P.A. Visit
Published by Allison July 11th, 2006 in Psychology, Personality, & Mental Health, Health & WellnessThis morning, I saw my physician assistant and got the ball rolling on the medical side of the what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-me puzzle. He walked into the room, glanced at the chart, looked at me, and commented, “you’ve picked up some weight, eh?” That’s all it took for the tears to start. I hate crying when I’m trying to communicate. Hate. It.
Anyway, he agreed that I’m sounding symptomatic of thyroid disorder, and that a blood panel was in order. He also gave me 4 weeks’ worth of Effexor samples — I expect to stay on the lowest dosage as much as possible (that’s where I was even before Maya), but to make it four weeks until the re-check, I’ll likely have to step up from 37.5mg to 75mg. We reviewed my previous thyroid results from December 2001, and I was in the normal range (low end, but not extreme) for TSH, low-normal for T4. With 4-1/2 years having passed and a baby in the interim, it’ll be interesting to see how it looks this time around.
As much as it would suck to take synthroid for the rest of my days, it would be a relief to have some explanation for why my weight keeps steadily climbing, even while I workout 4-5 days per week (at least) and do challenging, 3+ hour hikes. My diet isn’t perfect by any stretch — especially not this week, as I’ve willfully self-medicated — but it’s normally quite healthful. Doing “all the right things” to see no results has been exasperating. A nice bonus would be to stay awake at 3pm without the help of coffee.
Weight…granted, this is post-breakfast and coffee and fully dressed…but the doctor’s scale showed me a full ten (TEN!) pounds higher than the last time I weighed at home. TEN!
On an unrelated note, I think looking like a Barbie doll might be a prerequisite for the job of pharmaceutical rep. One gal arrived at the same time I did. She was about ten feet tall, skinny (I’m talking super-model skinny), and blonde. As we waited, another gal emerged with the same stats, just different clothing. Now I understand why I had no chance at the pharma jobs I applied for as a newbie business school grad. I’m short and brunette!
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Bad P.A.! I would hope a female P.A. would have the sense not to be so blunt, particularly after just looking over your history! Best wishes on some clear answers and positive steps forward.
Oh, it’s not as bad as all that. My unhappiness about the weight gain was already in the notes. Bursting into tears says more about my mental state than about his sensitivity.
Ever had one of those days when all it would take is someone saying, “are you okay?” for you to lose it? This was one of those moments.
Alli: my writing coach has co-written a book about some almost miraculous work with thyroid patients titled “Solved: The Riddle of Illness” by James Scheer. My wife, who also has thyroid problems, was immensely helped and encouraged by this book. Jim just finished the fourth edition and is his best-seller. I always like to plug his books when it really is the best in its field.
Thanks so much for this link (here it is on amazon) — in the very first review, I see something similar to what my hiking partner, Joy experienced. She was put on T4 and told that’s all they could do — it didn’t help. She found a doctor here in town who is a GP, but also specializes in glandular issues, and he put her on a dessicated formula. She lost 10 pounds in the first month without doing a thing. Once she started TRYING to drop it, then the results kicked in, and she’s now about 50 pounds lighter.
I’m seeing her doctor in early August, btw.
Looks like the 4th edition isn’t widely available for sale yet, but one of my local library branches has a copy of the 3rd ed on the shelf. Field trip!
I hear that the drug companies recruit former cheerleaders and dancers for those jobs. Blehhh.