No, dear readers who are familiar with Doctor Who, which just happens to be one of my fave tv shows......

....I am not referring to THIS Doctor Donna. I am writing about the specialist I have been seeing since 2007 because of Graves Disease. In part my endocrinologist's name is Dr. Donna....and the coincidence amused me.

Yesterday the good doctor finally cut me loose because my thyroid numbers are now perfectly normal!!!

I nearly cried when she gave me the news, and I thanked her profusely because she has always been very understanding, and supportive.

For the last couple of years it has been a bit of a nightmare going to the lab monthly (sometimes every two weeks) for blood work, and being on pills that needed constant adjusting. This was the easy part...the horror is what Graves Disease can do to the body, mind, and emotions such as feelings of extreme exhaustion, (I would get tired just putting on make-up) brutal itching, hair falling out, wonky metabolism, excessive mood swings, and the inability to concentrate. It was not surprising to me when I learned that symptoms of thyroid disease can often mimic those of schizophrenia in severe cases, including hallucinations.

It has been very hard on my family too. Can you imagine living with a person going through what I am describing? It should also go without saying, but I was unable to cope with working full-time, so this has been financially draining for us on top of everything else.

I used to feel bad about blogging about the Graves disease because I figured we all have problems ... right? And there are people going through far worse than I can imagine, so who would want to read about mine....but then I thought it might be helpful to someone else who is recently diagnosed to read a bit about my experiences, and not just info from a medical site. Sometimes it helps to get the perspective of someone who has actually been there.

To that end I will migrate my old blog entries related to Graves Disease to my main website where they can be permanently archived, and read by anyone who may find them useful.

As for what happens next, I can be monitored by my family doctor meaning blood work once every 6 months, which is much more manageable, and one pill once per day for the rest of my life. Easy!

I really hope 2010 will be the year I can finally look forward to getting my life back on track!

Image Credit: Wiki licensed under fair use in Canada