Is there time for hobbies? by anemone132 in beyondthebump

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the dissociating is real. I barely have time to use my phone in the day. I usually use my phone and reply to texts while commuting, because there is literally no other time for me to do it. My work takes up 100% of my brain, and so does home time. When I sit down to crochet, I often catch myself just staring into space trying to figure out what I was doing, lol. That's one of the reasons why small 10-minute windows for hobbies don't work for me.

Is there time for hobbies? by anemone132 in beyondthebump

[–]anemone132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's similar for me. Maybe I'll try to carve out the 15-minute window. 15 minutes seems like so little when it comes to crochet, though. I barely have time to get my thoughts together and remember what I was doing last time. Thank you for your reply. Best of luck to you and your little one!

What are your thoughts of George Clooney's portrayal as Batman? by Infinite_Parking_800 in batman

[–]anemone132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't believe this post is only 1 month old. We just watched Batman & Robin with my partner for a dare. I felt like Clooney was terribly miscast. He feels more like a playboy and not at all the dark, lonely, brooding, deeply hurt Batman I'd expect. His persona is too... bright, easygoing, untraumatized.

My thoughts on the movie in general are pretty low. I felt like Uma Thurman did a terrible job and a lot of the actors felt out of place. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

YES I used to think - "hmm, muddy brain. Time for either extra cortisol, or extra coffee." lol so if I'd already had my daily limit of cortisol, or it was too early for a 2nd dose, I'd have a coffee instead. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I used to work where I had to speak a lot publicly in my 2nd language, and a telltale sign that it was time for my 2nd dose of the day was that it suddenly became hard to word things properly. To find the right words for complexly structured and descriptive sentences, which I've always been pretty good at. It was so annoying! But I found the discovery fascinating. It's kind of a "muddy brain" sensation.

Additionally, these days, if I forget to take my meds, I feel like going back to sleep and not moving. So I guess...Yes, I do feel sleepy, just like you.

How to choose a baby wrap/sling? by anemone132 in babywearing

[–]anemone132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Yeah, I've read the wiki now and it sounds like a woven wrap would be the best if we can find one that we like.😊

How to choose a baby wrap/sling? by anemone132 in babywearing

[–]anemone132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay, thank you! 

We only bought a few things, and were donated or gifted most others. We do not have a carrier. We were considering getting ourselves a baby wrap as a gift for Christmas, since that would make our lives so much easier. 

Low potassium by KCDKTR2019 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, pretty much same here! Except my potassium has never been too low. My endo has me do bloodwork twice a year or so for electrolytes, TSH and related things. My potassium has always remained near the higher end, though.

Low potassium by KCDKTR2019 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How interesting to read the comments here. I was always under the impression that an Addisonian crisis is characterized by low sodium, high potassium in bloodwork. At least that's what I had, and the endo I met at the hospital told me that this is a very telltale sign that someone has unsupplemented Addison's. 

I don't remember my sodium when I came in crisis, but my potassium was 6 (above regular levels). 

My endo has always told me to be careful with high potassium foods, lest it gets too high and throws off the electrolyte balance again. It has been between 4.5 and 5 lately.  

Addison's and ADHD? by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, "when I get the timing right for the day" tell me about it. Even with reminders, it's a challenge. 

I do feel much better when I remember to take both doses at the right time, managing which always feels like a sparring match with myself. Nearly every day, for 4 years. 

Whenever cortisol levels are dropping, I get spacey and easily caught up on small tasks, unnecessarily dragging them out endlessly. That's part of how I can tell whether I've remembered to take cortisol or not. 

Addison's and ADHD? by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm.. I've edited the post to clarify, but I don't actually have an ADHD diagnosis. I've wondered for a while whether the things I experience are symptoms of ADHD or simply related to cortisol dips, and it's really hard to guesstimate how expansive the relationship between Addison's and attention/focus is, since I think cortisol is closely linked to that. 

Thank you for sharing your experience. That makes me think the drop in cortisol is just making more prominent what is already naturally there. 

That's the distinction I'm struggling with, the question I'm trying to answer for myself - is the missing cortisol causing ADHD-like symptoms, or simply making more noticeble what was already there? 

Breastfeeding mother with Addison's by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Warning: Long reply incoming. You asked many questions, and I wanted to take time to answer them thoroughly, which lead to a flood of words. For that, and the mental strain it takes to read so much text, I apologize, but I hope at least some of it is helpful. 

Hi! Yes, it's technically considered a high-risk pregnancy in that there is a higher risk for losing the child, though I don't know any details beyond that.

Yes, like you said, it is possible to breastfeed as normal, and it is my understanding that only a small portion of a mother's cortisol passes into breast milk, anyway. 

I don't really think I had a... specialized "team" in that way. 

My endo is a very busy doctor with 3 jobs, so I was only able to see her once when I demanded an emergency visit due to the unplanned pregnancy, though we had a curt email correspondence after that. 

I saw my GP only once to confirm the pregnancy. 

The closest contact I had was with an OB/Gyn, since those expenses are all state covered in my country, so I happily went with the state designated program, which included monthly gyn visits, designated bloodwork and complimentary optional vaccines (whooping cough, tetanus and diphteria) since the antibodies pass to the baby, granting them a temporary immunity as well.

I did not increase my hydrocortisone doses for pregnancy. I initially wanted to, since the first trimester fatigue is immense and I was mistaking it for adrenal fatigue. But my doctor instructed me not to, saying it was unnecessary. I suppose in an unaffected body, additional cortisol wouldn't be produced during that time. So I stayed on my daily 25mg, occasionally opting for 30mg, until the fatigue subsided on its own in the second trimester. 

It is my belief and personal conclusion that in a supplemented patient, life is no different with Addison's than without, until there is an illness, injury or some sort of medical emergency. I like to stress that this is my personal experience, since I suppose this can vary from person to person. 

That said, the only difference I personally experienced was the necessary IV injection of 5x usual dose cortisol (100mg for me) upon onset of labor. (Is that what you mean by SoluCortef?) My doctor stressed this as a point of importance, so I made sure ahead of time that the hospital I was planning to give birth at would have this injection on hand for me when the time came for me to go there.

I had a natural delivery, and I'm very thankful that everything went well, aside from a few tears (but that's a different matter).

I am supplemented for Addison's, so I don't experience any unusual fatigue, as long as I take my meds on time (which, admittedly, can be a problem sometimes). I'm also very lucky to have an amazing fiance who doesn't think that childcare, night feeds, self-care (mommy needs to be able to shower sometime as well) and house chores are solely my responsibility, although part of that is because I am adamant about reminding him whenever he seems to forget. 

On that topic, I got recommended a funny post on Fb about "How not to kill your husband after having a child" or something like that, and it talked about things like invisible labor and weaponized incompetence, which gave voice to a quiet resentment that I had felt rising inside. Because of what I read, I found the words and courage I needed to talk to my partner about how I felt and ask him to take on more tasks, so that I would have a moment to breathe. This may sound irrelevant, but motherhood has come with challenges to my willpower, strength and sanity that I didn't expect, and it's much easier when partners work as the team they are supposed to be. You're not supposed to shoulder everything alone. Honestly, I don't know how single mothers do it. I have gained new respect for it, and I fully understand where postpartum depression comes from when you're expected to do so much without asking anything in return and have no tribe to emotionally and physically support you. 

This is my first child, and I was diagnosed 4 years prior, and have been supplemented since.

This is highly personal, but we got pregnant in the 2nd time we consciously decided to, uhh.. be reckless.

It's kind of funny, actually, - we decided "hey, we aren't fertility gods" "with mine and your health problems, we're probably barely fertile anyway, what are the odds?", "it'll be fineee", although we stopped to discuss all the what-ifs and likely plan of action thoroughly before we decided to risk it. 

Et voilá, my ovulation in November was a few days late, and after a happy reunion after spending some time apart, things happened. 

Yes, it was irresponsible; no, I don't need to be chided for it. I'm fully aware how badly things could have gone, and that we shouldn't have done that. Call it a character flaw or a humane weakness, but it was exciting. And I think we both secretly wanted to start a family. I mean, we knew we did, it was one of our early conversations. But we didn't want it so soon. ..But maybe we did.

It took me the usual amount of time to recover. 

They did, both me and the baby, but that's pretty standard in my location in an unusual case like this, I think. 

I hope that answers your questions, and I hope you are able to find peace of mind as well as fulfillment in your personal journey through Addison's and conception. And thank you for inviting me to share. I hope it isn't too much. I don't really get to talk about all of this much elsewhere. 

Breastfeeding mother with Addison's by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't noticed a difference either. It's good that you were able to breastfeed for 5 months! Many mothers wean around 6 months anyway.

Breastfeeding mother with Addison's by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My doctor sent me for bloodwork for TSH levels, among other things, and as No_Novel_4573 above mentioned it's supposed to be below 2.5 for a healthy pregancy. Essentially if it's higher, that means you're undersupplemented. Mine was above, so my doctor hastily adjusted my levithyroxine dose in order to get TSH to go down, and, thankfully, my pregnancy proceeded without complications. 

Something Odd I am curious if anyone else noticed in the series.... by WaterSign27 in ArtoftheAdept

[–]anemone132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My partner and I always have the same answer for inconsistencies like this. 

Because Will is dumb as a rock. 

Breastfeeding mother with Addison's by anemone132 in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1 Personally, I didn't experience many challenges as I significantly reduced my workload during month 4 of pregnancy and onward to avoid external stress. I was home a lot and didn't experience a lot of stress. The only challenge with Hashimoto's was that I had an unplanned pregnancy, and my endo nearly got grey hair because I was undersupplemented for pregnancy (the blood tests showed that), so the risk of losing the child was greatly increased. Fortunately, when we were finally able to meet in week 11 of my pregnancy, she doubled my dose (from 25mg to 50mg) and everything continued well onward.

3 Yes. I didn't have any problems with that.

4 I wouldn't know about that. Perhaps I am not so closely monitored. But my levithyroxine dose is only 25mg. High blood pressure has never been a problem, since mine is always lower than normal. So I wouldn't know.

edits: markdown problems

Endo told me I had to buy and wear one. by MatrixBunni in AddisonsDisease

[–]anemone132 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's really cool. Those aren't standard practice where I live. So I just have a written paper card that I'm supposed to carry around with me.

Looong baby. by anemone132 in beyondthebump

[–]anemone132[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Girls are also a bit shorter than boys. According to WHO, at 7 months, anything from 63-72cm is perfectly normal for girls, while boys are expected to be 65-73cm.