Thursday, May 06, 2004
I got the results of my second set of blood work back from the doctor yesterday and the results showed that I do indeed have hypothyroidism, very much so. My TSH level went from 5.99 on the first test to 8.46 on the second test. That's a big jump for just one week. To give you an idea of how bad that is, the normal range for TSH is .3 to 3.0.
My blood work also shows that I have high cholesterol, which I was pretty much expecting, but it's not nearly as high as I expected it to be. In fact, it's not that bad at all. It's only slightly elevated and once I start my healthier eating habits and start losing some of this weight, the cholesterol problem should take care of itself. My total cholesterol was 235 and normal is 200 or less. The main concern is that my bad cholesterol is higher than it should be and my good cholesterol is lower than it should be. My bad cholesterol was 158 and should be 100 or less and my good cholesterol was 33 and should be 40 or more. On the good side, I have absolutely no signs of diabetes, a main concern of mine since diabetes runs in my family and is very common in obese patients. My blood sugar was completely normal.
In addition to the results, my doctor sent me a prescription for Synthroid, a thyroid hormone replacement medication. I filled the prescription and took my first dose this morning. A little later, I read the pamphlet that came with the meds and it says that partial hair loss can occur in the first 2 months until the body adjusts to the medication. PARTIAL HAIR LOSS? No one told me about that! What exactly do they mean by partial hair loss? Does it mean a little shedding that no one will notice but me? Or does it mean thinning hair or bald patches that other people will notice? I definitely wasn't expecting this. I want to lose weight, not my hair! At least it says that the condition is only temporary and any hair lost WILL grow back. I suppose it will be worth it if the meds help me to lose this weight and eliminate all the other health problems that come with hypothyroidism. I'm just kinda freaked out and worried about looking funny for a few months. I'm sure it's probably not that bad, but you never know. I guess I could just stay in hiding for the next 2 months. I pretty much do that anyway.
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