Hashimoto’s Update

I got my blood tested Thursday.  Friday my endo let me know my TSH was .19.

The test before that had me at .37.  So my meds were dropped from 175 Monday and Friday and 150 the rest of the week to 175 Monday only 150 the rest of the week.  In theory, my TSH should have risen a little instead of lowering a lot.

To say I was upset would be an understatement.  What was I doing wrong to make it not do what it’s supposed to do?

My doctor told me a lot affects this.  Changes in weight, rate of absorption and research I’ve done shows stress affects it as well.

It took me till today to realize it’s a good sign that I’m having to take less synthetic hormones.

I felt horrible 2 weeks ago.  Which should have told me that something was wrong with my TSH.  But I didn’t connect the 2.  I blamed it on stress at work, not having my shower done, allergies....

So I’m back to 150 which is the dose I was at right after the surgery.  Another blood test in 2 months. Ma would be impressed at how good I’m getting with needles.  :-)

I’ve accepted the idea of being tired most of the time and second guessing myself.  But I still have a tiny bit of hope that when my TSH settles down that maybe I’ll have more good days than bad.

NutriSystem Thoughts

I’ve been on NutriSystem for almost 1 1/2 years.  And I have no intention of stopping.  Pre-packaged food at correct serving size.  No meal planning for me.

However, it bothers me that their nutritional information on the labels says the same thing every other label says, “Based on a 2,000 calorie a day diet.”  But women are supposed to keep to 1200 calories and men (I think) 1500 calories.  Someone couldn’t redo the math?!

NS also says to eat 4 servings of veggies a day.  But most of their lunches and dinners contain veggies.  They don’t bother putting how many servings of veggies on the labels.   And their app is too simplistic so it doesn’t count any of the NS food as veggie servings.

Hell, if I enter my lunch before noon - it forces it into the AM Snack even though I enter it in the Lunch area and I’ve already entered something in the AM Snack area.  Programmers get on my last nerve.

If I enjoyed shopping and creating meals, I’d eat non-processed foods.  However, the 2 weeks I was on the low-iodine diet was enough for me.  I don’t like cooking, meal planning, shopping, or creating.  I ate a lot of egg white with avocado those 2 weeks.
:-)

Do I think NS is completely healthy?  No.  I had a Double Chocolate Caramel bar for lunch.  But it’s a lot better than eating McD’s or Taco Bell.

Portion control - that’s the main thing I needed to be able to lose the weight.  That and getting my Hashimoto’s semi-straightened out.

By the way - sprinkling cinnamon on my apple for my afternoon snack is very yum!

Danny's DogHouse

Some time ago I visited Danny's Doghouse.  I was curious about this facility and the guy that ran it.  He seemed interested in the community and helping with lost dogs finding their owners.

You have to call because his front door is locked.  He says it's to keep dogs from getting out.

When I walked in I immediately noticed the stench.  He said it was from the previous boarding facility and that he tried everything.  I recommended OdoBan.  He kept me in the lobby, let me see some of the dogs as they ran up and down the hallway area to the 1/2 door that blocked them from the lobby.

I noticed cats in an area to the left and birds (only about 4 or so) to the right.

Danny himself seemed a tad unkept and smelled of cigarettes.  He brought out 2 Chihuahua siblings for me to visit with while he held them.

He did complain about his landlords often on FaceBook.

The next time I visited the place smelled a lot better.  I asked if I could visit with the seniors and he came up with some excuse.  (Along with Danny's DogHouse, he also ran Hannah's Hope in that same building.)

All these little alarms that I just didn't catch.

Then a news report hits FB - he called the police for a welfare check on his daughter in Crestview.   He told me numerous times he never leaves his business.  But, dude, how do you get those cigarettes?  How do you get food?  Where do you do laundry?

He showed up soon after the cops did.  The cops found 25 (+?) dead animals on the property.

Several days later a warrant was issued for his business in Niceville and over 80 animals were taken from that building.  

Let me explain something - this man had NO ONE else helping him and he managed to cram over 80 animals into a building in Niceville.  That is beyond ridiculous.  But because he wouldn't let anyone in the back, no one really knew this.

The hateful things that were being blasted on FB about this guy.  I don't hate him, I don't want him dead.  I do want him to be punished for putting that many dogs into an awful situation.  And I want his daughter to also be punished as well.

Meanwhile - my thought process is that he called the cops himself.  And I have a feeling he knew or had some idea of what the cops would find.

He is a hoarder and used the boarding business to try to financially keep the hoarding.

I think he realized he was in over his head and the only solution he could come up with was to get the police and animal control/PAWS involved.

None of those animals in Crestview should have died.  He should have contacted the police weeks prior to that.

However, I do think him contacting the police at all, he had to know that they'd also be checking his facility in Niceville.

And people are still defending him saying how great he was and how happy their dogs were with him.

If a boarder will not let you see where your animal will be staying, don't let your animal stay there.  Take a look at where they'll be inside AND outside.

This one guy has gotten a lot of people in this town highly pissed off.  And I seriously think 'we' should be looking at more than just him regarding definitely the situation in Crestview.  None of the neighbors bothered calling the police about the smell?  

And is there no agency that checks on these facilities to make sure they're within code?

4/2/2019 - Last I read on the news was that Richard Jordan Rack aka Danny refused to surrender the animals.  Since then I've started calling him Dick.  Because that is an absolute Dick move to not allow these dogs proper medical treatment and the chance of being adopted.  He was supposed to be out of the building on SR 20 as of yesterday.  I don't know if that's happened.  I may drive by there on my way home to see if he's cleared out of there.

A Whole Bunch of Stuff in One Blog

It’s been awhile since I’ve written.  A few people that know me well know that when I’m quiet, that’s a very bad thing.

Good stuff first - I am steady at 191 ish.  I got my 60-pounds-lost bear Saturday.  He’s very cute!

ThirdLove finally started making bras for big boobies.  So I ordered 2.  They are worth every penny! I’m buying 2 more on payday.

Today I wore a pair of jeans to work and while doing my weekly fruit and veggie shopping at WalMart, I got tired of pulling them up so I grabbed a pair of size 18 petites and went to the fitting room.  Was surprised to find they were pretty loose.  Then looked at the tag of what I was wearing because I thought they were 20s.  Nope, 18s.  So I decided to go name brand and grabbed a pair of Lee 16s.  They fit wonderfully!  Bought a pair of Levi’s 16s as well.

Got my new glasses today.  I’m still trying to get used to them.  :-)

Now the not good stuff - 

Some time ago my bathtub cracked.  Right at the curve.  Because this tub was a shell and wasn’t put over an existing tub and wasn’t given any kind of support at the curves, it just took me stepping slightly the wrong way and it cracked.

So out came the tub and the ‘walls’.  Plans were made, preparation was made for tile by a friend that worked his butt off, and then the tile guy backs out.  This does turn into good news.  Through a wonderful friend, I get a seasoned bathroom remodeler.  He should be done with his other 2 projects in about 2 weeks, then he’ll come work on my bathroom.  I will seriously be so happy when this shower is done!

Meanwhile work has been sucky.  My manager - as wonderful as she is - is too controlling.  She wants documentation to be exactly the way she wants it.  This is causing quite a bottle-neck for our Documentation Specialist.  And it’s frustrating me because I proof the stuff, then it goes to our manager who then changes things, then it goes back to DS, then back to me.  It’s like a horrible game of 3 person tennis.  And our manager still has 19 documents she’s supposed to be looking at.  But instead keeps getting sidetracked with other things she things need tweaking.

And I swear she enjoys debating/arguing.  I don’t.  I’ll give you my opinion, you give me yours, or vice versa and that’s it.  I’m not going to go back and forth endlessly with you because I have better things to do with my life.  If you don’t trust me enough to make a decision, then I’ll just let you figure out on your own that hmmm maybe my 8 1/2 years of doing this, I might be more educated on this area than someone who’s been around for a year.

I put in for the week before Memorial Day as vacation.  She hasn’t approved it yet.  I’m waiting for her to come back with a counter-offer.  If that happens, she’ll get reminded that’s the worst week of the year for me and, conveniently, the slowest or 2nd slowest week of the year for University.  Hopefully, she’ll just approve it and I won’t have to explain to her why she’s being a callous poop head.

The worst thing that’s happened since I journaled last - one of my fur-nephews passed away.  He was a very cool dog.  It’s been very hard on my brother and bonus sis.  And all I can do is say I’m sorry you had to go through this first.

And now I’m tired, and bummed.  :-(