the scriptorium

Sunday, February 13, 2005

One more quick thing before I head off to bed tonight. I held a bit of a ritual ceremony today. Last week, I went to my endocrinologist for a follow-up visit for the Graves' Disease. This visit was a 4-month follow-up rather than the usual 6-month visit, because back in October my thyroid levels were a little off and my doctor wanted to make sure I wasn't out of remission. Anyway, things seemed to go pretty well during the visit last week--she said that my thyroid looked good, as in, not swollen or anything, and that she'd let me know when I needed to come back after the blood work results were in. Yesterday, I got my little notice in the mail, letting me know the results. The thyroid is normal, and I don't have to go back again for one year! So, the ritual. I had, in my kitchen cabinet, kept a bottle of the medication that I had been on for two years, PTU (or propylthiouracil, for you doctoral types). I had kept it from last year when Dr. Boggess had told me that it looked like I was in remission, just in case she decided she was wrong. There was about two months' supply in there, and I hated to throw them out and then find out I'd have to go back on the meds. I don't have to pay a lot for them, since I have good health insurance, but I hated to waste them if I'd end up needing them. So, when I got my letter from the doctor, I gathered up the pills, which of course by now were expired, and took them to the bathroom and poured them into the toilet and flushed. What a great feeling that was! Now I can start thinking about getting into shape between now and my next visit in a year. It'd be very cool to go into her office all fit and stuff. I think she's finally getting the idea that I meant it when I told her the first time we met that, as glad as I was to meet her, this would not be a life-long relationship that we were forging, not in the medical sense anyway.

posted by #Debi at 11:32 PM | permalink | 0 comments