Health Update

As some of you may know (many do not), I've been having some health concerns of my own over the last little while. It all started just after Christmas vacation. During the month of January I had gained A LOT of weight. I was being good, and walking, but everyday the needle on the scale rotated a little farther. I've been working on losing weight, so this was very frustrating, and I was losing hope! I would eat even less, walk more, and the pounds still packed on. I just thought I was doomed to be big. After another month, though, my neck began to get really stiff. I was having a hard time looking up and swallowing without it hurting. I finally gave in and went into the doctor (yes-it takes a lot for me to go in) and he found a lump on my thyroid. He drew some blood, and sent me in to have an ultrasound done. It took me two weeks to finally hear word about what was found, but all I got out of him (his nurse, actually) was that the nodule was bigger than he'd like and was getting too much blood flow. He ruled out thyroiditis, but I'd need to see an endocrinologist.
Now, there's only one endocrinology office in this area, so the next appointment they had was almost a month away. I took it, but called them about every other day to see if they had any cancellations, as my neck was still hurting. That didn't work, so after a month of waiting, I finally got into the endocrinologist today. Now, in that month's time, of course, my mind was fearing the worst. My doc wouldn't tell me anything (for anyone who lives in the area, I'm looking for a new OBGYN-let me know if you like yours!)so I had to do my own research. Apparently, thyroid nodules are very common, but you only need to worry if they are big or if your lymph nodes are also swollen. So, mine was big (according to the doc), and I've had this pesky swollen lymph node for years. Of course I started freaking out. I went into his office ready for whatever he was going to throw at me. But, lucky for me, he's not really worried! He says my swollen lymph node doesn't really relate to this, and that the nodule I was so worried about from the other doc isn't really a nodule at all. It was just my entire thyroid that was enlarged. He didn't have to biopsy anything, or run any more tests.
So, what does this all mean??? I'm fine. I'm on medicine to get my TSH levels normalized, which means I have to have blood work done every 6 weeks until they are. I need to get an ultrasound of my thyroid done yearly to monitor nodules, and I will have to take synthroid for the rest of my life. That I can handle! The one downside right now-I do have to wait until everything is normalized before I can think about Oakley being a big brother. It may be much later than what Shawn and I are thinking, but at least it can happen!
Cancer scare #2 evaded! Go me!