Dear Earl,
It wasn’t fun. Don’t come back.
Love, Me.
___________________________________
On that note, here is today’s good news: the six month labs are in and things look pretty dang good! I’m really feeling like I am back, and Earl is gone!
First things first: weight loss – down 21 pounds last Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Second: the labs.
Cortisol – 18 (range 8-19)
ACTH – 18 (range 6-48) *** This was mishandled so it’s a meaningless number. It’s artificially low.
Thyroid – Dr. Smart started treating my thyroid with 125 mcg of Levoxyl after my 4 month labs showed very low normal Free T4. Turns out, 125 mcg is too much probably since this month’s labs show my thyroid as being too well treated. 🙂 That’s ok. He’ll adjust it next time we talk.
Free T3: 4.3 (January: 2.9) (range 2.3-4.2)
Free T4: 2.22 (January: 0.96) (range .86-1.76)
Still more good news on the testosterone and insulin fronts…
Bioavailable Testosterone: 7.4 (January: 14; October: 13) (range 1.1-14.3)
SHBG: 54 (January: 31; October: 20) (range 40-120)
Insulin: 19.8 (January: 25.2, October: 35.4) (range 0 – 24.9)
See how much those numbers have changed since surgery?!?! This is very exciting!
So, in sum, I really couldn’t be happier with those results. Normal insulin and testosterone means things like my skin is clearing up, and my hump is (slowly) going away. I still have stretch marks, probably always will, but they aren’t purple.
I’m still on 5 mg hydro, but I’m going to try to get weaned completely by my birthday. My numbers are well within normal, so there’s no real reason to stay on it. On the other hand, I’m not averse to staying on it. It would mean I was not producing enough cortisol on my own and that would be a good thing in my book!
Sarah versus Earl 