A catch up on health stuff

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.

On 'Just Having One Of Those Weeks'

Sigh.

So between last Monday and this these things happened:

1) A routine blood test turned into a specialist appointment
2) I realised I am losing my hair
4) I got a concussion

And because I am currently concussed, I'll keep this brief.

So just over a week ago I went to see my Dr as thought I was anemic again cos have been having quite serious dizzy spells.  Because I feel like I practically live at the Drs and it's hard going with two kids I put off going for a while as was pretty sure this is what the issue was - which sucks, but is not serious.  So when I got the text to go in to discuss my blood results that's what I thought I was  going in for.

But I was wrong.  Turns out this Dr (unlike other Drs) tested my thyroid function and it was not good.  She was expecting me to know what she was talking about, but given this is the first time it's come up I had no idea.  She referred me on to an endocrinology specialist, put me on a small dose of meds (didn't want to mess with stuff too much until I've seen the specialist) and sent me on my way.

So I felt a bit shell shocked.  On getting home and resorting to Dr Google I felt a little better but still felt a bit side swiped by new medical information.  I have never been more grateful for medical insurance.  It means I'm seeing the specialist this Thursday.  So while I know it's probably nothing serious, it's still nice to know that I'll know for sure sooner rather than later.

A couple of days after this I got out of the shower, looked in the mirror and noticed my bald patches.  They have probably been there for a while - just shows how often I look in the mirror!  My hair had been falling out over the last month, but I thought nothing of it as I remember 'the thinning' from after having Etta - a pretty normal thing post baby once the baby hormones start to change.  The last thinning was not like this one though.  This time I actually have patches where the hair has thinned so much you can see my scalp - and it's right at the front of my hairline!

If you have followed my blog for a long while you'll know that a while ago I did Shave for a Cure - I have absolutely no issue with having no hair (besides the fact it gets bloody cold).  But again, this was a blindside - experiencing real hair-loss just after turning 34 is not something I really considered would happen to me.  I didn't have a cry about it, but I did spend a little bit of time fretting about what it looked like and how to style my hair so you couldn't see the patches.  Which is ridiculous given I hadn't even noticed myself for who knows how long.  Now I've cut my hair just to minimise the damage to our drains (you don't want to know how much hair was stuck in our bath drain) and am feeling ok about it. 

The hair loss is likely linked to the thyroid stuff.  And once we know what's causing that I should be able to grow that hair back and feel normal again.  So that's pretty cool.

And then yesterday I was popping outside to hang out my net curtains* BAM.  I slip on our paving stones and smack my head into the underside of our deck on the way down.  I didn't pass out but it did take me a while to fish myself out from the bamboo cut-off pile under our deck and assess the damage.  Initially, it was my arse I was most worried about.  I fell pretty hard and copped a nice butt-bruise in the process.  My head was sore, but ok.  We decided to assess whether or not I needed to get it checked out in a few hours.

Murray is a pro at concussions having suffered many himself.  And because he's had a few I'm pretty up to date with my concussion knowledge.  I started having serious light and sound sensitivity so we first called Healthline to check if I should get checked out.  And then we got checked out.  I was really glad I did as I hadn't thought about my neck at all the in the scheme of things, and due to how I fell, and where there was pain I had to get a neck xray just to be safe.

So yeah.  I do have a concussion and I can officially confirm from experience that they are not fun.  I am so glad I have the backing of a medical professional as I've not been able to do anything all day.  For the first time since I had food poisoning when I was pregnant, I literally spent most of the day in bed.  I haven't even been able to read.  Concussion feels a little bit like being on drugs you don't want to be on.  Everything is a bit disconnected and fuzzy.  I've been getting some words mixed up.  My brain can be slow in getting the words out I want to say.  It's very frustrating and tiring being concussed. 

I am so glad to have had help from Mum over yesterday and today.  She and Murray have been great looker afterers of me during this time.  Small people don't understand brain injury and sound sensitivity.  And my small people are loud, and not used to being told off for being loud (we encourage sound play in our house).  In saying that, Etta's been fantastic today.  And Abby too!  Turns out Gripe water really helps her to sleep.  My only-naps-in-45-minute-bursts baby napped for three hours today.  Thank you gripe water for helping me get rest today!

So yeah, it's been a bit of an eventful and sucky week but we do have exciting and happy making things on the horizon.  Tomorrow I start a 30 day painting project.  Wish me luck!  Hoping it works out better than last time I attempted a similar thing (I've simplified, so it should).

* We had a Smartvent system installed on Monday so am now on a window and mould cleaning bender as it has made an AMAZING difference and I'd love to totally rid the house of grossness once and for all.