Thursday, June 7, 2012

Getting Cold Feet

I am supposed to have surgery next Tuesday, and today I got a serious case of cold feet.

Normally, I am a decisive person, but I just feel that there are too many unanswered questions.  I just worry that I am playing with fire by getting those answers.

The main questions buzzing around in my head are
  • What if I can get better?  I feel fine now - no more symptoms
  • What if this is all pregnancy related? and the further I get from that, the better I will be"
  • Maybe I wasn't allergic to the meds, maybe it was just too high a dose (has been that way in the past)
But then, as if to torture my contemplating mind I get the flip side:
  • Do I really want to be on that potent medication for a long time?
  • Do I really want to have surgery for this? Radioactive iodine is just a pill...
  • What if I do nothing and just stay on the beta-blocker?
  • Surgery seems so easy, except for the actual surgery part :)
Anyway - all of this came rushing into my mind today.  I have been trying to ignore it for weeks and now I am at a loss for what to do.

Luckily, my endocrinologist is awesome.  She called me back immediately today and talked to me for a while, and squeezed me in for an appt tomorrow.  She will go with any one of my plans (lower dose, radioactive iodine, surgery), but she is candid with how she feels.
  1. Lower Dose Methimazole:  Worried about permanent liver damage (even just taking it for 2 weeks) - 30% that I can get into remission and not take it long-term.  Long-term it can also affect my white blood cells.
  2. Radioactive Iodine:  This is what she suggests, thinks it is best for my situation
  3. Surgery:   More than I really need to do because (2) will solve that.
I don't know what to think of my gut now - any time I make a decision, I keep arguing with myself.  I really hope I can come to a zen place with whatever decision I make....

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