Lab Results Back - Need More Labs - Stressed Out

Short version:

I got labs back from the 29th. I have an abnormal thyroid test result with an inconsistent normal thyroid test result, so my doctor wants me to come back in for more tests. I don't think she took all of the pertinent thyroid tests, because there are more than two. I have a nodule on my thyroid that my doc claims is too small to worry about (3mm).

I also have very low vitamin D levels and very high sugar levels (though not high enough for preventative care, since I don't meet the requisites for prediabetes).

I'm scared.

This is the long version:

Where I live, there's crisis standards of care.

The VA Hospital takes an overflow of civilians when the neighboring hospitals get full. From what I heard, the VA Hospital is only taking non-Covid ER and non-Covid ICU patients at the moment, to free up space at the civilian hospitals for Covid patients, and to keep space available for veterans who need the VA Hospital for Covid care in the ER and ICU.

That said, I still have to visit the VA Hospital to get my labs done. I last visited them at about 6:40 a.m. on 10/29/21. There was hardly anyone there, and everyone wore a mask. I wore two masks (one N95 with a KN95 on top). I felt somewhat protected.

Then, on Saturday, I received an unexpected message from my primary care. The lab results came back and she message me. Although my lab results aren't yet up online, she messaged me some of the results that were abnormal. She said I would need additional labs to check my thyroid because the two thyroid labs she took (blood tests only) were inconsistent (one showed up as normal range, whereas the other showed up as high - meaning that I have low levels of something). So she wants to run more tests.

Meanwhile, I had already told her about the 3mm nodule on my thyroid, which was detected by the VA Hospital in a different state back in 2019. They said that I needed a follow-up ultrasound in a year, which would have meant 2020 was the year I should have it rechecked to see if it has grown. Well, I moved to a different state in 2019, and then the pandemic hit. Although my records are visible to the new VA, the new VA doesn't operate by the same rules as the old VA, so they don't allow for ultrasounds unless the nodule was larger initially or unless I experience worsening symptoms. I find it unfair that people have to get sick with a stage of cancer or a stage of any preventable illness before something gets checked out. I've read online that many people are under-diagnosed or not even diagnosed with a thyroid condition that actually exists. There are more than two blood tests for thyroid, and she should have ordered all of the tests, instead of making me come back a second time.

She knows I have chronic fatigue syndrome, so it takes me a while to build up my strength again in order to return. Additionally, I just received my third Moderna booster after the labs were drawn, so I want to wait until I'm fully covered by that (which I'm assuming is about 2 to 4 weeks after that jab). I've got enough going on that I really don't need my providers to overlook my other conditions. Our hospitals are still in crisis standards of care, so every visit to the hospital is a huge risk, especially for disabled, high-risk people like me.

Additionally, she said that my vitamin D levels are very low. She told me to double whatever vitamin D I was taking. But I told her that I barely started taking vitamin D (5000 IU with vitamin K, for better absorption). I'll have to ask her if it is too risky to double that, as I don't think that's what she meant. I think one a day would suffice, since I wasn't taking any for over 19 months! I also have been homebound for over 19 months, as I'm still isolating in place. My skin is prone to skin cancer moles, as I've already had three removed in the past. I try to avoid getting that. My dad's side of the family is prone to lupus, so I worry whenever I have low platelet counts (thankfully, she said I didn't have that) or other abnormalities that I had last year (which indicated either kidney or liver issues, but this year those seem to have been normal, unless she took different tests). At any rate, before I even took my labs, I told my primary care that I've had a few years of low vitamin D levels, even before I was on constant isolation mode. So that was no surprise. What is surprising is that she didn't prescribe me the 50,000 IUs of that one drug to help with my vitamin D levels. That's what I was always prescribed in the past. Either they have a shortage because they are using it now on Covid-19 patients as a sort of prophylaxis, or this VA (again) is negating the continuity of care that I've been asking for since 2019 - when I moved to this state.

Adding on to all the above, I now have high blood sugar counts. Thankfully, she said my cholesterol was fine, which is in stark contrast to last year, when my cholesterol counts were very high. But this year, she said that those were within normal range. However, she said that I don't qualify yet for prediabetes, even though I'm just a few points off from that. She basically stated that it's all reversible if I cut down on sugars and carbs. I was most concerned about that, including my weight gain, my stress incontinence, my uterine disorder, my occasionally having the urge to urinate frequently, my occasionally being thirsty all the time, my occasionally having different body temperature feelings, etc. But I think she forgot about what I told her. So, I have to figure this diet on my own.

She did mention in the past that my irritable bowl syndrome is common for people with PTSD, and that the FODMAP may help (though it doesn't help in all cases). She suggested that I try that in conjunction with reducing sugars and carbs. I have no idea what I can or cannot eat anymore. And I also haven't been able to get the upper and lower endoscopies that were scheduled for me in 2019 and then cancelled because I didn't have a known rider to take me home or accompany me on the train or in an Uber. So then I thought I'd be able to get the continuity of care when I transferred my records from one VA to another state's VA, where I'm now at. But no. They won't approve of it now, even though the other VA already approved of it. Then, after that, the pandemic hit. So I'm stuck with just following self-care steps on my own, without being able to see a nutritionist, like they had scheduled for me at the other VA. I seriously think that my rapid weight gain (30 pounds increase within a month) is due to a number of factors, including my IBS, thyroid, insomnia, other risks for metabolic syndrome, and issues within my colon area or lower intestines.

So these are the labs I have to deal with so far.

I'm freaking out.

I am also overdue for an eye exam and periodontal work. I'm very nervous about those two things. The only good thing about the dental is that they make all the veterans take a Covid-19 test the day before their scheduled appointment. They get the test back rapidly, so then if I'm negative, I can return the following day for my dental appointment. That's safer than a week or three days prior, and they claim that all the dentists and orthodontists and hygienists wear masks. Not all of them are vaccinated, and they claim in this state that it is "discriminatory" to ask if a provider is vaccinated. If I were in the other (blue) state's VA, they would have no problem. Also, when I asked my mental health providers outside of the VA, as well as the recreational rehabilitation therapist within the VA here in this state, they were more than open to telling me that they were vaccinated. So a reluctance on them claiming vaccination status tells me that they are likely unvaccinated. So now I have to highly rely on their cleaning and mask-wearing abilities, in addition to my vaccinations.

I really cannot afford to get sick with Covid-19 on top of all that I have. It doesn't matter if I'm not severe enough to go to the ER or ICU, and even then, they are on crisis standards of care, so lots of people aren't being seen for certain things here. But I can't afford for my conditions to worsen because of long-Covid or due to the effects of Covid-19 exacerbating my other conditions. It's unfair for people to blame me, a trauma victim, for bringing my risks upon myself, or for stating that I don't deserve to live or get treated as much as other able-bodied people are. It makes me feel like I'm being threatened over and over again, and it really worsens my PTSD and dissociative disorders.

Meanwhile, people are being mean, which exacerbates my cortisol levels, my PTSD, my insomnia, my metabolic syndrome, my weight gain, my hormones, my thyroid, my dissociative disorders, and more. I can't keep running into stressor after stressor after stressor. It's like they are purposely trying to kill people like me off, and they will continue to do so if it means getting what they politically want, or being supreme, or winning the invisible wars they think is going on, or weeding out the weak, or whatever their extremists views are. And maybe I'm paranoid, but I swear that I'm not getting the same treatment as others, or that I'm at least not getting the same treatment as I once had in a different state's VA system.

Going to a civilian doctor would be 10 times worse, because their civilian doctors out here are not overseen by the federal government, and therefore are under the directives of people like Dr. Cole, who believes in ivermectin for treatment of Covid-19, among other conspiracy theories.

I'm really scared for my health and safety out here. I want to get all this done, but it's a risk to be seen by any doctor in this state. It's hard to trust them, being a minority at least. Then again, many veterans would also say that it's hard to trust the VA system altogether.

I am so very, very sorry you are being burdened with these heavy medical conditions. That is heartbreaking. I suffer from low thyroid and take medicine for it and I am pre-diabetic, just one point away from diabetes so I can definitely relate to what you are going through. Hope things improve for you!

Your whole situation sounds exhausting and I’m sorry you’re running into so many nasty, selfish a-holes who don’t care about anyone except themselves.

Yaowen, (((safe hugs))) I am so sorry you are struggling with similar stuff! I hear that there are ways to reverse diabetes as well as prediabetes, so if you are only one point away, you can try to maybe alter some things - your sleep, your coping, your stress levels (by setting boundaries and limitations), your diet (by using different methods they have out there; I'm trying to figure out which one - the Obesity Code book, the Diabetes Code book, or Dr. Gourmet's diet plan), and other lifestyle changes (such as having a consistent routine, walking more - even if it's indoors and pacing, and getting movement and/or exercise in every day - even if it's just stretching).

My chronic fatigue syndrome is what kills my ability to manage all the above, and it affects my immune system, weight, and probably all the above. It's the CFS/ME stuff that really bothers me the most, and now this looming issue with a possible recurring/chronic MONO/EBV (which many scientists claim is behind CFS/ME to begin with - at least some versions of the chronic fatigue). I was hoping that the long-Covid studies on fatigue would demonstrate that chronic fatigue syndrome is real (not fictitious, somatoform, a personality disorder, or some otherwise mental health issue). But they are differentiating long-Covid fatigue from chronic fatigue syndrome, which does a disservice to sufferers of CFS/ME. Many discoveries have accidentally been made by investigating something entirely different, like Pavlov's dog.

Medical issues affect our mental health. I wish there was more parity in society as well, where our conditions weren't stigmatized.

Thank you, RoxanneToto! It's not really people I know, but it's more along the lines of my reading online comments on sites like news reports or on social media (I'm no longer on social media though, unless I read the online comments from Twitter or YouTube or WordPress or some other site that doesn't require an account).

I am dealing with not having as good of doctors at this VA as I did when I was in a different state and at a better VA. I miss my old VA.

I’ve heard that doctors don’t always check your thyroid levels correctly. They don’t do all the tests they are able to do. And levels they may call normal are in reality not actually normal.

I had bad cholesterol last year and I was told to avoid basically every thing I eat. I didn’t listen but I did drop 24 pounds. I have had a few lab works done since this past May but I haven’t heard that it’s gotten worse or better. Just that things are ok enough to continue with procedures. I also have highly suggested kidney disease but it hasn’t been an issue.

But because of the meds I have to be on now for the rest of my life it would be very bad if I developed diabetes or high cholesterol. Both run in my family and my dad died of complications from diabetes. My mom was prediabetic but she got it under control with diet and walking every time she can. So I am worried and I’m trying to watch things even though I like to eat unhealthy stuff. I have to have lab work done regularly now the doctor told me he needs to keep an eye on my red blood count. I don’t know what would be wrong if it was too high or too low.

I’m sorry your going through all this. It sucks having medical issues on top of mental health problems.

Thanks, Mountaindewed.

I'm planning on buying books.

One of my previous physician assistants recommended "The Obesity Code." The same author also wrote "The Diabetes Code." But those recommend intermittent fasting, which is really tough to do.

My current primary care physician recommended Dr. Gourmet. He was an internist (medical doctor), or perhaps still is, but he's also a culinary artist. He is aware of what foods we should and shouldn't eat. He has a website, which I linked above. He also sells books at his website, through Target, and perhaps also through Amazon. I purchased one of his books, but I plan to get all of them. His plan seems more reasonable, but not enough to reverse prediabetes.

I plan on buying books for chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis as well as reversing diabetes as well as losing weight when you're in your 40s/50s and have a chronic health conditions/mobility problems.

I do plan on changing my diet, but I did need to store processed foods in case there were shortages. I don't have a vehicle, and I don't know many people here. I can't ask them to go grocery shopping for me, so online and door deliveries are all I can do safely. The problem here is that they cater to able-bodied in-person shoppers, so sometimes they don't allow certain products to be sold through door deliveries or shipping orders. They will tend to run out of the healthy foods, so then I'm stuck with processed. I stocked up on processed foods just to survive many bouts of potential shortages. Our state is in crisis standards of care because our test positivity and cases and deaths are so high, and our ICUs are completely packed or overflowing. They even ran out of morgue space in our area. It's really bad. So, if it weren't for this pandemic, my blood tests would have been normal (I never had these issues before the pandemic, when I was last tested in 2019).

My health deteriorated from this pandemic (not from Covid, as I've never tested positive for Covid - unless it was a false negative). I was sick with bronchitis and some undetectable respiratory illness in March 2020, but I was prescribed a Z-pack and felt better nearly 3 months later. My abnormal labs began there and then worsened just this year when I retook them.

It was a huge step for me to quit smoking, but even then, I'm still at the same risk level as a smoker with severe Covid-19. So there are limited benefits to quitting smoking. I quit smoking in March 2020. However, my health still deteriorated, and my labs only worsened. My weight gain was largely due to quitting smoking, and my pandemic stressors only worsened my health all around.

Until this pandemic goes away, my body is going to be in fight-or-flight mode. This only makes everything more likely - obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and more. Having PTSD is like being a smoker; the risks of death remain, and it's not like you can just switch PTSD off or "quit PTSD" like you can with quitting smoking. Your triggers are automatic, so the best you can do is manage your PTSD. But the PTSD itself is a risk factor for early mortality. It's scary and depressing.

I feel more of the betrayal trauma now than I ever did. I feel my abusers literally ruined my life.

(((Mountaindewed))) I hope you feel better all around, and I hope you just have a cold. I saw your other post. Thanks for replying to my post.

Also, I hope you are able to get your health improved. I'm glad your mom reversed prediabetes.