T-minus nineteen days and counting!!

well it is done. i have cut my endo from duke loose, due the whole sulfite negotiation, or should i say non-negotiation, and my old endo faxed my orders for the thyrogen, scan, and blood work to the hospital near me. i am on the schedule for august 1st, just as i had hoped. i start on the dreaded LID on monday, july 18th. i am sort of dreading it, but hey, it could be worse. i could be going to the endo at duke who made you be on the diet for 4 weeks, not two. instead of the 20 pounds i had hoped  i would lose on the LID, perhaps i can lose ten. i would be soooooooooooo happy with that! i have managed to hold my weight steady since last year, but i really would like to lose about 20 pounds. i do not have to tell you guys how hard it is to lose weight without your  thyroid. who knew that the little guy could be such a tyrant? he calls the shots for your whole body it seems. even the best thyroid supplement is not quite the same as a well behaved thyroid gland. sometimes i still  miss mine. even though, as i said, before my surgery i had the worst case of thyroiditis that i have ever had! and  every time that i passed a mirror, i would look at my neck and say" wow, it does not look like there is  a monster in there, but there is!"

i need to get a new profile picture- one that shows off my neck. i wish that i had a before and after picture. i would have liked to post them, so that people would know that they are not going to look like the bride of frankenstein forever.  i wanted my husband to take a picture right after my surgery, but he did not want to. it is, of course, a world of difference. people tell me that if they did not know that i had surgery, they could not tell from looking at  my neck. the surgeon made the incision along the "natural crease of my neck" so it is pretty hard to tell. i, of course, see it plainly. especially if i am swallowing, or if turn my neck a certain way. i am not complaining,though! honestly, i was not worried about the scar. i do have a very public job, but i just wanted the cancer gone, and my husband did say " for better or worse " so there you go.

i guess it is natural, but i am a little worried about my upcoming scan. i have confidence in the hospital, that they will do a good job,but i am a little worried  about the "reveal" show scheduled for about 10 days or so from my test. my doctor has to wait for the blood test- which is done on friday of my testing- to get back before she will call me with all of the results. it  makes my palms sweat just thinking about it! i will probably be at work when she calls ( as i was last time, when she called to tell me i had cancer). lets hope this time the news will not make me have to go home.

as for this week, i am eating pretty much every thing that i want! i have made cupcakes, cookies, and a lemonade pie so far! don't worry, i am sharing this with my co-workers and family. i just need to tank up a bit before my LID! the no dairy products was the hardest part of the LID for me. as i said before, i probably eat too much dairy, if i miss it that much. yesterday i went grocery shopping and bought some more unsalted, brown rice cakes. styrofoam, anyone??? i am sure that they taste the same! one tip though: the brown rice ones taste a bit better than the white rice ones. normally i do not have such a sensitive palate, but trust me on this one!