So when I last left you I was concussed and awaiting a specialist appointment.
Of course, you've all been hanging on the edge of your seats to hear where I'm at now (ha ha!) so here is the gripping* follow up.
It's now a few weeks on and I'm pretty much recovered from my concussion. Let me tell you - head injuries suck! I knew what concussion did cos Murray is a pro at receiving them. But there's knowing what the symptoms are and actually experiencing them. Quite different. Apart from the obvious headache I was ridiculously tired for the first week - especially the first three days. I definitely needed help with the kids as could not cope with loud noises AT ALL (which are almost impossible to avoid when you have a baby and a two year old). Simple things requiring fine motor skills - like dressing the kids made/make me overly frustrated - I still breathe my way through every time so I don't get snappy.
And most annoyingly, the concussion gave me insomnia.
Now I've kicked insomnia to the curb multiple times. But with a brain injury which requires sleep to get better I have really struggled. It felt like the deck hit the creativity knob in my brain on to high speed. Cos I've had a BAZILLION creative ideas in the weeks following this injury. It's crazy! It's good in a way, but it's meant I struggle even more to shut down my brain so haven't been able to rest enough to recover quickly. That's why (I think) 2 1/2 weeks later I'm still not totally recovered. Plus it's not like I have ample sleep opportunities available with a baby who appears to also have insomnia. So since the concussion I've actually been achieving less sleep than beforehand. Sigh. Stupid brain. Get well soon. Sleep is actually one of my favorite pastimes.
And now I have seen the endocrinologist about my thyroid thing. After all the anxiety and tension the specialist visit was a bit of a pffffft. I was literally only there for 15 minutes. Which is good! Cos it means nothing is seriously wrong.
In that 15 minutes he reviewed my bloods and felt up my throat, then
chucked an ultrasound on it to check for nodules. Nothing out of
order. The blood flow to that area is more than usual - but that's to
be expected as the gland is not working as normal.
I totally used Dr Google wrong - I have an overactive thyroid - not underactive at all. So this recent bout of anxiety - it could entirely be due to my thyroid!!! Not a nut bar after all**! So this is the kind of thyroid problem where you get anxious and lose weight (and hair) and get shaky hands. Which sucks (bar the weight loss, not that I've noticed much), but are pretty live-with-able symptoms.
So what are they going to do about it? Well, nothing. It could be completely due to pregnancy hormones. Pregnancy is not my friend! It's a little too early to completely pin it down to this though, so I'm just having the thyroid function test done regularly (monthly) over the next four months to see if it calms down by itself as those crazy hormones dissipate. The preferred medication for hyperactive thyroid is not ideal to take when breastfeeding, so best to wait and see if I really need it.
Which is great news, but also kinda sucks. Doctors and specialists are always about finding the root cause - which is great - but as things stand I have no advice, no medicine, no nothing, to treat my symptoms. The only one that's really bugging me is the one which brought me in to get checked out in the first place - extreme dizzy spells. It bugs me cos I'm scared one of these days I'm going to drop Abby because I've fainted. It's a genuine concern. I had to really think after my concussion if I had slipped or had fainted (I've deducted from how I fell that it was definitely a slip, but did I slip because I was spaced out? I'll never know).
And in the last week I've started having some new symptoms. I have a slight tremor now. It's not a big deal but is a little disconcerting - a bit like the hair loss. It doesn't affect my daily life too much (I have broken a glass though) but it does make me feel a little unsteady, a little not my usual self. I am hoping this doesn't mean that things are getting worse, and I'm sure if they are I'll know soon anyway.*** I did my first new blood test today. I'm sure they'll call me if anything is trending upward.
So, on the whole, health things are kinda getting better. Probably. Well, my head definitely is. And I don't have cancer (yay) which was my big secret fear. What have I learnt from all this crazy stuff?
a) I am not designed for pregnancy
b) You should never assume you are mental. You might actually just be regular ill.
c) I need to mould spray the path
d) Hanging out washing in the rain is stupid
* Not really
**Well, not this time anyway
*** Also, there's just a tiny chance that now I know about the tremor thing I think I have one. Murray did witness it, but I've also had a concussion and not much sleep and (on some days) too much caffeine and (on most days) sugar.
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