I have been itching to write this post, but at the same time, it feels like such a big announcement that I don’t even know where to start. I guess the easiest way is to just dive right in and start talking about it. The basics are that I got a diagnosis of a condition that appears to be the root cause of everything that has been going on. And on top of that, I have already started treatment for it and it appears to be working! ...
Look at this! I didn’t wait another month before writing a blog post! I just wish I had some better news to share, but I at least have a lot of news. This last week, I went to a neuromuscular specialist that was 2.5 hours away after a referral from a rheumatologist. The plan was that they were going to run some tests based on what I had already had done. The whole process of even getting an appointment was a pain because I needed a referral and I needed a doctor to complete a packet of paperwork to go along with it. They also needed to forward all of my current records for review. So once I was accepted, I thought I must have finally found the right place. ...
Time to talk about another possible diagnosis for me! This one came about in a rather unexpected way, and I am not sure if I really have it yet, but it seems like a good time to talk about it. I am thinking that it might be interesting for others to see how my views on ADHD change over time, especially if the diagnosis is correct. Your browser does not support the audio element. What is ADHD? First, let’s talk about what I know about ADHD so far. Most of my knowledge is really second-hand because my wife has it and I have seen her struggle with it. To me, it basically comes down to being able to focus. The trouble that I see as an outsider is that she either has too much focus or not enough focus. That is an oversimplification, but it is a good start. At its core, the too much focus is a problem when she wants to ignore people or noises, but she can’t stop herself from seeing, hearing, and feeling all of the external stimuli. She says it can be very overwhelming, and from my viewpoint, she will get so wrapped up in what is happening outside that she doesn’t pay attention to her own mind/body. On the opposite side, if not much is going on around her, she can’t force herself to do something. It is pretty common around our house to find projects and tasks that were started and not finished because they didn’t provide her with enough stimulus to keep focusing on them. ...
I finally got the test results back from the fine needle aspiration of my thyroid nodules! For whatever reason, the doctor that I am working with for my thyroid didn’t send me the results right away and waited until we had our next in-person appointment. I was getting pretty nervous because I figured that meant it was bad news. But thankfully, I was wrong! Your browser does not support the audio element. Let me backtrack a little bit. I had blood results something like six months ago that showed markers for Hashimoto’s disease. My primary care doctor decided to do an ultrasound of my thyroid to see if I had any physical signs because my hormone levels were fine. This should have been quick, but the company they used for the ultrasounds happened to get switched out at the same time. This caused a delay, and honestly, I didn’t push very hard because I was dealing with a lot of other problems at the time. My primary care doctor said that Hashimoto’s mainly just messed with your thyroid levels, and mine were fine, so there wasn’t much urgency to it. ...