Heart Health and Hashimoto’s Update

Easy one first - I’m finally at a normal TSH!  Hurray!

I have high cholesterol and have been put on a statin by my GP.  I didn’t like it.  Side affects sucked.  So she put me on a different statin every other day very low dose.  Still got the side affects, so I quit taking it and opted to go see a cardiologist.

I went to my dad’s.  It makes sense to me because he’s pretty much got the family history right there with patient #1.

Dr. Skoufis is very nice, soft spoken and informative.  Based on my numbers I have a 2% chance of stroke or heart attack versus a female my age with normal cholesterol having 1%.  So we’re trying a different statin - Livalo.

He also ordered a calcium scan of my heart.  I get that done the beginning of next month.

And losing another 40 pounds would be optimal, but not something I see happening quickly.  I’m more active - which helps.  I just have to stay away from the bacon cheeseburger and fries at the bowling alley.  :-)

Update 12/10/19:
The Livalo cut my cholesterol level in 1/2!!!
No side affects at all.  I'm on 2 mg a day.  But I get 4 mg and cut them in half.  There is no generic form of this drug and it's friggin expensive.

WalMart would cost me $800 for a 90 day supply of the 2mg.

But because of the great result - my cardiologist is sticking with this drug for me.  I think it'll be $100 for a 90 day supply when I run out of the free samples they gave me.

Hashimoto’s Update and Other Stuff

Last blood test had me at .1 for my TSH.  It’s supposed to be above .4. So I’m now on 125 mg or mcg or whatever of Levothyroxine.  Express Scripts sent the name brand because my doctor put ‘no substitutions’ on the instructions and rather than them calling and asking what exactly she meant, since I always get generic - they went and filled it. I tried to stop the shipment before it even left their warehouse, but assholes sent it anyway.  And they wouldn’t let me return it.  They wanted me to dispose of it.  Um....I can use it, dufus.  So I’m going to switch my levo to WalMart.  I can get it there with no insurance for the same amount Express Scripts charges.  And this way, I can say, hell, no I’m not paying $100 before I get handed the pills.

And the pills look EXACTLY the same.  They both say Synthroid on them.  So how the heck does the pharmacist know one’s generic and one isn’t when they look exactly the same?

And, no, I don’t have an insurance company for my prescriptions.  I have a PMC.

Meanwhile, I visited my Endocrinologist and was complaining about my fatigue and muscle fatigue and how I felt hypothyroidic when my numbers have me hyper.  She then says, “The statin your on can cause fatigue.”  Here I am blaming my pituitary gland and it’s not even the problem!

So I went to every other day on generic Crestor and the very first day of not taking it I felt a whole lot better.  I emailed my GP to let him know (I mainly deal with the nurse, she’s so good!).  Then I get an email alert from Express Scripts letting me know my order for pravastatin is being filled.

So I go look up that drug.  Supposedly, it has fewer side effects than Crestor.

Doctor’s office calls to let me know to take it instead of the generic Crestor and to take it every other day.  Today was my first day taking it.  :-)

I think I’m getting better with my bowling.  I started that up about a month or so ago.  Dad gave me a 14 pound and a 12 pound ball.  I’ve stuck with the 14 pound ball.  I’m in a league that starts the 26th of this month.  And I’m hoping to be in another one that starts in September.  It’ll be fun to be able to get out and not think about work.  Meet some new people.

My 9 year work anniversary was yesterday.  It’s the longest I’ve worked at any company.  It’s a little scary because if I did leave the company, I’d probably take a huge pay cut because of where I live.

For now, everything is good!  I’m not exhausted, my dogs are healthy, and I enjoy my job.  :-)

Happy! What?!

I am happy!  I woke up happy!  I even happily changed out my hoop earrings today.  Which I haven’t done in years.  I’ve thought about it, just didn’t feel like doing it.

I was humming as I walked across the street to work and didn’t care that I forgot my Arctic mug in the car.

I’m looking forward to working 4 or so hours tomorrow morning with probably no one else on my side of the building.  The quiet will be lovely.

So my new ‘happy’ pills are working - Escitalopram.  Effexor was a definite no for me.

I think my TSH is still low, but I’m getting used to that.  I’ll get tested again in late August.  And if it’s still low, another adjustment to my Levothyroxin.

My weight is between 188 and 190.  Which is fine.   Every once in awhile I get bursts of energy and I’ll do all my laundry, mow the lawn, clean a room.  Then it’s back to nope, stayin in my jammies.  But that’s a lot better than it used to be.

I’m even considering joining a bowling league that starts in August!

Tomorrow is my least favorite holiday with St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo - both bullshit holidays and lame excuses to get stupid drunk - and Christmas close behind.

Shocked about Christmas?  That’s a story for another blog.  For now, it’s happy time!  And happy bedtime!

Professional Behavior

My building did our semi-annual bowling thing this past Sunday.

I was goofing off and bowling for someone who wasn't there and doing way better when I bowled for him than for myself.  So I started saying, "Fucking Chandler."
(There weren't any kids within earshot.)

But one of my co-workers said, "You crack me up!  You're so PC at work, but so different here."

I couldn't even respond to that I was so dumbfounded.

Of course, I'm different at work.  And I'm not PC - I'm professional.  Do 20 and 30 somethings really not understand that you are supposed to behave in a professional manner when you're at work?

It's also different for the company I used to work for before we got sold.  Our upper management behaved worse than any construction worker I've dealt with.  They'd throw things and cuss all the time.  The excuse I kept hearing was, "That's the automotive business for you."  Well, Sparky, we're a software company, not a car business.

To me, if you can't communicate without cussing, then you should go back to high school or take a college course on Effective Communication.  And you most certainly should behave differently in the work environment than you do at home.

So where did I learn how to behave properly?  My parents?  Mentors?  Teachers? Co-workers?  I'm thinking yes to all of the above.

Photo Progress

I’ll add a photo every 2 weeks.

Above is before aligners.

Above is after 2 weeks of aligners.

Above is after 4 weeks of aligners.

Above 3 are after Step 5 - 9 1/2 weeks of aligners.

Side by side pre aligners and after step 5.  Tiny changes.  :-)

Doesn't look like much changed between these 2 photos.  But I definitely have more space between my teeth in the back.  I can floss now without the string getting stuck.

Candid Co. Step 3

Step 3 aligners are in!  See boring video below.

Step 2 I had to file down the top aligner on the right outside.  You can use an Emory board for that using circular motion.  It seemed like it took forever.  But it was catching the inside of my mouth until I filed it down.

Step 3 was wooo! Tight at first, but I’m already pretty used to them being in after only maybe 30 minutes.  Don’t get me wrong, they still feel like jeans that are at least 1 size too small, but they aren’t painful.

I miss chewing gum.  So far that’s the only thing I’ve missed.  Everything else I’ve eaten or drank before I can do with the aligners.  So when I want gum, I grab a chewy and run that back and forth through my mouth a few times.

I can really tell my bite has changed.  Which is good because I can’t really see a difference in my teeth.  I forgot to take a photo before I put these in, so it’ll be another 2 weeks (possibly) before I do another photo.  I haven’t put the before and after of Step 1 together yet.

Candid Co. Video Call

My video call with my consultant went great!

I had a little connection issue, so she finished it up by calling me.

USE YOUR CHEWIES!!  You cannot over use these things.  They help alleviate pain and get the blood flowing.

Also, the whitener should be done twice a day, not 4 times.  I could have sworn I saw it up to 4 times, but I had dropped it down to just twice.  But she did say twice a day.

By the end of your 2nd week you should be able to remove your aligners with your tongue.  If it's still tight, they will suggest you wear them for another week - possibly 2.  If in doubt, take a photo of your mouth with the torture device thing to spread your mouth open.  Send that to Candid, then call them immediately.

Their customer service is amazingly strong.  Everyone I've talked to has been fantastic!

This is a medical procedure.  She told me that several times.

I may take 2 aspirin before I go to bed.  The discomfort is nothing like the pain I had the first few days of Step 1.

Very happy!  I told someone at work today that when you take your aligners off even just to eat, it's like taking your bra off when you get home from work.  :-)