My Lazy Thyroid

Last winter, as it happens, we had the necessary paperwork so we decided to see if we qualified for VA benefits. As it happens, since both of us had served in the Army, both of us qualified, and since my summer job wage isn't all that impressive, and since my husband is unemployed, we qualify for 100% coverage, to include transportation to and from appointments. (We'll be testing that this winter)

Anyway, as part of our initiation, I got a blood test, and, other than being otherwise healthy, my thyroid was a mite lazy. I think they started me out on the lightest prescription, and after another blood test, they were happy with my numbers - woohoo. Now I get to take a pill for the rest of my days. That's okay - it's just a little thing, but I have to take it first thing in the morning, and then not eat or drink anything except water for half an hour - so much for my cup of coffee first thing in the morning.

However, I may have discovered my magic pill, just as I wanted. I had hopes that it would indeed be magic, that all my extra weight would melt away and I would get down to an ideal weight. Ah, but it didn't work that way. Hopes not withstanding, I knew it was doing something because I stopped gaining weight. I was 217 pounds when I weighed in for my physical, and that's where I stayed, not counting a slight monthly fluctuation. Even though I'd stopped bleeding every month long ago, my body still did it's water retention, making me tired once a month, and then I would get rid of it a few days later. I gained almost five pounds during that time, but then I was back down to 217 pounds. Well then, that was an improvement at least. Putting on a pound a week (or so) all winter long, and then being unable to get rid of all of it during the summer was getting very old. My new hope was that I might lose my summer's weight and not gain it back during the winter.

Update:

As of the third week of October - almost two months into my winter's non-working schedule, I have yet to gain a single pound - I'm thrilled. I started my summer at 217 pounds, give or take one or two pounds, and I ended the summer at 196 pounds. I need to get down to 190 before I stop snoring, but this is a good start. I'm thrilled. Best of all, I can eat again - within reason. I still eat not so much potatoes, but I can enjoy homemade bread and homemade cinnamon rolls now. I keep my indulgences to a minimum, but it's still kinda nice. Oh, and corn. I like corn, but since my husband can't eat the vegetable, I don't order it. I did, however, order some popcorn. I really like popcorn. I have missed popcorn.

Can I do the same next year? I certainly hope so. I do intend to try. It will be so nice not to start my summer feeling like a whale. Being out of shape is bad enough.

Update #2 - second year:

Went back to town for another winter and the flight thing didn't work quite as we'd been led to believe. I just love how they tell you bits of information only if you wring it out of them. My son paid for our chopper flight in, but we were able to get reimbursed for that, so, woohoo for that. What they didn't tell us was that we had to go back within 30 days to get the return flight paid for. I asked specifically about staying for several months and they said it was cool, just let them know. Ggrrrrr Even though we had more appointments just before coming out, they refused to pay for our flight back home because it had been too long. 

Anyway, as to my thyroid issue. Blood tests said my thyroid was lazy again, even with my nifty little pills so she increased the dosage. Sigh. Anyway, after taking that pill for like 3 months, I decided to quit entirely and stop taking them. My body has a bad habit. It tends to do the opposite of what medicines are supposed to do. I notice it most when I take pills that might make me drowsy. I got a pretty big buzz after taking Tylenol with Codeine when I had my wisdom teeth taken out. The thyroid controls not only weight but also energy. Supposedly, with it working properly, I should have lots of energy (which would also help me to burn off fat). However, I felt kinda tired. Nothing major - I wasn't exhausted, and I do like to sleep. Maybe I'd have noticed nothing if I was working, but thanks to this virus, I've been home. The thing that confirms my decision was that I actually felt better after I stopped. More alert. It will be something I'll talk about with my Dr. next time I see her. I tried sending a message, but I never got a reply. It is my belief that my slightly lazy thyroid is what it is, and it will refuse to be corrected. To keep trying to mess with it is to dig a danger hole I may never be able to get out of. 

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Homemade Soap #3

It's still a learning curve, but I'm getting better. Two pounds of grated soap + one cup of water is still an awesome mix, and it makes a nice sized bar.

Last year I ended up with two short batches of shavings and bars of Dove that I was reluctant to mix together. I probably could have, but my bucket was already full. At work, it turns out that we go through 36 bars of soap (give or take one or two bars) during the course of the summer months. most of them are used, but a small handful are taken. Coincidentally, the little baskets I store the soap in holds 36 bars of soap. Now, remember, my first batch of soaps I had trouble with the wrapping molding or soaking up the moisture and becoming unsightly. This year, I was still replacing some of those wrappings, so I decided that I wouldn't wrap the soaps I made last year. Those soaps sat in my bucket all last winter (I think I rearranged them a couple different times just to let them breathe); they also stayed in my bucket all summer long. Near the end of this summer, I now had two of those baskets empty.

As I was thinking about moving them, I decided I wouldn't wrap them even after them sitting out for a year. I figured I could wrap them as I put them in the cabin. Using the wax paper I'd bought to keep them from sticking to each other, I packed them into their little baskets. It turns out that even though I packed them laying down, at six per layer, with a little space between each bar, those baskets still held 36 bars. The bars in my bucket (I'd never counted them) filled those two empty baskets plus a little in the next basket. Next summer, I'll be using up the last of my already wrapped soaps and getting into some of those unwrapped soaps. That problem solved.

Back to the results of this year's recycling of soaps.

The first thing I did was weigh my two partial bags and fill them up to two pounds. That left me with enough to make a third batch, and a fourth batch that was like 1.5 pounds. I added the trimmings from the first batch to that fourth batch. The bars I got from that first batch were the perfect size; they actually looked like small bars of soap, being rectangular in shape. I really liked that. Since I wasn't packing the bars into my bucket again (not nearly enough to bother with a container so large), I was packing them back into the OxiClean box I'd brought them home in.

My second batch - well - I should have kept the trimmings for next year, but I decided I'd just add them to the third batch. That was a mistake, but only when it came to the size of the bars. I had to add another half cup of water to the shavings to make them more manageable; the extra volume of soap made the mass something like bread dough. When I got it into my mold, there was more than it could hold - not a lot more, but more. I was really tempted to trim the resulting bars down to the nice size my other two batches turned out to be, but really - chalk it up to a learning experience. I did not trim those bars - they are square, but they are nice and they will do. Next year I won't weigh my batches until I'm ready to cook them up. That way my two pounds will be assured, and I'd only have one bag of leftovers.

My fourth batch did the same thing my third batch did. Too much for my mold, but it is what it is. Next year, I anticipate it working out perfectly. Well - one can hope.

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My Long Day

Thursday, May 30, was a VERY long day for me. Our flight was booked for 1:00 departure - we were going home. I was ready, but at the same time, not. Going meant no more grandbaby, it also meant going back to work, pretty much all at once. Very little adjustment time after traveling.

This wasn't at all like last year where a chopper left us right here in the yard. Not like last year at all.

We went to town this year to help my son so he could start some schooling - that fell through, but we were there. I took the opportunity to order a copy of my military DD 214, separation papers, and by coincidence, I had my husband's there too. On a whim, we decided to apply for VA coverage. Up until now, we had no medical coverage. I won't go into the nightmares Obamacare gave me. Come to find out, we were fully covered, to include transportation to and from our home here in the middle of nowhere, and that includes helicopter cost too. You wanna talk about what kind of load that took off our shoulders - HUGE.

Now that we were involved with VA, we both had our rounds past a Dr. Mine had to do with my thyroid, which they found to be a little underactive - now I have a pill to take every morning. My husband has had a lump on his scalp roughly the size of a small grape, and during his examination, they found two more that just small ones that had yet to bubble up. The two were removed during another visit right there in the office, but the Dr. wasn't comfortable doing the same with the big one - it might be something different. So he scheduled him for a CT scan and a follow-up appointment to go over the finding - surgery for it's removal would be later.

Now, understand, time for us to get home before breakup, before it was no longer safe to travel on our river home, was running out, so I called transportation and asked after them helping us with that chopper flight since they hadn't brought us in. We either needed to cancel all those appointments and go, or if they could help us, we'd stay. They assured us we were covered, so we stayed. Sadly, I didn't write down the name of the guy I talked to. Six weeks later, long after things were all going to hell (as far as the river was concerned), I called again to take them up on their offer of help with that flight. We even canceled the surgery, to plan it for next winter, because it was getting so close to breakup. We really wanted to be here to be able to take care of our boats if needed - sometimes the water comes up violently during breakup.

SO, I called VA transportation and asked to book our flight, only to be told that, since they didn't bring us in, they could't justify taking us out. Now this logic escapes me, but they have their rules. I've been dropped off by my son, confident we'd be able to get transportation back to his place, and they would have, if we'd made the appointment to do so 48 hours ahead of time, but they wouldn't do the same with a flight, Course, I didn't think of that detail then either. I'm just not very good at this. Anyway, I was assured that I would be fully covered from now on, and we will have more appointments next winter, so we'll see how it all works out.

SOOO, since the chopper was out, we were stranded until several items fell into place

#1 we had a driver to take us to the airport
#2 we had money for the flight - we did
#3 we had transportation from where the plane landed home.

The first one came about fairly easy. Once we booked the flight, either my son or his wife could take us there. The last part wasn't so easy. Our first effort to arrange our ride home failed as my neighbors were both in town. A week later, several options for transportation came together.

#1 My boss would be arriving out there the same day
#2 One of my neighbors had just returned home
#3 The lodge owner where our big boat was stored had just come out a couple days earlier. 

The third option was by far the best for us.

Thus begins my VERY long day.

My morning alarm goes off a 6 AM, and I usually turn it off and get up maybe a couple hours later. This time, I woke up at around 5, and couldn't stop tossing and turning. I gave up at 5:30. All our stuff was already packed, so I went out into the living room and found my kindle, but I couldn't concentrate on that either. My computer was all packed up too, so I couldn't do anything much on line either. I ended up reading assorted articles on my phone, using up about a third of my battery - so much for coming out with a charged phone.

We didn't go anywhere until around 9. The plan was to hit Fred Meyers and then Costco on the way to the airport, there were some groceries I wanted to bring out. In the end, I decided the trip to Costco was irrelevant - I only wanted the powdered milk they have there. We didn't want to get a lot of things, not knowing what we'd find when we got here. Our worries about whether a bear had broken into the place or torn up the freezer were uppermost. Our worries about whether our house had withstood the earthquake had been alleviated a couple weeks ago when another neighbor sent me an email after flying over - our house was still standing - what kind of chaos awaited us inside was still to be discovered.

Since it was only a little after 10, and since it was a while before we had to get to the airport, we went back to the apartment for a cup of coffee. I was specifically avoiding coffee because it tends to go right through me.

We left for the airport at around 11 - we were all starting to doze off. So my husband and I wandered around the airport until near 1 I think - I was no longer watching the clock. We landed out here and we got our big boat in the water with happily very little trouble. We loaded up and we were on our way.

Thus ends the easy part.

We parked and unloaded our stuff into another boat still on land - it was starting to try to rain so we covered it. We had to walk the quarter mile or so home with what we could carry and get either the 4-wheeler going to come back with the cart. My husband carried his backpack - it was heavy - I carried the gallon of water we'd bought. Ack - I was SO not ready for that hike. I was already tired. We had a cup of coffee and a sit down.

As it turns out, though the 4-wheeler started easily, the mud on our trail caused us to opt not to use it, however there were some things that simply had to come home without much more delay.

I took the cart down and brought back the food and our computers, as well as the tool bag so we could get it ready to use the next day. It was a fairly heavy load, and I was already tired. Needless to say, I stopped many times to rest. When my husband saw me, he came to help push. It was a big help. I'm sure I would have rested at least two more times before actually reaching the house - and that was within less than 100 yards.

I don't know what time it was when we finally settled down for the night, but on my last legs, I fixed supper and sat down to get my computer logged into our satellite system (my phone too), and to eat my supper. Come 8 PM, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. I went to bed, half expecting to wake up at some point during the middle of the night - I didn't.

We got up at 8 this morning. My body so very sore. It would seem that I managed to lose nearly 10 pounds yesterday. Woohoo. Most of that was constipation and water weight likely brought on by stress. I don't stress much - I'm not a worrier, but I'm no spring chicken either, and for the first time all winter, my feet were swelling, which added to my pain in doing all that walking yesterday. I've gone potty like four times since hitting dirt here - my, how exercise will get the plumbing moving.

So now, my little boat is in the water, though we have yet to start it - we couldn't find the key. Anyway, we got brave enough and took the 4-wheeler down, since the cart did so well. We should have brought the cart anyway - it would have allowed for fewer trips up that hill carrying things. Ugh, but at least it was only up that hill and not all the way to the house and back, at least two trips that way. Three trips for me - the last one for my plants - and two trips for my husband - he struggles with that hill too - and we were all the way home.

My body is still sore, but I'm a lot less tired today, then again, I did get a 3-hour nap today too.

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