Sorry it has been so long since my last post. As you my faithful readers know, I like to keep things positive and amusing. Well, to be honest, it's been pretty darn boring around here lately. Aside from an ice storm to hit on Thursday night, the most activity we've had is a trip to the endocrinologist.
Alzheimer's, senility, dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, etc. can only be given a definite diagnosis by way of an autopsy. Doctors come to these diagnoses after eliminating other possible causes for the symptoms. If it isn't this, or this, or this, it must be that. The uncertainty isn't very comforting but, then again, the autopsy alternative doesn't seem so great either!
One thing that could be a "hidden" cause of Alzheimer's-like symptoms can be a malfunctioning thyroid gland. That sounds so mechanical, doesn't it? Anyway, many years ago they administered a radioactive pill to my mom. The radiation collects in the thyroid gland and effectively "kills" it. Then, to the delight of Big Pharma, the patient is on thyroid replacement medications for the rest of their life. In my mom's case, the prescription is Synthroid (synthetic thyroid).
Now, every six months, we have to go the doctor to make sure everything is as it should be. After the doctor checked the heart, felt the thyroid gland in her throat, and checked her blood pressure, it was off to have some blood drawn in a different part of the office. Her blood pressure was a tad high, not to be alarmed about though. To remind you, mom suffers from fainting spells that have been diagnosed as a drop in blood pressure when she stands up. Having blood pressure on the higher side could be a good thing. The next day we got a call from the office saying the blood work looked fine and there was no adjustment needed to her meds.
In the end, the appointment went very smoothly. My mom really likes her endocrinologist who is a very personable guy. Low key, pleasant...I like him too.
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