Of Pills and Pencils

To the point.  October 3, 2008.

Elliot, our amateur humorist, called after me, "I hope he doesn't try to take away your pencil!"  I laughed out loud, grateful for the gift my boy had just given me.

His comment stemmed from a conversation we'd had a couple of days ago, when someone had overheard me grumble about having to go to a doctor's appointment and then asked me what was so bad about it.  This is how I explained it, more or less:

Imagine you had to go to a class that required you to do a lot of assignments.  Let's say that the teacher wanted to help you, but whenever he called you to his desk, he would try to take away your pencil.  Well, that's very similar to what the doctor does whenever he looks at my blood levels; he tries to take away some of the drugs I need to do my work.

I've written about this before, but since then, I just haven't had much success in truly getting my hypothyroidism treated.  My blood levels show an excess of T4, raising the concern about developing osteoporosis, but I have lower-than-normal levels of the active T3.  However, receiving T3 supplements was never an option, as the endocrinology department is officially too concerned about me developing heart arrhythmia.

As I prepared for this appointment, I bolstered my courage with this pencil metaphor, spending a great deal of creative energy as I tried to finesse it for this more scholarly audience.  I fully expected to be in another tug-of-war over that pencil this afternoon.

Then something completely out-of-the-blue happened.  After waiting over an hour to see the doctor, he made an offer that just about blew me over.  "What about Armour?"

Armour Thyroid is natural thyroid which contains both T3 and T4, plus all the mysterious, but "most assuredly junk," stuff that a real thyroid produces.  Armour stands in contrast to my Levothyroxine synthetic hormone, which consists completely of T4.

So, what about Armour?  Why wasn't this mentioned before, when I'd pressed so hard about supplementing my T3?  Who knows.  But my prescription will be ready for me to audition this Wednesday, and I'm so grateful.

I am wary of putting too much hope in these drugs, as though they'll completely solve my constant struggle against lack of motivation and continued weight gain.  Truly, it is the Holy Spirit who inspires and strengthens.  But I've read so many testimonials of people who have been where I am, and the outlook is rosy.

So not only did I not have to fight for my pencil, I was offered a better one.  Let's see how it works out!



from Psalm 118:

 8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD
       than to trust in man.

posted on Monday, December 15

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Comments

• Tuesday, December 16
Pencils

Posted by S'pore G'ma

Here's hoping that this new "pencil" is an ever-sharp and will be the answer. We'll be praying that it is.

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• Tuesday, December 16
Armour

Posted by PreschoolersandPeace

Hey Pamela-

There was a discussion on the Well Trained Mind boards awhile back about thyroid meds and those taking Armour couldn't say enough good about it. Here's hoping it's the right thing for you!

~Kenj

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