About Me

Yeah, I know that's a pretty self-centered post title, but isn't that kind of the point of a blog anyway?  It's always about me, baby!  Ha!

I heard from my doctor about the blood work that was done at my last visit.  Turns out, I'm anemic.  She asked me a bazillion times if I was tired all the time.  For a person with 4 kids, I don't think I'm all that tired.  Sure, the nap demons hit me every day at 2:30, but isn't that normal for everyone?  She said taking iron supplements should help pep me up a bit.  I'm sure not going to complain about gaining pep!  I've noticed that, when I run, I'm tiring out way earlier than I should.  I'm training pretty hard right now and I shouldn't feel like dying after a mile.  Maybe this will help.  Until then, I've let my family know that I will be totally working this anemic thing.  I haven't been getting attention for being tired, because I didn't know I was.  I will be making up for that now.

Also, I have hyperthyroidism (again? still?)  My thyroid level is .05, which I'm told is "quite low."  I had problems with my thyroid when I had Baby Girl.  I wasn't producing enough milk to nurse her, so I sought help from a lactation nurse.  She ordered blood work,which revealed the thyroid problems.  At the same time, I was having abdominal pain, which turned out to be appendicitis.  (It was a fun couple of months.)  When I went to have my thyroid scan, they routinely asked if I had had any contrast within the past XX days.  I replied yes.  Surprised, she asked why.  I told her I had a CAT Scan for abdominal pain.  They couldn't find the problem.  So, instead of having a thyroid scan that day, I ended up staying overnight (leaving my 3 week old baby at home) and having my appendix removed.  Talk about a weepy new mom!  The very small amount of milk I produced had to be pumped and dumped.

Look how thin!

Back then, I had obvious symptoms.  My hands were very shaky and I couldn't do anything that required fine motor skills.  Mixing a bottle of formula was a great chore.  I was also very nervous.  Like, if anything out of the ordinary came my way, I flipped out...possibly crying, yelling, or losing control.  I was also very thin, especially for just having a baby.  I have none of those symptoms now.  That's why I was so surprised.  I never got my thyroid checked again.  By the time I recovered from the surgery and past the newborn stage, my symptoms had diminished.  I always assumed it was pregnancy related hyperthyroidism.  Now I'm not sure if it's back or if it never went away.  But the #1 question on my mind is- If I have an overactive thyroid, why am I not thinner than this????

The doctor who gave me these results told me to follow up with my family doctor.  My family doctor is going through a divorce and is pretty much in the middle of a nervous breakdown.  He's losing it.  I really don't want to go to him because I no longer trust his judgement.  He calls his office manager on a regular basis, crying and wanting to talk for hours.  I never respected him highly as a doctor anyway.  His location is awesome and the office manager is a friend who is extremely efficient.  My old family doctor, who is awesome, is further away and his office staff is made up of a bunch of jerks.  So, I just sit here in limbo, not sure what to do.

On a good note, my running is improving, even though it's oh-so-very-hard.  My buddy and I have been trying to run 3 times a week!  I looked at my Nike app and realized I ran 22.7 miles in the month of July!  That's definitely a record for me!  On Tuesday, I ran a 5K in 34:45.  I believe that was my best time ever for that distance.  Tonight, I think we're supposed to run 3 or 3.5 (my buddy keeps track of our schedule) and then 5 on Saturday.  It really helps me to have a schedule to follow.  If I set a goal to run 3 miles, I can stop short.  I'm only disappointing myself.  If the schedule says I have to run 3 miles, I must.  I can't go against the schedule.  I don't know...it works for me.

A weird thing though, my right foot has been falling asleep when I hit 2.5 - 3 miles.  It starts out tingling, then it goes dead asleep.  I've never experienced that before.  I've tried hydrating more and using sports drinks.  If I stop and walk briskly, it eases up but still tingles.  When I stop completely, the feeling comes back right away.  Anyone ever heard of that?  I have never felt like I was in danger of falling.  I don't feel like it affects my run.  It just feels super weird.  I'm wondering if it's related to one of the problems above?

Even though I'm still only running short distances, I'm much better off than I was the past three years at this time.  I am doing more of a run/walk combo, but I can keep my speed up if I do that.  My friend runs consistently without walking.  I walk 3 or 4 times briefly during a run and end up finishing with or before her.  I'm still not sure about this 13.1 miles...we'll see!