Hum Drum...

I really don't want to blog right now, but maybe it'll be good for me to write a little...I had my appointment with ENT today and we talked about the possibility of surgery. It appears that it would be very precarious---or maybe it just seems that way to me. I would lose the right side of my thyroid and I wonder if that would send me into hypothyroidism or if I would be okay. I know that the radioactive iodine (RAI) would most likely take several treatments and in the following days after the treatment I would not be allowed around the kids, prepare food, sleep in the same bed as my husband and in essence I would need to be isolated. Considering that I've got five kids and I homeschool I'm not thinking that would be a good option. If I'm going to be honest, I've ruled out RAI treatment altogether. I don't want it done.

Surgery scares me. A lot. I didn't respond real well to the anestheia when I had my diagnostic surgery a couple years ago. In fact it was supposed to be out patient surgery, but they had to keep me overnight. They did use a different anestheia when I had my hysterectomy and I did fine with that one. But I don't know what kind they would have to use. It would be a 2-3 hour surgery. Since I have an overactive thyroid and the thyroid is a very vascular organ, the potential for a lot of bleeding is pretty high. That scares me. And there is the slight possibililty that they could hit my vocal cords and I could wind up hoarse for the rest of my life. I don't really like that either.

So then we have medication. There are some serious side effects with the medicine, but if you show signs of the serious ones they typically go away when the medicine is discontinued. BUT, they are serious enough to cause me some concern. I want to know what amount of people actually experience these side effects. How rare is it really? Is it 1 out of 10? 1 out of 100? 1 out of 1000? I don't want to be hasty in making a decision, but I also want to come to a decision soon because this is driving me crazy!

There is good news though. My doctor at ENT says that the cyst in my sinus cavity is not to be worried about. He's never had to remove one. And the congestion in my ears doesn't concern him. He also said that he does not think that I have chronic sinusitis. So that's all good. He gave me some exercises to help with my balance and dizzy spells. He also has me coming in for a hearing test. Hmmm. Oh, he said too that one exercise that really helps with the training for balance issues is bowling! I asked him if Wii Bowling was included in that. He kinda laughed and said that it's okay, but real bowling will help more because of the movements and actually having weight being thrown from your arm. All that to say, I think that Brad and I need to have weekly bowling dates. =)

If you think about it, lift up a prayer for Brad and I with this thyroid issue. We need wisdom to do the right thing. I hope all of you have had a great week!