Thursday, June 17, 2010

Latest Doctor Visit

She did her standard physical exam.  Nothing remarkable.  No nodes, lungs fine.   HR @64.  She said my thyroid function was borderline low from the last blood count (April).   She'll take another look with the next blood draw.   Scheduled that for early July.  She set me up for a morning draw so I can fast for a cholesterol test.  If the thyroid is still low she'll refer me to an endocrinologist, and likely get me on thyroid hormone.   The thyroid function was a known risk of the radiation.   I mentioned my current physical abilities (about 85% of norm) and she said that that could be a result of an underactive thyroid.  Basically I just don't get my HR up like I used to.  If the thyroid IS confirmed she indicated that suplemental thyroid hormone could "perk me up."  So more clarity on that in July. 

And just as I was working on being patient with my fitness.  Well, maybe.

We also discussed further scans.  My last one was in April, 4 months after radiation.   She said the latest studies don't show any appreciable benefit to regular CT scans in the absence of any symptoms, and they continue to expose patients to additional radiation.  So it sounds like there won't be any further CT/PET scan without cause.   The plan will be to get anual chest X-rays starting next April.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your comment about getting a bike. I'm pretty excited about the idea and now that I'm researching it feels like I'm discovering a whole new world!

    By the way, I love the name of your blog and I have added you to my blogroll.

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