A Trip to the Doctor

My new healthcare kicked in at the beginning of this month and I was running super low on all of my prescriptions so I made a few calls and somehow picked the practice my former doctor's receptionist went to when they parted ways a few years ago.  It was wonderful to reconnect with Stacy, and she actually booked me with a doctor she regards very highly.

I really, really enjoyed Dr. Stults (I even recommended her to my digital and social media marketing mentor).  She was incredibly detailed in the notes she took about my increased anxiety and was more than open to switching me to Lexapro, which tends to have better results with anxiety.  In fact, I have at least two friends who take it and have had great results.

Dr. Stults recommended that I start with a half a pill for the first five days or so while continuing my current anxiety medication (Wellbutrin), then going up to a full pill of both prescriptions for 5-7 days, and then a full Lexapro every day and alternating Wellbutrin before cutting the Wellbutrin altogether.

I'm a bit of an overachiever, so I went with a full pill from the very start... and wow was that interesting.  I immediately noticed that I was having trouble sleeping through the night... and still am.  Falling asleep is no problem, but I seem to be waking up around 1:00 a.m.  Luckily it's not a problem going back to sleep, and I've been able to sleep in just like before I was taking the medication, but it's very strange to continually wake up just after midnight.

I am incredibly thankful I haven't had any increased anxiety, which is one of the side effects most complained about online.  The second night I took it, I did wake up in a complete state of panic thinking that I hadn't sent an email to one of my clients.  Thankfully, I was able to talk myself down and be reasonable... what could I possibly do from my bedroom at 4:35 in the morning, after all?

I'm incredibly hopeful that this will help minimize the stress and pressure I have been feeling since taking my new job in December.  Best case scenario I would like to be able to have a better work life balance!

3rd Year Home Call

Last night was Sam's first night on call of his third year of his orthopedics residency.  We had a relatively quiet beginning to our evening, but around 9:30- in the middle of Pitch Perfect- he was called in for a dislocated elbow and a pediatric wrist.

Cue me worrying about whether he is coming home or not all year again.  Who knows, maybe I will get used to it this year.  Or maybe it just won't be that bad... I mean Sam was home by 11:15 last night and he said he stuck around longer than he probably really needed to.

And he told me this morning that he was paged every 2 hours and had to go in at 4:00 AM.  Talk about an ah-ha moment, I got up to go to the bathroom at 5 because Hunter wanted up on the bed and was whining.  I saw a light coming from under the bedroom door and went out into the living room to find the light on in our kitchen.  At the time, I was half asleep and it was puzzling but I shrugged it off and went back to bed.

Apparently Sam had just gotten home and forgotten to turn of the lights when he came back to bed.  He said Hunter was on the floor passed out in our comforters which we kick off the bed now that summer weather has returned to Southern California.  As Sam came into the room Hunter woke up and wanted back up on the bed, which was what woke me up.  Not the shrill sound of a pager, not the sound of Sam getting up and getting dressed in the middle of the night, not even the sound of the door opening and our alarm dinging (twice- once when he left and once when he came back).  Boy, I'm apparently a much deeper sleeper than I thought or I was just really exhausted last night.

Anyway, while Sam was at work the first time, I was left at home to finish Pitch Perfect with Hunter.  Good thing I have my little companion!  Pitch Perfect was a pretty good movie- I mean yes it was really campy but OMG it was also incredibly entertaining and the talent was absolutely amazing.

Mystery Illness

So I have been on my ass the last couple of days with horrible body aches, chills, low grade fever, and general malaise.  I started feeling crummy on Tuesday afternoon and went home from work a little early.  I woke up in the middle of the night on Wednesday and took another dose of Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  Wednesday I made it up to Pasadena for Ryan's graduation, but I was a mess during the majority of his ceremony and left at 2:30 to head back to OC.

I got in touch with my MD and she wanted me to come in and be seen so I made an appointment for Thursday (yesterday) morning and got blood work done.  My white blood count was elevated double the normal numbers and I felt totally crappy.  Last night, I got a call from the doctor at 9:30 that she was concerned about the WBC and wanted to make sure that if I felt worse in any way I went to the ED over night.

This morning she emailed me and wanted me to get to the main lab at the hospital for another round of more serious blood and urinalysis.  Turns out I have a UTI or bladder infection as well as the YI which was probably why my WBC was so high.  It could be that I had those vaccines earlier this week and they distracted my immune system so that my YI progressed into a UTI.  Or maybe I had both but I couldn't really tell because I didn't have a frequent urge to pee.

As Carina said when I texted her, "WTF you're a mess!"  So now I have a prescription in at the pharmacy that should be ready to be picked up in about 45 minutes.  Hopefully that will start to get everything back to normal.  My WBC had dropped from 18.9 yesterday to 16 today so that's a good sign!

Hopefully things are going to be turning around for me here soon because on dear Lord I cannot manage this crappiness for much longer.  I am also really happy my parents will be here tonight and they'll be able to take care of me this weekend while Sammy's on call.

I should note that Hunter has been quite the little nurse during my illness and he hasn't really left my side.  Yes, there has been more barking than I'd like, but overall he has been a little gentleman sitting with me on the couch.  

TDap & Pneumo Vaccine

Boy, this is going to be a short post because my arm is sore like a mother f*cker.

I knew something wasn't quite right after Jackie's wedding and after a few professional opinions it became pretty clear to me that I needed to invest in some Y.I. treatment.  Unfortunately, the OTC stuff didn't work all that well (brands shall remain nameless) and I was not feeling as relieved as I hoped I would.

I called my MD this morning and made a same-day appointment to come in and have her prescribe me the Diflucan Sam and Amy had recommeneded.

I really enjoy my MD.  She is a real funny gal.  She went over the plan of action for the oral medication and had a couple ideas for what might make my migraine meds more effective.  Then the nurse came back in because yours truly was due for her TDaP and Pneumo Vax.

It's ironic because this happens to me with some regularity- I go to the doctor for something and find out it's a convenient time for me to have a booster shot.  Of course I opt to get it then and there rather than going back to the office and paying another copay.  Honestly, I haven't been to the doctor since August so when I'm there it's good to get everything done!

OMG I thought I was in luck because my nurse was a badass.  She usually works in peds and she was the best stick I can remember.  Man, she poked me with the Pneumo Vax and as she was applying the pressure to it she was T-ing up the TDaP and it was all over in 10 seconds tops!  I was a good patient and diligently rubbed my arm while I waited downstairs for my prescription and on my drive home.

So much for my hard work.

As of now, my arm is sore from my elbow to the side of my chest on my torso.  It aches like I have the flu and I feel very lethargic.  Hunter and I are already laying in bed as a matter of fact- he is keeping me very good company since Sam's on call tonight.  Boy do I wish he were here to give me a good massage and some free medical advice.  Oh well.  Instead, I am going to end this post, locate some Aleve, and call it a night.

Hopefully I'll be feeling better in the morning!

Diagnosis

Earlier this month I finally went in to Kaiser to meet my new doctor and she reviewed some blood work I had done in February with me. 

Long story short, the diagnosis has been confirmed.  I have a form of sublclinical hypothyroidism called Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Hashimoto's disease. 

What does this mean?

• For the rest of my life I will take a daily thyroid horomone supplimen
•  Hopefully the weight gain, hair loss, exhaustion, and lethargy I have been experiencing over the last 9 months will go away with treatment.
• My body breaks down thyroid hormone and my brain has to tell my thryoid to work overtime to create more hormone than I can breakdown to keep my levels normal

I am currently in the normal range, on the low end, but my doctor explained that my thyroid will eventually 'burn out' and stop functioning, at which point I will officially have hypothyroidism.  By prescribing medication now, the hope is that my thyroid will continue working longer.

I can't wait to hopefully feel better in the next couple of weeks and be able to get out of bed when I wake up instead of feeling the need to doze and snooze for half an hour.  That's the biggest difference I have noticed in the last 9 months- all through college and until this year, I have been someone that wakes up and is awake.  Lately, I have started having serious trouble getting up in the morning.  First, I thought it was because Hunter needed a midnight potty break, but then he started sleeping through the night and I was still having trouble getting up.

Fingers crossed that the symptoms start to reside!

Blood Test

Last Spring my doctor found evidence that I may be suffering from Hypothyroidism, but, because I had just changed my health insurance, I told her I would follow up with my new primary care provider at Kaiser.

Fast forward to July.  I finally got tired of the fatigue, stress, hair-loss, and lethargy.  Sam and I sat down and reviewed the female Primary Care Physicians in our area and settled on one for me to see.  I couldn't get an appointment until September, but at least we would soon have a second opinion about the Hypothyroidism and find something to alleviate the symptoms I have been suffering from.

Fast forward again to this month, I finally went in to see my new doctor today.  Luckily, I really, really like her and felt totally comfortable with her right away.  She sat down and reviewed the previous two blood tests with me and she decided that I should probably have one more to confirm the diagnosis.

I actually really liked that Kaiser had the pharmacy and the lab right in the same building as my doctor... I just walked down stairs and took care of everything right then and there.  I now will have to wait for the results to see if this is in fact what my issues are from.  The bummer is that the medication for hypothyroidism could increase the anxiety I have been feeling, and, if that's the case, I will possibly have to go onto some kind of low-dose anti-anxiety medication.

Honestly, while I don't like the idea of being medicated, I do like the idea of not feeling so overwhelmed all the time.   Sometimes I am so overwhelmed and stressed out I feel like I could cry.  It can be so much that I want to curl up on the couch rather than do anything... and I really hope that's going to be resolved with these hypothyroid medications!

Career Milestones

This morning I submitted my first-ever press release to a wire service for mass distribution.  Wow. 

Not only did we get picked up by a few online news channels- yes, we actually did get published- my contact information was listed as the person to direct questions to.  Wow. 

I feel like a big girl with a big girl job today.  Sometimes I really amaze myself.

Also, Sam received word that he officially is licensed by the state of California to practice medicine (or at least write prescriptions) yesterday.  I am very proud of both of us today... dare I say our careers are on the right track?