Beauties and The Beast

My dad always called these flowers "Beauties," because he said that's what his mother called them. They are wild evening primrose, which grow along our highways in Texas in the spring, along with the bluebells, indian paintbrush and other pretty wildflowers. Thank you Ladybird Johnson.

I put them here because I didn't want to post a picture of a thyroid (the beast). These are much prettier. :o)

It turns out I have hyperthyroidism, which means overactive thyroid. I have almost every symptom the young endocrinologist asked about, and she was surprised that no one had ordered a thyroid panel years ago, based on my heart rate alone (it's way high).

The cause of overactive thyroid could be Graves disease, multinodular goiter, adenoma, or thyroiditis. Treatment will depend on the cause. I'll be going in for a thyroid uptake scan soon, and she wants another thyroid panel done. She told me to go ahead with the ultrasound on Thursday, too. She believes the dizziness is a result of the hyperthyroidism, but I'm going to keep the ENT appointment in December, just in case it's an inner ear thing.

I'm learning a lot about the thyroid. I had no idea how it works and how important it is to every area of the body. We are truly miraculously made.

I'm relieved to know there is a reason for how I've been feeling, and that something can be done to make things better. God bless doctors and scientists!