Ewe's Not Fat ...
I readily admit to coming from sturdy German peasant stock (hard to deny anyway). I'm short and muscular and tend to be a bit stocky. My body mass has always been high but it's also in line with the family history.
After my second surgery in 2004, I started losing some weight, in part because of the abscesses I didn't know I had. My weight stabilized after the abscesses cleared up. Then I really started losing weight in 2005 when I started high-dose IL2 treatments, and I just wasn't able to gain anything back (how much did I lose? I went from 160 to 105). After starting Nexavar in January 2006, things stabilized again and I gradually gained back a few pounds.
Suddenly this summer I started gaining weight - yeah, doctors are always thrilled with that, but I wasn't, especially since most of the weight seemed to be settling at my ever-annoying bustline. When I figured out that I was gaining about a pound a week, I started to get worried; fortunately I was heading for Cleveland on the 17th.
Dr. G basically took one look at me, said, "Your face is puffy and you've gained a lot of weight; I want your thyroid panel results to confirm but I'd bet your hypothyroidism has gotten worse." The results weren't in before we came home, but I did some reading. The symptoms? Sudden weight gain, joint pain and stiffness, joint swelling, backaches, puffy face and extremities, lethargy and fatigue. Well, those certainly matched how I felt.
TSH levels came back; and I guess the rest of that line is "Ewe's not fat, ewe's got hypothyroidism." I'm on an increased dose of synthetic thyroid hormone, I've cut my iron supplements, and my face is starting to look normal again.
Oh yes - my disease state continues stable on the quarter dose of Nexavar. Woo-hoo!! As one friend said recently, "You're a tribute to modern chemistry, girl!"
After my second surgery in 2004, I started losing some weight, in part because of the abscesses I didn't know I had. My weight stabilized after the abscesses cleared up. Then I really started losing weight in 2005 when I started high-dose IL2 treatments, and I just wasn't able to gain anything back (how much did I lose? I went from 160 to 105). After starting Nexavar in January 2006, things stabilized again and I gradually gained back a few pounds.
Suddenly this summer I started gaining weight - yeah, doctors are always thrilled with that, but I wasn't, especially since most of the weight seemed to be settling at my ever-annoying bustline. When I figured out that I was gaining about a pound a week, I started to get worried; fortunately I was heading for Cleveland on the 17th.
Dr. G basically took one look at me, said, "Your face is puffy and you've gained a lot of weight; I want your thyroid panel results to confirm but I'd bet your hypothyroidism has gotten worse." The results weren't in before we came home, but I did some reading. The symptoms? Sudden weight gain, joint pain and stiffness, joint swelling, backaches, puffy face and extremities, lethargy and fatigue. Well, those certainly matched how I felt.
TSH levels came back; and I guess the rest of that line is "Ewe's not fat, ewe's got hypothyroidism." I'm on an increased dose of synthetic thyroid hormone, I've cut my iron supplements, and my face is starting to look normal again.
Oh yes - my disease state continues stable on the quarter dose of Nexavar. Woo-hoo!! As one friend said recently, "You're a tribute to modern chemistry, girl!"
Labels: appointment results, side effects
posted by rcclive at
3:45 PM
1 Comments:
Glad you're getting less puffy. I just ate a bar a chocolate instead of crying so I guess I know where mine comes from! I do so miss him
By
Swanknitter, at 9:03 AM
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