Check Things Up

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Yeah, yeah, things got delayed because …. well, I hope I’m not getting sick again. It is possible. The thyroid prescription has been upped to maybe stop this cycle.

I’ve actually been up since — much too late 10:30. I mean the cats thought we’d died. But it was the two of us, so maybe it’s something else? — but exceptionally ADD with it and not getting much of anything done, though much started.

Anyway, part of the … interruption …. was a young friend who’s been down a long time, and her normal “popping back up” mechanisms aren’t working.

And I want to talk about that, and about the whole whole mess with health. Not whining this time, I hope, but explaining why I keep making the hand I was dealt worse. I’m doing this because I think a lot of us have that problem, and I suspect at least one of you out there needs to hear this.

First, look, when our cats start getting older, we take them for checkups every six months. Because they hide when they’re sick. And sometimes a checkup catches something that can be fixed with a tablet, and it means they live another five years, not five months.

And if you’re saying “But I’m not old”. It all depends on perspective. At this point, to me, everyone looks alike babies. And at the same time, I still feel like a kid, just beginning. I think humans have an internal certainty of their being eternal beings, and as such they know our entire life here, were it a century just makes us infants in eternity. Which is fine.

But talking of the body… Look at my cats. I start taking them for six month checkups at around 10 (unless we’re really broke, then it’s 12. Or beyond broke, in which case neither cats nor humans get checkups.) Because they’re considered elderly at 10. Which in the wild, eating what they can catch, etc. is about right. But you get them checkups and most of ours live 17 to 21 years.

Humans in the wild… ah, you’re good for 35 to 40 years and then things go wrong. You might tick on a couple of decades more, but you’ll be old. Really old.

So–

Yes, things can go wrong younger too, but after 35, consider things might be breaking down, okay?

And here’s the thing, I was talking tot he endo and pointed out I don’t even know what’s a sign of low thyroid or just being sick, or my auto-immune being spicy again, since the three tend to synergize each other into vortex from hell.

But one thing I know, and it’s comforting of a sort: I’ll always blame it on myself, my mind, my personality defects and my not trying hard enough until someone says “Hey, there’s something wrong physically.”

The weird thing? No matter how much I beat myself we wouldn’t have caught this latest thyroid issue, which we only caught because my GP tried to diagnose it as hyperthyroidism (apparently it’s fairly common for GPs to misread the results that way. Heck, I had an endo in Denver do that too.) And one thing I know for sure, having had friends who were hyperthyroidal, when you’re sleeping your life away, your get up and go got up and went, and you’re 80lbs overweight, there is no way in heck you’re hyperthyroidal. So I asked for a referral to a specialist, and yes, the meds helped, though not all the way. (And yes, I was diagnosed as hypothyroidal, not hyper.)

The thing is low thyroid which is disturbingly common in middle aged women is heck to diagnose if you are … me.

If you are chronically depressed, forever checking yourself against reality, and ADD — but can’t medicate because it makes you into a paranoid, aggressive moron — causes you to have to kick your butt into actually working, finishing things, fullfilling obligations, etc, it’s really hard to figure out when things have gone seriously wrong.

The first time my thyroid went wonky (Yes, it got better, but not all the way… And then it went bad in another direction) I went through years of brain fog — which I’d never had before, but you know what it is when you feel it — and until the symptoms were alzheimers-like and the writing stopped, it didn’t occur to me I needed medical help. I was just depressed and being a wimp, you know.

And the other thing I’ve had (and fortunately it’s just annoying) since I had first son (the caesarean) I’d get these black spots on my abdomen, gross black spots, and over time, sometime, these black things came out. I figured out it was because I was so fat, and–

Turns out it’s stitches from the Caesarean working themselves out of the body. (Yes, the OB used the wrong stitches. What else is new.)

Or take my infertility issues. I’ve felt guilty about it for decades. If only I’d not done this, I had done that, if I had– Now they have a diagnoses which also matches stuff that happened when I was 19. Autoimmune. Which shouldn’t shock anyone, but– So, the surprise is not that we only managed two kids with years of treatment and all. It’s that we managed kids at all. Most women with my condition never do.

Honestly, this is such a pattern that while I feel guilty as heck over my weight and the fact I don’t exercise enough, it wouldn’t surprise me even a little bit to find out it’s some problem that you can’t fight with will power and strong enough work ethic.

Because that’s the hardest thing, right? You know yourself. Or at least I know myself. I’m lazy, scattered and have a tendency to get depressed when someone drops a hat across the world.

Again, my solution to anything that goes weird is “kick yourself harder.” And sometimes it works. Heck, most of the time. I’ve managed to be unmedicated for depression for most of my life. (Holds up fingers in V — sixty two years, still at large! The fools! Mwahaahahah.)

So…. how do you know?

You don’t, but there are some reliable guides:

If something is weird, and isn’t exactly hurting but is just “Uh, that’s weird!”: A spot on the skin, lightheadness at certain times, after certain actions? Sure, maybe it’s nothing, just your body chanting, or whatever. OR– Or it could serious. Drag yourself to a checkup, mention the thing and don’t minimize it. See what it is. (Minimizing meant my husband went with something untreated for 20 years, so…)

If all of a sudden you can’t do anything you’ve done for years, whether that is hiking a mile or writing a novel in a month? Get it checked up. (The most likely cause for a slow down in writing or reading is your eyes, BTW.)

If you’re a depressive and have your protocols in place to deal with it — reality check, take a break, do enjoyable activity, see friends, sleep more, whatever — and it’s simply not working, go in for a checkup. And don’t prejudice them towards psychological issues. Have a blood test. A lot of serious issues, including some cancers first present as “depressions I can’t kick off.” (I remember Eric Flint describing the onset of his cancer long before they figured out it was there as “Depressions from the pit.”) So, check that. Check as much as you can. Your GP will gladly give you happy pills and not look at underlying causes. So describing exhaustion and sleeping too much or whatever and not hopelessness or depression is best to begin with.

And if you find yourself engaging in suicidal ideation out of the clear blue sky? First check if you’re taking Montelucast. No, seriously, it now has a black box warning. And you can take it for years and suddenly the symptom appears. Which is what happened to me.

If you’re not, run, don’t walk to a doctor, and yes, tell them what is going on. Because nothing is solved by the world having a you shaped hole in it.

…. And now I’m going to have some caffeine and go revise. Speaking of explaining things just not working, would you believe I forgot caffeine this morning? No wonder I have nothing done. Argh.

123 thoughts on “Check Things Up”

  1. I just started my annual cycle of check up with various doctors (GP, Sleep, Nephrologist, Gastrologist, Dermatologist…). The good thing is that several of them backed me up to once a year instead of every 6 months as conditions stabilized.

    If nothing else it gives me a reason to shower/shave, put on real clothes and get out of the house for a few hours. I don’t mind that so much as Dr.s have these unreasonable hours for appointments. Before Noon? Who Does That!?!

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    1. My check up is at two o’clock on a Monday afternoon. I guess I could eat a big breakfast and push my lunch back to 1:15; it’s still a big hole in my afternoon. Wonder if my blood work will show I haven’t been taking my cholesterol pills since Christmas?

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      1. Unless you’ve started exercising vigorously for 3 hours a day, your blood work will show you haven’t been taking your cholesterol pills.

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          1. Jenny was a shade of her former self. All she’d do nowadays is sit in the rocking chair on the front porch, gazing off into the distance. True, she no longer levitated, cursed, or spewed green bile; but she also never told her wonderfully entertaining stories anymore. The exorcism had gone off perfectly, driving out the evil spirits that infested her. Unfortunately, the same ritual had driven out her muse.

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  2. This thyroid nonsense is no joke – I had mine removed because two tests indicated cancer and then the pathology was totally negative. Thought I’d dodged a bullet until I started dealing with endos and pills forever. This miserable little glitchy gland can cause or worsen mental issues, making things much harder to unravel. I’ve wasted a lot of perfectly good cusswords on this. Like economists, all endos point in different directions. I got lucky – the surgery spared the associated parathyroid glands – and I tolerate the synthetic hormones just fine, and no issues with Ca or K or Mg absorption. HOWEVER, not everyone is so lucky and you have to advocate and harass the medical establishment even if the tests look “normal”. A friend of mine in the same boat but with worse luck just changed docs for the 3rd time in 2 years and may/may not be on the right track, but she is cautiously hopeful that she won’t feel like 10 miles of bad road in the near future. I refuse to plug any “authority” on a forum – I am not their PR firm – but tag me if you want some references and cites. No reason to reinvent the wheel……..

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  3. I’m not much on going to the doctor, mostly because I’ve been absurdly healthy for most of my life. Healthy, but not necessarily in perfect working order. Wore corrective lenses for 60+ years. (Cataract surgery finally fixed that.) My sense of smell is bad. Probably something wrong with my hearing that I blame on poor sound in movies these days, and actors who’ve never been taught a stage whisper.

    Medical professionals find it hard to believe somebody my age is not on any prescriptions. (Actually on one now for heart health. No, I ditched the statins and aspirin but have kept taking the one for circulation despite my generally low blood pressure cuz’ it doesn’t seem to have any side effects.)

    I’ve finally figured that the best practice talking to doctors is like writing a prompt for AI. You have to anticipate where the standard algorithm kicks in, and somehow learn to emphasize the things you say that you’ll know they’ll ignore. As you note, a lot depends on where the essential words are in the first sentence you say to them. Still, no guarantees. You have to remember that they have 10 minutes with you and are likely to have only scanned your chart, mostly to see what conclusions any other doctors have already reached.

    I appreciate that my cardiologist gave me the full breakdown on one medication he recommended. “At your age, your risk of stroke is 1.5% per year. Take this, and it reduces it to 0.5% per year.”

    That reminded me of the exchange in the mini-series 1923.

    Doctor: “I can’t seem to find the bullet.”

    Patient: “Just sew it up Doc. It’s an old wound.”

    Doctor: “If I leave it in, it could slowly give you lead poisoning.”

    Patient: “I’m 80 f****in years old! You think I’m worried about the slow ones? Just sew it up.”

    But that’s just me. Despite outliving us men on the average, women seem to have many more health problems that require a lot of maintenance. Most of us men will more likely drop over from a heart attack if we don’t accidentally do ourselves in.

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    1. I’ve finally figured that the best practice talking to doctors is like writing a prompt for AI.

      Given what’s going on in medical IT these days, that’s what you ARE doing.

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  6. No insurance as a work at home contractor. I know I’ve got floating ribs from when I was younger, and let’s not talk about dentistry. Yes, I know about the potential risk there. It is what it is.

    All of that said, hope you get better.

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  9. The first thing that hit me with being old was in my fifties. Before that, all the problems could have been injuries or falling out of practice at something.

    Plantar fasciitis? apparently I’m getting old.

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    1. Oi, I hated PF.

      I found the Strassburg sock helped a lot, as well as getting arch-supporting insoles (Superfeet)

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      1. Yes! Arch support! Also an exercise, but it was the socks and the insert that made the real difference.

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      2. I had ultrasound therapy on my feet for about 6 weeks. Cured the PF problem nicely. Feet did ache a bit after each treatment; but that’s because the energy is increased to the point it causes microtears in the fascia. (Which is the whole idea actually.) Minor damage the body fixes and fixes the PF issue at the same time.

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      3. To be honest, the gel insoles you get at the grocery store seem to work pretty well for me. But definitely good shoes to begin with.

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    2. If you walk on concrete a lot (as I did at work for 27 years), in addition to arch supports it helps to have two pairs of shoes of different brands to alternate wearing. My eventual Plantar fasciitis improved with the supports & exercise. Alternating shoes as well got rid of it entirely.

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    3. Nothing to do with age – flat feet are genetic. PF is common with those whose arches are pretty much non-existent.

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      1. I have high arches. I have so high arches that some shoes will literally not fit.

        I have PF

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  10. May you get qualified, accurate, and friendly medical attention. Do take care.

    (My provider is the VA. Unless I’m actively dying or shedding flesh, I don’t go anywhere near that place.)

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  11. …would you believe I forgot caffeine this morning? No wonder I have nothing done. Argh.

    On the plus side, you didn’t have to call anyone to help dispose of a stack of inconvenient bodies that resulted from no caffeine. :D

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  12. I have yet to hear a good review of any doctor in this area. I’m sure there are some, but they seem to be keeping their heads down, lest they get chopped off. The default seems to be serve low, charge high, and try to get everyone on Medicaid.

    A medication review is a foreign concept–just take that 20th pill every day and go to the ER if there are problems because your doctor just went on vacation for a month and MIGHT have an opening in 3 months.

    I haven’t been to a doctor in 30 years and have no reason to start. Especially when I’m apparently living in the medical equivalent of a 3rd world country.

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      1. Depends on how obnoxious the state medical outfit is, plus doctors like to live in peaceful (for values) settings, too.

        It gets crunchy when the boondocks are closer to the cities than where we live. A bit of room for monopoly thinking to come into play, but I seem to have found a better alternative for my needs. Family Practice clinic vs Primary Care. Had too many “discussions” about COVID and the clotshot from Dr Mengele at the FP clinic, and the PC one is taking new patients. Had great luck with one of their docs already, so hell yes, I’m switching.

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    2. The problem with Medicaid is those who take it have to conform to government regulations, ALL of them. There’s just about zero room for independent improvement or ‘professional’ discretion.

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  13. I’ll add one to look out for – you may beat cancer once, but it’s often lurking in the weeds.

    DO celebrate your 5-years cancer-free.

    Do NOT stop getting blood work for cancer markers. Insist.

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  14. Wow, you described almost my exact experience before getting diagnosed with hypothyroid. Right down to the depression, exhaustion, and beating oneself up over it.

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    1. Yeah. Mine did a you turn, and presented completely different suddenly, which means the old meds were useless. Better now medicated, but the medication was upped by 50% at last visit, and I’m hoping that helps more.

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      1. FWIW, a few months ago the wife and I learned — after 25+ years of her being on thyroid medication — that what you take them with is VERY important. There are specific things (can’t remember off the top of my head…iron might be one) that you should not take or eat within X hours of taking levothyroxine because they’ll flat-out deactivate it.

        She got on a schedule and started taking her thyroid meds at a time of day when nothing else could interfere with them, and with the medication working properly, her labs are NORMAL. For the first time in. like, ever.

        We learned this not from an endocrinologist, but from a nurse practitioner. (At the endo office, but still…) Doctors mostly suck. The best ones I’ve ever had at listening and diagnosing — and following up to make sure they got it right — have been NOT doctors, but NPs.

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  15. Thank, Sarah. You’re a gem.

    And far too often with the right word at the right time for mere coincidence…

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  16. And now I was pressured to get a heart scan by primary care. I did, and I was told to see a cardiologist immediately. The cardiologist doesn’t have an opening until late August. The suspect is the left anterior descending artery.

    So, I get to add that to the other issues still hitting me, the failing right arm, the radiation fried thyroid and throat, the beat to shit right leg, and lots of little things.

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      1. Yes. I have been referred to a cardiologist too by GP. Haven’t gotten a call yet. Not sure who to follow up with.

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        1. Both, please. Whichever can take you fastest gets the business and the recommendation.

          And be sure you follow up on the recommendation, on any rating service you and your friends / family can reach.

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      2. What lesser beings consider an emergency doesn’t matter at higher levels. I haven’t had a heart attack, so I was told don’t do anything that will put stress on my heart.

        The cardiologist does do clinics at at least 5 different hospitals, so he is busy. The downside of living in the middle of nowhere.

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    2. Stress test and echo will usually show there is a blockage, and where, but until they thread a cath up into it, they can only estimate the blockage, and can’t tell how badly it really is. I had three blockages, two of which were 90% and 98%. Waiting for some opening would have meant I was a dead man walking. I strongly suggest going to a different cardiologist or hospital.

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  17. Another thing that worsens as we age is recovery time. It’s irritating in the extreme to no longer be able to bounce back from injury/hangover/concrud in a day or so but not allowing recovery time just makes whatever it is worse

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    1. Keep yourself as fit as possible. It can be a real PITA to drag yourself out and do the stretches and exercise, but it does make recovery easier and shorter.

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  18. I had a study done just before I hit The Magic Age. Doc called that afternoon and said, “I’ve referred you to a surgeon.” Three weeks later, out it came – large but not yet cancerous. The 6-month follow up was clean. The follow-up in Jan of this year was also clean, so I get three years before I have to go back, unless there are symptoms. So sometimes those “just because I’m [age]” tests are important.

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  19. At 72, I’m close to “frequent flyer” status, between trauma and disease. Some of the latter is genetic (otosclerosis), while others from less than optimal life choices.

    Had a run with depression in my 40s. Had some help (sort of) via a mild SSRI, but working with a therapist and getting out and taking chances was more important. Met $FUTURE_SPOUSE, who help(ed|s) me get my act together. FWIW, deafness is one hell of a depression trigger. My ENT surgeon was less than optimal, and two attempts to fix the left ear failed after the warranty ran out the connections went toes up. Third time got it, but that’s also the ear with noise induced nerve damage. If it gets bad enough, I’ll get hearing aid(s).

    Screwing up my already repaired right knee led to other findings; I’m on a diuretic for edema, and other lumps and clogs need periodic attention. Dr. Mengele didn’t call for an appointment last winter; I have one for June, and am switching providers, though that can’t happen until August. I dealt with one of their docs (same medical junta, less vax-pushing) for a colonoscopy and he read my not-flu test (couldn’t test for CV-19 because Oregon “health” “authority” is asshoe. Circa March 2020). He was suspected of advising me not to take the clotshot. Nope, and I’m still not telling. [cue middle fingers].

    Have to see the retina doc periodically. Now it’s yearly, though I’m wondering about a redo on the first eye done. That was conservatively treated, and maybe, possibly, could be improved. We’ll talk in September. The good news is that cornea issues have resolved. Had to get a buff&polish for roughness, leaving some old interior scars untreatable. Over the 8 years since, those scars dissipated. Yippie!

    Insty linked to a study implicating gum disease as a trigger for Alzheimer’s. Had the disease, got treated, see the dental outfit every 6 months. Not covered by my Medicare, but it’s worth it to me.

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    1. Yeah, I’m probably going to have to get my epiretinal membrane peeled off sometime this year. The double vision is really screwing up my reading.

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      1. Those were my retina procedures. (I’m at risk of retina tears and may have had one or more years ago.) The first one was done by the junior doc at the practice. He went conservative (and also thought that I could continue warfarin. Hilarity ensued at the end, but the interesting floaters disappeared). This is the eye that might benefit from a redo.

        The senior doc (younger went to another practice, in Utah, if I recall correctly) did the right eye, more aggressively. Night vision is a bit poorer, and the gas* bubble caused problems when I crossed the Cascades going home. Temporary blindness wasn’t fun. Used TXRed’s Familiar book to help me keep it together; drove a 10th of a mile, parked until eye cleared, rinse and repeat. One long term problem, likely due to the bubble was a pinched nerve that controls the iris. Took a couple years for the worst effects to fade, though that pupil is now normal (done 7 years ago).

        FWIW, a practice in California (Chico, so maybe 400′ elevation) says “don’t go over 2000′ with the bubble. I had to go from 1200′ at the hospital over a 5100′ pass. Home is 4350′. It’s not absolute altitude, but delta, and rate of change. When I went back for the followup(s), going over the 750′ was nothing. I took the return trips slowly with no further issues.

        Followups: Next day, then a week later, then monthly for a few, then quarterly, then semiannual for several years. Now it’s annual unless we go back to square 1.

        TL;DR: There can be issues. I have steroid sensitivity, so needed glaucoma medication until I could stop the steroid. The bubble/blindness took the senior doc by surprise; the vast majority of his patients don’t do the cross-Cascades shuttle.

        If I get a redo, I’ll spend a week at low altitude. A suites hotel is in easy walking distance to the clinic. The actual procedure is in another town, in the People’s Republic of Ashland, OR. Whee. OTOH, it’s day surgery. Show up at 7AM, back to the hotel by 10AM. 2nd one, he had me bring my CPAP just in case.

        The first procedure, I could see the tools in my eye. Second one, the doc felt it best to block the optic nerve. Since it wasn’t my first rodeo, no big deal.

        (star) Was air for the first, a more exotic one for the second. Had more gas for the second. I was able to drive a couple days later.

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  20. I hate dealing with the doctor for the same reason why pilots hated dealing with doctors in “The Right Stuff”-you can’t win. You can only not lose.

    I know I have to go. Have regular appointments scheduled. The problem is that I have so little left to lose, it seems. And I keep running into the fact that I’m built to survive small famines (weight is an issue), I’ve been treated like a mushroom all my life (yay, depression!), and a whole lot of other things going on.

    And I want solutions. Not…rolling repairs that never quite fix anything.

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    1. “built to survive small famines (weight is an issue)“

      –

      Or come from a long line of pioneers … Both sides. Exercise and lack of calories? I swear, to quote our veterinarian, my system goes “Don’t worry sweets. We got you!” I gain weight!

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      2. I heard about something I hadn’t realized existed: “Culinary anthropology.” Apparently there’s an actual science dedicated to how your ancestors affect your weight profile, and it’s a better science than anything coming out of the diet industry.

        In short, the scarcity of food in your genetic ancestry is a direct tell for how you gain weight, and people whose ancestors lived in year-round food availability are the ones who don’t have issues.

        The example given was the difference between Thailand (year-round food) vs. Korea (seasonal.) You don’t tend to see obese Thai, barring metabolic collapse, but Koreans have that potential issue.

        This also means that the “Mediterranean diet” doesn’t do much good unless you have that Mediterranean ancestry to go with it. Throw in some German or Scandinavian ancestry and you’re not going to lose weight that way. And apparently, the ones screwed the worst are Navajo, because historically they had readily-available food for only a third of the year.

        This is why intermittent fasting is so successful for many people. It’s replicating what their bodies are expecting.

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  21. Oh, yeah. Suddenly I have a small crop of small feelings going on. Some have labels, like the gastritis and Barret’s esophagus, but others confuse the nurse practitioner as much as they do me. Will be having a CT scan when we get back from volunteer trip, so maybe that will at least tell me my one poor, dried-up ovary hasn’t blown up.

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  22. I just discovered I’m older than the Pope by about six months.

    I’m older than the Pope. (Considers putting head in hands.)

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      1. Now, if you’re older than the president of the LDS church, that’s a whole…nother…level. Not sure how they manage it (unless they really are prophets and God is sustaining them), but those guys have ALL been older than dirt as far back as I can remember. They get chosen (elevated? nominated? elected? inherited?) in their 90s and just keep on ticking into triple digits.

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      1. Thomas Sowell, announcing his retirement, observed that he had had a chance to see the birth and death certificates of the couple he was born to. He had not only lived longer than both of them, he had lived longer than both of them combined.

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          1. According to Wiki, his Great-Aunt adopted him.

            His mother was still alive at that time although his father had died about time that Thomas had been born.

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      2. My Dad was born in fifty-four, on the day (I discovered later) that “The Flintstones” debuted on television.

        My parent is as old as Fred Flintstone.

        <Giggle>

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    3. Try six years.

      I remarked on that to my sisters today; the younger (65 this year) noted she felt old at 24, when she was older than all the players on a college football team she was watching.

      I felt old the first time some Sweet Young Thing smiled at me … and offered me her seat on the BART train. It’s nice to know that some kids Were Raised Right.

      But ‘older than the Pope’ is a meme in training, I think.

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      1. Three years for me. Had a couple of guys in to replace the dishwasher (11 years, RIP), and one kept calling me “sir”. I had to repress the urge to look behind me for someone who met that.

        I didn’t mind Sweet Young Things holding the door for me when I was stuck with a cane last year, but they really don’t have to now. Of course, some of the Sweet not-so-young are people in their 50s. Oh well, getting old might suck, but it beats the alternative.

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  23. I fought, depression, weight gain, excruciating pains of various kinds from age 22 to 57, doctoring all along. I would always hear that my blood work was a little off but, otherwise, I was “fine” and it was probably just stress.

    Finally, I had a brainstem stroke at 57. And suddenly the blood work was taken seriously. I will be taking oral chemo for the rest of my life for that.

    Meanwhile, thanks to therapy, I learned to walk, talk and whatnot again. Then I got worse and also went deaf in one ear.

    “It would be strange if you had MS,” my neurologist said. ” But to be thorough, we should do a spinal tap.”

    Strange definitely describes me in many ways and of the 12 markers that you need 4 positives for an MS diagnosis, 8 were positive.

    When she looked back at my chart the doc said she shouldn’t be surprised because I’d had many symptoms of MS since I was 22, but no one put them altogether.

    I did feel vindicated though. I wasn’t lazy or crazy. I was sick.

    Finding a functional medicine specialist to get me back on track was life changing. Regular medicine has been generally unhelpful. Also there is a lot to be said for being to stubborn to just lie down and quit.

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    1. So, MS has been raised once or twice, particularly about my NDAs which strike, and leave no trace. if I didn’t get to the hospital still under the aftereffects, no one would believe me.
      So far it’s not been considered likely enough to do a spinal tap. But throats have been cleared in that direction a few times. And older son says it’s his actual bet.
      I hope he’s wrong. It scares the living daylights out of me.
      I’m glad you’re stubborn.

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      1. Before you let them do a spinal tap, have them do am MRI.

        If they see no lesions on your brain it’s not MS.

        I had lesions but I’d also had a massive stroke so I would have.

        MRIs are non invasive so I’d go that route first.

        But, MS isn’t too terribly difficult to manage with serious attention to diet, rest, and stress levels. So fear not. If you’ve gotten this far without a diagnosis, you’ll be fine.

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        2. Seconding that. I have a friend who was diagnosed with MS and has been under treatment, and her projected lifespan is only a few years shorter than the average for her age group.

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          1. The weird thing is that I have a VAGUE memory the neurologist wanted to do a puncture and I noped it? Or we got locked down? or something? I probably should get those records here. I really should.

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            1. Definitely. Now back in the day I gave my patients Valium or Versed [once available] before the LP. Not only did it make them really relaxed so the procedure was a snap (getting you in correct position the main issue) but they usually woke up asking “when you gonna start, Doc?” Same with bone marrows.

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              1. I did have/ do have (?) lesions and was having annual MRIs in CO, but after the third? they said it probably wasn’t MS or at least it wasn’t progressing as it would be.

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  24. Let me give a hearty second to the “check your eyes” thing. Last year, I was getting headaches and dizziness and correctly diagnosed this as an eyestrain issue. I asked for and got a prescription for the precise distance I sit from my monitor and the symptoms evaporated within a week.

    (My work is all computer-based, so stepping away was not an option.)

    Incidentally, my mother showed me a 50 cent-sized patch on her leg last week that looked inflamed. “Good timing,” she said, “I’m going back to the dermatologist next week to deal with the bump on my ear.” The spot had roared up in the time since she’d seen the dermatologist less than a month prior. Blame a childhood at high altitude before the invention of sunscreen.

    (And the dermatologist chose to reschedule the ear nip in favor of taking a chunk of skin off her leg. Yeah, when it comes up that fast, you don’t wait.)

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    1. “childhood at high altitude before the invention of sunscreen.“

      –

      Plus a lifetime of fishing and hunting. Mom was raised in Montana and Colorado before they moved to lower elevation in western Oregon south of Willamette valley (south of Cottage Grove), when mom was 15. Then after marrying dad, almost every weekend there was fishing, or hunting. Plus a month in higher mountains of the eastern Oregon Blues and Wallawas.

      Yes, at age 90, the above is definitely having an impact, even though latter years she slathered on the skin protection.

      Liked by 2 people

    2. When I was young (7-8ish), I had to sit in front of a sunlamp for reasons unknown to me. As spring broke, I’d be sent outside to get a bit of a tan (well, burn frequently). Had a couple of amazing sunburns. Wearing a hat in a snowfield at 6000′ doesn’t do much for your face.

      When I was bicycling (was it 30+ years ago), the timing was such that I got mild sun exposure in early spring, so my arms tanned and freckled. Taking Lasix, I’m told that I have to avoid much sun because of sunburn, so I’m now doing outside work in long sleeve shirts. No skin (or any other kind of) cancer issues, yet. The extended family history of cancer doesn’t include skin. OTOH, my prostate is “enlarged”. Dr Mengele didn’t ask for the blood test, one reason why he’ll be my former doctor. I’m going to insist on the test when I see his minion in June.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Definitely force the prostate tests. Hubby’s went from “meh, let’s watch this”, every 6 months, to “um” awfully quick (calendar wise about 2 years, but if he’d been able to get in on schedule would have been a little over a year). OTOH part of that was because, while the PSA tests were every 6 months, actually getting into see the doctor wasn’t. Seriously. What was suppose to be “schedule right after the first of the year”, implying getting an appointment soon when scheduling when they told him to. Which didn’t happen (yes, reasons beyond control of staff and physicians, but still…) Scheduling in January meant getting an appointment in September. He was in surgery mid November, first available opening. Things moved relatively fast because there was more to the process to decide before surgery.

        SIL’s brother she accused him of “not taking his health seriously” when they suddenly discovered his prostrate cancer. SIL had reasons, because of other stuff. But after having my eyes opened, so to speak, … maybe not. He had cancer outside the prostrate. But OTOH hubby got lucky. Another delay that put the surgery off even a few weeks might have found cancer migrating outside the prostrate. Cancer cells were found at the prostrate duct that the cancer cells typically use to grow out of the prostrate, but not in the duct itself.

        Prostrate cancer is considered “a slow cancer”. But “slow” is relative. Sure it is one that can be “watched for a bit” VS hospital/treatment now. But it isn’t something you can let medical wave off. Trust me the personal bargaining on this is epic. I am very relieved hubby’s last PSA was undetectable. But he still gets testing again in 3 months. How long for every 3 months if it stays undetectable? No idea. I’m fine with “forever”.

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        1. The hospital portion of the medical junta is promoting the PSA tests. Slightly risque poster above the urinal, alluding to the lack of, er, tactile investigation. Since I had the CT scan that showed the enlargement, the PSA test is far more relevant.

          If it entails periodic blood draws, no problem. For a few years, I had blood draws to monitor my prothrombin time. (Reasons were complicated, but related to overhead for the department that could do a fingerstick. Blood draws were cheaper, and I used to give blood before I turned into a walking pharmacy.)

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          1. True about the lab testing, but one needs to avoid, er, well, anything from normal sex to a big constipated bowel movement before the PSA labs much less a digital rectal exam for the results to be meaningful. Partially better sensitivity if a Free and Total PSA ordered at same time. They usually don’t put that on the posters in the bathroom.

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          1. We had initial COVID shots but no followup shots (non mRNA versions before that version was pulled).

            SIL’s brother didn’t have any COVID shots. OTOH raging alcoholic per BIL (his wife, the SIL won’t say that, but BIL won’t mince words).

            The other BIL (sister’s husband) who had a different cancer has gotten shots. They wanted to travel, so they gotten the shots.

            An aside. Both BIL’s have the same name so a lot of “the other” S BIL.

            Liked by 1 person

  25. One of the problems of growing older is finding a doctor older than yourself. The youngsters may be more up on modern medicine, but when you describe your aches and pains, the Doc knows exactly what you are talking about.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. And then he retires or passes on.

      Breaking in a new doctor is tedious. I think my doctor is about my age.

      I had that experience as a student nurse – had a lot of connection older patients. My 20-to-early-30s co-students just didn’t appreciate some things.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. “Breaking in a new doctor is tedious. I think my doctor is about my age.“

        –

        Have had the same GP now for about 20 years. The prior one retired mid-90s. For almost a decade I swear we had a new GP every 6 to 18 months. They just didn’t hang around. Fine for hubby and I, then. But rough on mom and dad because of dad’s conditions. They did have the specialists to help keep things in check, but should have been the other way around.

        Not looking forward to when current GP retires. Will have to break in the GP not only for us, but part of the current GP’s charm is that he is mom’s GP too. I have full access to talk to him about mom. Plus it is really easy to answer about “family medical history” (Look it up!). Son has that same advantage. Hard part for him is his fathers parents medical history.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Before retirement money was accessible, we were a bit close to the edge and I was using the low-cost clinic. Usually went to the one in the “nearby” town (25 miles away). They’d get the usual people, plus people who’d been kicked out of Tribal Health. First provider was a lady OB=GYN who couldn’t get past the old-boys network to practice at the junta. Then a young FNP. Then an older FNP who had to quit because of, er, inappropriate behavior in his past. Got a young Dr. Mengele at the time, and when he moved to the Medical Junta clinic, I went along. Things were OK until Covidiocy, plus his teaching duties meant I’d usually get a minion. Don’t mind the minions, for the most part, but they could have been grandchildren. (Never had kids, so never in real life.)

          The new clinic will still use PAs and FNPs, but it seems to be saner. I did well with the FNP who saw me when I went in for the knee issue (and started the tests for not-knee stuff), but she was gone in 4 months. (Teaching clinics does make for high turnover. On a good day, I’ll get a student/mentor duo. That’s wonderful. The previous FNP was just graduating. Hope she took over a rural practice.)

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        2. I still live in the town I retired in. I thought I was gonna practice until I was 80, but missed that by a decade. My former patients, however, wanted me to keep going to at least 90. I would have either dropped dead or been incarcerated for homicide long before then. SO i retired.

          Liked by 1 person

      2. The Reader has just started that process. His doctor retired at the end of 2024. The new one is in his low 40s but seems okay (he is a disfavored demographic so good start). His idea of a first evaluation had me walking to the exam room furtherest from the lobby, passing several unused ones at a brisk pace (he’s 6’3″ and fit) and looking at me and observing ‘you move pretty good for 71’.

        Separately, the Reader has to find a new cardiologist. My family got crosswise with the major practice here in Reader land – long story for another time. The Reader has a leaking mitral valve so needs yearly echocardiograms to make sure it is stable. And make yearly eye appointments and find an ENT and an an audiologist. And the Reader hates doctors.

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        1. Give me a local region and I might be able to point towards or away from possibilities [lol, I typed pissabilities but spellcheck flagged that one]

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  26. Have you had your parathyroids checked? My wife was having many issues and went to specialists in Tampa who removed 3 of 4 parathyroid glands from her neck resulting in improved health overall.

    Like

      1. but hypo parathyroidism after thyroid treatment is an entirely different and serious issue. A bit more difficult to recognize than thyroid disorders. But also schoolhouse stuff back in my day.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. LOL, yep, but we did learn to teach our pooch to vocalize the cadence if not the words to

      ”I want my f’n dinner NOW!” And she doesn’t get fed until me hear it.

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  28. I have no Thyroid. It was bent, cut, burned, spindled, mutilated and otherwise removed over the space of 2 years of cancer treatment. That’s how long it took from the first surgery and the “Surprise! It’s Cancer!” to the Dr’s going, well we think you are clear come back and we’ll check again in a bit.

    2 surgeries, 3 ablations (where you take a radioactive Iodine pill and go into isolation until the geiger counter calms down enough to let you out in public but no hugging the kido’s more than 10 seconds for a while) , and 6 weeks of external radiation stupid x-ray a day.

    And then they took me off my Synthroid meds for 6 weeks so they could test to see if they got it all. I have never been so tired at the end of that in my life, even when I was working on a diary farm a couple of summers. The 3rd day after I was back on my meds, at 10:00 in the morning I FELT the fog lift. In the space of 5 minutes went from butt dragging can’t do anything to weeeeeeeeeee I be HIGHER than ALL the Kites!

    And I dread when the Dr’s have to adjust the amounts. Good thing the Oncologist figured out that I don’t deal well with quick changes on the meds, small changes over several months works best. And I told her she wasn’t allowed to retire on me as I’ve had way to many DR’s do that to me the last few years.

    Probably should have the para-thyroid checked next time. ***Made note for next appointment

    Liked by 1 person

    1. OMG you better include a bone density test too. Yes, your story is unfortunately very credible. Consider all that crap that’s better than a radical neck dissection and thyroidectomy- oh, that’s what you had that didn’t work…. … I definitely believe your Med Onc did a better job of figuring out how to manage your thyroid than an endo. But of course I am a bit predjudiced.

      Liked by 1 person

  29. The medical industry quit trying to cure people a few decades ago. They actively hide cures. I was meaning to send you this link a while back. It explains a lot about how your thyroid functions and how to help it to function better when its function is impaired.

    https://www.violiendamast.nl/thyroid/

    It’s a different perspective from the old theories the medical industry still operates under.

    Like

  30. It’s not Ivy League Schools, It WASP Nazi League Schools.
    For those who say they’re Communist schools, no real difference except Communists killed more and they prefer starvation to ovens.

    My default position on the new Pope, Why no Pope of color, still all old white guys.
    Truth is I am not Catholic, so you all can decide who you want to lead your church, just know, they aint godly, just another bureaucrat, this one just a religious bureaucrat.

    I am so done with respect for Judges and Congress Critters.
    They’re all scum, and that is what they are, scum sucking political pigs, dump the female ones, hell the males as well in with the rapists in the prisons and let the Gang Bangers and Rapists fix the problems for us. I think some one smarter than me said ‘let the punishment fit the crime’. Treason against the american people is Treason against the American people no matter how you parse it.

    The fact that all politicians finances are not in a blind trust while they are in office proves just how corrupt they really are.
    There is not enough bad things to say about the Anti-Christ who calls herself Nancy Pilosi, just that if you want to know what Satan looks like, just look at that whore from hell. Anyone who votes for her should be in an oven, alive.

    Yes I am angry, but that’s fine, just waiting for this summer to play roof top Korean.

    If you live in a Blue State/City, may God keep and protect you and have mercy on your soul.

    Like

          1. “Rooftop Karen”

            –

            Um. Might have read that wrong … You did type Korean. But … It is a good use of “Karen” don’t you thing?

            Liked by 1 person

  31. After reading your post, I waited a while and then read all the responses. Sadly, it appears there are fewer competent physicians out there than I originally thought. You can’t diagnose thyroid cancer from lab tests. Mistaking hypothyroidism for hyperthyroidism via lab testing is not really possible. Well, not if you paid attention to class in medical school. And so on. As far as your sutures go, I had an orthopedic surgery where the non-absorbable sutures were placed so poorly that it took surgery to remove them. Leaving a great scar that looks like it should be a war wound. I’ve seen other post Caesarian wounds that also had non absorbable sutures placed where absorbable ones should have been used. The surgeon leaves the OR as soon as baby out, the resident closes internally and a medical student is left to close the soft tissues and skin. With only an OR nurse to supervise if they’re paying attention.

    Liked by 1 person

    2. ON Caesarian: It was 2:30 in the morning, after the fourth of July.
      No, the endo here has spicy words for endo in Denver. Something along the lines of “really, what?” And unfortunately said GPs these days (note) often confuse Hypo and hyper…. with the obvious issues.

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      1. Of course I’m tempted to say: “ Oh, Denver, well that explains a lot“ but from my point of view if that was an endo, it was criminal negligence. Hypoxia would not be a good excuse.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. And any FP or Primary Care MMD, DO, or LNP who doesn’t know how to diagnose from lab results much less history and physical should be drawn and quartered if they are practicing. BTW, GP originally referred to folks who completed their internship and then hung out a shingle without residency training. The doc who lived across the street from me ‘63 to ‘71 was a real GP, and a sharp one, as the medical education system and internships up to that point were rigorous. He was smarter and more skilled than most folks who finish Family Practice residencies (I think there may have been three available at his time) or internal medicine residencies these days.

          Liked by 1 person

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