Health Update

My poor little blog is really looking quite neglected! Fortunately I had a trip to the hospital yesterday. To see a doctor, I mean, not just for fun.

After being weighed and having my blood pressure done, I was called in to see.... a doctor who is not my endocrinologist. My endocrinologist seems to be displaying classic signs of pathological demand avoidance syndrome, in that every time someone arranges an appointment for him to see me, he disappears. He's been my endocrinologist for seven months now and I've only met him once, in passing, while I was having some blood tests. Perhaps he's put off by the possessive way in which I refer to him as "my" endocrinologist, but if so then he really needs to address the problem, or how can our relationship progress to the next level?*

Anyhow, we went through my latest blood test results and, being the marvel of medical science that I undoubtedly am,** my body appears to have pulled off the neat trick of producing higher levels of thyroid hormone during treatment with a thyroid-stimulating-hormone suppressing drug than before treatment. Apparently they're not concerned, because the tumour does produce quite low levels of TSH anyway and all my thyroid hormone results are within the upper normal range, so the only way they can tell what's going on is to look at the alpha subunit, a particular protein which tends to be over-produced by TSH-producing pituitary adenomas. The test result takes 4 weeks to come through, so we have to wait to find out where I am at the moment. Over the last year or so, though, they were:

Before surgery last April: 13.00
After surgery: 8.40
This January: 5.90

What it's meant to be: 1.00 or less.

So it could be worse, could be better! Fingers crossed that the lanreotide injections are doing the trick. I get to have another MRI sometime soon (they forgot to book it in for me, apparently I was supposed to have one in February) and to go back in 2 months. Oh, and they recommended I be referred to the Ear Nose and Throat team for my stupid malingering post-surgery sinusitis. You know. The sinusistis my GP told me couldn't be related at all to the surgery... oh well. I get to explore another hospital department. Whoop whoop!

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*i.e. the level at which he is actually in the room when I am supposed to be meeting him.

**Shut up, I so am.