It's TGIF at the Thyroid Pub .. Whose up to having some fun tonight? We're now open and open to all so

[ChitChatNine]

come on over and tell us about your week .. the good stuff, the bad stuff, and all the stuff inbetween.

We've had a few Cancer diagnoses and surgeries this week .. it's been a long week waiting for updates from our members.

Lots of people having  treatments and Dr. appts.

Many getting answers.  Some working on getting answers ...

Lots of new members, some have de-lurked ..

Stop by and have a virtual drink ... we are open for business!

C~

[Liz94]

I'm gonna need something frozen like a big, fat frozen margarita to numb the burning in my esophogus that is endless.  It's getting ridiculous!  Oh and then I'll need some serious liquer to combat my feelings of guilt that I may have done some to my cat's thyroid.  I have two young cats and one old one. When I had my RAI a year ago we boarded them all for 3 days and then we brought the old one home and left the two babies there for 2 more days.  Well, my old boy is eating like there is no tomorrow and throwing it up, he walks around howling and NEVER sleeps.  And this is a CAT we are talking about.  I think I'm gonna have to take him in to get looked at. I think I nuked his little thyroid. I feel awful. I need another drink......

[carolT]

Does anyone out there have strange redness of the palms of your hands and back of hands on fingers. At first I only noticed this if I washed dishes in warm water. Now when I put my hands at my sides they turn bright red with white splotches. At first I thought maybe my BP was even higher but it was really low instead (90/53). The nurse in me thought of toxic shock syndrome and gram negative sepsis but I didn't die and it is still happening. Also anyone with high BP and Hashimotos, my BP has always been about 140/90 but now runs about 180/120 but has been as high as 280/180. My most recent thyroid studies showed very hypothyroid so I know I am not having a thyroid storm from hyperthyroidsm. Anyone have any thoughts?

[pep88]

FABULOUS things to CELEBRATE!!!  Or so *I* think...

[pep88]

I guess I'll just pour my own little cocktail in my own little "par-tay" corner...  Think of me with the large cocktail and the fabulous multi-colored party hat on over here...

Excuse me,

Pardon me...

It's all my imaginary shoulder to shoulder party friends...  Us west-coasters are up way too late for all those eastern/mid-western residents...

Too bad...fine party.  Good cocktails....

[pep88]

So.... probably no one left in the pub... but I've had good news this week and I want to share...  I've been incredibly busy getting ready to list our home and I haven't shared this yet.......
  
I'm CANCER FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Doc called Thursday.  I was scared stiff that it was him, "in person" on the phone.  I thought I was done for - for sure!  He said that the scan results were as negative for cancer as could be.  Thyrogen levels at 0... blah, blah, blah...

K, so YEAH!!!!!!  Yeah me!  I thought for sure I'd have some sort of nasty mestatisis.  I have no idea how long I have until my next scan cause I didn't think to ask that, but I'm dancing!!!  And I've wanted to write and tell you all for days.  K, so since Thursday.  I'll have a double double...  I'm ready!  Par-tay ON!

[Mrs_Savas]

Hi folks,

It's been a long but good week for me.  So it's nice to be here.  A glass of red wine and a hot bath sound about right!  Good ideas!

Now for a shameless, but hopefully helpful plug:

We have a great, active cat forum right here on Medhelp!  My husband Savas and I are co-CL's and there are lots of active, knowledgable users over there.  Please feel welcome to come over and ask any kitty question, express any kitty concern or just make any kitty comment.  While you're at it, introduce youself and your fuzzies and let us get to know you!

Note to Shoenut:  as long as your little one is eating mostly canned food and drinking at least some water, chances are he's getting sufficient hydration.  Cats don't drink as much water as we would like, they get most of their fluids from their food, just like wild cats.  Keep an eye out for hard stools and constipation difficulties, which are indications of dehydration.

The tip about meat flavored baby food is a good one because baby food has a high water content and so is a good supplement for hydration.  Bear in mind, however, that it's nutrition value for cats and kittens is pretty negligable, so it doesn't take the place of a dietary regimen.

Hi ChitChatNine.  Nice place you have here :) !

[utahmomma]

Hey all, I'll take a large hot toddie, some TheraFlu, a warm bath and some radiation.   Oh, oops - that has just become a habit of mine.  Wonder if there is a radiation 12-step program???

Hmmm, RAI, PET scan, 36 x-rays (this week alone), 2 CT scans . . . that's just in the past month.    Yeah, it's been an entire 32 hours since my last radiation (chest x-rays for bronchitis) and I'm jonesing for a fix.  :-)

Maybe I'll just take the bath and TheraFlu.

Okay y'all, you close up the bar.  I've going to the tub to soak for a while.

Love to y'all!!

Utah

[shoenut]

I am so sorry what you endured with the Doctor, you go right on and vent.... Big {hugs}.
Have you considered getting a new doctor, this one is only going to make you feel bad. Maybe someone could recommend one in your area, you deserve better, don't stop until you get some relief.

I don't know your situation enough to comment, please hang in there and know you have friends here to listen.

Hey, you truly are a cat specialist, um......do you want another one. ;o)  Things are getting better, he is in the biting and attacking stage. He already is eating canned cat food and I am introducing dryer cat food today. He doesn't seem crazy about drinking water, is he too young? He is so darned cute. Thanks for your expierenced advice.

[huncher]

Guess I need to post here where all the people are!!!!
I'll just have a Pepsi tonight....took me 3 times to finally post this in the right place!!!!

Went to pre-op today, this is my pathology report. I really don't understand the oncocytic word (will have to look it up)--from what I was told, it is good news. As 'far as they can tell' it is confined to the thyroid. I will have tt on 11/18, start Synthroid 125 mcg. in hospital, will deal with radiation after thyroid heals.
Okay, I am ready for you to grade me in understanding!!! Did I aget an A?
COMMENT:
Thank you for sharing this most challenging case with us. In our opinion the larger nodule represents an oncocytic follicular variant of papillary carcinoma. The follicles present within this lesion are large in caliber and are lined by cells that are though oncocytic, show nuclear features, namely enlargement clearing elongation, overlap, and membrane irregularities (particularly on slide A4), that are compatible with the below diagnosis.

Additionally we found at least three incidental foci of papillary  thyroid microcarcinoma present on A3 and A5 (your original slides), and A4 (our recut)

FINAL DIAGNOSIS:
Part 1: Thyroid, right lobe, lobectomy (8.3 grams) (OSS S08-7463, 10/21/2008)
     A. Papillary thyroid Carcinoma, oncocytic variant (1.5cm)
     B. Three additional foci of papillary thyroid microcrcinoma (Range : less than 0.1 cm to 0.1cm)
     C: No angiolymphatic invasion present, all foci confined to thyroid.
     D: Intrathyroidal thymus.

Part 2: Parathyroid, right excision (8.3 grams)
     A. Normocellular parathyroid
     B. Thymus with no significant Abnormalaties.

[ChitChatNine]

Mel_Mar ... your week was not so fun after that phonecall from the nurse!

Keep us posted .. ugh

C~

The Winter Beer .. sounds good!!

[redheadaussie]

Now it is mid afternoon here in the Land of Oz on a Saturday, but what the heck! I'm having Chardonnay out on the deck admiring the views of the mountains and the birds....ahhhh....great to take my mind off my intensely busy week!
  I noticed that my fatigue is much better this week..why? Coz I can do what I want, when I want, sleep in till 10am, work slowly, not answer the phone if I choose....so all that leads me to one thing.. I am definitely suffering from adrenal fatigue...coz I still feel sooooo bleurgh anyways!
Forced my self to do 3kms on the treadmill last night..felt like I was wearing Al Capone style boots and treading through molasses....but I am determined to get down to 65 kilos before Christmas! (That's 145 lbs for you Yankees, I'm 163 at the moment. WAS a whopping 200 lbs at the start of the year!)
   Reading some others above and I am glad my kids are much older...I can recall how hard it was to do all that needed doing when I got ill and had no idea what was wrong with me...so I can empathise with you, just keep kicking botties to get the help you need, otherwise you will end up like I did, suffering from total exhaustion, still not diagnosed and seeing a psychiatrist weekly.
  Now where's that glass of chardonnay!

[Mel_Mar]

Sipping on a cold Sam Adam's Winter Lager....one of the best things about fall!!!

I had my follow up body scan this week.  Doc said everything looks like it should and that was it.  No numbers on blood work or the like to report.  I should probably keep track of that, huh, lol.  Finished my first week on 0.1mcg of synthroid and that seems to be ok.  I've put back all the weight I lost while on my LID and those pounds brought a few of their friends!!  I keep thinking that I should get up a little earlier every day and start working out.  Any recommendations on a good workout DVD?

My ENT's nurse called me today and let me know "due to her own fault" my injections/body scan/RAI were not called into my insurance for pre-approval.  Yippee!!  So the claim may be denied but soon as I get my insurance explanation of benefits to call her and they'll "try to get it all worked out."  Try my butt -- I'm not paying for it!!

ALSO signed up for my companies benefits this week.  My company merged in May so my new insurance doesn't kick in until Jan 1.  Yah --- right now I pay $70/ck with a $5K deductible, 80/20 after, $12,500K max out of pocket per year.  Jan. 1 --- $15/ck, $250 deductible, 90/10 and $1K max per year out of pocket!!!  Not that I can be ticked off but omg -- all this...this **** and I feel kinda screwed!

That's it -- thanks for letting me rant.  I need another beer; my daughter has a friend spending the night and all I hear is them being goofy while watching "Hairspray"  lol

[ChitChatNine]

How about something warm .. like sherry ... or a warm drink of some sort .. there must be something out there soothing and warm .................. C~

[bet643]

A glass of white wine sounds great.  The week was kind of busy though not feeling so hot. Kind of feeling down in the dumps with holidays coming up and having a few less people around me because they have passed away all within 6 months. I'm trying not to think about it, but it just gets harder by the day. Plus the weather is getting colder here, with rain changing to snow and very windy. I think I will have that glass of wine, surf the net a bit and call it a night.

[ChitChatNine]

Have you visited the Cat Community here on MedHelp?!  It's a great place to stop by ..

I'm going to see if the CL's of Cats may want to stop by the thread and wave hello!

C~

[carolT]

For the past ten years cats just keep coming to my door, some sick, some hurt, some dying, some with kittens. I now am taking care of 30 cats. I have been where you are with that kitten. Remember if it is very young you have to stimulate it to urinate and have bowel movements. All of my cats are feral which means they have never been near a human, this kitten is lucky because you will be able to socialize it and then either keep it or find it a good home. I have been able to socialize almost all 30 cats and have spayed/neutered and vaccinated all of them. Most are indoors where they should stay especially when they are young. Goats milk diluted half and half with distilled water is good as well as meat baby food as long as there is no pork or spices in it. When it starts eating remember that you have to crush dry food or it can choke. Hope suggestions help!. By the way this has been a terrible week for me but it always helps to read everyone elses posts.
I blew up at the dr because I had a CT scan of my throat and lungs since I am so short of breath and have high BP. He said that my thyroid was compressing my trachea and something was compressing my lungs so that I can't use the oxygen that I breathe. Since I had gained 22 lbs in 3 weeks he told me I should have gastric bypass surgery and should walk 3 or more miles a day. That did it!!! I started crying and yelling and told him to look at my feet and legs I can't even bend my feet I have so much fluid in them. I also told him that I couldn't even walk to my mailbox let alone 3 miles and reminded him that I have no balance and fall constantly as well as black out.  He told me to look at him, that he had lost 40 lbs in 6months by running 8 miles a day but could only run 4 miles when he started (he is at least 6 feet 2 inches and now weighs 150 lbs). He did not know what to do when I started crying, he just looked at me and told me to keep a strict food journal that maybe I was eating and just didn't remember it.  I was simply incredulous and so angry when I left I just didn't care anymore.  I really don't know what I am going to do now but I am glad to have someone to vent to that will listen as my kids and husband think I am just complaining. Thanks for listening I think I will go drink a big glass of COKE and not diet!!!!

[barrettsark]

Well I was hoping the anxiety would go away when My #'s got better.  I did start lexapro and it seems to be helping some.  I'm only on day 8 today.  Anxiety suck!  I would love a drink if I was not on so much medication.

[RodeoQueen]

My Kids are 8 and three. I have a horse too. I have 40 of them but I am just unable to do it all alone. LOL..

I think that Anxiety is a BIG part of thyroid issues for sure!!!! I ahve had anxiety for a good 8 years!!! Prozac made my panack attacks so bad I just knew I was going to die!!

It is not all in your head. I think the lil thyroid is a big part of allot of big things in the body. I took Levoxyl anf it did nothing to me and I swapped for Synthroid it has me at 0.08 So that is a good thing but I am so full of anxiety it si tough that is part of the reason I got a divorce.

We are back together though. Man alive.

Rodeo

[K2kids]

My hat off to you barrettsark! Wow, you have way more strength than you give yourself. You will get threw this.
For me a bad week of work and if the tingling and leg pains would go away I would be a little bit happier? Is anyone serving up any kinds of drinks at this time? PLEASE line one up for me.

[shoenut]

Tipping a glass of merlot as I write, thanks for the invite.

Well my thryoid is one step forward two back, but at least it's moving and symptoms are changing so I don't have the same old ones. ;o)

Here is one for you cat lovers. I have never had a house cat, and I am 51.., never. Actually kind of afraid of them. So my husband brings me in this 3-5 week old barn kitty, literally stiff and breathing is so low can't tell it is. It is cold here in Iowa and Mommy cat left her.

My heart goes out to it, so I give it a warm bath, and it starts to perk up some, dried it by the register, and he is mewing now, but still weak. I feed it with a syringe some glop mixture.......fast forward one week. He is running all around, bites your toes, claws at everything hanging in his sight, eats like a horse. Now, what to do with him, he is too little to turn outside, and I do love him, but he is full of it.

I think I am too old for this, last night I almost cried becasue every time he poops, I had to wipe his bottom. However today is better, bathroom time Is MUCH better. Took the glop away.  Any suggestions for a new cat lover with little patience.

[barrettsark]

Rodeo Thank you so much for the words.  I'm sorry to hear about everything you have been going through also.  

So anxiety is really normal for thyroid problem?
How old are your kids?  Mine are 10,8,6,5,3,2,and 8 months Five I gave birth to and two foster sons.

[RodeoQueen]

Well you are not crazy!!! I can vouch for you there!! I am sorry you feel this way. You are not alone. I too feel just like you. I had cancer, A divorce, two surgeries, two of my dogs died (ONE FROM OLD AGE OF 17) It is hard to hear people make assumptions. Waht a hard year. I know how you feel. I feel like I could jump out of my skin any second!!! I have two kids. I am sorry about you having to pump and throw it away. BUT you have to be able to take care of you to take care of the baby. I am sorry you are going through this but that is why we are here. CHIN up.. Find the stregnth with in yourself to move forward. I know it is hard!! I pray that you will feel better soon and can get a good nights rest!!!!

Rodeo

[barrettsark]

I just dont know who people live a normal life feeling like this.  I have seven Children and I feel like **** all the time now.  I like Hypo better then Hyper.  at least the days went by faster because I could sleep.  Not sleeping good at night is killing me.  The Anxiety attacks wake me up at night and My neck and arms will feel like they are burning and tingling. Heart pounding!  Seems to be worst at night then during the day and I can fall asleep but I can't stay asleep.
They did give me anti anxiety meds Clonazepam .5 mg for night time.  But I hate taking med's.  And I have to pump and dump my beast milk in the morning.  Which makes me sad to not feed my baby in the morning when all she wants to do is nurse.  
It's so nice to find this site I feel so alone and I think my family thinks I'm going crazy

[ChitChatNine]

Ohhh no .. I have to go to a wake but I'll stop back later guys ... you all need a drink .. me, too, now after reading your posts.

C~