desperate measures

So the painful hands have been a round-the-clock thing since I posted about it, and it sure feels like it started more than a week ago.  I swear I haven't been doing anything more strenuous than typing, and that doesn't seem like it should make my hands kill me all day long. 

It would be one thing if it were just a little morning unpleasantness, but this past week they've been hurting at the level where I can't ignore the  fact they're hurting.  Last night dicing vegetables for dinner was not fun, and just now, at 5:10 PM, typing is also not fun.  I have been absolutely scrupulous about my diet this past week, too - no wheat at all, so I can't blame that.  I've had some dairy, but even that has been limited to coffee once or twice, and the cheese I put in the grits yesterday (and I only had about a half-cup serving).  So whatever is causing this, I don't it's diet-related.

Yet another thing that has been driving me crazy for the past few weeks is having an out-of-whack  personal thermostat.  I'm simultaneously hot and cold.  I break out in just enough of a sweat to feel clammy when feeling too hot wears off minutes later.  I've taken my temperature a few times and it's always low, like 97-point-something degrees, so I don't think I'm actually sick... I just feel off.

Last but not least, my weight is creeping up even though, as I said, I've been strict about what I'm eating.  Usually I can drop a few pounds over as many days with intermittent fasting, but that's not working at all right now.  I literally ate a total of 6 Cadbury Mini Eggs from the Easter candy that hung around after the holiday.  I'm drinking water throughout the day and allow myself 1 glass of wine. With this level of austerity, I should have no trouble fitting into my summer pants... but I don't, even though I did, two weeks ago. 

I ran a symptom search on the hot-and-cold thing and came up with... thyroid issues! 🙄 (I started using Emojipedia so I could have some non-verbal communication with my students, like thumbs up, or a trophy, or just a smile so they would know when I say, "No problem!" I really mean it.)

Then I vaguely recalled when I went off last time (turns out it was in 2007) I was OK for a while and started feeling progressively worse over time until I finally went back on.  I tried to find the timing by looking through old blog posts, but I could find when I went back on.  All I know is, I did, and I felt better.  So when my hands were so bad yesterday, I decided to use my last refill of my T3 (Cytomel) to see if going back on it helps.  Picked it up today and gobbled one done. 

I really do hope it helps.  I have too much on my plate.  I don't have time for this nonsense!