Wow, it's been a while and with Corona it feels like even longer. MRI was done and reviewed by my Neurosurgeon. There was inflammation in different areas but he said it looked like they would expect it to this far out from my surgery. I will do another MRI check in a year. That was good to hear! My thyroid is back to "normal" with the help of medication. My ACTH is still low which in turn does not signal my body to make any cortisol. (Boo!) My growth hormone is still showing up as normal.
I have gained 50 lbs since this whole health journey began and THIRTY of those were since my surgery! It has been a real struggle, physically, mentally, and even economically (have to keep buying clothes when I need to go out in public). Also, when you used to be a runner, you have a lot of runner friends and most runners are pretty slender. I am literally the fattest one of the group I used to run with. It has made me so self-conscious. I feel like I have to somehow let people know that I'm the size I am because my hormones have gone wacko and not because I'm lazy or eat all the time. I hate eating anything in front of others other than a salad or something everyone has deemed "healthy". If I ate a cookie they might think "oh, THAT'S why she gained so much weight". So dumb, I know. I don't think many people intentionally think these things. To be honest, I've done it myself in the past. Going through this has given me a whole different perspective. What you see on the outside of a person does not tell you anything. Everyone has a story. Be kind.
Let's go back to running. Obviously, the marathon got canceled and I really lost my motivation to keep running. So many things have changed and I really don't find the joy in running that I once did. I do run a little here and there but I've started trying something different. I have committed to getting one hour of exercise in a day that can be anything. I walk, I run/walk, I hike, I bike, I lift. I'm really liking it. No pressure, no monotony, it's great. I'm also trying a new app called Noom that I also really like. It gives me some accountability and it also helps strengthen the mental part of it all which is so huge. Something unusual it has you do is weigh yourself every day. At first, I thought that was crazy. That it would make me a slave to the scale but it's done the opposite. It's helped me really recognize that weight goes up and down all the time and it's become routine which takes out the scale anxiety.
So what's next? My next appointment with my endocrinologist is June 22nd and we'll see what is going on with my hormones then. I'll let you know.
