This month has been chock full of obnoxious, time consuming doctors appointments. As much as I love being stabbed in the arm and sitting in cold rooms staring at muted purple, yellow, and green curtains or being stared at by all of the other cancer patients...well...

I've just about hit the two year mark post treatment so it looks like I won't have to visit Norris to see my oncologist until January "unless anything happens." 

Don't you just love that? Congratulations!... but just in case you start almost dying again for no reason you know where to find us! 

The last thing I said was "...well sometimes I experience slight chest pain?" to which I received a very quick and concerned "Oh no don't say that! Come back if it gets worse!" 

So that's cool. 

                       

I'm so tired of going there. I'd say it's nice having people recognize you but when your oncologist, the nurse practitioner, the other nurses, the scheduler, and even your local pharmacist know you by name I guess I start to have mixed feelings about it all. Do I really go there that often? (the answer is yes) 

                       

It's really hard to feel this way while also feeling like you can't express how over something you are that everybody is probably already over having to hear about at this point. I mean how many times can you really tell someone "wow this sucked" and bring it up again without them thinking "Ugh this cancer shit again. Can't you just get over it? You've been sort of okay for like two years"

At least...that's what it feels like over here. So if you're one of the few people I've trusted enough to be open about how over doctors and everything else I am and you happen to be reading this-- I'm sorry....And for the 200 some people on snapchat that see me post at doctor's offices all the time... I guess I'm sorry to you too?

                     

Health Down-dates

Well...

I guess I figured I'd be on the up and up with these new thyroid meds---of course whenever something decent starts to happen my body's immediate reaction is basically a slap to the face.

Unfortunately, my most recent stab to the arm left me with disappointing results. My TSH levels are high which pretty much mean that I need an even higher dose of Levothyroxine--75MCG instead of 50--which isn't all that much but...you know...taking meds is never any fun. Similarly, my cortisol levels are a little high too...which could potentially be a symptom of some rare form of God knows what syndrome or disease or something.

No. This doesn't mean I'm contagious. Don't be silly.

This really only means that I've had a decent reason behind being so fat and lazy beside being "out for the summer."

So we'll see how this dosage works out for me and my TSH levels in about six weeks---

In the meantime, I'll be visiting my oncologist and my health center within the next 3-10 days for more checkups and what not and dealing with whatever summer sniffles I've been dealing with. Allergies? Cold? I can't ever really tell?

                             

A Doctor A Day Keeps the Apple Away?

The list of complications, side-effects, and doctors I have to visit post-cancer treatment seem rather lengthy and frustrating to me.

Sometimes being "stable" doesn't seem so stable at all. And after an hour long (plus) wait at the endocrinologist the other day just for a follow up on my most recent medical problem, I think my feelings are pretty much the same about it all.

I've been on thyroid medication (treatment mentioned in the last post) for over a month now and it seems that I have lost about 4 pounds...which is great considering that I had gained 15 pounds a few months ago. I'm still not too sure about its impact on my fatigue but I've also been going to bed on "summer hours" so that could very well be my fault.

Anyways, this means that the thyroid meds have been doing at least SOME of their job--of course, I'm telling you this PRE-blood test results. We have to rule out a few other things--rare forms of this or that--who knows...I almost never fully listen to doctor jargon...to make sure we don't have to change up the medication or that I need other treatment for blankity blank, etc.

Hopefully I'll be getting a call sometime this week. 

Otherwise, I will be visiting my oncologist for a checkup on July 13th.