To some degree, I've always been a bit low-energy. In the past six months or so, this has gone to an extreme, and most recently I've been finding it really difficult to get out of bed in time to get to work (which is a 15-minute walk, and I still can't drag myself out of bed half the time). My shifts generally start at 2 PM, and I find myself hitting snooze repeatedly until it's 1:30, and then I have to fly around the house getting ready and I don't have time to eat breakfast.
I have dry skin, I have unexplained aches and pains in my upper back and sciatica problems, and my periods are irregular. I have had half-eyebrows all my life.
I also frequently go hoarse at work, which could honestly be because there's no rope system or anything in front of our hotel desk, and people don't wait for us to finish putting stuff away or whatever from the last guest (I had someone get all huffy with me because I am *required* by company policy to put any cash I receive away before I help the next guest, and "Geez, ALL I WANT IS MATCHES!!"), so oftentimes I go an hour without a drink of water during busy periods.
All of this together sounds to me like I must have hypothyroidism, or at least, it's the most obvious explanation. I went to the doctor last week and told her the symptoms. She agreed that it sounded like thyroid problems, and drew blood. She said what I pay for a doctor's visit will cover three tests, so they tested my TSH and free T4, ran a metabolic panel (because my medication can affect blood counts), and tested me for diabetes (apparently for the sheer hell of it). I protested about the last one, because I was just tested for diabetes in 2011 AND 2012 and I don't have even the beginnings of it, but they insisted on doing it and I decided there wasn't any other test I could think of that would be a better idea (other than a more extensive test for thyroid, and you usually have to get one of those from an endocrinologist).
They took me into the blood-drawing room and I sat down and asked if they could please take it from my right arm. I always say this because I bruise horribly, and it's not any fun not having a full range of motion in my dominant arm for a week due to pain or soreness. They couldn't find my veins. Couldn't find them at all. Finally went for the back of my hand instead of the crook of my elbow, and the nurse (who I've already firmly established I do NOT like after she treated me like I was 2 years old when I came in to get a scrip for an inhaler a few years ago, and complained offhand that I had to have a doctor's visit at $125 to get a new scrip for it even though I'd been taking it for a good 11 years prior, and she looked at me like I was stupid and said "That's right, honey, you need to have a PRE-SCRIP-TION from a doc-tor for PRE-SCRIP-TION med-i-ca-tion!") looks at me and goes "I've done you before, they must have trouble finding your veins every time you come in here!" The subtext being "Because you're fat", of course. I wanted to say "No, just you," but I bit my tongue and they decided maybe they couldn't find my veins because I hadn't had enough fluids that morning. Finally I let them look in my left arm and they found one right away and got what they needed.
The doctor said they'd only call me if the results were abnormal. I called the clinic just to be sure on Tuesday (the appointment was last Thursday) and they said the results were normal, but the doctor wanted to talk to me about my symptoms some more, so I need another appointment. I've since done some more research on the symptoms and I really hope I don't have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, because it's going to take months and months and a lot of money I don't have to rule everything else out.
Oh, and I got the doctor's letter in the mail today, which said all my results were normal and I don't have diabetes, but I *am* at an increased risk. Gee, thanks, I didn't notice I was fat when, I don't know, I was shopping for clothes or trying to shave or any of a hundred other activities. And also...I have a family history of diabetes, so...thanks, Captain Obvious.
The good news is, since I started taking a multivitamin over the weekend, I haven't felt so exhausted and dragged out all the time. The other symptoms are mostly still there, though. And I'm still barely on time for work.
I have dry skin, I have unexplained aches and pains in my upper back and sciatica problems, and my periods are irregular. I have had half-eyebrows all my life.
I also frequently go hoarse at work, which could honestly be because there's no rope system or anything in front of our hotel desk, and people don't wait for us to finish putting stuff away or whatever from the last guest (I had someone get all huffy with me because I am *required* by company policy to put any cash I receive away before I help the next guest, and "Geez, ALL I WANT IS MATCHES!!"), so oftentimes I go an hour without a drink of water during busy periods.
All of this together sounds to me like I must have hypothyroidism, or at least, it's the most obvious explanation. I went to the doctor last week and told her the symptoms. She agreed that it sounded like thyroid problems, and drew blood. She said what I pay for a doctor's visit will cover three tests, so they tested my TSH and free T4, ran a metabolic panel (because my medication can affect blood counts), and tested me for diabetes (apparently for the sheer hell of it). I protested about the last one, because I was just tested for diabetes in 2011 AND 2012 and I don't have even the beginnings of it, but they insisted on doing it and I decided there wasn't any other test I could think of that would be a better idea (other than a more extensive test for thyroid, and you usually have to get one of those from an endocrinologist).
They took me into the blood-drawing room and I sat down and asked if they could please take it from my right arm. I always say this because I bruise horribly, and it's not any fun not having a full range of motion in my dominant arm for a week due to pain or soreness. They couldn't find my veins. Couldn't find them at all. Finally went for the back of my hand instead of the crook of my elbow, and the nurse (who I've already firmly established I do NOT like after she treated me like I was 2 years old when I came in to get a scrip for an inhaler a few years ago, and complained offhand that I had to have a doctor's visit at $125 to get a new scrip for it even though I'd been taking it for a good 11 years prior, and she looked at me like I was stupid and said "That's right, honey, you need to have a PRE-SCRIP-TION from a doc-tor for PRE-SCRIP-TION med-i-ca-tion!") looks at me and goes "I've done you before, they must have trouble finding your veins every time you come in here!" The subtext being "Because you're fat", of course. I wanted to say "No, just you," but I bit my tongue and they decided maybe they couldn't find my veins because I hadn't had enough fluids that morning. Finally I let them look in my left arm and they found one right away and got what they needed.
The doctor said they'd only call me if the results were abnormal. I called the clinic just to be sure on Tuesday (the appointment was last Thursday) and they said the results were normal, but the doctor wanted to talk to me about my symptoms some more, so I need another appointment. I've since done some more research on the symptoms and I really hope I don't have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, because it's going to take months and months and a lot of money I don't have to rule everything else out.
Oh, and I got the doctor's letter in the mail today, which said all my results were normal and I don't have diabetes, but I *am* at an increased risk. Gee, thanks, I didn't notice I was fat when, I don't know, I was shopping for clothes or trying to shave or any of a hundred other activities. And also...I have a family history of diabetes, so...thanks, Captain Obvious.
The good news is, since I started taking a multivitamin over the weekend, I haven't felt so exhausted and dragged out all the time. The other symptoms are mostly still there, though. And I'm still barely on time for work.
Comment