A LONG JOURNEY

It's been a long haul but I'm coming around. Over the past several months, I have been battling a couple of health issues. Not life threatening, but definitely compromising the quality of life.

In April, I finally had surgery to remove problem-some fibroids. I had eight and the largest was 8.0 cm. I was told that was about the size of a grapefruit and was like carrying a 4-month fetus. The problems it caused at that size was sharp pains, discomfort in moving, and pressure on my intestines and bladder. Overall, I did not feel good from day-to-day. After going to see a specialist in Atlanta (Dr. Alfred Jenkins), I opted to do the da Vinci robotic laparoscopy surgery after being on Depro Lupron to reduce the fibroid size. The advantage was the size of the incisions and recovery. I believe I had the greatest surgeon for this in the world. My before and after care was superb. I feel the difference and feel so much better now. I'm so happy I had the surgery.

The other issue that I'm still dealing with is dealing with my thyroid. It appears that I have Hashimoto's disease, in which thyroid antibodies attack the thyroid and result in hypothyroid symptoms. It was hell trying to get treated for this, because most Endocrinologists do not treat Hashi. Because the thyroid panel results will show as normal even though you have treatment, doctors will not treat it until your lab work shows a problem. So basically, you have to wait until the antibodies completely destroy your thyroid and make you hypothyroid. Nope, no prevention here and meanwhile, you SUFFER all of the dreadful symptoms of fatigue, nerve and joint pain, constipation, headaches, etc.

Fortunately, I found a doctor who listened and was willing to treat the symptoms rather than lab results. She allowed me to go on Armour Thyroid and I have been feeling better ever since. My antibodies have dropped, my pain and headaches are all but gone. I still have some small muscle twitch and still can't seem to lose weight despite a healthy low calorie lifestyle and high intensity and frequent workout program. We're adjusting the medication and I have no doubt that I will be 100% soon.

Whew! You never know what life will bring you. But the best way to deal with it is to rely on your higher power for strength and guidance and belief that He will pull you through!

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