Life and medical update
G's off at Frostburn and it wasn't a Kidlet or clinic escorting weekend, so Chad and I had a very quiet, relaxed couple of days together. Sunday we finished off Buffy Season 6 (largely because I really want to show him Creepy!NathanFillion in Season 7), and we at least managed enough housecleaning that we turned up the missing Netflix DVDs. Now we get more Eureka and Thundercats! We're on season 5 of Eureka; it's the only bit left that I hadn't seen even before Chad and I started our full watch-through, so I'm both curious and sad. Really not ready for it to be over. I've noticed I have a habit of not watching final seasons of shows; my own little media denialism.
Brief medical update (detailed for those of you I know to have a particular interest): So, after the really problematic mania this summer, I finally agreed to try lithium. The trileptal was screwing with my vision anyway, and I wasn't sure if it might be contributing to the month-long migraine. Unfortunately, lithium is known for having thyroid effects. Normal TSH standards are somewhat up for debate at the moment, but somewhere between about .3 and 5.0 is considered normal. I was 2.5 in August, 6.5 by the time I was tested in November and went on thyroid meds, and 29.05 by January (even with the meds) when ultrasound revealed very far progressed Hashimoto's Disease (common cause of hypothyroidism). Re-evaluation of a previous scan suggests it had been developing for at least two years, but my body was compensating up until the lithium acted as the last straw and sent it off a cliff. I finally got my higher dose of meds Friday (*grrrr* asshole doctor *rantrant*), and I'm really hoping I start feeling effects soon; hypothyroidism mimics or exacerbates lots of my fibro stuff (fatigue, body aches, brain fog) and some of my bipolar stuff (depression), so its making things difficult both practically and diagnostically.
That reminds me: I finally have my intake appt with the chronic headache program this week. I'm about 75% sure they're not going to want to work on anything until my thyroid's stabilized, since apparently it may exacerbate chronic headaches too. Joy. Might be some sort of explanation for August, though -- one snapshot of my thyroid level looking normal doesn't guarantee it wasn't fluctuating in weird ways (not uncommon with hashimoto's). *shrug* I'll probably never know. I still think Cymbalta-withdrawal is the most likely cause. On the other hand, the headaches almost entirely went away for a number of months, and now they're back again -- I had them almost every day in January, although neither so severe nor so migrainey as August, just omnipresent and annoying/exhausting. No idea what's going on there.
To get back to the lithium for a minute: Lithium's more effective at preventing manias than depressions, and I've been in a horrendous (worst in years) depression for months, so it's hard to actually say how well it's working. On the positive side, no major side-effects aside from the trigger with the thyroid (which would've been coming down the line either way), and I like my psychiatrist. I've been coming out of the depression, but we've still decided to add wellbutrin to the mix, see if it'll work for me on the depressions without sending me manic. Here's hoping.
On the positive side, my fibro's generally been pretty chill. Minor typical stuff, mostly just exhaustion and bodyaches. No weird new rashes, no disabling joint pain, no interstitial cystitis. All in all, an improvement. And as far as new chronic illnesses go, hypothyroidism is one of the simplest, so yay for that.
So, that's the catch-up on med stuff for the past few months. Sorry it's so lengthy; seemed easier to get it all out of the way. Also, it's a lot of why I'm still so withdrawn; even aside from the mood stuff I'm just wading-through-molasses exhausted all the time. I'm really hoping the new thyroid meds will help that substantially in the relatively near future.
Brief medical update (detailed for those of you I know to have a particular interest): So, after the really problematic mania this summer, I finally agreed to try lithium. The trileptal was screwing with my vision anyway, and I wasn't sure if it might be contributing to the month-long migraine. Unfortunately, lithium is known for having thyroid effects. Normal TSH standards are somewhat up for debate at the moment, but somewhere between about .3 and 5.0 is considered normal. I was 2.5 in August, 6.5 by the time I was tested in November and went on thyroid meds, and 29.05 by January (even with the meds) when ultrasound revealed very far progressed Hashimoto's Disease (common cause of hypothyroidism). Re-evaluation of a previous scan suggests it had been developing for at least two years, but my body was compensating up until the lithium acted as the last straw and sent it off a cliff. I finally got my higher dose of meds Friday (*grrrr* asshole doctor *rantrant*), and I'm really hoping I start feeling effects soon; hypothyroidism mimics or exacerbates lots of my fibro stuff (fatigue, body aches, brain fog) and some of my bipolar stuff (depression), so its making things difficult both practically and diagnostically.
That reminds me: I finally have my intake appt with the chronic headache program this week. I'm about 75% sure they're not going to want to work on anything until my thyroid's stabilized, since apparently it may exacerbate chronic headaches too. Joy. Might be some sort of explanation for August, though -- one snapshot of my thyroid level looking normal doesn't guarantee it wasn't fluctuating in weird ways (not uncommon with hashimoto's). *shrug* I'll probably never know. I still think Cymbalta-withdrawal is the most likely cause. On the other hand, the headaches almost entirely went away for a number of months, and now they're back again -- I had them almost every day in January, although neither so severe nor so migrainey as August, just omnipresent and annoying/exhausting. No idea what's going on there.
To get back to the lithium for a minute: Lithium's more effective at preventing manias than depressions, and I've been in a horrendous (worst in years) depression for months, so it's hard to actually say how well it's working. On the positive side, no major side-effects aside from the trigger with the thyroid (which would've been coming down the line either way), and I like my psychiatrist. I've been coming out of the depression, but we've still decided to add wellbutrin to the mix, see if it'll work for me on the depressions without sending me manic. Here's hoping.
On the positive side, my fibro's generally been pretty chill. Minor typical stuff, mostly just exhaustion and bodyaches. No weird new rashes, no disabling joint pain, no interstitial cystitis. All in all, an improvement. And as far as new chronic illnesses go, hypothyroidism is one of the simplest, so yay for that.
So, that's the catch-up on med stuff for the past few months. Sorry it's so lengthy; seemed easier to get it all out of the way. Also, it's a lot of why I'm still so withdrawn; even aside from the mood stuff I'm just wading-through-molasses exhausted all the time. I'm really hoping the new thyroid meds will help that substantially in the relatively near future.