A definite diagnosis...at last!

The cellulitis still wasn't responding to anti-biotics as well as it should, so I was glad to be going back to see the doctor...but there was also a little trepidation as I realised that my blood test results would be available today as well.

I had an ultra painful injection in my bum....seriously, it continued to sting for several hours afterwards, as indeed my doctor warned me it would. But it did finally kick my cellulitis into submission and sent it on its merry way after just a few more days of hot, itchy ankle.

As suspected, my blood test results did show a thyroid abnormality....but surprisingly, despite me having obvious symptoms of weight gain, lethargy, lack of libido etc, the test results showed that I was in fact hypERthyroid, and not hypOthyroid as I had always assumed. We were both a little confused by that, but my doctor had done some research and explained that sometime hypERt patients gain weight inexplicably instead of lose it...I guess I was one of the unlucky ones. In hindsight, I seem to gain weight both when I'm hypo and also when I'm hyper...I just can't win in the weight game.

The tests also showed that my liver function was way out of whack....I was suddenly scared, after watching all the public health announcements and TV adverts regarding binge drinking, thinking that I'd overdone it during my student days, but my doctor immediately put me at ease and said that in the absence of any other symptoms for now we'd put my wonky liver down to my thyroid, and that if the liver function tests didn't improve in subsequent blood tests, THEN we'd look into it all a little more.

A few other test results were marginally out of range, but she reminded me that with my current case of cellulitis my body was presently fighting a huge battle with the incumbent infection. And that for now we should ignore those too.

She told me that she was going to refer me to an endocrinologist, and having previously explained to her the nightmare I'd had with a so-called 'specialist' at a local hospital, she asked me if I would mind travelling a little further, to a hospital in a neighbouring county, in order to see a proper endocrinologist. I jumped at the opportunity, and said I'd go anywhere, as long as she didn't send me back to the ignorant local 'specialist'.

She said she wouldn't initially put me on any anti-thyroid medication as she preferred that to be controlled by the endocrinologist...but if I was waiting too long for an appointment I should return to her and we would discuss starting on anti-thyroid drugs (ATDs). She informed me that when I had received the primary endo appointment to come in a week earlier and get some more blood tests done, so that the endocrinologist would have the most uptodate test results to work from during my initial consultation.

She gave me a copy of last week's blood test results and told me to keep them in a safe place, and to make sure I get copies of all future tests, so that I could contrast and compare as I headed down the thyroid highway. That was the single best piece of advice I've ever been given with regards to my thyroid. She also made sure I was able to read and understand the results sheets, so that in the future I could check my results myself and then phone her and/or my endo to tweak my medication if I felt it was required.

Here are my blood test results from 18-Feb-08

Test

Lab Range

Result

TSH

0.15-3.2

<0.05

Free T3

2.7-7.0

11.6

Free T4

10.3-24.5

29.7

Thyroxine (T3)

58-161

189

(when I've worked out how to set up a proper table I'll edit this and tidy it up!)

A Simple Case of Cellulitis

It all started off so innocently. My husband and I went out for a rare night at the cinema. Whilst he stocked up on popcorn I headed off to use the toilet. Whilst sitting on the aforementioned convenience I scratched idly at an insect bite on my shin.

Fast forward to the following morning, and my whole shin was itchy, with no sign of what I had innocently assumed was a midge bite. We had a day of activities planned, and undeterred, we headed off with a quick pit stop at a local pharmacy to pick up some antihistamine cream.

By the end of the day my leg was causing a lot of pain, had swollen up enormously, and really starting to look quite nasty...and familiar!

I'd suffered with a bout of cellulitis following a crush injury during the 90's and my lower leg was looking and feeling just the same as it did then. We called the Out-Of-Hours Doctor Service and my guess was proved correct. The doctor confirmed that I had cellulitis, and I was promptly put on the corresponding course of hard-hitting antibiotics. During the consultation I really hit it off well with this doctor and I found her very approachable and easy to talk to. I mentioned the goitre on the left side of my neck and she immediately tapped several vials of blood from my arm and asked me to make an appointment with her at her own surgery in a week's time.

Thus commenced my present thyroid journey. I have had brief forays into the world of thyroidism in previous years, resulting in a very scary session with a so-called *specialist* 4 years previously, which had almost driven me to bury my head in the soil and totally ignore any further symptoms....but now I had seen the light, found a doctor I could work with and most importantly, a doctor I could *talk to* and discuss things with on an even keel...as opposed to be talked at and being told how I was feeling. I may discuss my previous experiences in trying to get diagnosed, at a later date, but for now we'll concentrate on the positive action we're currently taking....me, my husband and my doctor! A Team At Work!