h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hurrah. at last they had it back in again

A few weeks ago... could be longer ago... We were in the chemist/pharmacy/thinggy shop that sells smelly stuff and soap and shampoo and things and whatever those sort of shops are called, type place.... Boots, thats it.
We were in Boots.
And, looking at the brand of nail gloss/varnish I like.

And william noticed a colour, and read it out to me...

"Queen of tarts"...

To which I exclaimed "that sounds so me"....

memorable, as, after I said that, the young lady working behind the counter behind us, exploded in a giggling fit - and then agreed it was a good red colour...

Anyhow, for some r reason at the time we didn't get it, adn subsequently couldn't find it in that shop, and another couple of shops we looked in...

Today they had it. So I bought it going to do my nails later

Also perused the charity shops....

found me a red, winter coat.... for less than £7 (I'd been looking at some new ones, very simular at about £70 or more)Its a sort of not overly bright red... rassberry red we think looks in great condition too.

I went out today. in the morning. I could sense my body, legs, and the world around me, and sound worked. - OK, so brand VS generic are the same right? no ing way;

Took 2 X 25 McG levothyroxin this morning (not got the pack of 50 McG yet), and no immediate headache, or 'vail' descending across my consciousness, no brain fog, no subtle coming on of the failure to process sensory inputs.
no fatigue.
no muscle pain. no cramps. no muscle weakness, or inability to feel my legs.

early, as its the first day on them, but... - someone like my Dr or specialist nurse might have suggested trying a differnt brand, I don't know... four or so months back?

Fatigue coming in a little bit now, but I've been doing stuff all day long; out to town earlier, then supermarket, then home, made lunch, and had been doing laundry since waking up (slept about three hours l last night), and so after lunch finished laundry, made up beds, etc, phoned credit card company, requested new pin, put in repeat prescription online for more steroids and, just genrally done stuff all day.

I.... kinda vaguely feel like I'm alive. not felt this good in so long, during the day....

and, the steroids, an hour or so after the levothyroxin, didn't seem to 'whipe me out' like they normally/often do

Think I'll request a differnt brand of the steroids too (actually I did earlier, forgot about that, assuming they get the note that went with the online request)

Off to see GP tomorrow afternoon, find out what the deal is with my heart now being b messed up from the medications...

oh. and. touch wood. no heart palpitations today...

arms and legs still full of pitting oedema but I'm guessing that is the steroids causing that anyhow, or the congestive heart failure. could go nap now, just about ... W has... but think I'll go make us up some dinner instead.... mushrooms and onions and some other veg probably.... probably bulghurt wheet, and maybe some kidney beans.... <

I'm so glad to hear a bit of good news, medication wise!
And YAY for good nail polish!

It's so good to hear something going well for you, pharmacologically for a change.

It did seem odd that you were having such a reaction to levothyroxin. I just looked up my dosage for comparison. I'm taking 112mcg/day and I really don't notice any symptoms whether or not I take them. I forget to take my morning pills occasionally and nothing feels different at all. I assumed I was at a much lower dose than you since you were having such a reaction, but I'm at a higher dosage.

Of course, my hypothyroidism is mostly due to damage during surgery and proton radiotherapy, not lymphoma and chemo so comparisons are probably pointless, but still, I'm very happy to hear you're feeling better today.

its a really great nail polish; the other colour same brand I've had, lasted really well, without chipping (only one coat, and no undercoat or overcoat/gloss over), a single brush stroke does the nail; its kinda the right liquid consistancy to spread out, right to the corners of the nail

Yeh, I'm just hoping today wasn't a random thing, and just coincided with the change in meds..... - I've been reading, on the net as one does, about other people with hypopituitarism, and some, with less hormone defeciency than me, in less of th e hormones missing, seem to have an even rougher time than I do... which makes me wonder why all the official imformation, like from endo specialist nurses is so lieing, and 'oh people live a normal life... etc., etc.,', when the truth seems far away; just reading a lady, who only lacks growth hormone and cortisol, who's in a wheelchair a lot of the time, due to it, and shes only onn the repalcement cortisol/steroids so far.... like her I'm missing growth hormone, but don't yet have it replaced, but additionally I'm lacking thyroid hormone and testosteorne (although my testosterone lack now looks weird as the levels don't match up) Just hope I can get treatment right and diagnosed properly and treatment optamised ASAP to avoid long term consequences (broken bones, heart disease, bone fractures, hip displacement spinal inury etc., etc.,) as it is, I'm gona have to really start battling all the weight I've put on from the steroids soon; now maybe I've got a thyroid med that works, that may help lose weight, and with the growh hormone starting that should help too with a lot of stuff but ... still just a bit annoying they didn't do some of the testing they shoudl have, at the points where they should have.

Also, going to push my GP for the bone density scan, hospital said yes, then changed their mind, all the treatment protocols, all over the world, and NHS guidelines say once yearly bone density scans for me, but... they don't adhere for some reason - at least If I'm a bit fitter, and cognitively more with it now, I can start to really push them constantly on getting me treated proper just so hoping the heart thing isn't too major; the ECG scan I had not that long back was fine, so its developed recently whatever it is... (maybe even some form of the oedema round the heart)...

Right. gona go get inspired with some veg, spices and bulgher wheet....

that it's the change from generic to branded, and not just some random thingy that goes away just as randomly...

Baron Grim
- I think hypothyroidism for whatever cause works out roughly the same.... - I'm on a seriously low dose; my actual dose is set at 75 McG a day, but I stopped it entirely due to side effects (I'd told them about side effects but they both said and did nothing; so I did my only route of action, stopped taking the drug entirely, which messed everything up for them; but at least now they've started monitoring my levels again, from bloods, which they should have been doing anyhow, but were not. Its my stopping it entirely, that has sunk my blood test results for it so low that I can't now start growth hormone; but, when I stopped taking levothyroxin, I got my 'typical' paradoxical response; I felt better, had more energy etc, and also stopped having diarrhea). anyhow, my hypothyroidism, is, so they say (I'm seriously starting to doubt the entire diagnosis), caused by the brain hemoridge in 1994, which made me lose the sight in my second eye, follwing the road traffic accident in 1993 (not as I thought, due to my more recent hemoridge, last january, which no one has yet followed up or given an explination for).
so, my thyroid is thought to be fine; just not recieving the message from the pituitary gland (no TSH).
My TsH and thyroid hormones levels were low as of March last year, but I had to fight before they could 'see' this, and I didn't start replacement until err.... some time before May this year but after Christmas I forget quite when.
Comparasons are closer for you and I; guess you've got pituitary dammage, or hypothalamic dammage (which in turn controls the pituitary).
There are now so many gaps, and just plain 'wrongs' on my diagnosis, I'm seriously thinking tomorrow, I just ask for a referal to a differnt hospital, and start again.

As for not noticing any symptoms when you miss a dose; thyroid levels can take a long while to get 'up', on starting replacement, so the first measure after starting meds, is useually 6 weeks after; on some evidence now, you can even take your entire weeks dose on a single day, and still remain more or less constant all week!- its sort of long lasting I guess!- The fact I can notice day to day changes on dose, and in this case brand, suggests something other than the drug itself- a reaction to the fillers I guess... - although, looking at the ingredients carefully, the active ingredient is slightly differnt between brands, and generic, I.E., its not just 'thyroxin' or 'levothyroxin' is the ingreidient, differnt brand have a slightly differnt 'version' of the hormone.... damnit...




Amy; me too!- and hopefully I might find a simular improvement, if I move from generic to branded Prednisolone too... which I'm next trying to do....

Well GP in the morning, so we can see about this ECG thing and my suddenly having developed heart disease in the last few months, which... seems unlikely basically also got some 'interesting' skin err... 'spots' for Dr to look at, including what is most likely a boil, just sprung up in the exact spot my origional lymphoma was, under the armpit!- fate... you twisted mind! its always in that spot!
Also to push again about the oedema, and the odd pain in my foot (could be steroid related as that can cause tendon rupture etc as well as maybe its just the oedema or something) Plus to see what else is new as it were

I feel.... kind of human. conscious.... alive... this is... most odd not even the beer I demolished last night made me feel anything other than fine this morning (OK the beer induced sleep probably helped... too, but the drugs didn't screw up my brain and body ) off to GP later this afteroon.... and I've got the queen of tarts nail varnish on

Normally I'm not superstitious but this time I'm almost afraid to congratulate you. I really hope you'll be able to stay on this new path you seem to be on

I'm having a bottle of kangaroo Shiraz and a pizza in your honour tonight. In spite of my diets. I mean if this doesn't call for pizza and I don't know what does!

Me too Jus hoping th enew 50 McG tablets I try tomorrow work as well and that I'm now not too ill from the antibiotics I'm on for a skin infection in the armpit, just over where the origional cancer was (hence my lymph nodes are up, which I guess could be worrying if I could be bothered to wrry any more )