Island Paradise

Today I am incredibly thankful that my son and daughter-in-law arrived safely in Seattle.  Crossing the US from Boston to Seattle was a five-day road trip. They left Boston to go back to their island paradise. Our son’s employment situation remains the same as it was in Boston.  They have moved onto the same property and into the same house that they lived in four years ago.  They managed to stay ahead of the snowstorms in Montana.

Island Paradise

I am also grateful that I did not do major damage to my body when I fell on Tuesday. I have no idea why I fell.  I had been dizzy earlier in the afternoon. All I did was get up from the supper table to get a drink and the next thing I knew the whole house shook and I ended up on the floor. I banged my head on the stove and damaged my already problematic knees. My head and shoulder are fine but my knee continues to give me grief.  It will probably take a lot of patience and rest before my knees stop throbbing.

A week and a half ago I finished scanning in all my old negatives.  When I added them up I realized that I now have just over 4500 pictures I did not have before I began this project.  I admit that many of my projects in some way include pictures.  I would even admit to being addicted to picture projects but when all is said and done this addiction is really quite harmless.  The following pictures are a result of the negative scanning project.  They are pictures of my childhood home.  It was located only a mile from the nearest town.

Since I am considering a change in my thyroid medication I have been doing some research into desiccated thyroid, also known as thyroid extract.  According to Wikipedia and I quote, “desiccated thyroid, also known as thyroid extract, is the thyroid gland that has been dried and powdered for medical use.  It is used to treat hypothyroidism. It is less preferred than levothyroxine. It is taken by mouth.  Maximal effects may take up to 3 weeks to occur.”

Also from Wikipedia and I quote, “desiccated thyroid has been used since the late 1800s.  It is usually made from pigs, sheep, or cows. (Many people prefer desiccated thyroid made from pigs).  It is available as a generic medication.  In the United States, the wholesale cost for a month of medication is about US$15.30.  In 2017, it was the 130th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than five million prescriptions. Usage has decreased since the 1960s.’

As I have noted in previous posts I am not doing well on 175 mcg of Synthroid.  I am scheduled for a blood test this coming week that will measure my TSH.  Coming off the Cytomel was a necessity.  Apparently, it is not a drug of choice for older people and I guess I am an “older person.”

Dr. Bimbo

Before I continue I want to say that I am well aware that I have written about my Graves disease diagnosis and treatment many times throughout this blog.  Please bear with me as I write about it again.  When I was diagnosed with Graves Disease (Hyperthyroid) in 1998 the only option I was given to deal with this autoimmune disease was to drink radioactive iodine.  I had a bad feeling about this treatment option.  However, I was continually lied to by my family doctor at that time, Dr. Squirt and by the endocrinologist, Dr. Bimbo.  I was told that all I had to do was take a little pill every day for the rest of my life and all my nasty symptoms would disappear.  It still makes me angry that I believed their lies and drank the poison.

Dr. Squirt

To get a prescription for desiccated thyroid I believe I will have to see a naturopath.  A cousin of mine sees a Naturopath in Winnipeg to deal with her thyroid issues.  She gives him a high recommendation.  I have to admit that I am somewhat leery about seeing a naturopath.  Early on in my journey to find answers to my thyroid-related medical problems I went to see a naturopath practising in my hometown.  While talking to him on the phone he reassured me that he always took a lot of blood and sent the samples to a well-known lab in the US.  Imagine my surprise when he poked my finger and squeezed a small amount of blood on to the specimen glass used with microscopes.  When I questioned him about the small amount of blood he assured me that the amount on the glass was all he needed to make a diagnosis.  There was no more talk about shipping my sample to the US.  After the blood test, he asked me to stick out my tongue.  He informed me that I had white spots on my tongue which proved I also had a tired adrenal gland.  He gave me a natural medication to boost my tired adrenal gland.

Dr. Nature Boy

This appointment cost me $190.00 which would have been repeated weekly until such a time as he declared me cured.

Since that fateful day in April 1998 when I drank radioactive iodine, I began my downward spiral.  In June 1998 my hypothyroid symptoms became unbearable.  Receiving only angry retorts when I approached Dr. Bimbo for help I began to research Graves’ disease, hypothyroidism and the side effects of radioactive iodine.  I have been researching this topic for 22 years.  An option I have not tried is desiccated thyroid.  I would love to hear from anyone who is presently taking desiccated thyroid.  What dose of desiccated thyroid do you take in a 24 hour period?  Do you have any side effects and if so what are they?  Is your desiccated thyroid made from pigs, sheep or cows?

It is time to sign off for today.  Book #25, The Old Success (Richard Jury Mystery Book 25) by Martha Grimes beckons me.  Be back with another blog post real soon.