The blood work is in...

I received a call from my nurse this morning and she called and said, "your blood labs are back and your levels are really high."

"So what does that mean?" I asked

"That means you have hypothyroidism."

"Um, so now what?"

"The Endocrinologist in Billings wasn't in the office yesterday and so we are waiting for him to return our call."

"So...what were my numbers exactly?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Uh...YEAH!"

"Ok, let's see, your TSH with Reflex was 327 and your Free T3 was .29."

"Ok (I have no idea what these letters and numbers mean at that point) so what are the normal ranges?" I wanted to see just how hypo I was.

"Uh, normal TSH with Reflex is about 4.

"4????, and mine is...327????"

"Yes, you are off the charts."

"And T3 normal range is .5-1.5."

So, I got on the internet to find out some more info. Kind of all confusing. Called my oh-so-knowledgeable sister Tracy and she explained it quite easily. TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone is just that, the hormon given off by the thyroid. The reason this number is soooooo off the charts high is because it is working triple overtime to bring up my T3 levels, which are low. But all this overtime work is not paying off because my T3 levels are still so. So that is why the one number is low, and the other number so high. I found the following symptoms online and some stuff is finally making sense. These reasons are why I have felt this way:

FROM THE MAYO CLINIC WEBSITE

The signs and symptoms of hypothyroidism vary widely, depending on the severity of the hormone deficiency. But in general, any problems you do have tend to develop slowly, often over a number of years.

At first, you may barely notice the symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as fatigue and sluggishness, or you may simply attribute them to getting older. But as your metabolism continues to slow, you may develop more obvious signs and symptoms. Hypothyroidism symptom may include:

• Fatigue--BIG TIME
  
• Sluggishness--BIG TIME
  
• Increased sensitivity to cold--NOT SO MUCH
  
• Constipation--NOT SO MUCH
  
• Pale, dry skin--YES, EXTREEM. NO MATTER HOW MUCH LOTION
  
• A puffy face--YEP, and now that I have told people, multiple people have commented about how I look so tired and have puffy eyes. Thanks guys:)
  
• Hoarse voice--DON'T THINK SO
  
• An elevated blood cholesterol level--????
• Unexplained weight gain--NOT LOSING BABY WEIGHT. IN FACT ONLY 5 LBS LOST SINCE 6 WEEK POST-PARDOM CHECK UP. That is 6 months kids.
  
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness--MAYBE
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints--YESSSSS. Ok, so these levels were checked right after baby was born, and they were on the high end, but still normal. I could wear and did wear my rings through out pregnancy and L&D. It wasn't until about 6 weeks after that I noticed my finger joints swelled up really bad and I couldn't get my rings off. I thought it was so weird that I could go through an entire pregnancy and not have any swelling, but then not be able to take them off after the baby was born. Now I know why.
  
• Muscle weakness--?
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods--STILL NURSING, SO NO PERIOD YET...
  
• Brittle fingernails and hair--YES, AGAIN just thought I was crazy that my fingernails seems so brittle and horrible. And my hair has been really dry and nasty. But I figured will all my gray hair, hair coloring and flat ironing, that it was just normal. Not so I guess.
  
• Depression--who knows, maybe, but I don't think so. Chris might disagree:)
  

When hypothyroidism isn't treated, signs and symptoms can gradually become more severe. Constant stimulation of your thyroid to release more hormones may lead to an enlarged thyroid (goiter). In addition, you may become more forgetful, your thought processes may slow or you may feel depressed. ( I forget everything these days too!)

So that is where I am at now and I will keep ya posted. Like I said, I didn't want anything to be wrong, but I so relieved that I wasn't crazy in thinking I shouldn't be feeling so tired and out of it.