Category: Graves’

2022-07-26

It’s been an interesting year so far, starting with catching Covid and followed by getting pneumonia, what else can 2022 bring?

Better news, that’s what!

For the first time in years, all 3 primary thyroid reads from my latest blood work are in the ‘normal’ range! That was a bit of welcomed news, especially since the morning of my labs a week ago, I became a little concerned as one of my signals (muscle tremors) for a possible thyroid storm presented itself while playing pickleball and forcing me to withdraw. After reviewing, it’s probably due to not resting enough (I was on the court 1.5 hrs straight, warming other players up) prior to league play starting. Thanks to a good friend, I was able to settle myself down by soaking in their spa that afternoon.

On to the numbers:

TSH: 0.859 (v <0.005 previously), within the 0.450-4.500 reference interval

Free T4: 1.32 (v 2.03), and a 0.82-1.77 reference interval

T3: 99 (v 217), and a reference interval of 71-180 (yes, this interval is back to these numbers from 55-170, inconsequential since I’m squarely in the range)

BP was 130/73 (after coming from playing pickleball that morning), pulse 60, and O2 saturation at 99% (temp was not taken). Lastly, my weight seems to have stabilized around the 155 lb range ever since catching Covid. The only other thing worth noting was that my white blood cell count came out below the reference range of 3.4-10.8 at 3.1. The doctor doesn’t think it’s of any concern (only marginally below) and may just be a side effect of changing my dose of methimazole (2.5 mg) from every other day to daily.

In any case, I’m feeling as healthy as I ever have, maybe better than at any other point in my life. I’m now playing pickleball 7 days a week (on average, around 4-6 hrs a day), and enjoying lots of good food, good drinks and good times with friends.

Cheers, and, as another new friend would say, make good choices!

2022-01-26

What a start to 2022. Got hit by Covid at the very start of the year, probably from my pickleball group as 3 other people whom I played with also got sick. Fortunately, it was very mild with only a couple of days of a sore throat and body aches. Unfortunately, I probably didn’t take it easy as much as I should have and was back to playing pickleball a week later, and I developed a dry cough. Well, that turned into a little bit of congestion and ultimately diagnosed as pneumonia, discovered during my annual physical. That was probably lucky for me as I would have typically ignored something so minor. This whole episode also resulted in a loss of 8 lbs alone this month (low of 158, now back up a bit at 161, looking to stay around 165).

Due to that weight loss, I did make a decision to go from my super low 2.5 mg of methimazole every other day to 2.5 mg daily. My thyroid levels showed improvements for serum T3 at 152 v 217; free T3 at 3.6 v 6.8; free T4 at 2.03 v 2.49; and TSH constant at <0.005 from last time. The T3 levels are actually now in the “normal” range (55-170 and 2.0-4.4, respectively). T4 is getting closer (0.82-1.77) and don’t know if I will ever see TSH within 0.45-4.5. Strange that the reference interval for serum T3 changed from 71-180 to 55-170, which is also a point of contention of what is normal for me v the population at large. Lastly, my vitals were BP of 128/73, pulse 58, temp 98F and cholesterol at 122 (how is that possible with all the smoked meat I eat?!).

In any case, I have one more day of antibiotics for the pneumonia to get through and am looking forward to resume playing pickleball. I have to work out a balance of that plus golfing and bicycling, both of which have been relegated to occasional activities since I have gotten more serious with pickleball. I’m playing 5 days a week, with most days of at least 4 hrs of play, one day of 6 or more, plus I’ve joined a league. Crazy but I’m having fun.

Stay well, everyone!

2021-07-20

Just completed another half year check up for my Graves’ disease and my thyroid levels continue to show hyperactivity but I’m still not seeing the danger signals from my initial diagnosis. My TSH is still at less than 0.005, same as my last test (ref int 0.450-4.500); Free T4 at 2.49, better than my last 2.75 (ref int 0.82-1.77); and T3 at 217, again better than my last 269 (ref int 71-180). I also got a read for my Free T3, which wasn’t measured previously, at 6.8, higher than the reference interval of 2.0-4.4.

My retiring endocrinologist made one last plea for me to increase my medication or perform some version of thyroidectomy but I once again declined (no, me declining treatment advice was not the cause of his retirement). I’ve selected another New Yorker for my next endocrinologist so we’ll see how that works out.

I’m feeling great! I’m riding my bike 2-3 times a week for 25-40 miles per ride. My speed has improved from 12.5 mph to averaging 13.5-14.5 mph. I’m playing pickleball 3 times a week and trying to golf at least once a week. And as of this past week, I’ve added swimming, if you can call it that, to my activity list.

My vitals were BP of 117/68 (left arm) and 117/69 (right arm), resting pulse at 64, and temp of 97.9F. And while not measured in the current blood work, I did score a cholesterol reading of 164 when I gave blood back in June. I don’t think my stats have been better since the late 1990’s when I took up running.

Peace!

17 Jan 2020

Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone! As for my mom and myself, age related issues continue to play themselves out for mom and her recent recovery from a broken right hip.

Her surgery itself was a success but this has left her right leg a couple of inches shorter than before, exasperating her already bad balance issues. Being a shuffler (v a walker) ruled her out as a candidate for orthotics. And as for her age related dementia, I’ll just say it is continuing to progress and we’ll have to come to a decision about placing her into memory care in the near future.

Now as for my own health, my annual physical went well but they do note that my cholesterol as being elevated – I blame it on the recent roast duck and pig I had prior to the blood work being performed. Nevertheless, they performed a risk assessment, taking into consideration my other stats and indicated that I wasn’t a risk for heart disease (yet! – BP 123/77, pulse 62, weight 192 – ok, I know, I could stand to lose a few pounds but considering it’s about 5 lbs less than last year, I call it a win, plus most people guess I am less).

My TSH levels also showed further improvements from the last test (0.431), it’s still considered to less than the low normal standard of 0.45. T3 remains in the normal range at 123 and T4 was not measured. In any case, my doctor agreed to let me reduce my methimazole to 2.5 mg every other day and we’ll review my blood test again in another 6 months. I think he is letting me do so as I remain asymptomatic and I am always monitoring for signs of my Graves.

Onward!

07 Jan 2019

One week into the new year and it’s the start of a new chapter in my life. As some of you may know, I retired at the end of 2018 and I fully intend to enjoy the fruits of my last 30 years of labor. And with that, I look to renew my efforts to send my Graves’ Disease into remission. To that end, my blood test result is still showing me as being hyper, but not as bad (low) from my previous results this past summer.

T3: 134 (ref 71-180)

TSH: 0.022 (0.45-4.5) – much better than last summer’s 0.009 but still a ways to go

Free T4: 1.57 (0.82-1.77)

So how am I spending my time now that I don’t have work to occupy me? That’s still being worked out. For now, more frequent and longer walks, starting to learn pickleball, trying to find time to start golfing again, and catching up with friends and family, local and afar. All this is with mom in tow, which creates its own set of challenges. But as the saying goes, a bad day out still beats a good day in the office :-). Decompress, decompress, decompress!

Cheers to 2019!

17 Aug 2018

Sorry for the late update. It’s been a very busy summer so far.

Mom’s health has been in a steady decline since her falls last year. This summer, she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and had to be hospitalized for a couple of days to get her stabilized. At one point, they were considering putting in a stent to help with her circulation but after an echocardiogram was performed, they found that she was in no immediate risk and deferred on the procedure. Instead, she has been placed on Lasix (diuretic) and Entresto (ACE inhibitor) to mitigate her edema (that’s what sent her to the hospital), and later added Carvedilol (beta blocker) to further improve her heart function.

Over the last couple of weeks, her condition has dramatically improved. She’s back to her normal bodyweight (as of this week) and is even back on her feet again (she had pretty much become wheelchair bound for most activities and using a walker in and around the house). She still needs to be closely monitored and will require more frequent doctor visits, particularly with the cardiologist – not something she likes. Happy with her progress and hope it remains stable.

On the flip side of the coin, all of this has done nothing to reduce any stress in my journey and trying to achieve remission. My TSH remains stuck at a ridiculously low number (0.009 in July v 0.018 in April). T4 has returned to within a normal range where it was slightly elevated back in April (1.77 v 1.83). T3 was again not measured. I asked my new endocrinologist why not and he said that it was not as relevant for treating Graves. Still, I would like to know so when time comes from my next labs, I asked that they include it (hope they remember!).

Needless to say, remission remains out of reach for now. Hopefully, my situation will change when I finally pack it in after 30 years with EY and I retire at the end of the year. Too young to retire you say? Pfffgh – never too late to enjoy the rest of my life! 136 days to go!