Remember how, back in February, I had a really awful doctor's appointment to check out my thyroid? Well, I'm going back to the awful place on Monday to get this all squared away because all of a sudden, I'm having symptoms of hypothyroidism.
Let's start at the beginning.
I have a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) test done every three months, because Lithium can screw with your thyroid. The two most recent times I had this test done, my TSH was a little high, which indicates hypothyroidism (that sounds like totally backwards logic, I know, but it makes sense when the doctors explain it). So my psychiatrist, in February, insisted that I see a PCP to get it checked more thoroughly and potentially go on thyroid medication. I went to North Country HealthCare, because they're very geared to people without insurance, and they have a sliding scale fee so what you pay is based on income. I'd been there once before about 2 years ago to see a psychiatrist, and I had a horrible experience. Like, horrible. Which is why I ended up finding my current psychiatrist and all that. Needless to say I was reluctant to go back but I thought, it's been 2 years, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Nope. The woman I saw was completely incompetent. I explained to her right off the bat that I was on Lithium, my psychiatrist had wanted me to see someone, and that my thyroid might be off from the Lithium. She launched into some BS about how I needed to have an STD exam and tried to schedule it for me . . . I was like, um, no. She asked me twice if I was seeing a psychiatrist despite the fact that I said that to begin with, and I had to tell her I was on Lithium 3 times before it stuck in her little tiny brain, and when it finally did, she was like, "You're on Lithium? Have you considered that you might be bipolar?" I was like wtf? No, dumbass, I take it just for the hell of it because y'know, I enjoy poisoning myself. She also made me do a whole body exam where I laid on the table and she touched me damn near everywhere, which was both awkward and unnecessary. I was so uncomfortable. In the last 5 minutes of the visit she suddenly became marginally useful and ordered a T4 test; T4 is the hormone that will be low if you have hypothyroidism. I got my blood drawn that day and figured I'd hear back no later than a week from then.
Well, fast forward to the end of March, and I've gone a month without any contact from NCHC. I finally called them and was told that the provider hadn't signed off on them yet (really? after a fucking month?) and that they'd have her call me. A week and a half later, still nothing, so I called again and got the same BS, and then a week after that I called again and the same thing happened. I'm assuming that they needed me to come in for results but no one ever actually said that so . . . yeah.
Really, I wasn't too concerned, because at the time of my appt. I'd been having no hypothyroid symptoms, and I didn't think there was really anything to worry about. I was just aggravated with the unprofessionalism.
And then, the past two weeks, I have felt like hell. Last week, I missed work because I was too tired to be there; I've damn near collapsed every day this week as soon as I got home from work. I'm just flat out exhausted all the time. My muscles are sore and weak all over, especially my legs and arms, and my face has swollen up a couple times. My period this month was totally irregular, and I've gained 10 pounds in the past 2 weeks. And I realized this morning that every single one of those symptoms is a symptom of hypothyroidism.
Well, shit.
So I called NCHC today (2 damn months after I was seen) and got an appointment for Monday so I can find out what's going on and start treatment. I don't want to go back there in the least but I can't keep living like this . . . I'm freaking miserable. I hate feeling so out of it, especially at work. I hate not being able to work out, and I really hate that I've gained weight after I was working so hard to lose it. (As far as that goes, I'm just telling myself to relax, and that once the thyroid thing is taken care of I can focus harder on losing weight. And besides, it's not like there's a deadline on the weight loss thing, and if I don't hit my goal at the end of the year, I can just keep at it next year. Because life is just life . . . but that's another entry).
I made it clear to the receptionist I spoke to that I was not happy with the way things were handled. I'm seeing the same woman I did last time and I was told that this will be the last time I can see her since she's leaving the practice; I said that was fine because I have no intention of setting foot in that clinic again after this next appointment.
So that's that. I'm actually really relieved to know what's going on with me, because I was really freaked out at how bad I was feeling. At least this is something fixable.
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