Health Update

Hey there!

It has been a few weeks since I last updated y'all but I figured I would wait until after I had my next check up. Yesterday I went to my appointment to see where my levels were since changing my lifestyle & taking 50mg of Levothyroxin. Here is what my doctor said:

My thyroid levels are back to normal! Thank goodness! My antibodies from my first test were at 500. After this last test, they are down to 5. I honestly do not know where they are supposed to be but per my doctor, this is much better though it is still slightly elevated. Since my thyroid levels seem to be going in the right direction, she will not be changing my dosage.

After going over my lab work, she did the routine check-up of listening to my heart with a stethoscope. She heard some irregularities and had me hooked up to an EKG immediately. She asked if I had any chest pains which I have had on and off. I let her know it hasn’t happened for about a month or so. When it does happen, I get sharp pains and have to rub the area that hurts. It feels like my heart skips a beat then starts to race. I end up feeling light headed and a bit winded from it. After the results came in for the EKG, she did confirm the irregularities she was hearing. She wrote an order to take a stress test to do further testing on what is happening. I haven’t taken this yet so will update you further on when I do take it.

Another thing she checked for was to see if I was anemic. Thankfully I am not. Gotta take the good with the bad right? Lol. On the flip side, she did notice my thyroid looked a bit enlarged. She ordered an ultrasound to be done to check that out as well. All in all, everything looks okay though she left me pretty alarmed with all of these tests that need to be conducted. I knew something was going on with my heart but every time I had an EKG done, nothing would show up. This time it did. In a way it made me feel a bit better as it confirmed that I am not crazy nor a hypochondriac. It was brought to her attention that I do exercise daily, with a strenuous exercise a few times a week. She said not to exercise until after the stress test – maybe just walk around the block. Honestly, a walk around the block would hardly be my warm up. I am going to continue to exercise but I am going to tone it way down and not workout as hard. I know this is going to be a challenge for me as I am now use to a certain level of fitness. I’m not discrediting her but at the same time, I have to do what I feel is helping me. I am taking a few days off just to rest and reevaluate my exercise strategy, but I plan to jump right back into it in the next day or so.

She said she wanted to see me in 3 months, after the New Year. It seemed a bit long given all of the tests she wanted ordered. Jason said BS and that we need to get this taken care of asap. With the advice from an awesome friend, I am working on getting these tests done immediately. She also suggested having an echocardiogram done & to see a cardiologist. An Echocardiogram will show more detail as to what is happening than an EKG. I am looking to get this taken care of immediately as well. Something like this cannot be put off until January.

For my Alopecia update, my hair is beginning to grow back at a faster rate. It is about half way covered compared to September 11th which I am incredibly happy about. For the longest time, since finding this back in July, I have been so afraid to style my hair at all. No styling products. No heat products. It even got to a point where I didn’t want to take a shower, as bad as that sounds. I mean, of course I still showered…haha. I just wasn’t as rough about scrubbing my hair like I normally did. It seemed like everything I did or didn’t do, I would lose patches of hair. Now, this doesn’t mean I am not losing hair at a higher rate than normal. I am. However, I am finding it is much less than it had been. I can only hope it will get better & better from here on out. I know with Alopecia, it can come back again. I am just praying it doesn’t. It really does make a girl self-conscious. I am still always asking Jason if he can see my bald spot every time I put my hair up. I’m not complaining. I know it can be so much worse than it currently is, so for that I am so very thankful. I just want to be open and honest with how I feel and how I have been dealing with it. Below I have included pictures from when I first found out about Alopecia to today, just to show you the progression.

All in all, this whole situation has opened up my eyes to so much. I have found a new, healthier lifestyle which I am currently loving. I eat so much cleaner albeit I do have some slip ups like ice cream or pizza from time to time. Hey, I can’t help it! I love ice cream & pizza! But I am finding new ways to eat different meals. I am trying different things I never thought to try. It has opened up my mind so much about food. It has also made me more aware of my stress level. I am a worry wart and I tend to stress about things before they even happen. Stress plays a huge part in Alopecia so I have been doing more activities to decrease the stress level like exercise, writing, art or just sitting down and hanging out with my dog. I think my biggest take away, which I really should have said first but I like to leave the best for last, is this has brought me closer to the Lord. I feel I still have a ways to go in learning his word and walking with Him on a deeper level, but I am moving closer towards Him each and every day. He has placed so many amazing & wonderful people in my path who have been helping me in so many amazing ways. I honestly feel if it wasn’t for Him, I would not be in this better place physically, emotionally nor mentally. He gets all of the glory and respect for any healing I have blessed upon me.

I do not know when I will do my next update. Definitely within the next month but I will be waiting until I have something significant to report on. Thank you so much for reading this & supporting me with your thoughts and words of encouragement. If you, or anyone else you may know, is suffering from this, please do not hesitate to contact me through Facebook. My Facebook URL is: https://www.facebook.com/BrittanyGetFit. I would love to help you navigate your way through this disease, even if it is just to offer you prayer and words of encouragement.

Until next time!

Mahalo!

Brittany Bowman

#AlopeciaAreata #HashimotoThyroiditis #Health #HealthyLiving