My Medical Journey

I have been wanting to document this for a long time and I keep starting and getting sidetracked. Here's a timeline of my relevant medical history, leading up to the events of this year. I'll leave out the gory stuff.

1978 - I was born. 😂 Mom said I was always quiet, studious, even as a toddler. I loved books. I was healthy and happy.

Let's skip forward a bit.

Late 2006 - I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, depression, and uterine fibroids. I was put on birth control, an antidepressant, and thyroid hormone.

Feb 2007 - After 2 suicide attempts, I stopped taking both the birth control and the antidepressants, against the doctor's recommendation. (Um, what?!)  Suicidal thoughts disappeared. Still extremely fatigued and depressed most of the time, but functional. 

After 7 years living like this...

Feb 2014 - My husband says he can't take it anymore, reveals he's been having an affair and wants a divorce. Divorce was final Oct 31, 2104. Sad, angry, but can't really blame him, because I'm an absolute mess. Anytime I go to the doctor, they just tell me to eat better and exercise, so I need to lose weight. That will solve everything. (Just FYI- several years later, I finally realized that his leaving had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with him.)

2016 - Enrolled in a gym for 6 months. It cost me $1000 for unlimited access and 3 days a week with a trainer. Exercising made me tired, but I was losing inches from my body and that felt good. I did not lose any weight.

2017 - I had to change my primary care doctor. I was severely fatigued and requested a dose increase for my thyroid hormone. I ended up with a sleep study, referral to a weight loss clinic, and behavioral management therapy to deal with my depression.

2019 - I had to change my primary care doctor again. I was severely fatigued and requested a dose increase for my thyroid hormone. I ended up with multiple months of iron infusions and B12 injections and a referral to a weight loss clinic. 

I decided to look for a different doctor. 

In January of 2020, I met with my new doctor (Erica). I was nervous. I just *knew* what she was going to say when I requested a dose increase for my thyroid because of fatigue and depression. She surprised me. She ran a bunch of tests. She looked for the cause of my symptoms. And she found it. Multiple large uterine fibroids and a softball sized ovarian cyst causing pain and massive blood loss; blood loss causes the anemia; anemia worsens thyroid disease; thyroid imbalance causes depression... Cue the referral to a new Ob/Gyn.

Saw the Ob/Gyn within a week, awesome timing... not thrilled with this specialist. The after visit summary had errors in it, like she wasn't even listening to me. She reordered the same tests (I had just gotten the results back a week ago) and asked if I had considered bariatric surgery.

Feb 14th, 2020 the bleeding started. It was like a regular period, at first, but it didn't stop.

So... I found a new Ob/Gyn (Casey). She is remarkable! She looked at my lab and ultrasound results, and said here's what I see, here are your options, and this is what I recommend. I would have loved to just have a hysterectomy and have it over with, but I took her recommendation. Prescribed a double dose of birth control until the procedure (even made sure it was gluten free!) and got me in for more iron infusions (yay). The birth control slowed the bleeding, but it still hadn't stopped.

June 5th 2020, in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, I had a minor medical procedure, basically a D&C and insertion of an IUD. Recovery was quick and easy, and I had no bleeding for the first week. I felt fantastic... for a couple of weeks. The bleeding and pain came back worse than it had been... doc removed the IUD and says, well, here are your choices.

In October of 2020, I had a major medical procedure, a partial hysterectomy. I could write up all the big words, but essentially, she removed my uterus, cervix, and fallopian tubes. The bleeding stopped 24 hours after surgery. 

2020 was the worst year. I'm not exaggerating. Ask anyone. I was laid off from my job, like millions of other people in March 2020. Unlike millions of other people, it was the best timing for me. I was able to get the medical care I needed. Finally. And to not have to worry about missing work (and income) was a great relief.

It's only two weeks after major surgery. I'm going back to work Monday... light duty for a while. I'm still sore, with lifting and movement restrictions, and I'll be walking with a cane for a while yet, but life is getting to normal. I'm not really sure I know what that feels like, but I cannot wait to find out!

Thanks to all the people who stuck by me while I was a psycho. I love you guys!

Thanks to all the people who have helped me out while I'm recovering from major surgery. I love you guys!

Electing Our Next Four Years

After two years of campaigns, phone calls, television ads and debates, we are finally at the final countdown to the presidential election.  Whew, FINALLY!  That is all I have to say!  Ok, not really.  I do love to "talk"... so with 11 DAYS to the election, here are a few non-partisan thoughts.

1.  Ignore all the commercials, mailings, and telephone calls.  The campaigning and debating is usually quite biased, and does not tell the truth, just one group's perspective.  I usually throw out all of the literature and hang up on the automated messages.

2.  Do your own research.  Check out non-partisan voter guides (such as the ones found at http://votesmart.org and http://www.presidentialelection.com and the one I use - specific to my state - http://michiganfamily.org)

3.  Focus on the candidates that are supposed to represent you in the US House and Senate and the State legislature, and all the "little" things.  These people are the ones who will make the most difference in the coming years.  (And yes, you CAN leave the box for President blank. . . no one will even know)

4.  Pray, asking God for mercy for our nation.  Mercy is showing compassion when punishment is deserved.  Our nation is in turmoil and our people are slaves to sin.  We deserve terrible leadership, four years at a time.  Only through His mercy will we have great leadership that puts the good of the nation over any other agenda.

5.  Most importantly... No matter who wins this election, you should give them your respect.  God has placed them in this position of authority, and you may as well get used to the fact that God's will WILL be done, whether you agree with it or not.

Some scripture passages relating to government:

ABOUT A NATION
Proverbs 29:18
Ecclesiastes 10:17
Proverbs 28:2
ABOUT LEADERSHIP
Proverbs 11:14
Proverbs 29:14
Proverbs 16:12
Proverbs 29:4
Proverbs 2:21
Proverbs 29:2
ABOUT BEING GOOD CITIZENS
1 Peter 2:13-17
Romans 13:1-7
2 Chronicles 7:14

An interesting read:  
The Biblical Basis for Christians in Politics and Government  http://whateveristrue.com/heritage/ticipate.htm

Celiac Progression and the effect of gluten

People are often surprised when I tell them my kids "just looked" Celiac.  They often ask me what a Celiac "looks" like.  I have no words to explain it, but here are some pictures:

This picture was taken on Dennis's third birthday.
He had not had any significant exposure to gluten prior to this date.

This picture was taken one week before he began preschool.
He had been on a gluten challenge for three months.

This is his kindergarten picture.
At the time of this picture, he had been off gluten for four months.

Any questions?