Friday, November 14, 2008

Just Call Me Popeye

So I felt like death the entire month of October, culminating in the Strep attack last week. I had tried to see my doc a couple of times, but she is a busy woman, so we just barely met up yesterday. Well...she freaked out about the leathery/bumpy rash on my shins and my bulging right eye. I didn't think it was so bad, but she was all super-urgent about getting it fixed. Today she called me and said she has set up an appointment for me with an eye specialist is SALT LAKE CITY (WTFreak?) in December, so I can go see him on my way to AZ. I have to get another CT scan of my freaky head. She had originally set up an appointment with an endocrinologist in Billings to just get my thyroid ablated, but she and he had a conference today and he told her that the eye thing had little to do with my thyroid, and since the hormone levels look good, we should just leave the thyroid alone. He said what's really happening is that the Graves Disease is now attacking my tissues like skin (the rash) and opthalmic muscles (the eye thing), and is doing other bad things to make me feel chronic pain and general malaise (wanna read the medical explanation? it's a fun one---click here).

No one has been clear on how you treat the actual disease (do you?), so I will just take care of the symptoms and try to do some of the natural remedies and dietary treatments for the disease. This auto-immune stuff bites.

But it sounds a lot worse than it is, because mostly I am fine. Maybe a little freaky looking, but fine.

PS: Did you know that Barbara Bush got Grave's Disease and that's why her eyes started bugging out? Seriously! Look at pix of her in the early 80's and compare them to now. EEK.

7 comments:

CasperintheUK said...

I hope you're going to the Moran Eye Center at the U of U. They have fabulous doctors. I got VERY good treatment there.

Love ya,
Vyv

Brent said...

Ooh! I hope you're feeling better, cousin.

Jenn said...

Wow...what a couple we would make...you and bulging eyes and me with my squinty ones (a symptom of my glaucoma...sensitivity to light thing)Well, at least you are getting it taken care of!
Oh and the pic of you and Daddy-O is too cute!

AuntieM said...

I'm checking with Sister Goates. I know that her daughter has Graves and I will see what they have done. Also who they have seen in Sierra Vista , Tucson. I love you and hopw that you can feel the love pouring towards you like the Yellostone river. Hugs.

Jessica said...

Aye yi yi! Do you have an Endocrinologist anywhere near you? My mom had hyperthyroidism... I'm not sure if that is the same thing as Graves. But she had the bulging eyes. She opted for the ablation. (Being radioactive is a little cooler than you might think. ;) There are a whole host of different specialist you can see about thyroid issues and each one brings a different strategy to the table. Endos are not surgeons, they have more of a wait and see kind of approach. Nuclear Medicine is very methodical and formulaic (is that a word?) ENT's are about surgical solutions. Is your doc in family practice? If it were me I'd see the Endo first. The eye specialists may not have tons of background in what is causing your problems, imo. In my experience it does take a team of Drs to thoroughly treat thyroid issues and the best doc to coordinate this is an Endocrinologist. Preferably one you get along with.

Jamie said...

Erin: No Moran...I am going to (get this...)The Center for Facial Appearances!!!!
Brent, I am feelin' good...will we see you next weekend?
Jen, we ARE quite the pair! That pic of me & Rich is on the night train to Paris.
Auntie M, I feel the love, even stronger than the winter trickle of the Yellowstone!
Jess, the Endo is the one who wants me to do the eye first, thyroid second. I am avoiding surgery if possible and doing radioactive ablation if possible because I have been healing really slowly (case in point: it took almost 4 months for a Vancouver mosquito bite to scab over and heal up!)

cmhl said...

your hubs makes the cutest/funniest faces!

hope you have heard more about it by now, and at least you have beautiful eyes!

happy-post-turkey-day... I was looking through out pictures last night, and am fairly certain that I look like I had been fattened up for thanksgiving rather than the turkey. ugh!

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