******************Health update**********************************
Some of you may know that I was recently diagnosed with Grave's disease. I have antibodies for Hashimotos thyroiditis and also Lupus. Just an autoimmune nightmare here! I finally got into the foremost specialist MD/PHD at the University hospital...talked to her for about an hour. It was decided to not do surgery or have radiation, but to try medications again. The bad effects of these are cumulative, so I will try it for a while, and be checked for liver and bone marrow side effects by blood work every month. I have been very unproductive, quilting wise, and just worried to death about what to do, but I feel a little bit better now. She said I was a classical Genetic Thyroid person...no wonder, all my family has it too!! And I found out that my Mom had a goiter...I did not know this, because she passed away when I was very young. My brother contributed this info...thanks bro!
All this has left me very anxious and nervous, and feeling just a wee bit sorry for myself. Until I go to work...then I see that almost every person I ran into had something going on with their health, or with their family, or something. Pregnancy in a fourteen year old child...cancer...heart attacks. Everyone has their own tough things to deal with. It is hard for me to imagine that something would not happen to me too. I have had the benefits (and taken them for granted) of vibrant health most of my life. The doctor told me some wise words, "You have to deal with the hand you are dealt in life". That really, really helped me so much. So I put on my big girl panties and am dealing with it!! Thank you dear Lord for wise physicians and kind words. Thank you too for you , dear friends, who have all helped me so much through this. So the Journey continues!! I have started a little blog about my thyroid too, just so I can process my own fears and feelings and physical manifestations.
It helps to hear your stories too...would love to support you as well!!
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Have a great day, everyone!!
Julie
34 comments:
I did not know you were having health problems. I read a little bit about the Grave's Disease. Still don't know a lot but I do hope you can get things under control and you can get back to all the quilting projects.
HUGS for you ♥
Praying you will see the right caregivers+get the best treatment!
Would just a little handwork be helpful for you . . . .
Love,Linda
msstitcher1214@gmail.com
I'll be praying for you that your doctors will be wise in their decisions and that you will find peace in your journey! Love, Jan
So sorry to hear about this development. And yes,there are always others worse off than ourselves, but it doesn't minimise what you're going through. I hope you continue to take joy from your creative work and the people that you meet through work, and the members of the blog community. God bless!....
I have a lot of allergies so I understand the frustration and fear you are dealing with. For me it's the food allergies that cause me anxiety. I can't eat anything that I we didn't prepare. We are both lucky to have found good doctors. My GP is the first doctor that I had that doesn't treat me like I'm crazy! Your situation is far worse than mine and I know people that have it worse than you. Your doctor had great advice. I'd add that we are lucky to be able to divert ourselves with quilting! That's the best medicine of all.
So sorry for all you're dealing with; and, yes, sometimes it does help to see others struggling like you so that you know you're not the only one. I was extremely angry when, out of the blue, DH was diagnosed with the GBM and still have a hard time wondering why him. He was such a good person that he did NOT deserve that but then really, who does? Will remember you in my prayers!
Julie, I'm sorry to hear about your health issues. You will be in my prayers as you deal with them. Love your little quilt and table runner!
Sorry about all the health issues. I've not heard of the first two, but, we had a friend with Lupus. Not a nice thing to have. Good luck, and don't over stress (it can make you even worse, miss nurse).
I used to hand quilt all my quilts years ago, but got into machine quilting and haven't looked back! I do love the look of it. I am sorry about your diagnosis. I was first diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism in 2007 and tried medications unsuccessfully. It's not fun to have a resting heart rate of 120! Upon further testing I received the Graves disease diagnosis and in 2008 I did the radioactive pill to kill my thryoid. After getting regulated on medication all was well until 2010 and I became ill again and my kidneys went wacky. I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis with TINU subgroup, a rare form. Fortunately I went into remission and my kidneys went back to normal. Last year I was diagnosed with food allergies, so yes another auto immune thing after dealing with the unexpected loss of my son. However, I do look at the bright spots and things could be worse as you experience with your work. I enjoy reading your blog. Best of luck to you.
Oh, my dear friend, my heart goes out to you. I have been keeping you in my prayers, and I will continue. It can all be scary and overwhelming, can't it? Even when you decide to "deal with it", there can be times when it crashes in on you anyway. I hope you can find answers that give you a good quality of life!
Beautiful little creations you have made. Hand quilting is such a lovely textural addition, and I do love doing it, but I know I don't have time to hand quilt everything I would like to. So I jumped on the machine quilting bandwagon. That is what I do most of the time, but I slip in a little hand quilted project when I can.
This is one of those times when getting little extras isn't a good deal. What a crummy set of circumstances. I am glad you got to talk to the most knowledgable person about this. You have to know most of the options to make wise decisions. I have you in my prayers and hope you continue to receive good medical care & advice. I love the texture of handquilting, but it has to be a small project to keep my attention. Hugs to my favorite blogging nurse!!
Oh Julie , I was so hoping for better news regarding your health. I am thankful you got in to see the MD/PHD. I hope the medications will help, though it seems that sometimes the side affects are worse than the disease. I don't like getting out the big girl panties, but what else are you going to too? You have to learn to live with some things, even though we don't want to. My DD2 had Graves' disease,my DS2 has Crohns, and my husband was just diagnosed with diabetes. You will continue to be in my prayers!
Dear Julie,
zour two little finishes are just wonderful to look at. So cute and handquilting adds so much to them, makes them special, like you are so special.
Sending you all the best wishes for your to feel better and recover healthwise. They will find the treatment you need to feel good.
Greetings,
Sylvia
Sending you hugs and glad you have some big girl panties!! Funny, keep the sense of humor well fed.
Dear Julie,
You are a very strong and very kind person and I wish you
the best from all my heart and good courage!
Sending good thoughts to you!!
Best wishes!
So sorry to hear of your health issues....you are in my prayers.
I'm so sorry to hear of your diagnosis Julie! I am lifting you up in prayer and asking the Lord to lead you to the health care providers who will help you manage and overcome it. And that He will also give you an internal wisdom to know what is right for you and your body to keep it on an even keel :) As for quilting, I usually machine quilt because I don't have time to hand quilt, but I do love the look of it and have a few quilts that I have hand quilted. Your little quilts are darling!
I hand quilt only. I have, on occasion, contemplated machine quilting (straight line only, no overall or meandering), but then I have to wrestle a queen sized quilt to put on binding and realize that maybe machine quilting isn't for me, especially considering that my quilts are almost always bed sized (and for queen sized beds at that). Plus I just prefer the look and feel of hand quilted quilts.
Oh my, my heart hurts at what you're going through right now. I'll be praying for wisdom as you are facing treatment options. {{{hug}}}
Oh gosh Julie... I'm so sorry to hear about these health challenges.
Hand quilting will help you stay grounded and together while you sort through the information and make the best choices you can as you go along.
Sending you big
Everyone should have a family health history. I'm glad your brother filled in some blank spaces for you. It sounds like you've found a great doctor who will follow your condition closely, which is wonderful. Sending love and prayers your way.
Love your mini quilts. Great job on both of them. I love the red Rose Dream quilt but the second one is so cute that I think I love them both equally. I haven't worked on my Rose Dream since last year 8^O I should get it out and help it along a bit. Anyway, congrats on those lovely finishes.
Sorry to hear that health wise you are still on the rough patch. My thoughts are with you daily. Have you checked Dr. OZ's blog about thyroid and vitamins? Just saying. I'll keep praying cause that's all I can do for you. Sending sweet energy and hugs your way.♥♥♥
Julie! preciosos tus trabajos.
ese tratamiento nuevo te hará sentir bien
y pronto estarás recuperada
en mi familia el tiroides también se hizo presente
abrazos
My grandmother had a goiter and as I've told you before I've had issues with my thyroid as well as my dad and mom being on meds for thyroid dysfunction.
I'm glad you liked your dr and feel a little better about it. Any serious threat to our health is scary! Keep your chin up and talk to us about it so we can be supportive.
Hello Julie I have been wondering and worrying about you.so glad you have finally seen a doctor sending good thoughts and hugs your way hugs lyn
Hello Julie I have been wondering and worrying about you.so glad you have finally seen a doctor sending good thoughts and hugs your way hugs lyn
Love your mini quilts and your hand quilting. I love to hand quilt...if only there were more time! So sorry that you are having health problems - sure hope the meds can help get things under control. Will be sending you hugs and prayers!!
Your finishes are lovely! That red and white one especially. I'm glad you've been able to get some stitching in. Hard to do when dealing with so much else.
I'm so thankful you are with the right doc and will keep praying you find the best plans together. I'm really hoping those symptoms are quieting down as well. I know this can be a slow process but some relief would surely be welcomed! You are a dear one, Julie. Perspective in the midst of such challenges does not come easy. Our hearts sure get stretched. Big hugs and continued prayers!
Oh goodness, Julie! I'm so sorry to hear about your health issues! I also have Hashimotos thyroiditis, and that in and of itself is enough to deal with. Sending virtual hugs and prayers your way that you start to feel better soon.
Sorry to hear all of this! Keeping you in my prayers!
-Kristie
Keeping you in my prayers. Hopefully you will soon begin to get your health issues under control. As my husband says, some days are not great, but if you don't have dirt in your face (as in being buried!) and no one is shooting at you, it will be a good day!
I had graves disease 21 years ago my mother had a goiter and my brother had graves also, I had the radioactive iodine treatment life is much better than before the treatment even though I resisted at first, before treatment it just kept escalating
Lois
Doing a bit of catching up! Goodness! Auto immunes I do not like! How do you fight yourself when you have no clue what weapons you are using?! lol I've had an auto immune that was extremely rare and it all worked out in the end. I think the secret is not to stress about it because ... that's one of a weapon! ;o) Take good care of yourself. Hugs!
I am woefully behind in my blog reading, but want you to know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Health issues are never fun and being a nurse, you are especially in tune to what is taking place. I hope that you can surround yourself with a good medical team that will help you design a good plan of action that will get you back on the road to feeling better. That's a lot to deal with and I'm glad that you are writing it down. That is often cathartic...as is hand stitching and I hope you are finding some peace in the stitches. I love hand stitching - even just stitching the binding down to the back of the quilt is my favorite part.
Hi I was just recently diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis...finally saw a endocronologist who specializes in Thryoid Diseases. I hope you are feeling better and really enjoy reading your blog. Hang in there and many Hugs, Mary
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