Day to day musings of a cat minder/ sitter in North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne . For details of services go to http://www.catminders.biz

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Welcome to CatMinders


Saturday 13 June 2009

The Dangers of Self Diagnosis

Yesterday morning saw me up and dressed by seven thirty and in Borders bookshop and drinking coffee and reading three books ( not simultaneously ) in Starbucks by ten or therabouts . My treat after a stressful week and a celebration of the no headache fact . The books were carefully chosen , one about the m word , one about thyroid problems and the third a how to live with teens book written as a joky story by a parent .

Oh the dangers of self diagnosis . I was fairly sure in my analysis that I had an underactive thyroid . It all fitted , my freezing cold hands on the hottest of days , my tendency to fall fast asleep at six pm not waking till six am if given half a chance , my hoarse voice ( ok maybe I imagined that one having read the symptom on Google ) , the headaches ( no mention of migraines but I ignored that ) . I glossed over the symtoms that didnt quite fit , as you do , the " expressionless face " ( well maybe I have that and hadn't noticed and its hardly something people will point out ) , the dry skin , the acne , the menstrual cramping , the constipation , the hair falling out ( there was a chunk in the shower drain the other day just before we went on holiday and my hair does feel quite thin ? ) the excema , the weight gain . Anyway the list goes on ....

But , there you go , when I spoke to the GP on Friday she kindly informed me that contrary to my own view , science had proved that my thyroid is working just fine and the real problem ( if you can call it that ), is that my body is doing just what it should and I am in fact menopausing as we speak .

Well , I was flabbergasted .

Having been informed by my good sister ( who is very knowledgeable on all such matters ) that I was in the perimenpause long since , at which I blew a loud dismissive raspberry , I have been apparently In Denial that I too am going to menopause like every other woman in the land who reaches a certain age . But not yet .. I say .
I have surely only just grown up last week .
That's as may be but here we are and the evidence is catalogued in the lab . My blood sample has given me away .

Having got over my shock I am now feeling quite excited . The sooner it starts in earnest the sooner it ends and along with it these migraines ? And as I have no other symptoms to speak of I should be glad , notwithstanding my rather inadequate memory and my general irritations with everyone except myself ( and including myself some days ) .

I should add that besides bringing these glad tidings the GP did make several other useful suggestions , including the news that she and her colleagues have unearthed another neurologist in the region and I am now headed in his/her direction , and we shall then seek a gynaecology opinion as to whether a hysterectomy would be of any assistance to my plight . Any advice / knowledge from readers gratefully received .

Its all a far cry from cat yodelling !

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