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

my spine that is. apparently. Saw endocrinologist today, was a good clinic app, and she wants me back next week, for fasting blood tests (can't believe they've never done these yet, in over two years of treatments)
She mentioned the cardiology stuff, and we talked some of how this might affect some of the hormone stuff; in particular in might make my taking T3 only thyroid meds a bad idea, as they produce a spike in levels that can affect the cardiac system, BP and suchlike; she's discussing that with the MDT this week coming.
Also, mentioning to me, the main two points; the thyroid plus my bones; she happened to mention the results of the bone density scan, which of course I've known a while, showing ostiopenia/ostioporosis , which I knew about; then mentioned; "plus of course you have a couple of spinal vertibray crumbling away, as shown on a previous CT scan" - I probably looked a bit at this.... "no one has ever mentioned this to you?" - nope. never.
OK... she didn't say when that was discovered, but to my memory, I haven't had a CT scan since last year, or th eyear before that, or I think, going back from then, about 2004, and before that, probably not since the late 1990s...
one of those, or several of those, no doubt shows my spine is crumbling away; and no one, thought they might mention this to me.
No idea from what date therefore this comes, and therefor eno idea what the cause might be; It could have been something present since my accident (RTA) in 1993, or something that developed since then; no idea if its even linked with the ostioporosis; and of course, as I didn't have a bone density befor estarting steroids, we've no idea if the bone density problems are themselves, something due to the steroids I'm now on or, indeed soemthing that occured previous (maybe due to years of dwindling hormones, such as lowering testosterone, GH, thyroid etc, which can affect bone density).
Hmm.
so she's bringing up the ostioporosis/spine (and if I need to start treatment for bone strengthening drugs), plus the thyroid again (which itself may help with the bones), at the next MDT, and I should hear back from her in about 10 days or so.
A quick perusal of some case studies, and I see that IV, IM or even subcut administration of levothyroxin is possible, which I may bring up with her, if the T3 option is ruled out; though initital review of the literature, seems to indicate IV administration of levo would be counterindicated in me, due to the vascular/cardiac nonsense.
Dr examined my ankles, and was rather supprised just how much oedima, I don't have, (thanks to my exercising and probably also due to the growth hormone) - I showed her my wrists; the now lose watch I couldn't wear at the start of this year, and the medic alert bracelet I wear, which I can now fit four fingers under, which I coudln't get one finger under at the start of the year... - yeh, that's partly weight loss, but a lot of that is the oedima on my arms gone since I started the GH and then joined the whole exercise thing - Dr was, I think, a little worried when I told her what I'm doing in the gym... as I'm guessing a lot of it, is probably not what cardiology think is safe given the dilitation - but we've yet to get the PET scan of the vascular system back, to see the extent of the aneurysimal disease

showed the Dr my bottles of suppliments (she asked me to bring them last time I was there), and so I educated her about the important role of both zinc and vitamine K2 MK7, as co-factors in bone growth (and rebuilding), and explained to her, just how much a differnce the magnesium makes... - she seemed happy enough I wasn't overdosing on any of them
Bloods next week, and then back in clinic in two months; have an oncology app before that, and maybe somethign from cardiology if they bother to do that, for results of the PET scan.
Oh, and told the Dr about my bad reaction to the angiotensin receptor II antagnosit tablet, the cardiogy Dr made me take, which made me so ill... endo Dr didn't really comment on that; but basically at least she seems to agree, that anything making me that ill, I can't take (and same for the oral levothyroxin- I did say I would be willing to re-try taking oral levothyroxin; in a soluable form, as sometimes that is tollerated by patients who can't tollerate the ordinary solid tablet form)
So... wait to hear back about starting some bone strengthtening drugs, and wait to see what they think about th e thyroid stuff. and... try to figure out why I've a four letter word written on my forehead, that means Drs keep stuff like my spine collapsing, from me.

Well, at least your endo seems to be fairly competent. In the US, you'd have a line of ambulance chasers lining up at your door (or at least ringing your phone off the wall.*) Not informing you of spinal deterioration for an unknown but obviously lengthy period of time would make the lawyers drool.





*technically, lawyers are not allowed to contact potential clients unsolicited so they buy tons of daytime TV ad space. We have some real classy ones. My favorite is "The TEXAS HAMMER!"
http://youtu.be/15M9b6PAdro

And now his son has joined the firm.

http://youtu.be/n-OWgxTrp8s

Yes, these are actual legal advertisements that air in Houston.
Jim Adler advertised as simply, "The Tough, Smart Lawyer" for years, but switched to calling himself "The Texas Hammer" about 5-10 years ago.

Om my Bob! - I just couldn't ever see that sort of thing here in the UK.... just such a 'forign' idea.... having said which... no doubt in a few years we'll catchth you and have the same!

Yeh; not having been informed of the spine deteriating, not even knowing they'd found it, is a bit... err, worrying... makes me wonder what else they've not* told me - quite who discovered it, and when, and quite therefore who should have told me, and when, I've no idea, I may try look into it; its silly lax things like this that can really go a long way to making one very ill; recall the trubble I had, getting a Dr in 2015, to confirm, or not confirm, that someone* had* looked at a scan for me, to see if I had brain cancer?- there was a letter that seemingly got lost at the GP surgery, just after I had the hemoridge, which speculated, or suggested, a scan done at taht time (january 20 something, 2015), showed evidence of cancer somewhere in my brain.... - that letter was never followed up, and I think it wasn't until may 2015 (at te end of chemotherapy for the hodgkin's), I eventually got a Dr to conmfirm, absolutely (not a 'probably') that I didn't* have any evidence of cancer in my brain area - I think I went partially through the hospital complaints thing, to just get that answer... - and it was like the Drs didn't understand why* I might be interested in this, and need an absolute yes/no answer to whether anyone had looked over the scans for this...

Simularly, at the start of 2015, having been then diagnosed with the Addison's, it took forever, to get a oncology Dr to confirm that there was nO* evidence of hodgkin's on my adrenal glands (very rare, but not impossible area to find the hodgkin's hiding) - because... I love haing to fight with my Drs when I'm so damn ill

hmm. having Hodgkin's, seems like a reasonably straight forward medical problem compaired to everything going wrong now... - I'm getting way too pathologically complicated!

been so totaly fatigued, yesturday and today, not been able to leave the house, and barely got out of bed.... I do hope this is just a passing fatigue, and not some new sign of thigns to come, I know a lot of people with addison's, or the panhypopit, get bad chronic fatigue, but I had been seeming to escape it, I don't think I could cope with a life that consisted of being bed-bound and fatigue is so annoying... not tired, so can't sleep, but fatigued, so can't do anything, both mentally and physically, was hoping to have gone to the gym today I'd kind of got used to having more energy lately, especially with the gym etc, so, so desperately hoping this will just pass too fatigued to read, listen to the radio, or do anything, and not tired, so can't just sleep, even though sleeping is all I feel like steroid-induced acne so painful too ATM, not sure if I should re-visit the GP again, I'm guessing just going onto more antibiotics won't exactly do much, as the causative agent is constantly taken, Visa the steroids, so its not like it can ever get any real rest totally from reoccuring.... the last 50 day course of antibiotics helped, but never cleared it fully anyhow

I've had moderate acne most of my life. I have minimized it greatly this last year or so by fastidiously replacing my pillow cases every other day (with a flip from day one to day two). I'm also now washing my sheets every week.

I just received a new set of sheets from Amazon that I ordered on their recent (Tuesday) "Prime Day" sale. Unfortunately, I got the wrong size. Full sheets just won't quite fit on a Queen size bed... but they nearly do. The Amazon interface kept resetting the color/size selection. I pick queen size sheets. Check! I switch from light blue to my preferred dark grey. Size returned to Full. I switch back to Queen and the color switches to light silver/grey (dark grey no longer available). Back and forth a few times and I don't notice that they've reshuffled back to full until this morning while trying to fit my new, too small, fitted sheet.


The one very notable achievement for this morning however is that as I carefully unpackaged my new sheets, I noted to see how the fitted sheet was "folded".

I'm fairly confident I now know how to "fold" fitted sheets.


*The trick is lay the sheet upside down allowing the elastic to retract atop the sheet, pull out the flat part beyond that, then fold inward placing the elastic well within the rest of the sheet.

- oddly I don't get any acne on my face, just on my bad on my back either side of the spine, then bad at the top of the back, and sort of goign 'over the shoulders' a little, just on to the top of the arms... - its a side effect of teh prednisolone apparently; though I initially thought it was probably a side effect of the testosterone injections, but, well, maybe both dont' exactly help Maybe I should try going back to changing the sheets more often; sweating excess is sadly a symptom of panhypo due to various bits of the hormones being messed up, and changing hormone levels over the month, due to oestrogen and testosterone changes, can probably make my skin oilier than it ever used to be (I was never a spotty teenager!) - I'm not entirely convinced if my body believes its female or male or ... just somewhere inbetween now, given the hormonal mess - perhaps just full transitioning would be the easier option now force it to go the opposite way round to where it started and then stay* there - I had to buy a new sheet a few weeks back; I woke to find the sheet totally ripped, right in the middle!- I think that constitutes usage to the point of used up it was a very good sheet, but very old - I always try to get flat sheets, even though they're vastly more expensive sueually, as I find them easier to fold and put on a bed for some reason

I have that trubble with Amazon too; select 'size' select 'colour', and some size colour combinations can't exist... I always seem to get it muddled the wrong way