Pesky medication

Oh, that's a nice wall! I'm going to go hit my head against it! Okay, I'm being dramatic. The thing I'm about to talk about is really not too bad!

I had my weekly blood test yesterday, and today I spoke to a nurse today about my results. The calcium levels are crawling up at a snail's pace. I've probably mentioned this before, but a normal calcium level is 2.2. I am 1.86, which is a mild improvement but still not ideal. I have been feeling a bit under the weather, which may be affecting it. The nurse yesterday told me that eating calcium rich foods may not help very much, but I figured it couldn't hurt either, so yoghurt has been purchased and eaten! I think I'm supposed to be upping my calcichew dosage as well, but I wasn't clear on that so I'll have to check. 

During my conversation with this nurse, I asked her about waiting an hour or so between taking my thyroxine. She said I could take the thyroxine at night before I go to bed instead! On the one hand, it means I cam eat breakfast in the morning now, and I no longer have to plan my morning around thyroxine. On the other hand, if I'm upping the dosage of the calcium-related medication then I really ought to come up with some kind of schedule. I did that for a few months when I first came out of hospital, but it sort of went out the window when the dosages were rising and falling so much. (Shame, really. I was doing so well at being organised!)

So, got a little bit of good news today! Now I am far too excited about being able to eat breakfast as soon as I wake up tomorrow!

Pesky Calcium. Part 3

The levels have dropped, yet again. The blood test I had last week showed that my parathyroid glands weren't working at all (I know. I thought they were, as well) This means I have to help my body make calcium, which is probably why the levels are dropping. As well as trying to eat as many calcium-rich foods as possible, I've also had to change the dosages on a couple of my medications.

I'm now on 0.25mg of alfacalcidol, four times a day. That's not too bad, really. The most upsetting part is that I now have to take two calcichews, twice a day. I might only take them twice a day, but each time there's TWO OF THEM!! Don't worry, I have plenty of delicious things on hand to help the medicine go down, as it were. I have asked if there's a different thing I can take, and apparently this is the best thing for me to be on, given my situation. Which is confusing to me, because when I was in hospital after my operation, a doctor said something about the endocrinologists wanting to put me on "syrups". I would like to know what changed their minds, because to me syrup=deliciousness, and I'd rather have that!

It is hard to be upbeat about it. I think the most frustrating part is that these doctors and nurses don't seem to know an awful lot about it, so it's hard to get many answers, and difficult to research. It's like the world of severe calcium deficiencies is still a mystery in some ways. I trust that all these doctors and nurses are doing everything they can though, and I am doing everything I can, as well. I often wish I had a magic mirror that I could use to see inside my body! That would be useful, wouldn't it?

Eating better

So, since finding out that my calcium was very low, I've been trying to take steps to make that better. One step was of course, to raise the dosage of my medication (though as I type this, I'm due to take a calcichew) The other step was to "eat myself better" as a friend put it. So, I've been trying to eat foods that are rich in calcium, but to be honest, I could be eating better full stop.

I do try to have a balanced diet. Trouble is, the scales tend to tip towards the unhealthy foods. I like stuff that is unhealthy, and sorry to say, but I'm an emotional eater. I did not use to be, but I think it started when my dad was in hospital and I, unfortunately, ate my feelings because I didn't know what else to do with them. I got a bit stressed out about something the other day, and thankfully I managed not to turn to food for comfort, but it was really difficult.

New Year, New Start is kind of a cliche, but it's true. Of course, every day that you wake up is a chance for a fresh start, but there's something about starting a new year and saying,"Yeah! New me! Old Me got left behind in 2013! New me loves moderation and doesn't cry into a bargain bucket when things get too much!"

I'm not talking about following some kind of meal plan (though that probably wouldn't hurt) Just making more sensible choices about what I eat. I know what's good for me and what isn't. Of course, there can be "hidden nasties", but it's not like I'm going to eat a raspberry jam-filled doughnut because I think it counts towards my five-a-day!

Frankly, I can't believe that I've only just realised I should start being healthier, but now that I've had this realisation, hopefully I can start forming better habits and taking care of myself. Then maybe I won't feel so run down all the time!

Now, to take my medicine and resist a doughnut.

So much to say

Get comfy, I'm about to bring you up to date with my life.

It's 2014! Yowzers! Time for a fresh start. I am a bit worn out after an action-packed December! I tried to take it easy as much as possible, but December is a month packed with social occasions, and it was hard. I made some sacrifices, but I still did as much as I could. I do know my limits, but unfortunately I have been pushing them a bit.

I was thinking the other day that, even with going through cancer, I still had a really good year. My cancer treatment is merely an ugly ink blotch on the chapter of my life that was 2013. I still had some good times in and amongst diagnosis and treatment.  (Mind you, I don't really remember anything that happened in 2013 before my diagnosis) If I have any regrets from 2013, it's that I definitely didn't take enough pictures!

Even though I have not had it checked out, I think that the vocal chord that got damaged is back to normal, so at the end of last year I bit the bullet and performed again! I was itching to get back out there and get bitten by the bug again, so I went for it. I'd missed a good sing!

It's time to look ahead now. Move on! I've bought a massive jar to fill with good memories, and I will hopefully fill it to the brim! (If anything, I would like to get to the point where I need a whole new jar!)

In March, I will be back up to St. James' for thyroxine injections, then I will take a dose of radioiodine which is much smaller (I won't have to stay in hospital this time, but I will have to avoid children under 16, and pregnant women, for 24 hours) then I have a radioiodine scan. Then, on April 1st of all days, I will have an appointment with the consultant who will tell me whether or not I am all clear!

Yesterday I had an appointment with my endocrinologist. Just a check-up, but over the course of November and December I'd been experiencing a lot of low calcium symptoms, which I'd originally put down to iffy immunity, because it seemed to coincide with colds and such. So, by that logic, I was hoping the symptoms would pass when the cold got better. It also seemed to be affecting my nerve endings, which was making hot baths unbearable! Not ideal in winter...Or ever, for that matter! At any rate, I assumed my symptoms would get better when I did, so it wasn't worth ringing endocrinology and telling them. However, when I told the endocrinology doctor about all this, the look on her face told me that none of this was normal, and she sent me for a blood test. Later on that day, the endocrinology nurse rang me with the news. Now, I think I've mentioned before that a normal calcium level is 2. Mine was 1.68. No wonder I'd been feeling so weird! So, I've upped the dosage of my alfacalcidol ever so slightly (from 0.25 nanograms, to 0.5 micrograms) and per the advice of a friend, I am going to try to eat lots of calcium enriched foods (maybe not yoghurt. I ate so many in hospital I'm not sure I want to eat one ever again!) Hopefully I can level it out now and I won't become nauseous!

I've also been going to Bradford Cancer Support. It is a lovely place! I've had a massage there, and a session with the life coach who is going to help me get things back on track! It's just nice to have a place like that to go to.

I feel like a good New Year's Resolution for me would be to stop neglecting this blog.