial may have been for nothing. Even though my husband tested as highly allergic to all those foods, after 8 weeks he wasn't feeling any different.
The one good thing that came out of this diet, is that I am more comfortable in the kitchen. I'm am feeling more adventurous and willing to just throw in a bunch of spices to see what happens. I still never got down making gluten-free breads, but maybe I will in the future.
I'm not sure what we will do long term. I don't think wheat is good for you and should be avoided as much as possible. We are just going to play it by ear and see what happens!
For some reason I was really craving a yam with some butter. Thankfully we only buy unsalted butter, so I got to indulge! At the last minute I decided to smash it up and add a touch of vanilla extract (the real stuff) and some cinnamon. It was so delicious! Too bad I don't have a picture of my masterpiece to show you. :-)
We are taking a break from our gluten free, wheat free, dairy free, egg free diet plan. Sadly neither of us are showing any difference in our digestions (good or bad), so this 2 month trial may have been for nothing. Even though my husband tested as highly allergic to all those foods, after 8 weeks he wasn't feeling any different.
The one good thing that came out of this diet, is that I am more comfortable in the kitchen. I'm am feeling more adventurous and willing to just throw in a bunch of spices to see what happens. I still never got down making gluten-free breads, but maybe I will in the future.
I'm not sure what we will do long term. I don't think wheat is good for you and should be avoided as much as possible. We are just going to play it by ear and see what happens!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Impulsive Me Does It Again
I am a really impulsive person. I don't know why I am like this, but I'm the type of person that is indecisive, but when I am decisive I make sudden, life changing, (maybe even stupid) choices.
We've all had moments in our lives when we do this. Sometimes it's of no real consequence. You buy a pair a shoes without really thinking about it completely. You get them home and realize that you'll never wear yellow pumps ever! HAHA Sometimes though it is of real consequence. You dump your girlfriend you've been with for 6 months for no real reason! There's other better examples, but I'll just tell you what I did..
Well yesterday, I wrote a short letter to the owner of the music studio and quit. Yeah...I quit both my voice and violin lessons. Remember that nice big post about wanting to get more serious with singing---Doesn't matter with impulsive me! Her policy is a written notice, 30 days in advance, so I have 1 more month and that's it. I absolutely love singing and I was enjoying my time with the violin. What I wasn't enjoying was the hassle of getting my ass down there and the damn chest pains I was experiencing after practicing for 10 minutes. Driving down there was just too stressful for me and it was irritating my husband. I just had enough of it. Now I won't have to worry about it. She won't be too upset because I could never pay her on time.
I've been having a hard time keeping all of my bills straight. It's just getting really bad now. There aren't too many bills that I am on time for now, which is UNLIKE me. Years ago (back when I was 18/19) I was always early with my payments. Being late for a bill would have like a national disaster. The only bills I keep on time are credit cards with special APR's on them. It would be pretty stupid to miss a payment on those.
I'm pretty upset with my decision to quit, but it's done now. I left it open to take lessons in the future and if I feel my health is in better order, then I can try again.
We've all had moments in our lives when we do this. Sometimes it's of no real consequence. You buy a pair a shoes without really thinking about it completely. You get them home and realize that you'll never wear yellow pumps ever! HAHA Sometimes though it is of real consequence. You dump your girlfriend you've been with for 6 months for no real reason! There's other better examples, but I'll just tell you what I did..
Well yesterday, I wrote a short letter to the owner of the music studio and quit. Yeah...I quit both my voice and violin lessons. Remember that nice big post about wanting to get more serious with singing---Doesn't matter with impulsive me! Her policy is a written notice, 30 days in advance, so I have 1 more month and that's it. I absolutely love singing and I was enjoying my time with the violin. What I wasn't enjoying was the hassle of getting my ass down there and the damn chest pains I was experiencing after practicing for 10 minutes. Driving down there was just too stressful for me and it was irritating my husband. I just had enough of it. Now I won't have to worry about it. She won't be too upset because I could never pay her on time.
I've been having a hard time keeping all of my bills straight. It's just getting really bad now. There aren't too many bills that I am on time for now, which is UNLIKE me. Years ago (back when I was 18/19) I was always early with my payments. Being late for a bill would have like a national disaster. The only bills I keep on time are credit cards with special APR's on them. It would be pretty stupid to miss a payment on those.
I'm pretty upset with my decision to quit, but it's done now. I left it open to take lessons in the future and if I feel my health is in better order, then I can try again.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Getting Through the Mid-Day Slump
MMMmmmmmMMMMmmmm...Image Courtesy of: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I know a lot of you out there self-medicate like me with chocolate, sweets, coffee, tea or even cigarettes to get you through the mid-day slump. Thankfully I don't smoke!
Today I can't have any caffeine, so I'm going crazy. I'll be the first one to admit that I have a caffeine problem. It's how I live my life and without it I feel completely lost. I'm really having a hard time keeping my eye balls open! haha But I must persevere. Normally at this time, depending upon what time I woke up, I would have a small cup of tea or coffee. Then at around 4PM, I lay down for about 45 minutes and then force myself to get up.
I thought well I could make something tasty to eat, but there is nothing exciting in our house at the moment. With both of us being sick for a week with the flu, a lot of our produce went bad! Our refrigerator was soo stinky once my sense of smell came back. I had to throw out a lot of food, so now we are really really low.
The place where I normally have my blood work done at, were unable to draw the IGF-1. So...I had to go to the hospital to get it done. /sigh They are doing a lot of construction up there, so the lab has been "closed". I showed up there and saw a lot of people considering it was "closed". The lady there, although she was very very nice, she obviously doesn't deal with many patients with small veins. I told her you have to tighten the band as tight as possible making it pinch my skin. She just kept telling me that that's not how they are trained and that she is not allowed to keep the band on longer than 1 minute. She kept saying the words patient comfort blah blah blah. I just kept telling her it won't work because my veins are small and in the end you'll make me uncomfortable with all the jabs.
Well after 2 jabs she tells me that they are trained not to jab more than twice and to make the 2nd one work. After 2 jabs patient comfort goes way down...No crap! During all of this, she randomly says to me, "How are you doing?" and in a tiny, high pitched voice, I let out a "OK".
To get all 4 vials, I was squeezing my fist as tight as possible and I convinced her to leave the band on. Thank goodness. The last vial took a long time to fill and we only needed 4. I've gone in to those places needing 9 vials with no problems at all. Obviously her following the rules didn't work out too well with me. It took her breaking them to get the blood out of me.
Sadly, I'm probably going to have to see her to get the renin and ACTH drawn. I still have to call the lab to see if they can do those in the outpatient center. My God, I hope so. I can't stand going to the hospital and that lady really was not that good. The women at the outpatient center are incredible. I haven't had a bad experience yet...Though I shouldn't speak too soon.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Preparing For Labs/Saliva Test
Well here we are at day 21 of my cycle. I have finally recovered from the flu too.
I started fasting at 8PM tonight for the blood work tomorrow! Tomorrow is a big day for blood work. I am having the following drawn as close to 8AM as possible.
DHEA-Sulfate
Free & Total Testosterone
Progesterone
Estradiol
LH
FSH
Prolactin
IGF-1
GH
I've never had a lot of these things tested, so I'm very curious.
Before I go, I need to fill the first vial with saliva for the cortisol test. This is a lot harder than it sounds. I'll have to dig in the refrigerator for something I can sniff to produce saliva. Another way to make saliva is just to try yawning over and over again. It's funny how many times you'll actually yawn and produce a TON of saliva.
I took another week off of violin/voice because of the saliva test. The one for 3-4PM would have been a problem since it is during my lessons and the drive back home. I wasn't about to collect saliva in their bathroom...
I am unable to eat chocolate, onions, garlic, cabbage, and cauliflower/broccoli and unable to drink coffee, tea, and other caffeinated drinks tomorrow. I'll have to constantly remind myself of this tomorrow.
These were the results of my first saliva test I had done through this company during the summer of '07.
07:00 - 08:00AM 6 Depressed (13-24 nM)
11:00 - Noon 5 Normal (5-10 nM)
04:00 - 05:00PM 2 Depressed (3-8 nM)
11:00 - Midnight 2 Normal (1-4 nM)
Cortisol Burden: 15 (23 - 42)
DHEA Dehydroepiandrosterone 4 Normal Adults (M/F):3-10 ng/ml
It's was pretty terrible...We'll see how things look now.
I started fasting at 8PM tonight for the blood work tomorrow! Tomorrow is a big day for blood work. I am having the following drawn as close to 8AM as possible.
DHEA-Sulfate
Free & Total Testosterone
Progesterone
Estradiol
LH
FSH
Prolactin
IGF-1
GH
I've never had a lot of these things tested, so I'm very curious.
Before I go, I need to fill the first vial with saliva for the cortisol test. This is a lot harder than it sounds. I'll have to dig in the refrigerator for something I can sniff to produce saliva. Another way to make saliva is just to try yawning over and over again. It's funny how many times you'll actually yawn and produce a TON of saliva.
I took another week off of violin/voice because of the saliva test. The one for 3-4PM would have been a problem since it is during my lessons and the drive back home. I wasn't about to collect saliva in their bathroom...
I am unable to eat chocolate, onions, garlic, cabbage, and cauliflower/broccoli and unable to drink coffee, tea, and other caffeinated drinks tomorrow. I'll have to constantly remind myself of this tomorrow.
These were the results of my first saliva test I had done through this company during the summer of '07.
07:00 - 08:00AM 6 Depressed (13-24 nM)11:00 - Noon 5 Normal (5-10 nM)
04:00 - 05:00PM 2 Depressed (3-8 nM)
11:00 - Midnight 2 Normal (1-4 nM)
Cortisol Burden: 15 (23 - 42)
DHEA Dehydroepiandrosterone 4 Normal Adults (M/F):3-10 ng/ml
It's was pretty terrible...We'll see how things look now.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Still Recovering...
Last night and this morning were so bad, I cannot even describe it. I've been popping decongestant meds every time I can according to the box and even still, I can barely breathe through my nose. They are so plugged up that when I swallow it is popping my ears!
The only thing that has given me some relief, so I can sleep, is the medicine with pseudo ephedrine. You know the stuff where you have to practically sign your life away when you buy it? If it weren't for this stuff, I would have gone completely mad by now. In 2 more hours, I get to see how I really feel when it finally wears off and I'm not looking forward to it at all.
My sister is still sick too, so this must be quite the flu! We are now at day 5 and I don't see myself recovering by tomorrow.
The only thing that has given me some relief, so I can sleep, is the medicine with pseudo ephedrine. You know the stuff where you have to practically sign your life away when you buy it? If it weren't for this stuff, I would have gone completely mad by now. In 2 more hours, I get to see how I really feel when it finally wears off and I'm not looking forward to it at all.
My sister is still sick too, so this must be quite the flu! We are now at day 5 and I don't see myself recovering by tomorrow.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Breaking News: DMSA TAKEN OFF THE MARKET
The FDA is taking DMSA off the market as a supplement and will only be available by prescription. This article was first posted on the frequent dose chelaiton yahoo group
A member of the frequent dose chelation yahoo group said they have received notification from VRP that they will be selling off their remaining stock and they are discontinuing the manufacturing of DMSA.
I can confirm this. When I checked my email today, this is what I found. Click on the picture below to see it in a larger, readable size.
VRP is where I purchased my 25mg DMSA capsules. Lots of people following Dr. Cutler's protocol were being supplied by VRP, so this will without a doubt FORCE people to STOP chelating. This will also affect the source in South Africa because you will need a prescription to order it. Clearly this is a huge blow to Dr. Cutler's detox protocol and any other group (autistic children) following his program.
To say that I am mad would be an understatement at the moment. I am lucky enough that I can get a prescription for DMSA, but at triple the cost! VRP was dirt cheap for their DMSA and my damn insurance company won't cover it if it's compounded.
A member of the frequent dose chelation yahoo group said they have received notification from VRP that they will be selling off their remaining stock and they are discontinuing the manufacturing of DMSA.
I can confirm this. When I checked my email today, this is what I found. Click on the picture below to see it in a larger, readable size.
VRP is where I purchased my 25mg DMSA capsules. Lots of people following Dr. Cutler's protocol were being supplied by VRP, so this will without a doubt FORCE people to STOP chelating. This will also affect the source in South Africa because you will need a prescription to order it. Clearly this is a huge blow to Dr. Cutler's detox protocol and any other group (autistic children) following his program.
To say that I am mad would be an understatement at the moment. I am lucky enough that I can get a prescription for DMSA, but at triple the cost! VRP was dirt cheap for their DMSA and my damn insurance company won't cover it if it's compounded.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Severe Dehydration Last Night
Yesterday was complete hell! At one point, I was really scared and told my husband if I passed out to give me at least 20mg of Cortef and to call 911. He had a temperature of 103.8, so he was in poor shape too. He had it must worse than me. I was ready to call 911 for him because his temperature kept climbing. haha! That would have been an interesting 911 phone call. "Yeah can you send out 2 ambulances. One for me and one for my husband? Neither of us can drive at the moment." LOL
I took my blood pressure multiple times last night and these were the results:
Sitting
109/70 HR 105
109/70 HR 119
98/74 HR 95
90/66 HR 127
Standing
83/64 HR 158
89/71 HR 141
84/57 HR 136 Shows it was irregular
84/63 HR 132 Shows it was irregular
Currently Sitting
99/70 HR 124
Currently Standing
Won't even register--I've tried about 15 times now. That's means its really low.
Clearly, I was salt wasting significantly through my sweat and pee. I was peeing more than I should have been, but I was so ill, I didn't get my meds in time. To try and recover I placed about 1 tsp of salt in 8oz of water and started chugging. My husband was like, "Are you sure you are supposed to do that". The salt tasted excellent to me, so I told him yeah. Even this morning, salt water tastes incredible like I'm eating a piece of apple pie!, so I'm going to continue with it until things balance out. Looking at my BP and HR, I'm still dehydrated!
There was an hour or so that I thought I might have died. Was it dehydration? Adrenal crisis? I'll never really know. I was having pain in my lower back, but I was also having other muscle pain too in my left leg and stomach. This was hellish. I hope I didn't pass this on to anyone.
I took my blood pressure multiple times last night and these were the results:
Sitting
109/70 HR 105
109/70 HR 119
98/74 HR 95
90/66 HR 127
Standing
83/64 HR 158
89/71 HR 141
84/57 HR 136 Shows it was irregular
84/63 HR 132 Shows it was irregular
Currently Sitting
99/70 HR 124
Currently Standing
Won't even register--I've tried about 15 times now. That's means its really low.
Clearly, I was salt wasting significantly through my sweat and pee. I was peeing more than I should have been, but I was so ill, I didn't get my meds in time. To try and recover I placed about 1 tsp of salt in 8oz of water and started chugging. My husband was like, "Are you sure you are supposed to do that". The salt tasted excellent to me, so I told him yeah. Even this morning, salt water tastes incredible like I'm eating a piece of apple pie!, so I'm going to continue with it until things balance out. Looking at my BP and HR, I'm still dehydrated!
There was an hour or so that I thought I might have died. Was it dehydration? Adrenal crisis? I'll never really know. I was having pain in my lower back, but I was also having other muscle pain too in my left leg and stomach. This was hellish. I hope I didn't pass this on to anyone.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I'm Sick
Oh no! My nephew gave us some terrible respiratory cold. I overslept by an hour, but when I woke up I realized why. My throat is very very swollen feeling and the cold went straight to my lungs. Before my nephew came, I thought I was fighting something off because my right tonsil was hurting and glands were swollen. Now with his sickness, my body is overloaded.
I don't know if I can handle a bad cold like this. I haven't been sick for years!
Some honey in water would feel so good right now.
I'm calling now to cancel my voice/violin lessons. I can't even take a deep breath without coughing.
I don't know if I can handle a bad cold like this. I haven't been sick for years!
Some honey in water would feel so good right now.
I'm calling now to cancel my voice/violin lessons. I can't even take a deep breath without coughing.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
My Saturday
Yesterday we visited with some family. Once again, I felt like I was painting makeup on a dead person. Since I don't interact with a lot of people on a daily basis, when I tried talking with family, I realized how much I'm out of it. I can't seem to look people in the eye and I just can't keep my thoughts straight. My mind wanders, jumps and goes off on tangents when just trying to talk about a simple topic. To remember information, I catch myself staring off into the distance.
Afterward we went food shopping and on the way home, I crashed and had a horrific headache. I didn't drive, but just having to look out for people crossing the center line, swerving into our lane and cutting us off was enough for me! We've had so many close calls recently because of idiot drivers not paying attention to what they are doing. There have been numerous occasions where we should have been in an accident, but I had a feeling and decided to turn my head, only to see a guy passing us illegally on the right or left side of our car. I'm sure it would have been our fault some how! It's such a nightmare driving in this area. I feel like I live in a 3rd world country.
We came home, unpacked the groceries and felt a little better. I was still very tired, but then got a "second wind". However, I was able to sleep pretty well throughout the night.
Tomorrow I get to see my 3 year old nephew, so I need to be ready for a crazy day. It's supposed to be really nice, so we may go to the park. :-)
Afterward we went food shopping and on the way home, I crashed and had a horrific headache. I didn't drive, but just having to look out for people crossing the center line, swerving into our lane and cutting us off was enough for me! We've had so many close calls recently because of idiot drivers not paying attention to what they are doing. There have been numerous occasions where we should have been in an accident, but I had a feeling and decided to turn my head, only to see a guy passing us illegally on the right or left side of our car. I'm sure it would have been our fault some how! It's such a nightmare driving in this area. I feel like I live in a 3rd world country.
We came home, unpacked the groceries and felt a little better. I was still very tired, but then got a "second wind". However, I was able to sleep pretty well throughout the night.
Tomorrow I get to see my 3 year old nephew, so I need to be ready for a crazy day. It's supposed to be really nice, so we may go to the park. :-)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Feel Very Fatigued Today
I drove myself to voice/violin lesson today and the drive down there has completely worn me out. I can barely keep my eyes open. I've been fighting with myself for hours now.
The funny thing is today both teachers said that I looked much better than last week. I purposely did my makeup and curled the ends of my hair. I thought I looked like a dead person trying to look alive, but obviously it worked! HAHA If they only knew how I truly felt.
Last week's lesson, I felt very crazy but tired. A little out of my mind, shaky, very sweaty and unable to focus whatsoever. I was still trying to recover from the stress of the week prior. I had started to wean off of the cortef and my body was feeling it.
I've been getting terrible headaches and I just feel like I'm moving in slow motion. Today I hope I sleep well. For how tired I feel, I can't imagine having any problems.
The funny thing is today both teachers said that I looked much better than last week. I purposely did my makeup and curled the ends of my hair. I thought I looked like a dead person trying to look alive, but obviously it worked! HAHA If they only knew how I truly felt.
Last week's lesson, I felt very crazy but tired. A little out of my mind, shaky, very sweaty and unable to focus whatsoever. I was still trying to recover from the stress of the week prior. I had started to wean off of the cortef and my body was feeling it.
I've been getting terrible headaches and I just feel like I'm moving in slow motion. Today I hope I sleep well. For how tired I feel, I can't imagine having any problems.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Mood Is Improvement
My mood has been a little better these past 2 days. I was really depressed and agitated last week and I'm glad that it is finally moving on. I think it was because I weaned myself off of the cortef a little faster than what's recommended. Obviously, I really need it, but I HAVE to wait. Dr. Goldstein agreed to order all of the blood work. There has been a slight change in plans. I believe I may be going to see a doctor near Scranton, PA. I may in fact cancel the appointment with the endo at the end of March. The doctor in PA is supposed to be really good with hypopituitary problems. He requires a lot of the blood work I requested from Dr. Goldstein. Since he is about 5 1/2 hours away from me, I want to make sure I have everything in order.
I just need to stop by Dr. Goldstein's office and pick up the papers when I go in for a B 12 shot next week... My legs and feet have been tingling again, which is always a sure sign for me.
Tomorrow I have the gynecologist appointment. I think I can go, but we'll have to see. /sigh
I just need to stop by Dr. Goldstein's office and pick up the papers when I go in for a B 12 shot next week... My legs and feet have been tingling again, which is always a sure sign for me.
Tomorrow I have the gynecologist appointment. I think I can go, but we'll have to see. /sigh
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Winds Are Changing
I just have this feeling that something big is about to happen.
I'm feeling absolutely horrible right now and decided to listen to some 'old' music of mine.
A Perfect Circle--eMOTIVe
It's an album of covers and I think it's excellent.
I'm feeling absolutely horrible right now and decided to listen to some 'old' music of mine.
A Perfect Circle--eMOTIVe
It's an album of covers and I think it's excellent.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Night Sweats Are Back
Unfortunately the night sweats are back. I've had them on and off for about a week now. Last night's was really really bad. My entire back was soaked through the sheet and I had to wash it as soon as I woke up this morning. It was disgusting. When this happens, my fingers are swollen too. I notice how stiff my fingers feel and it hurts to move them.
I still don't know what is causing them, but it really bothers me and interferes with my sleep.
While I was writing this, I just remembered I made an appointment with another PCP (DO) about 2 1/2 months ago. I think the appointment is in a few days...I need to find out! Maybe I'll just go to complain. I wasn't that happy with the other PCP, who didn't even know what diabetes insipidus was. DO's are usually better than that too. How pathetic. I suppose she had her role in things. She's the one that uncovered possible secondary hypothyroidism.
I've just been waiting around for doctor's appointment. I see a gynecologist on February 4th because my last pap smear from 4 years ago was abnormal and I've never had another check up. Yeah I know that is really stupid. And my menstrual cycles are becoming irregular. They used to be like clockwork, every 28 days. Now they are pushing 31 days. I'm not sure if that small amount is significant, but I'm certainly going to mention it to her. Since it is late again this month, I may not even be able to go to the appointment. /sigh
Then the endo's appointment is March 31. I have quite a long time before that one, but I have a lot to prepare for it. All blood work results, office notes have to be sent to this endo at least a week before my appointment. I'll probably need to get the MRI report too (which I can't find for the life of me). All of this will involve having to deal with doctor offices and labs.
Oh joy...
I still don't know what is causing them, but it really bothers me and interferes with my sleep.
While I was writing this, I just remembered I made an appointment with another PCP (DO) about 2 1/2 months ago. I think the appointment is in a few days...I need to find out! Maybe I'll just go to complain. I wasn't that happy with the other PCP, who didn't even know what diabetes insipidus was. DO's are usually better than that too. How pathetic. I suppose she had her role in things. She's the one that uncovered possible secondary hypothyroidism.
I've just been waiting around for doctor's appointment. I see a gynecologist on February 4th because my last pap smear from 4 years ago was abnormal and I've never had another check up. Yeah I know that is really stupid. And my menstrual cycles are becoming irregular. They used to be like clockwork, every 28 days. Now they are pushing 31 days. I'm not sure if that small amount is significant, but I'm certainly going to mention it to her. Since it is late again this month, I may not even be able to go to the appointment. /sigh
Then the endo's appointment is March 31. I have quite a long time before that one, but I have a lot to prepare for it. All blood work results, office notes have to be sent to this endo at least a week before my appointment. I'll probably need to get the MRI report too (which I can't find for the life of me). All of this will involve having to deal with doctor offices and labs.
Oh joy...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Chelation: Common Mistakes People Make
Updated March 2011: I wrote this back in early 2009 when I thought Dr. Cutler's protocol was curing people left and right. Now it is 2011 and there is nearly NO success stories with this protocol myself included. It has done absolutely NOTHING for me, but give me terrible side effects. I get severe rashes and hives on DMSA no matter what dosage, no matter what dosing schedule. Because of all of this my views on everything has changed substantially. They have changed so much so that I am editing this post and rewriting it because I don't want to give people the wrong impression.
The only doctor (I have seen) who has published results from following Dr. Cutler's protocol is Dr. Amy Holmes. She is no longer practicing medicine because her own health issues. At this link you will find a chart that says no one over the age of 13 had marked improvements on Dr. Cutler's protocol. Since I am an adult, I find this highly discouraging especially since for years she was important in the FDC circles.
I think this protocol is solely based upon wishful thinking, hope and hype. For some reason it grabs unsuspecting sick people like a spider web and you cannot get away no matter how hard you try. Everywhere you look for chelation information, there is at least 1 Cutler follower who will scream if you attempt or even talk about any other chelation ideas outside of Dr. Cutler's. No other discussions are allowed because they are "unsafe" or "dangerous". Dr. Cutler is highly prized in these groups and nothing he says can be questioned because he cannot be wrong, ever. Right...I suppose if people were getting better, then they would have more ground to stand on. Well, I have stopped drinking the Cutler Kool Aid and have opened my eyes up to the possibility there are other ways to recover from mercury poisoning especially since people are not getting better with DMSA and ALA. If you stumbled upon this blog, then please read some of my newer posts on the matter and not my older posts from 2008 where I was just starting out on my journey. I was naive.
As always though, I am not a doctor and whatever you do is at your own risk and you take full responsibility for any consequences which occur.
Most of this information is from my own experiences, but some of it is derived from Dr. Cutler's Frequent dose chelation protocol. You can find more information about him and his protocol at his website.
I made a more recent post questioning whether or not people are really recovering.
The only doctor (I have seen) who has published results from following Dr. Cutler's protocol is Dr. Amy Holmes. She is no longer practicing medicine because her own health issues. At this link you will find a chart that says no one over the age of 13 had marked improvements on Dr. Cutler's protocol. Since I am an adult, I find this highly discouraging especially since for years she was important in the FDC circles.
I think this protocol is solely based upon wishful thinking, hope and hype. For some reason it grabs unsuspecting sick people like a spider web and you cannot get away no matter how hard you try. Everywhere you look for chelation information, there is at least 1 Cutler follower who will scream if you attempt or even talk about any other chelation ideas outside of Dr. Cutler's. No other discussions are allowed because they are "unsafe" or "dangerous". Dr. Cutler is highly prized in these groups and nothing he says can be questioned because he cannot be wrong, ever. Right...I suppose if people were getting better, then they would have more ground to stand on. Well, I have stopped drinking the Cutler Kool Aid and have opened my eyes up to the possibility there are other ways to recover from mercury poisoning especially since people are not getting better with DMSA and ALA. If you stumbled upon this blog, then please read some of my newer posts on the matter and not my older posts from 2008 where I was just starting out on my journey. I was naive.
As always though, I am not a doctor and whatever you do is at your own risk and you take full responsibility for any consequences which occur.
Most of this information is from my own experiences, but some of it is derived from Dr. Cutler's Frequent dose chelation protocol. You can find more information about him and his protocol at his website.
Mistakes Made Prior to Frequent Dose Chelation
- Chelating with amalgams in. You can pull mercury from the fillings increasing exposure.
- Using chelating agents such as cilantro, chlorella, MSM and garlic because they are "natural" ( I am not so sure they are as dangerous as Cutler and his flock suggest).
- No lab work done prior--CBC with diff, TSH, FT3,FT4, cortisol saliva test recommended at bare minimums. If adrenal glands are suspected to be failing, then an ACTH stim test should be performed by a qualified endo before any hydrocortisone is supplemented. It is not something you should be messing with unless you have a documented adrenal issue. It is now becoming increasingly popular to go on HC for any reason.
- The idea that severe "detoxing" symptoms means you are excreting mercury. "No pain, no gain" attitude. (I am now taking DMPS with no side effects while on round.)
Mistakes Made During Frequent Dose Chelation
This entire section assumes that the FDC protocol is actually working...That is assuming A LOT. I can say with pretty good certainty that it is not working in a majority of cases, YET those on the FDC yahoo group will insist there are hundreds of success stories. However when you try to find said stories, they usually include young children or simply the stories are no where to be found. The so-called "success stories" list on FDC is a joke. Please do some of your own follow up of those people and let me know how many success stories are still making posts on FDC with issues. It is maddening this would be counted as a success story. The day I consider myself a success story, I will never post on a health forum again.I made a more recent post questioning whether or not people are really recovering.
- Starting on too high of a dose--
DMSA-no more than 15mg, ALA-no more than 12.5mg(I now think that this is why the Cutler protocol isn't working. The doses being used are a joke. You might as well be flushing them down the toilet and doing nothing.)
- Increasing the dose too quickly. Do at least 4 rounds on intro dose before increasing. (Not sure it matters because no one really gets better regardless of what they do)
- Perceiving chelation as a 500 yard dash, rather than a marathon. Take your time because it will take years (Still think this is true. It will take time to get better, but I think 6 months to a year is reasonable to see some drastic improvements. No one on Cutler protocol has this though)
- Trying to chelate without a dedicated timer/pill reminder.
- Not supplementing with the appropriate minerals-Vitamin C, B, D, zinc, magnesium, CoQ10
- Using DMSA/ALA on any schedule other than every 3-4 hours as recommended by Dr. Cutler (Once again I am questioning the very foundations of this chelation protocol. Who knows?)
Do your own research and start searching out people who have actually RECOVERED from mercury poisoning. I have been listening to other sick people for years and I realized I was a complete idiot. I should have been looking for those who have gotten HEALTHY! DUH! If a sick person has been trying something for years and they are no better, then whatever it is they are doing is not working. Do not get suckered into listening to SICK people for HEALTH advice. It's obviously not working if they are STILL SICK.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Cortef Saved Me
I survived a stressful Thursday. This is the first time in a long while, that I had an elevated stress level. When I woke up, I immediately took 10mg of Cortef. Then right before leaving I took another 10mg of Cortef.
That's quite a bit of Cortef to take within 2 hours, but I needed it. I came home and literally crashed. Yesterday was a terrible day. I was irritable, ready to cry and could barely move. I was so tired that at one point just fell asleep on the couch. I attempted to bake something and couldn't even finish it out of frustration. Why didn't I take more cortef when I got home? I didn't have any left. YIKES! The day prior to this, I attempted to fill it. That way I'd have a full bottle for Thursday. Well the pharmacy had to order it in. I thought this was a standard in-stock medication, so when she told me they didn't have it I actually got a little sick to my stomach. "It will be ready after 1PM" Oh goodness!
We waited until 1pm and picked up the cortef. This time I was given the generic type, called Hydrocort5. I wasn't familiar with this, so I didn't take one until I got home just to make sure it was the right medicine. Of course I didn't notice this until I got in the car! haha
I checked it online and it was the same as cortef and I took another 10mg. It calmed my nerves and the irritability subsided. However, I was still very fatigued. I just think that I had crashed, so there was no coming back.
My head is not very clear today. Just writing this blog entry has been difficult. I'm using the wrong words, typing things that make no sense. I keep deleting and re-typing my thoughts.
Now I must wean myself down off of such a high dose. You are only supposed to lower HC by 2.5mg every week until you are off of it completely. We'll see how lowering it goes. I really want to get these labs done.
That's quite a bit of Cortef to take within 2 hours, but I needed it. I came home and literally crashed. Yesterday was a terrible day. I was irritable, ready to cry and could barely move. I was so tired that at one point just fell asleep on the couch. I attempted to bake something and couldn't even finish it out of frustration. Why didn't I take more cortef when I got home? I didn't have any left. YIKES! The day prior to this, I attempted to fill it. That way I'd have a full bottle for Thursday. Well the pharmacy had to order it in. I thought this was a standard in-stock medication, so when she told me they didn't have it I actually got a little sick to my stomach. "It will be ready after 1PM" Oh goodness!
We waited until 1pm and picked up the cortef. This time I was given the generic type, called Hydrocort5. I wasn't familiar with this, so I didn't take one until I got home just to make sure it was the right medicine. Of course I didn't notice this until I got in the car! haha
I checked it online and it was the same as cortef and I took another 10mg. It calmed my nerves and the irritability subsided. However, I was still very fatigued. I just think that I had crashed, so there was no coming back.
My head is not very clear today. Just writing this blog entry has been difficult. I'm using the wrong words, typing things that make no sense. I keep deleting and re-typing my thoughts.
Now I must wean myself down off of such a high dose. You are only supposed to lower HC by 2.5mg every week until you are off of it completely. We'll see how lowering it goes. I really want to get these labs done.
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