You know what I miss? I miss the days when I was blissfully unaware of the endocrine system. When I knew nothing of the secret, clandestine workings of the thyroid gland and its wicked hormones. Those were good days, really good days, but they’re gone forever.
You see, the thyroid is the master gland of metabolism. It’s a butterfly shaped doohickey and typically weighs 10 to 30 grams. A dainty, petite organism, right? Wrong. It’s two-inches of mayhem. A wee, little juggernaut.
Because of this one rogue gland I had the metabolism of a hummingbird and a heart rate in the vicinity of 200 beats per minute. That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. My hands shook, too, and my hair was falling out; I was short-tempered and anxious, and all I ever wanted to do was sit down. I was falling apart, man.
I thought it was menopause. My doctor thought it was a stroke waiting to happen.
We were both wrong. It was my thyroid. And it took a solid year of doctor appointments, scans, blood tests, and a bizarre afternoon in nuclear medicine to bring the hyperactive little troublemaker to its knees. In other words, it did not go quietly into that good night.
No, sir. It thumbed its nose — nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah — at the vast arsenal medical science threw at it. Pharmaceuticals? Ha. Radioactive iodine? Double ha. More pharmaceuticals? In your fa — cough, wheeze, splutter — ce. Months of targeted assault had finally taken their toll.
The poor thing was clogged and weakened, sure, but still working, if you can believe that. Although at a surprisingly normal level. That’s the part that amazes me. Not the fact that it refused to go down, but that it decided to start functioning (more or less) normally again. Why? And what sent it over the edge in the first place? I’ll probably never know.
Just like I’ll never know what caused this stoopid, frustrating, protracted writing slump. Wait. Do you thi … nah. Could it?
Copyright © publikworks 2013
the whirly girl 
18 responses to “: the thyroid report :”
Excellent, bravo!!!!! So glad you are conquering this and yes, I know it could be………
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Rachel? Is that really you? What a wonderful surprise! You made my day
: )
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Good to know that you have some measure of control over it. I hope you will continue to conquer over the bloody thyroid. My mother has the same problem. I bet this post would interest her very much. :)
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So far, so good, jasmine. I wish your mother all the best, by the way : )
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That is awesome! The thyroid is one tough bitch to tame.
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Isn’t that the truth! Now let’s just hope it continues to cooperate, oh please oh please oh please.
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of course it could..200 beats..i can’t think and i’m only (100-120) sitting still…and you’re dizzy.
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Really? It’s possible? My greatest wish these days is to again construct simple declarative sentences. I’ll keep my fingers and toes and legs crossed, errin. Thank you : )
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When old timers like me look at young whippersnappers with scorn, it’s not their washboard abs and full heads of hair that we envy; it’s their innocence. Their collective ignorance of what a prostate is, or what a hot flash feels like.
When casting actors for a Mountain Dew commercial, I can just imagine the director telling them he wants his actors to be “young, beautiful and to look like they don’t know what a thyroid gland does”
Nice post. Glad your gland is back to behaving itself.
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Hi, Dave! There’s a whole lot to be said for inexperience, isn’t there? How’s your back doing, by the way?
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My back is fine (knock on wood). Haven’t had too many “welcome to old age” moments lately, except a staff basketball game wherein I repeatedly asked if other people knew CPR…
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Wanna go halfsies on a portable defibrillator with me?
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HA! Fixed the sucker! ….. eventually :)
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They did. And no one is more surprised by that than I : )
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I remember reading the first blog about the “nuclear medicine” I’m glad that you are doing better.
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Thank you, Lukraakvars, I am. Now if only I can get them to discontinue the beta blockers I’ll be a happy, happy camper. Here’s hoping …
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Heres holding thumbs :) praying even.
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You’re sweet. Thanks.
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