Well, I'm back from the doctors' via Boots. There are 56 levothyroxine (25 microgram) tablets sitting next to me inside two rather Barbie-ish pink packets, and I start taking them tomorrow - best described as the first day of the rest of my life.
The following paragraph may or may not interest the MVST peoples reading, in a sort of "I remember learning that!" kind of way.
The blood test results showed that my free T4/thyroxine levels were at the lower end of the normal range (for perspective, I remember one of the figures being 11.9 where 11.5-22.something was listed as normal range) and TSH levels were double what they should have been. For the non-medicvets reading, TSH normally triggers T4 release, so the results say that twice as much effort was being needed to kick my thyroid into a basic level of action than in a normal person => hypothyroidism/underactive thyroid.
[I had this explained to me in very simple terms by the doctor ("Thyroid Stimulating Hormone comes from a part of your brain called the pituitary," etc.) who wasn't aware I knew anything about the topic until she asked me what I was smiling about. I hadn't realised I was smiling...]
So, apparently another blood test (rarr, hate) is upcoming at some point to check for autoantibodies (Hashimoto's, anyone?), which I'm not looking forward to, but it wasn't sorted out fully during the consultation so I have no idea when or even if I'm getting jabbed again.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about all this. Obviously, I'm not looking forward to the possibility of another blood test (hate grr arg), especially if it does turn out to be autoimmune thyroiditis, since that's associated with a small increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases. I'm pretty happy to have an effective and non-invasive treatment for it - the daily tablets are tiny - but it's still only a treatment, not a cure, and unless something incredibly unusual happens, treatment continues for life. I'm also supposed to get yearly blood tests (hatehatehate) and, on the positive side, it means I'm entitled to free prescriptions - even for unrelated problems - once the application form goes through.
Most women who develop hypothyroidism apparently don't get it until in their 40s or so - the doctor almost seemed excited by my case.
I feel special. :P
3 comments:
Not that I'm not hugely sympathetic, but on a completely unrelated note, yay Micro Machines!! :D
PS. And hugs, obviously.
...you are special, never forget that.
hugs from everyone at home(and grannies, granda, aunts, uncles and cousins)
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