Me & My Health #16

This was going to be my last health blog post for the year but it is so long and decided to upload now and then there will be another one before the year is out.

Saturday 9th October: I had a little bit of a meltdown, I can’t deal with little things at the moment without bursting into tears.

Sunday 10th October: I had a blood test today, yes you are reading that right, I had a blood test on a Sunday, this is to test my Cortisol or something. I had another meltdown, I really can’t cope at the moment and think I need to just rewind or stop or something. I have a week off in November, that week I want to just be on my own and try to rehabilitate myself, I need to clear my mind of all the bad things.

Monday 11th October: I had my Depo injection today and it was so painful, I don’t know why but ever since I have had this injection in Harrogate I find it really painful whereas when I was in Leicester it wasn’t painful.

Thursday 14th October: I got my results back from the blood test via text and started really panicking, I need to tell myself not to Google things because I worry. So TSH is my thyroid levels and I knew that but what on Earth is prolactin so I did Google that so Prolactin is a hormone made by the pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain now I have a cyst on my pituitary gland that was bleeding but it has stabilised itself. Now it is the Cortisol levels that are slightly low so of course that's what I Googled and got worried about.

Now the snippet above is from WebMD and you can read it here, now I understand why I suffer with poor mood, motivation and fear. I have been reading on about it and if you suffer with a lot of stress in which I do (mum says I will die young from stress) but this can cause:

• Anxiety and depression - I do suffer with low mood, I wouldn't say depression but also anxiety is something I suffer with

• Headaches - come on now this is something that happens to me a lot

• Heart disease

• Memory and concentration problems - recently I have had a lot of concentration problems and I always thought this was a thyroid issue because no sooner I was medicated for my under-active thyroid my memory and concentration was getting better, I can start saying a sentence and not make sense or not remember what I was going to say

• Problems with digestion - I suffer with diarrhea for a while now and just thought maybe this was my diet and maybe needed to sort it

• Trouble sleeping - I struggle really bad to sleep and then no sooner I am asleep I struggle to stay asleep, I wake up multiple times in the night

• Weight gain - you can see the weight gain I have had this year right at the bottom and I have done some stupid diets during the months

Now as the text says I am low I had to research what that was all about and found that if my body doesn't make this hormone or enough of it then there is a condition called Addison’s disease and reading the symptoms I kind of have these:

• Changes in your skin, like darkening on scars and in skin folds - don't think so

• Being tired all the time - I feel really bad sometimes where I could just drop when I feel so exhausted

• Muscle weakness that grows worse - I feel like my muscles are heavy and ache quite often

• Diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting - I mentioned previously that I suffer with diarrhea but I also find that in the morning I feel so nauseous and there was a period of time where I would run to the bathroom at work daily because I thought I would throw up and the office manager asked me if I was okay and if I was pregnant

• Loss of appetite and weight - this is not me really, I do suffer with loss of appetite where I will make myself food or even bulk make meals and when I come to eat it I would feel sick and not want to eat it

• Low blood pressure - don't know about this

I could be prescribe dexamethasone, hydrocortisone, or prednisone tablets. This is how bad I get when I get a diagnosis or not even a diagnosis 100% I research:

Dexamethasone

This can be used to treat many health conditions:

• severe skin conditions

• severe allergies (anaphylaxis)

• sickness (nausea and vomiting)

• croup

• swelling (inflammation) in your eye

• autoimmune conditions, such as lupus

• COVID-19 (coronavirus) and other serious infections

• reduce the side effects of cancer treatment, or some of your symptoms if you're having end of life care.

It comes as a tablet or a liquid and must be taken in the morning so it doesn't affect your sleep and once I saw that I had to check out what side effects there are:

• weight gain - really I don't need this

• indigestion

• sleep problems - even more issues that I don't need

• mild mood changes

• high temperature, chills, a very sore throat, ear or sinus pain, a cough, coughing up more mucus (phlegm) or a change in colour of your mucus, pain when you pee, mouth sores or a wound that will not heal – these can be signs of an infection

• "moon face" (a puffy, rounded face), weight gain in the upper back or belly – this happens gradually and can be a sign of Cushing's syndrome - I have had tests for Cushing's and that came back negative so I didn't have that

• a very upset stomach or you're being sick (vomiting), very bad dizziness or passing out, muscle weakness, very tired, mood swings, loss of appetite and weight loss – these can be signs of adrenal gland problems

• sleepy or confused, feel very thirsty or hungry, need to pee more often than usual, flushing, breathing quickly or breath that smells like fruit – these can be signs of high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia)

• muscle pain, weakness or cramps, or your heartbeats suddenly become more noticeable (heart palpitations) – these can be signs of low potassium levels

• severe stomach pain, severe back pain, severe upset stomach or you're being sick (vomiting) – these can be signs of pancreas problems

• swelling or throbbing in your arms or legs, or if you feel breathless or have chest pain – these can be signs of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot

• unexplained bruising or bleeding that is not normal, black poo, or you're vomiting blood or have black or dark brown vomit – these can be signs of internal bleeding

• sudden changes in your eyesight - NOPE, don't need that

I burst into tears when I was reading those side effects, now the side effects below mild mood changes are side effects where you need to seek medical advice asap because these are serious so I thought I would check if I can take it:

• you have ever had an allergic reaction to dexamethasone or any other medicine in the past

• you have recently been in contact with someone with shingles, chickenpox or measles

• you have an infection or any unhealed wounds

• you have liver or kidney problems

• you have ever had mental health problems (or a close family member has)

• you have ever had tuberculosis (TB)

• you have high blood pressure, heart failure or recently had a heart attack

• you have diabetes

• you have epilepsy

• you have glaucoma

• you have an underactive thyroid - I have this

• you have osteoporosis (thinning bones)

• you have a stomach ulcer

• you have myasthenia gravis, a rare condition that causes muscle weakness

• you have recently had vaccinations, or are due to have vaccinations

• you're pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding

So I had a panic over a medication I can't take because of my thyroid issues.

Hydrocortisone

Hydrocortisone tablets is if your body does not make enough cortisol – for example if you have Addison's disease. Taking hydrocortisone tablets can affect your immune system so you’re more likely to get infections, now this annoys me because if I ever stub my toe or rip a little bit of skin off of my fingers and it leads to an infection, I have read that if I was to take this medication and come into contact with anyone who has chickenpox, shingles or measles then I need to tell my doctor, now this scares me because people at work don't disclose that sort of information and I could imagine I would get ill but also my little brother Mowgli got into contact with somebody who had shingles and this caused him to get Transverse myelitis which paralysed him. After reading about having to contact a doctor I started panicking.

I read that if I am diagnosed with Addison’s disease I will need to carry a steroid emergency card. Of course I had to look up the side effects:

• feeling dizzy, weak or tired - brilliant, I already suffer with this

• headaches - another one that I suffer with

• muscle ache - another one that I suffer with

• indigestion or feeling sick (nausea) - another one that I suffer with

• diarrhoea - another one that I suffer with

• swollen ankles

• are depressed (including having suicidal thoughts), feeling high, mood swings, feeling anxious, seeing or hearing things that aren't there or having strange or frightening thoughts – these can be signs of mental health problems

• have a high temperature, chills, a very sore throat, ear or sinus pain, a cough, more saliva or a change in colour of your saliva, pain when you pee, mouth sores or a wound that will not heal – these can be signs of an infection

• are sleepy or confused, feeling very thirsty or hungry, peeing more often than usual, flushing, breathing quickly or breath that smells like fruit – these can be signs of diabetes or complications of diabetes

• have a “moon face” (puffy, rounded face), weight gain in your upper back or belly – this happens gradually and can be a sign of Cushing's syndrome

• have a very upset stomach or vomiting, very bad dizziness or fainting, muscle weakness, feeling very tired, mood changes, loss of appetite and weight loss – these can be signs of adrenal gland problems

• have muscle pain or weakness, muscle cramps, or a heartbeat that does not feel normal – these can be signs of low potassium levels

• have severe stomach pain, severe back pain, a severe upset stomach or vomiting – these can be signs of pancreas problems

• have swelling or throbbing in your arms or legs, or if you feel breathless or have chest pain – these can be signs of a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot

• have changes in your eyesight

• have any unusual bruising or bleeding, black poo, black or dark brown vomit or vomiting blood – these can be signs of a bleeding ulcer

The side effects below swollen ankles are the more serious ones where you have to seek medical advice asap. Now onto those who can't take this medication:

• have ever had an allergic reaction to hydrocortisone or any other medicine

• have an infection (including an eye infection)

• have recently been in contact with anyone with shingles, chickenpox or measles (unless you're sure you are immune to these infections)

• have recently had, or are about to have, any vaccinations

• have had liver problems in the past

• or a close family member have ever had mental health problems

• have any unhealed wounds

• have heart failure, high blood pressure or you've recently had a heart attack

• have diabetes or epilepsy

• have glaucoma

• have an underactive thyroid - I have this

• have osteoporosis (thinning bones)

• have or have ever had a stomach ulcer

• are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding

So again I had a little panic because this is the second medication that I can't have due to my thyroid issues.

Prednisone

Yet again this medication is one of those where I can't really be around anybody with chickenpox, shingles or measles, brilliant. Anyway onto the side effects of this medication:

• weight gain - brilliant, just what I need

• indigestion

• sleep problems - seriously

• restlessness - even worse

• sweating a lot - I run warm all of the time

• fever, chills, a very sore throat, ear or sinus pain, a cough, more saliva or a change in colour of saliva, pain with passing urine, mouth sores or a wound that will not heal - these can be signs of an infection

• sleepy or confused, feeling very thirsty or hungry, passing urine more often, flushing, breathing quickly or breath that smells like fruit - these can be signs of high blood sugar

• weight gain in the upper back or belly, "moon face" (a puffy, rounded face), very bad headaches and slow wound healing - these can be signs of Cushing's syndrome

• a very upset stomach or you're being sick (vomiting), very bad dizziness or passing out, muscle weakness, very tired, mood changes, loss of appetite and weight loss - these can be signs of adrenal gland problems

• muscle pain or weakness, muscle cramps, or a heartbeat that does not feel normal - these can be signs of low potassium levels

• severe stomach pain, severe back pain, severe upset stomach or you're being sick - these can be signs of pancreas problems

• breathless - can't deal with this

• swelling in your arms or legs

• changes in your eyesight

• any bruising or bleeding that isn't normal - I bruise so badly already

• black poo

• black or dark brown vomit or you're vomiting blood

Side effects below sweating a lot are those side effects that I need to seek medical advice. Now I looked at who can't take it:

• have had an allergic reaction to prednisolone or any other medicine

• have an infection (including eye infections)

• are trying to get pregnant, are already pregnant or you are breastfeeding

• have recently been in contact with someone with shingles, chickenpox or measles

• have recently had, or are about to have, any vaccinations

• (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• had liver problems (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• had mental health problems (either you or close family members) (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• any unhealed wounds (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• heart failure or have had a recent heart attack (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• high blood pressure (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• diabetes(make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• epilepsy (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• glaucoma (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• underactive thyroid (make sure your doctor is aware if you have) - I have this so maybe I could take this medication

• osteoporosis (thinning bones) (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

• a stomach ulcer (make sure your doctor is aware if you have)

I guess this is the medication I can take.

Saturday 16th October: I feel so shitty today, I feel like I am down and achy.

Weight In 2021

Weight (1st January): 14st

Weight (1st February): 13st 5lb (lost 9lbs)

Weight (1st March): 13st 10lb (gained 5lbs)

Weight (1st April): 14st (gained 4lbs)

Weight (1st May): 14st 4lb (gained 4lbs)

Weight (1st June): 14st 4lb

Weight (1st July): 14st 3lb (lost 1lb)

Weight (1st August): 14st 4lb (gained 1lb)

Weight (1st October): 14st 7lb (gained 3lbs)