Just back from my first Endo appointment since my thyroidectomy. Dragged my long-suffering husband along with me, as I didn't want to risk driving again, so soon after my weekend adventures.
The appointment went well. We've decided to stick with my current level of meds (150 mcg Eltroxin), his argument being that my FT4 is high at the moment, which should hopefully trigger my Pituitary to stop pumping out TSH. He also stated that this soon after the operation my whole system is still under stress, so we don't want to be chopping and changing the meds too hastily at this point, in other words give the dust a chance to settle, to allow us to see more clearly what is going on.
I asked him if I should be abstaining from taking my medication on the morning of future blood tests, or to just keep popping the pills as normal. He mumbled something about 'circadian' as if to himself, then declared that I should take my pills as normal (around 7.30-8.00am) and this would have no bearing on blood tests taken the same morning.
I also explained that I had learned from various sources, about taking the Eltroxin first thing in the morning and not eating or drinking anything for an hour afterwards (especially milk or coffee!). He agreed with this, and asked me how I was coping. He correctly assumed that this was the approach I was taking with the Eltroxin. I explained my morning ritual, of setting an alarm, popping the pills then going back to sleep for an hour...and sadly, he agreed that this was a good way of doing it. I was hoping he'd tell me some other miracle way of getting optimum results from taking these pills, without messing around with my sleep in the morning...but no such luck. maybe once we have my levels better I can slowly start to experiment....I don't want to f*ck around setting alarm clocks an hour before I want to wake for the rest of my life, nor do I want to sit around counting down the minutes to my first cup of coffee!
He asked me to make my next appointment in 3 weeks....yikes! If I have too many blood tests at 3 weekly intervals we're going to have to majorly cut down the food budget to afford them, but hopefully this won't last long, and I can get on to a more financially sustainable blood test interval soon.
And finally, as I headed to the door to make my next appointment with the receptionist, he dropped an absolute bombshell on me. He won't be there in 3 weeks time...in fact he won't be there again....he's transferred to another department!
Nooooooooooooooooooo....just when things were going so well, I really felt we were getting somewhere, and I found an endo who was a delight to work with, a genuinely nice guy, and who didn't treat me like a chart number, who always asked how I was feeling, regardless of the numbers....woe is me :-(
I can only hope that his replacement is even half as good. Watch this space...
The appointment went well. We've decided to stick with my current level of meds (150 mcg Eltroxin), his argument being that my FT4 is high at the moment, which should hopefully trigger my Pituitary to stop pumping out TSH. He also stated that this soon after the operation my whole system is still under stress, so we don't want to be chopping and changing the meds too hastily at this point, in other words give the dust a chance to settle, to allow us to see more clearly what is going on.
I asked him if I should be abstaining from taking my medication on the morning of future blood tests, or to just keep popping the pills as normal. He mumbled something about 'circadian' as if to himself, then declared that I should take my pills as normal (around 7.30-8.00am) and this would have no bearing on blood tests taken the same morning.
I also explained that I had learned from various sources, about taking the Eltroxin first thing in the morning and not eating or drinking anything for an hour afterwards (especially milk or coffee!). He agreed with this, and asked me how I was coping. He correctly assumed that this was the approach I was taking with the Eltroxin. I explained my morning ritual, of setting an alarm, popping the pills then going back to sleep for an hour...and sadly, he agreed that this was a good way of doing it. I was hoping he'd tell me some other miracle way of getting optimum results from taking these pills, without messing around with my sleep in the morning...but no such luck. maybe once we have my levels better I can slowly start to experiment....I don't want to f*ck around setting alarm clocks an hour before I want to wake for the rest of my life, nor do I want to sit around counting down the minutes to my first cup of coffee!
He asked me to make my next appointment in 3 weeks....yikes! If I have too many blood tests at 3 weekly intervals we're going to have to majorly cut down the food budget to afford them, but hopefully this won't last long, and I can get on to a more financially sustainable blood test interval soon.
And finally, as I headed to the door to make my next appointment with the receptionist, he dropped an absolute bombshell on me. He won't be there in 3 weeks time...in fact he won't be there again....he's transferred to another department!
Nooooooooooooooooooo....just when things were going so well, I really felt we were getting somewhere, and I found an endo who was a delight to work with, a genuinely nice guy, and who didn't treat me like a chart number, who always asked how I was feeling, regardless of the numbers....woe is me :-(
I can only hope that his replacement is even half as good. Watch this space...
Why don't you try taking your meds before you go to sleep? Some (small) studies have suggested they are better absorbed that way as they go into the body more easily when you are asleep AND you avoid the hassle of having to wake up early to pop them ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion Cindy, I have read that somewhere else too, and its certainly something to consider in the future. But for now, I'm still on pretty strong painkillers after my surgery, and I take the strongest ones right before bedtime, with a glass of milk and a biscuit...so at the moment that rules out the late-night Eltroxin option. But as soon as I can stop the painkillers I do plan to give that suggestion a try...it has to be better than my current routine!
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