January was a very busy month (as anyone reviewing the dates of actual postings can see...). Going back to work was only half of it. Between Gigi and me, we spent an inordinate amount of time in doctors' offices. My employer, being steeped in the business of sending ailing travelers back home - often at ridiculous expense due to a lack of insurance - is very careful about health screenings before sending people overseas. This is good, because it lets me get a really thorough checkup every few years. On the other hand, it can be a pain because my whacked-out endocrine system often raises a few hurdles.
Since my thyroid gland - already as dysfunctional as a Hollywood household - has yet to level out since Gigi's birth, my doctor finally decided that between the blood counts and the nodules it was time for an ultrasound. The results of the ultrasound would indicate whether a needle biopsy was required. I didn't like the sound of that. "Biopsy" and "needle" are words that I don't like to hear individually. Put them together and they're not much improved. But we'll burn that bridge when we get to it; the first step was the ultrasound.
The technician was amused to hear me say that this was my first u/s from the waist up, though I doubted that I'd do any better figuring out what was on the screen. Many times my OB pointed to the screen and said, "See that?" when we previewed Bizzleburp/Gigi, and I couldn't tell which end I was supposed to be looking at. So this technician didn't bother with the detailed, guided tour, just, "here's the left side...here's the right side..." My favorite comment from her? "Wow, your thyroid gland isn't just multinodular. It looks like cottage cheese."
Great, I thought, so it matches my butt. Too bad I can't see either one of them.
But the good news is that a biopsy is not warranted. The doc is just going to adjust my synthetic hormone dosage *again* and we'll test my blood again in another few weeks. If I'm very lucky, we'll have found the magic number and my metabolism will actually get out of first gear.