Because you care so much about my health.
First of all, so you don't get too worried - it's all good news.
I met with Dr. Goldman at the UCSF Thyroid Clinic today. Luckily, I only waited ten minutes before I got called in. The usual wait is about 45 minutes. It's never a good sign when there is a placard in the waiting room saying, "If you have been waiting longer than 30 minutes for your appointment, please bring it to the attention of the registration staff."
Dr. Goldman kindly printed out and copied all of my records for me to have. Here is the poop on the thyroid scoop:
- ultrasound: thyroid nodule is stable - no goiter growth!
- blood work: thyroid function still within "normal" range
- symptoms: very mild to nonexistent
The outcome of all this is that I don't have to go back in for a whole year! And still no meds for me. But the bad news is that (according to the Dr.) I have a 50/50 chance of getting hypothyroidism and have to get my thyroid levels checked every year for the rest of my life.
I asked him if there was anything I could do to promote my health. All he could say was to stay away from iodine. That shouldn't be too hard. Though I do enjoy a nice kelp salad at sushi. He said small doses would be fine.
Western doctors are notoriously uneducated on nutrition, so he really can't help me there. But alternative health practitioners are notoriously uneducated in scientific studies - so they can get a lot of things wrong. One guy told me to take iodine supplements. Jeesh.
The one perplexing thing is that I'm tryng to track my thyroid levels over time, but the measurements used in each lab are different:
1/15/08 T-4 11 pmol/L Tsh .79 mIU/L
6/30/08 T-4 .7 NG/DL Tsh .84 UIU/ML
Can anyone help me decipher these numbers? 11 seems a lot higher than 4.7 - but what is a pmol? mIU? UIU? huh?
So unless I experience more symptoms or any change in my lumpenator, it looks like I'm good to go. Though it seems wise to me to try for a healthy lifetyle with lots of good nutrition and not too much of the bad stuff....sniff....sniff....
Tomorrow at 5:30am (I know!) we're off for ARG's Y12 Fencing Summer National Championships in San Jose. Should be a nail biter. I'm going to write on my hands, "Shut up!" so I don't make inanely stupid comments when my nervousness takes over.
Stay tuned.....
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Hashimoto Update
Posted by Sue at 9:56 PM
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3 comments:
T4 FREE 1.1 0.8-1.7 ng/dL
TSH 0.7 0.2-5.5 uIU/mL
These are what my labs look like through Kaiser.
With that being said, it looks like your levels are pretty good. You are extremely lucky that you can go to UCSF Thyroid clinic. They're supposed to be one of the best. I just have the time to drive over there or the right insurance. i'm stuck w doctors who don't know squat LOL Most thyroid patients are supposed to stay away from too much salt, gluten, soy, and the list goes on and on. You seem to have pretty good energy, so I wouldn't worry too much. And WOW! a whole year w/o seeing the doc....I will have to have the labs every 6 mos forever.
I'm surprised that you have Hashimoto's. Maybe you have the antibodies?? Some good books about hypothyroidism are listed on the side of my blog. The ones from Mary Shomon are good. She's a patient advocate that's a thyroid sufferer as well. glad all your labs were normal :)
Did you get a look at your antibody count? Mine was through the roof last time it was checked, but my hormone levels are always still in the "normal range."
Glad to hear that you are still well overall. :-)
No - they didn't check my antibodies this time. Should I have that done each time?......Hmmm......
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