sigh

Well, my endcrinologist appt was this afternoon and things well................
I left the office bawling.........

To start off, I was weighed. I weighed 93 pounds (after an Idian buffet lunch and trip to Starbucks). This is 3 pounds less than my last appt, but I feel its an unfair picture as I've been sick and have had little appetite. My weight stabilized sometime around Thanksgiving and has been stable around 95 pounds for about 4-6 weeks until I fell sick with this cold. My doc's not happy and is concerned. He aid if i were older, he'd think cancer. He was very curious to know when my last breast exam was, if breast cancer runs in my family (my paternal grandmother is a breast cancer survivor), and stressed the need for breast self exams. He said if by my next appt I have not put on more weight, we'll have to start doing more testing to see if i have any nutrient absorption problems or cancer. He said he's accustomed to seeing a lil' weight loss once patients start thyroid replacement meds but that this is an extreme amt of weight (~20 pounds) and is concerning b/c it's seemingly unexplained.

Now for my lack of period. He said he's not super concerned about this b/c I am still nursing. He did however say that he thinks it's also related to my weight loss. He said, just like girls with anorexia, when your weight reaches a certain level, your reproductive hormones go all wonky. He said we could try provera to start it but he'd (and i'd) rahter not since I'm nursing. He's gonna check my estrogen and another reproductive hormone with my next labs (even though when the previous crazy endo tested them they were in the normal range).

Which brings me to nursing..........he wants me to wean soon. To which I replied,"Hell no." Well not exactly, but I said I wouldn't even begin to consider cutting out feeds until Harper turns 1 and will continue nursing until 18 mos. (or whenever Harper chooses to stop). I asked him if it was a problem and he said, "No, nursing just uses up a lot of calories." I know i'm eating more calories, so I'm gonna continue nursing Harper as long as my supply provides for her.

Lastly, Lowe baby #3 needs to wait. I know we can't really go about trying to have another w/o my period anyway, but he said the soonest he felt comfortable with us trying will be in 6 months.

He asked me to make an appt with my ob for a bone density scan b/c he's concerned about osteoporosis. Mark and I already discussed that we feel like it's a good idea to make an appt with my ob anyway b/c we want to discuss with her our baby plans and how my thyroid and weigth are being treated.

On a good note, my thyroid is much improved. My TSH is now 3.6 (remember it was almost 93!). He said my hair loss should taper off and is normal (just like it is post partum) within 3-5 months of beginning hormone replacement. I'm to continue taking my current dosage of thyroid replacement meds and follow up with him in March. I have 6 labs that will be drawn prior to my appt (with 2 of them unnecessary if my period returns before then.)

So there it is, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly...........