Health and Fitness June, 2012

[Harriet]

Harmony, one thing you can do is to now pull back on the fruit and replace it with similar-fiber vegetables. What impresses me is that you find variety of activity, swimming, biking, etc. to stay interested and motivated. Mostly, though, I think you generally work harder than me, as so much of my workload lately is a sort of stand-by mode. Literally, standing by!

About having a good attitude, there is really nothing else to do, so it's hard for me to take much credit for that! I don't think my doctors (any of them) really know the mechanisms by which hypothyroidism changes one's ability to lose weight (assuming that is even the reason my losses have become slow as molasses) or how to help my thyroid. They know the AMA party line of taking the TSH number and adding meds until it goes back to range, that's about it. But I think that is only part of a larger puzzle that's being ignored, probably.

The new dr did ask all about x-rays and I'm sure friends here remember that I was x-ray-ed quite a bit when diagnosed with pneumonia. I was never offered a thyroid guard. I've never been offered a thyroid guard when I had a mammogram - don't even know if they do that. Only on my last visit to the dentist did I know to ask for one, and they produced it before taking my new dental x-rays. I don't know if they would have produced one in the past if I had asked. None has ever been offered to my children.

If instead it is age that makes my losses slow, insofar as related to being in menopause, then I'm not sure if I would have more or less of a chance of increasing rates of loss in the future. It's a puzzlement. No matter what, I need to keep trying and keep up good recordkeeping. Ideally, I need excellent maintenance strategies! I believe I RE-acted to my ddad's decline and need to move in with us by neglecting the scale monitoring, and also probably by stress-eating. The word is vigilance.

[Harmony]

I never did eat much fruit, and only increased that a tiny bit. Most of the increase has been more veggies on my dinner plate, bigger servings, salads with dinner. Hmmm I did have some watermelon a couple times, and some grapes and cherries from the fruit platters I made. I know grapes are high sugar content, but I'm not eating gobs and gobs.

I guess the thing to do is start counting calories again for a while and see what I'm consuming. I so hate the paperwork part of this.

Harriet, I was unaware of the thyroid shield need. Interesting.

[Nancy]

I'm back from my walk today.
Weeded a bit in the front last night while it was raining just a bit but under the tree I barely noticed took a bucket for the ones I pulled worked great and looks better now.

H. has lost 4 lbs.

Ex. today it's just cool enough out side I decided to change it up and did 4 mi. on the ex. bike pant pant pant phew glad that is done, now back to knitting or reading LOL!

[Lynlee]

My blood test results were ok.
I have a referal for a thyroid ultrasound and just booked a time for that. Also will get an xray taken for periodontist who asked for that last oct..
I had never heard of a thyroid shield either Harriet.

[Harriet]

Yes - Thyroid Guard. I really think we should be asking for this when xrays are prescribed for anywhere that the rays might reach the neck, and that certainly means chest and teeth. It is collar-like, but doesn't wrap all the way around, so it's not binding.

I'm glad your blood results were okay, Lynlee, and I hope your thyroid ultrasound is boring.

I am very frustrated tonight, because dd had an exercise workout on the computer that she really wanted to do with me tonight. We'd been planning it. But the sound is lost on the computer as it hooks up to the television to play and HRH won't come downstairs to help us. We asked an hour ago and a half hour ago. Now it's time to just give up because she needs her sleep. It's just not very often she thinks of something she really wants to show me as a workout to do together. It's very hard for me to believe that HRH can't find 2 minutes to break away from what he's doing. It's a funny thing that when he needs a bathroom break or something to snack on, he comes downstairs! Grrrr.

[Lynlee]

sry you couldn't get the sound to work Harriet. You need a teenage geek to show dd13.
Hope it can find a time slot tomorrow.

I think the ultra sound came under the boring category Harriet. She said their were nodules? , that the thyroid was small - typical of underactive. And unofficially hinted that it was ok. I need an appointment back with gpdoc to see if theres a reason why that part of my throat is so sensitive. I can calm down my rampant imagination anyway.
I also got the opg xray done for periodontist - ordered back in Oct.
Afterwards I took 30 min at a beach walk - lowest tide of the year so sand went for ever. not much waves because of the offshore westerlies - early this year. Ocean temp still 22C. No one in the water. the wind would be cold when you came out, and conditions were still at yellow flag caution due to deep holes so going in deep wasn't really recommended. Lovely blue sea though.
Then health food store. got some more seeds. puffed buckwheat, quinoa flakes, sunflower seeds.
My stove needs replacing so I'm just pouring on boiling water to steep the seeds needing cooking, and just having the puffed buckwheat, to make life easier.
Home to walk dog.

[Harriet]

Lynlee, the "s" on the end of the word "nodule" is what you want to hear. It usually means that they are telling you about several boring small ones, not one interesting large one, and that is best!

Thinking of my past experiences with throat, just to troubleshoot "with" you Lynlee. At different times, my throat has been sensitive because of irritation of acid reflux, irritation of constantly having to speak so loudly for my ddad, possibly the thyroid nodule, sinus infection, and (this is my own theory) fluid retention, which happens in my neck as well as the rest of my body and causes general discomfort.

My first reaction to your suggestion for dd is that I do have a teenaged geek in the house and I'm married to him. He is expert on the tech aspects of our media/computers/etc. but never developed good teaching skills, and so the rest of the household ends up waiting on him for help with tech things we could have learned from him long ago. When he finally came down to help after dd was in bed and I was getting ready for it, he handled the problem in 30 seconds, but again, no one else has any idea what he did. I need to insist on a lesson for her, yes.

[Lynlee]

ty for that Harriet - I had been concerned about "nodules" until she said the just quietly it all looks good... And there had not been a flurry of picture taking. I always have swollen glands up higher. Antihistemine helps if they get too out of control with neck/headache.
This irritation is more in the cartlige windpipe bit so I'm interested in hearing what doc suggests next. Interesting about the reflux. Also about that being where my coughing fit irritation was when I ate 1/2 piece of choc cake and whatever pseudo cream and raisen toast after church one weekend recently. Had a heap of mouth ulcers recently too... think it was just before then.. I need get back to straight and narrow because I find making exceptions just leads to making a heap of exceptions that goes addictively on and on. Also bought food really is an unknown quantity in regard to sauce ingredients.Just to make life interesting.

Re a teenage geek - I get that HRH is a grown older version. A younger one might be more willing to teach dd the how to do it. Not sure if you have any younger visiting geek types ... yet. If you are like me things need to be relearnt every time I attempt something I don't do often. Anyway - GL. May dd learn fast.

[Harriet]

All my healthy habits crossed and dotted today.

I'm thankful, because otherwise the day seemed to get completely away from me, with ddad's dr visit taking the whole morning, then headache taking the whole early afternoon, and later a wasted errand.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Went to bed at 9 last night (so I could go to sleep with dh) and he said don't bother setting an alarm because he wouldn't be able to sleep in. So my 6:15 alarm (I don't listen well!) woke him with a start (although he was also up at 3 a.m. for a bit.)

We were in bed for 10 hours total (lay listening to the radio for the last hour) and only got up because the business phone rang. The meeting dh was attending is still going on and they needed info from him so waited as long as they could to call. I suppose I shouldn't be upset with a 7:15 phone call....

I'm on the treadmill now and then will s2s quickly and try to get started on the coleslaw. Because dh has to hang out with the Europeans, he'll be less of a help to me until noon and by then it is time to leave for his 1 p.m. doctor's appointment in the city. The coleslaw takes 2.5 hours start to finish if we are both working on it. Hate to say it but it might be faster without dh's help!