I’m not quite sure what I did all day at work yesterday, but I was at work, and I was busy all day! It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I don’t have one of those jobs where I can sit at my desk and work quietly; there’s constantly people and emails and new things that demand my attention, often on short deadlines, so I was really worried that I would be totally overwhelmed, but it turned out ok.
I’m back at work today, and I actually feel better today than I have been feeling. I think my body found a reserve of thyroid hormone or something! Or maybe I’m just getting used to feeling like this? I don’t feel quite as spaced out. I was getting a little worried that my TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels wouldn’t be high enough to do the RAI next week, but I just talked to the nuclear med nurse and she said it would be fine. They like the TSH to be 25-30, but she said as long as it’s in the 20’s they will proceed. (Normal range for TSH is 0.1 – 3!!)
So, I have the attention span of a goldfish and the metabolism of a napping snail, but other than that, I really don’t feel too bad. I’m a little lightheaded sometimes, and exercising is not there, plus I’m overly emotional at times and my digestion is, um, slow. But no headaches or extreme fatigue so far. I’ve noticed the brain fog is more pronounced when I’m doing anything new. As long as I’m in familiar environments (my apartment, my neighborhood, even the gym and my office) and doing familiar things, I’m ok. But when my brain has to process new things – or things I don’t encounter every day – it just goes into overload!
I did some light weight lifting (legs) this morning at the gym. It felt really good to work out. I can tell there’s no juice, but I’m able to lift just fine. It’s better than the cardio, really, because I’m using light weights and it’s less physically demanding. Yoga is an excellent idea – unfortunately the classes at my gym are pretty late in the evening. I can probably try on Sat/Sun. Maybe I can dig up a yoga video I vaguely remember buying a few years back thinking I would use it in the evenings as a supplement to my work out routine (I think I used it once). Flexibility is definitely an area I should put more energy into! It’s strange that I feel motivated to exercise, I don’t feel too tired to do it, and it’s enjoyable while it’s going on, but there’s just a disconnect between my brain and my muscles. Weird to experience.
Yesterday I did 20 minutes of easy cardio on the EFX machine, then decided to pedal on the bike for 10 minutes. Frankly, it was hilarious – I was on the bike, going at level 4 at about 40 RPMs and suddenly I’m like, Huh? What’s going on? Oh yeah, pedaling on the bike… LOL! J I’m such a space cadet. Yeah, I forget what I’m up to half the time these days! On the plus side, my heart rate is not pegged anymore. Pedaling felt like I was going up a really big hill, even though I wasn’t out of breath and my heart rate was only 128. (Last week at one point I was walking uphill and it was over 170! The little HRM was beeping like crazy.) Partly I think it’s cause I’m really not workin’ that hard, but I think being off the cytomel has a lot to do with it too.
At any rate, I think it’s been really beneficial to my whole hypo experience to try to keep a normal routine, and at least show up for some exercise every day. It boosts mood and energy levels, improves my spirits and outlook, reminds me that I have something to look forward to (LOTS of fitness to regain!), and keeps things moving in the metabolism/digestion area.
The LID is fine. That million dollar chicken from Wegman’s really does taste better. Even Adam said that it looks different than regular chicken – it’s this pristine white color! And I’m actually really enjoying all the fruits and vegetables, as egg white omlettes for breakfast is making me eat more of those!
Getting close now! Almost a week down…
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