Lovely Rainy Day!

Stephen and his glorious pink tongue

Today is a lovely calm day and I have enjoyed 

a SLOW recovery day after a busy day yesterday.

I am doing quite a bit better.

I was in a terrible state over the weekend.

Then on Monday, I woke up feeling even worse with an infection

(I have been able to whip its butt with over the counter natural treatments 

and it's on its way out - yay!).

I called my new doctor and begged for an alternate treatment strategy that would offer quicker relief.

My amazing doctor was able to see me the next day!

Claude

That was Tuesday.  Turns out I wasn't tolerating the high dose of iodine and companion supplements very well, which was causing a lot of digestion problems, night sweats, and other symptoms.

She cut those doses in half AND added some additional thyroid hormone (T3, which I need, but we were hoping would come up on its own once my iodine levels normalize).

Claude and our new blue blankie

She told me that the thyroid antibodies we found when doing the bloodwork are a sign that my hypothryoid condition is an auto-immune process.  ANOTHER auto-immune disease.  Auto-immune thyroiditis is often the reason behind dysregulation in the body that leads to other auto-immune illnesses, so this may have been at the root of all my other stuff (Celiac, Crohn's, endometriosis, etc.)

I am on the right track dealing with them using the healthy lifestyle and diet modifications that I've put in place, but in my case, it wasn't enough to completely heal me.  There's a chance that normalizing my iodine level will eventually allow my thyroid to make enough hormones, but until then, I need medication.  And I'm thrilled and grateful to have started additional medication on Wednesday morning.

more sweet fuzzy Claude

Today is only day TWO, and I feel very different already.

I didn't know that was possible.

Now I carry on with this for another three weeks before I see her again,

keeping alert for signs of overmedication (jitteriness, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, rapid heartbeat).

So far, I've been calmer, sleeping better, feeling mentally positive and efficient.

My verbal skills have been better, I haven't been having nightmares (that could have been from hypothyroidism OR the bromide detoxification process). 

My skin is still peeling off and my hair is still dry and coarser than it should be, but only two strands fell out in the shower today. 

I feel as if my body is sucking up this stuff (T3) because it's been starved for so long.

Allistair tries to prevent Daddy from leaving

Juvy cuddled up with Daddy

Allistair was very eager to spend time with me
and he flopped over my bent leg while I was fixing my hair
in the morning. 

two boys keeping toasty

These photos were taken with my new phone and something's wrong with the color balance on it.
I keep trying different settings and they all turn out weird.
I'll keep trying, but these were too cute and silly not to share in spite of the fact that Allistair looks almost pink!

Crazy cat

pointy Stephen

snuggles

Juvy decided to sit on TWO laps rather than just one!

Allistiar threw Wanda up on the kitchen table . . .
of course, then he HAD to go up there to get her down!!!
What a logical kitten!

Now that you're all updated on my health and my baby cats,

here are some outfit updates!

jeans: Style & Co from Macy's
blouse: Who What Wear from Target
jacket: Tulle
bag: Betsey Johnson from Ross
socks: Target
shoes: Aerosoles

blouse: Target
sweater: Target
jeans: Style & Co from Macy's
I love the dots and stripes together!!!

More dots and stripes!  And PINK!
blouse & sweater: Target
pants: Soho Apparel
bag: Betsey Johnson from Ross
socks: Target
Shoes: Aerosoles
jacket: Tulle

I saw this in an after-Christmas sale a couple of weeks ago

and laughed the rest of the day when I thought about it:

"Chuck Norris is going to DECK YOUR HALLS"

HA!!!

And I don't usually wear my hair up because somehow I don't feel like me when I do (I need to get comfortable with it!), but I made this updo one Saturday and it was really cute with the pieces sticking out.  I've tried again and it didn't turn out as well.

I find myself wearing that outfit a lot lately, too:

long sleeved SUPER SOFT t-shirt from Target with skinny stripes 

with GAP short-sleeved sweater with thick stripes on top!

I love how it looks, but I have to admit that the GAP sweater is really itchy around the neckline and I don't know why.  I don't know if I will be able to wear it again after being really itchy last time.  Maybe I can find something similar . . . 

Happy Friday!