For as long as I've ignored things, I'm surprised things aren't as bad as I thought they would be. But then, they've been ignored for about 8-9 months... not for YEARS like in the past.
My thyroid is low in all areas, so that needs to be addressed and is. The doctor's office called in the prescription at the end of the day yesterday, so I started it last night. (Yes you can do it at night too as long as you have an empty stomach).
My vitamin D is really low.
My Fasting Blood Sugars is slightly high
My cholesterol is moderately high and the "bad" cholesterol is high
And, of course, I know the blood pressure is high.
Everything should get back on track with taking the thyroid medicine except the Vitamin D. I just need more sunlight and a supplement.
The last time I was in "trouble" the numbers were way worse except the blood pressure. My blood pressure is the #1 indicator of my thyroid is adjusted or not - even slight differences affect it. And that isn't typical, but is typical for me. Even 2 years ago when my TSH went from 3.5 to 4.5 my blood pressure went from normal to too high, (around 170/100). So, the good news is that I can probably get an idea of how well adjusted my thyroid medication is by watching my blood pressure. Bad news is that it takes the thyroid much longer to regular than it does to get blood pressure to regulate.
So, that is good news. They other bit of good news is that I'm ready to get with the program again. I feel a new energy. I feel less despair. And it's been building for several weeks, but now... I'm seriously ready.
Yesterday I went and bought a new sports bra what fits and a few workout clothes that fit. As well, I cannot wear the same clothes I was wearing when I was 175 pounds as I can at 242 pounds now can I?
And I just want to GO DO IT. Can't yet because of blood pressure, but as soon as I get the go ahead for exercise, I will.
Also, I ate well and low carb yesterday and it was easy. I looked at my kids cookies and just put them away versus grabbing a couple.
You cannot imagine how good that feels to feel that I have some control again. Let's hope that it stays that way!
Showing posts with label lab tests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lab tests. Show all posts
Friday, April 4, 2014
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Our medical system is messed up
I have insurance. I have a primary care doctor - even better, I have the WHOLE PRACTICE I can go to, not just a specific doctor. And, it's a PPO, so I don't have to get referrals to make appointments for specialists. When I needed to see a dermatologist to get some suspicious spots on my face looked at, I just called. When I felt I should see an endocrinologist to get my thyroid regulated even more tightly, I just called. When it works, it's great.
But last week I called to see my doctor. It would take 5 weeks to get an appointment with that specific doctor, would I mind seeing the Nurse Practitioner? No problem, next Monday at 9 am. I wanted to get started on my thyroid medication as soon as possible because it controls so many things that I knew were out of whack.
I went to that appointment and she was very nervous about my blood pressure. She gave me paperwork to do labs and told me to come in next day to check on the BP. She was not going to give the prescription for the thyroid medication until she saw the results from the labs - to see where I was. In the meantime she called in (faxed in) prescriptions for blood pressure medications. But it didn't get sent or was lost. I had to go through all of that - twice.
I came in next day after doing my labs and the BP was lower. She said she would want me to come in next week to go over the labs. I specifically asked that if the thyroid was off, would she call in the prescription. She said yes. No call yesterday, but first thing this morning, 8 am, I have a call from my doctor's office. "Can I make an appointment for next week to go over my lab results?"
NEXT WEEK???? I ask about the prescription. The person on the phone said that there is no note and that the NP wants to talk with me first. I am getting really annoyed, but stay calm. I say, "can you please leave a note for the NP about filling the prescription".
That means, that an extra 2 weeks were added to the wait of starting a medication that I NEED. Yes, I had gone off it voluntarily, but once they got me in and know my history, they should have jumped immediately.
My known history is (all documented in their files): I had very high BP, high cholesterol, high blood sugar levels and a very, very low thyroid 3.5 years ago. Once the thyroid adjusted, all the other numbers came in line. ALL OF THEM.
I even said with the NP - BOTH DAYS that my cholesterol will be high. My blood sugar will be high, just as my blood pressure was high. They want that all to get better? START THE THYROID MEDICATION!!!!!!!!!
On top of that, those are MY lab results. When my mother in law gets labs done with Kaiser Permanente, she gets results to her email the same time the doctor gets them. Why do I have to wait to "discuss them" to know what it says? Instead, I have to go through this sign up thing online and they take WAY longer to receive than it does to get to the doctor. I had one set up for the lab I usually use, but the NP sent me to a different lab (which was better, so that's OK), but it means I had to set up a new account and have to wait. No results are available yet.
So... they are my results... and I have to wait 4 days to see them once they've already been reported - 6 days since having them done.
What makes me sooooo upset is that she was wanting to rush me via ambulance 3 days ago to the ER to get my blood pressure down - one that is elevated because of the thyroid. AND had probably been that high for weeks or months. Yet... there is no urgency in getting me started on the medications that will get things back to normal - as naturally as possible.
Yes, I know... I'm the one who screwed this up in the first place by not taking my medications, but should there be all of this just to start taking something I know I need?
And I would say there is close to ZERO chance that my thyroid is fine... so I highly doubt that possibility. Checking my blood pressure in a a few minutes should be interesting. I'm sure it's raised.
And, to add to my frustrations, now that I'm feeling less depressed, I am getting to work on getting more help for my son on the autism spectrum. He needs re-evaluating and he needs to see someone about his food and dinner table issues. His IEP meeting at school is this coming Tuesday, but I will need to do some stuff outside of school too. Oh, and yesterday the Speech therapist my youngest sees outside of school added to the to-do list. She thinks I should have him evaluated for ADHD.
While simultaneously, I am trying to help my older son graduate and make college decisions. And with his ADHD and school fatigue, that's not easy either.
No wonder I got so freaking depressed.
But last week I called to see my doctor. It would take 5 weeks to get an appointment with that specific doctor, would I mind seeing the Nurse Practitioner? No problem, next Monday at 9 am. I wanted to get started on my thyroid medication as soon as possible because it controls so many things that I knew were out of whack.
I went to that appointment and she was very nervous about my blood pressure. She gave me paperwork to do labs and told me to come in next day to check on the BP. She was not going to give the prescription for the thyroid medication until she saw the results from the labs - to see where I was. In the meantime she called in (faxed in) prescriptions for blood pressure medications. But it didn't get sent or was lost. I had to go through all of that - twice.
I came in next day after doing my labs and the BP was lower. She said she would want me to come in next week to go over the labs. I specifically asked that if the thyroid was off, would she call in the prescription. She said yes. No call yesterday, but first thing this morning, 8 am, I have a call from my doctor's office. "Can I make an appointment for next week to go over my lab results?"
NEXT WEEK???? I ask about the prescription. The person on the phone said that there is no note and that the NP wants to talk with me first. I am getting really annoyed, but stay calm. I say, "can you please leave a note for the NP about filling the prescription".
That means, that an extra 2 weeks were added to the wait of starting a medication that I NEED. Yes, I had gone off it voluntarily, but once they got me in and know my history, they should have jumped immediately.
My known history is (all documented in their files): I had very high BP, high cholesterol, high blood sugar levels and a very, very low thyroid 3.5 years ago. Once the thyroid adjusted, all the other numbers came in line. ALL OF THEM.
I even said with the NP - BOTH DAYS that my cholesterol will be high. My blood sugar will be high, just as my blood pressure was high. They want that all to get better? START THE THYROID MEDICATION!!!!!!!!!
On top of that, those are MY lab results. When my mother in law gets labs done with Kaiser Permanente, she gets results to her email the same time the doctor gets them. Why do I have to wait to "discuss them" to know what it says? Instead, I have to go through this sign up thing online and they take WAY longer to receive than it does to get to the doctor. I had one set up for the lab I usually use, but the NP sent me to a different lab (which was better, so that's OK), but it means I had to set up a new account and have to wait. No results are available yet.
So... they are my results... and I have to wait 4 days to see them once they've already been reported - 6 days since having them done.
What makes me sooooo upset is that she was wanting to rush me via ambulance 3 days ago to the ER to get my blood pressure down - one that is elevated because of the thyroid. AND had probably been that high for weeks or months. Yet... there is no urgency in getting me started on the medications that will get things back to normal - as naturally as possible.
Yes, I know... I'm the one who screwed this up in the first place by not taking my medications, but should there be all of this just to start taking something I know I need?
And I would say there is close to ZERO chance that my thyroid is fine... so I highly doubt that possibility. Checking my blood pressure in a a few minutes should be interesting. I'm sure it's raised.
And, to add to my frustrations, now that I'm feeling less depressed, I am getting to work on getting more help for my son on the autism spectrum. He needs re-evaluating and he needs to see someone about his food and dinner table issues. His IEP meeting at school is this coming Tuesday, but I will need to do some stuff outside of school too. Oh, and yesterday the Speech therapist my youngest sees outside of school added to the to-do list. She thinks I should have him evaluated for ADHD.
While simultaneously, I am trying to help my older son graduate and make college decisions. And with his ADHD and school fatigue, that's not easy either.
No wonder I got so freaking depressed.
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