" i feel good, wo,i feel nice, like sugar and spice. so nice, so nice, i got you. wo, i feel good.... well, on most days anyway." apologies to james brown and " i feel good"

my desktop crashed! i have been out of the blog-o-sphere, as my husband calls it, for a while. i am using the laptop while the desktop is in the hospital. i have to admit that i am a little old fashioned here. i like a big ole desktop- big screen, good sized, REAL keyboard." i pads" or tablets  do not interest me, and when i got this laptop a couple of years ago, i got the one with the biggest screen. still, it is not the same.......that said, here is what i found out about brand name synthroid.

i feel pretty darn good. my levoxyl really had "potency" problems, because it got to the point that i could not go. i have had much more energy on the synthroid compared to the levoxyl. i can get through my work days with a little juice left over for chores, a walk,etc. my hair is still coming out- i started losing it again a few months ago. my hairdresser pointed it out to me, but jeez, i had already noticed it. not just after i wash my hair, but also on my clothes and the back of the couch. this is a really disturbing problem associated with thyroid disease. and i really do not think that there is a good solution for this problem.  i have purchased a multi-vitamin( could not hurt, probably will not help) and have sworn to lay my flat iron down for a while. i have also purchased an organic shampoo and conditioner, which will probably be milder and easier on my hair. i had a problem with my hair right after my surgery and I-131 treatment. things got better, but they are back. i am hoping that my thyroid levels will improve, and my hair will stay put for a while.

i felt good enough to go to zumba wednesday!! hooray!! i had a really good time. it actually makes my knees feel better when i go. i warm up and cool down on the recumbent bicycle and modify any moves that i know will injure my knees( i am familiar with almost all of them at this point). sometimes a girl just has to do a jumping jack, you know? but i have really hurt my knees before doing those, so i try to just shake my belly scarf or something when we are supposed to do those. exercise really does help my mood, as well as my body. but if you are too tired to go, it is hard to drag yourself to class. i feel like the synthroid has helped me on this.

i know that there are some who feel that naturally sourced thyroid hormone is better. i used to take armour thyroid, and it seemed to work for a while. this was before i knew that i had cancer, so it was a few years ago. my endo was willing to go along with this, which i appreciate. my family doctor told me i was crazy for taking it, but i continued it until i felt that it was not working for me. the company reformulated the drug a few years ago, and that is when i noticed a change in how i felt.

i think that the question of " natural" versus "synthetic " should best be answered by the patient. i think that this is an individual decision, and the patient should decide, along with the doctor's input, which one is right for them. i support either decision, and feel that there is no right or wrong choice in this issue.

so, if i could sing, i guess you could say that i am singing the praises of synthroid, as much as i hate to admit it. for me, it has been a good choice. i feel better, have more energy, and if my hair issue is resolved, i will be a happy camper, as they say. if armour,etc, work best for you, then good for you. the most important thing is that we are being treated with the correct medicine for us.

i was hoping to quote a happy song here, but no such luck. as leon russell says, "when life gives you lemons, you do what they say." does anyone have a straw?

it was a" no- go" on the tirosint. it was horribly expensive-( my insurance did not pay a dime on it)  but i could have managed that if it had not made me sick.i did not feel well as soon as i started it, but after a few doses,  i had an anaphylactic reaction and that was that.  the official line from the company is that it does not contain any sulfite preservatives. BUT , sulfur dioxide is added at the early stages and supposedly removed. surprise, boys, you obviously  did not get it all. back to the drawing board.

as i said, i do not want to take generics, so i tried getting back on my levoxyl. i had some left and thought that i would be o.k. yesterday i was so dead tired that i could not get out of bed. the company said that the product was removed " because the potency did not meet the expiration date." no joke. now what, i asked myself. some of you may think that i have gone over to the "dark side" but, i had my doctor call me in some brand name,yes , there i said it, brand name synthroid. the company that makes synthroid  would not confirm or deny that synthroid contains sulfite preservatives. an allergy website that i went to a few years ago said that it does contain them. i am off tomorrow. of course no day is a good day for an anaphylactic reaction, but i am going to give it a go. i hate to be telling all of you that i am doing this, but i have to be honest. i will of course blog if it makes  me sick, or if it works. at this point, i am willing to try about anything. i feel as tired as i felt  right after my surgery, three years ago. my tsh must have been sky high because i could not get off of the couch. nor could i remember my daughter or husbands phone numbers! that was scary. i called  my endo( once i remembered who she was) and she doubled my levoxyl dose. i have been doing pretty well until now. on the thyca website, they reported that levoxyl might be coming back, but not until 2014. jeez, i am not sure that i can hold out that long.

on the thyca website, they reported that thyroid cancer is the fastest increasing cancer in the world, and the sixth most common cancer in women. there are about 213,000 new cases of thyroid cancer worldwide each year. even though i am limited in what i can do, i am more determined than ever to raise thyroid  cancer awareness- at work, and in my blog. i think that i have helped some cancer survivors that i have met in my work, but i would really like to also help patients get treatment and diagnosis before it is too late. i read that some people think that thyroid cancer is over diagnosed. WHAT?????????!!!!! do these same people also think that breast, lung, brain,etc, cancer are over diagnosed? cancer is cancer is cancer. prevention is key, but the sooner the diagnosis is made and treatment started, the better.

so, having crossed over to the dark side, i will take my synthroid tomorrow and hope for the best. if it makes me feel better, then i will just have to deal with it. of course, i will let everyone know how this turns out.