Driving Miss Stiffneck

I drove out late this afternoon to collect my blood test results.

This is the first time I've driven since the op...and in hindsight, it was perhaps a little too soon. I still have very little neck mobility, so checking to the left & right at junctions and roundabouts was interesting to say the least. And because I drive ancient old German cars, with no power steering or other modern nonsense, sharp corners and turns were harder work than my neck & shoulders would like them to have been. I have a feeling I'm going to pay for my precocious driving adventures later this evening, and possibly tomorrow too...so, in anticipation of that, whilst I was out I stocked up on extra painkillers too ha ha!

I think I'd have just ploughed right through the middle if I'd had to deal with this set of roundabouts today...



With regards to my blood tests, I was little dismayed to see that I'm slightly hypO. I say dismayed, but lets be realistic...I guess perfect bloods, and the perfect Eltroxin dose, immediately after my thyroidectomy was impossibly optimistic.
My TSH came in at 4.07 (range 0.15-3.2), and my Free T4 came in at 21.8 (range 9.9-20.1). Only marginally hypo really, but with results like that, the labs obviously didn't bother testing the FT3 and T3.
I'm certainly not experiencing any major hypo symptoms, certainly nothing like I've experienced in the past when I've been hypo before...which I'm glad of, because those few months, back in 2009 were truly a living hell!

My Urea levels are above normal for the 2nd month in a row. Definitely something to mention to my Endo next Tuesday. This month they were 8.0 (range 2.5-6.7) and last month they were at 7.1. For the previous 2 years they have consistently been between 4.0 and 6.0 so definitely something I'd like to investigate further. It may just be because I've rediscovered my love for filter coffee, and I'm not being as disciplined regarding my water intake these days.

Delighted to see that my WBC count is higher this month, higher than they've been since almost forever. Up to 7.8 (range 3.9-11.1) from last month's 6.1 my WBC has never been out of lab ranges, but there has been a definite downward trend since I started taking the Carbimazole, something I've been keeping an eye on even if neither my doctor nor my Endo have been too worried about it when I've drawn it to their attention. And I hope that is because I'm no longer taking Carbimazole, a side effect of which for some people is lower WBC counts.

I'm meant to be heading off camping with some friends tomorrow night, but I really am going to have to wait and see how much of a fuss my neck makes after driving today...I hate to admit it, but I may just be trying to do too much too soon :(

Blood Test Results - July 2009

Picked up my blood results this morning....and for the first time in several years my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) and Free T4 (FT4) are actually within normal ranges, and my TSH, at 0.65 is not far off the optimum of 1.0. All well and good, but then shy do I still feel so shit? I can't help wondering, and hubby is of the same opinion, that these blood test results are merely a lucky snapshot in time, catching me as I swing through the *normal* ranges, on my way from being hypO to HypER yet again....I guess next month's results will prove or disprove that particular theory.

Still no sign of any testing for Free T3 and T3. My T3 levels haven't been tested since April 09, and my Free T3 hasn't shown up on any results since September 2008....I don't know why the labs don't test these two any more....last time they were tested they were both well out of range, and I'd really like to see where they are now, in relation to my TSH and my FT4

On analysing the rest of my results it seems that my LDL-cholesterol is coming down, and my cholesterol is well within range, despite minimal changes in my diet and my (lack of) exercise routine. My LDL-Cholesterol is still slightly above normal at 3.53 (range 2.6 - 3.38) and my Cholesterol reading is well in range at 5.3 (range 4.0 - 6.7) So I wonder if my increased LDL cholesterol/cholesterol is linked to my hypO status? When I was very hypER, back in February of last year, my cholesterol levels, if anything, were at the low ends of the normal range. And when I went hypO, my cholesterol levels went up for no apparent reason.

Another thing of note is that longer I'm staying on Carbimazole (current does is 5mg/day), the lower my white blood cell count is going. Since starting on CBZ my WBC count has gone from 9.4 to 6.4. And also of note, my neutrophils have dropped from 6.08 to 4.52 Something else to definitely keep an eye on, as one of the most serious side effects that has been recorded with the use of CBZ is agranulocytosis, when your WBC and neutrohpils drop suddenly, you suffer bone marrow depression, and you become very ill very quickly with a raging sore throat and high fever.

This time around, due to a patch of dark skin and dark hair under my chin, my doctor requested that my hormone levels were tested...but the amount of information I get back from these is negligible to say the least, as its hard to decipher the lab ranges on the report sheet. As far as I can tell, my follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels are OK at 12.7, my Leutenising Hormone (LH) levels are good, at 2.7, and I think my Estradiol (oestrogen?) levels are low, at 98...but as I said, instead of plain old lab ranges on the report sheet there is instead a paragraph of gobbledegook, so this is pure guesswork on my part. There was no note from my doctor when I collected my copies, so I assume all is OK, or at least 'on plan'. Will try and discuss my hormone levels with my Endo on Tuesday if I remember to ask him, maybe he can explain the gobbledegook to me?

After an idle hour or two, playing on MS Excel, here are some graphical representations of my blood results to date...I find it handy to do these up and print them off for every Endo appointment. That way, if I meet yet another new intern, we don't spend wasted time going over my case history from the beginning each time...