horoscopeswithin.com

Yesterday was pretty relaxed considering how anxious I’ve been to meet with the Endocrinologist.  Allen took off from work to take me to my appointment, which I was glad of by the time we arrived.  I’m still not familiar with a large part of this area and it turned out to be a pretty big hospital. 

I stayed in my robe all morning and goofed off on the internet.  I had my fill of coffee, did some writing, nothing much just waiting for the time to go by.   I can’t remember Allen and I speaking other than him asking if I wanted him to make me some breakfast about 7:30 and later me telling him I was ready to go about 12:30.  Couldn’t have been more perfect! lol

My affirmation for yesterday was – It’s time to let go of my old beliefs about how relationships are suppose to be – I Can Do It, desk calendar by Louise Hay . 

That affirmation made me think about how Allen tells me to let people do their jobs.  I’m one that likes to be on top of things, called bossy a few times when I was younger and not always patient with the Moon/Mars conjunction at the top of my chart.  I’m much more seasoned as I age, but I still want control over everything that’s important in my life.  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.  Lesson for yesterday – give up some control and allow the benefits of a relationship to come into my experience. 

We didn’t have to wait long and I was called back to the exam room.  I had given the nurse a two page history report of symptoms, beginning 4 years ago to present date.  Some may have been relevant, some not, but I asked her to put it in my file.   I had my vital signs taken and the doctor came in within a few minutes.  No waiting was a surprise! 

I liked his face as soon as I saw him.  A tall slender man with male pattern baldness, olive complexion, dark eyes and by his last name I forgot to ask if he was from Brazil.  When he came into the office he had a nice smile, shook our hands and asked how I found him.  I told him about the other doctor not having room to schedule me until 2009 so I found him on the internet. He questioned if it was through the American Thyroid Association, I nodded and he seemed pleased.  He took a seat and began reading my personal history which made me feel good because he was taking a few minutes to read and listen to what I had to say.  

He addressed several questions that I would have asked.  He was on top of every question I asked as well.  He talked about my symptoms in comparison to the reports and the scans.  There was too much of a difference in my blood work and the symptoms I have now, so he ordered new blood work.  My test reports are at least seven weeks old, my worst symptoms and accelerated hair loss began after the tests. 

He did talk to me about thyroid disease, what my options are and how he would rather try hormone replacement for a year before he would suggest surgery, or radioactive iodine ablation to kill the thyroid gland.  He said that would only result in me having to take medicine the rest of my life.  I’m glad I did a lot of reading about thyroid disease beforehand; it benefited me having a thorough understanding of what was going on.  I was also happy that he’s not a doctor that would immediately rush into surgery or ablation as both of those treatments have concerned me.

. 
He promised me he would not let me go bald.  He even ran his fingers through my hair!  It was a sign and I knew he really cared about what I was going through!  He did say that my hair felt just like hair that has been affected by the thyroid, thin and fine.  He also mentioned that if and when I go on hormone replacement that I could lose more hair for another month or two until we get my hormone levels to where they should be.  I hope not, but I will also take proactive measures nutritionally and through other areas of wellness from massage to meditation and visualizing myself with a healthy head of hair.    He promised that once my levels are stable that the hair will grow back. He did say that I’m also not allowed to blame him if I gain weight.  I already knew that hyperthyroid usually results in under active thyroid after treatment.  The only way to control it is to slow hormone production down; in doing so the metabolism slows too.   I’ll cross that bridge if I get there.

He seemed open to nutritional healing and alternative methods of wellness.  I had concerns about iodine in my diet and he said I could have some table salt but to stay away from kelp and supplements that contain high amounts of iodine. 

I forgot to ask about the nodule!   He said the reports state it’s a cold nodule which means it did not take up any iodine when I had the scans, but thyroid nodules usually do not cause symptoms.  Next appointment I will ask the size as I know when they are small most times they are watched.   From what I have read, cold nodules require biopsy so I will be sure to address this as well.  It does sound like I have two separate thyroid issues going on at once, or two findings.  Before any diagnosis he needs the new test results. 

Before the end of our visit I asked him about my eyes.  I told him that I had some recent pictures taken and my eyes looked different to me.  I saw that in pictures from my stepson’s wedding in early July and some photos taken in September which were worse.  My eyes looked so different in the pictures that I told my daughter she better not let me wear that eye shadow again!  It was a pale frost on the top lid, although it was subtle, it just seemed to make my eyes pop out.  I thought I should know better, at my age I should always wear a matte finish.  So when I mentioned this to the doctor he pointed at a chart on the wall and said, “Yes, you do have the appearance of Graves disease.”   Graves disease is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism.  Graves Ophthalmology is a condition associated with Graves disease, it may also called thyroid eye disease.  Graves disease and thyroid eye disease are related, but they are separate issues for the patient.  In order to determine whether someone has Graves disease, an antibody test is needed.  

Even though I’ve had to retake blood tests and have to wait another two weeks, I feel much better having this man on my side.  Jeannie, a website visitor and friend, wrote and asked about Jupiter transiting my 6th house.  She said she found a great doctor when Jupiter transited her 6th.  Yes, Jupiter officially entered my 6th house Oct. 10 and I do feel like this Endocrinologist was a God send from the Universe. 

So, no definite diagnosis or treatment plan at this time.  My next appointment is Nov. 17, the day after the sun squares the August 16 lunar eclipse.  The transiting moon will be at 29 Cancer in my natal 12th house of hospitals, something hidden, and the last house in my chart suggesting the end of something.  The symbol for the moon is “A Greek Muse weighing newborn twins in golden scales.”  This relates to weighing two issues, balance, comparisons and similarities, the pros and cons of more than one issue and decision making.  

I remain optimistic and I’m only washing my hair every three days now!

Special thanks to the people that reached out to me during this difficult time.  Jeannie,  Raquel, Judie, Arianna, Jen, Skye, Kathleen, Beth and Carleta.  While this thyroid issue and hair loss is not the worst thing that could happen to me, your emails meant a lot and your story and/or information you’ve shared have been appreciated.  I wish you all blessings and good health.  ~ Cornelia

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 3:50 am and is filed under Pieces of me, Friends of Astrology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.