VelvetFreak's Investing Adventures

badmemory

I wonder why some of them have to be so officious?  Most are really nice.  I had what is supposed to be an annual blood test on Tuesday (3 years) & we were talking & I told her I was having really bad boiler problems & my normal guy was not being helpful.  She gave me the number of her boilerman.  It was really cold here on Tuesday though & I could have done without having to wait outside for her to come & get me, but that is how my surgery are doing it now.

Just as a matter of interest as I think you are in Australia, but please note my username, does it show your time or the british time?

VelvetFreak

@badmemory it shows my time! 

VelvetFreak

I had a nice Saturday Got my hair done this morning and then went grocery shopping and spent the rest of the day going a couple loads of laundry and not much else. I finished a book that I’d left half un-read in my AppleBooks app for quite some time. We Were Liars be E. Lockhart. I give it three stars because it was a bit pretentious and difficult to follow and had an annoying twist that wasn’t very interesting. But I did like the overall theme of the book.  

Last night I ordered a Christmas present for my bestie from As0s (a sweater and some socks) and threw in a black dress and some sandals for myself to get the free postage. My quest to find ‘normal’ pair of black sandals has been never ending and I don’t have high hopes for these ones so they will be getting sent back stat if they’re no good. And one can never have too many black dresses 😇. I’m trying to get more everyday clothes in my wardrobe so I don’t wear my favourite things out so quickly. Must admit that I do despise summer fashion and only like winter clothes 😭 The next thing I need to buy is some black denim shorts which I’m not looking forward to as I know it will be difficult to find ones that fit properly. But I need something to wear other than dresses and sometimes you just need shorts 😒

There’s 3 more paydays left in the year and am thinking of putting off buying any more stocks for the year as things seem a bit tumultuous with the Christmas holidays impending plus this new Covid variant. 

VelvetFreak

Hellooo diary. Thought I'd better pop in for a mid-week update. 
I had a Drs appointment on Monday and found out that my thyroid has gone the opposite way and is now Hypo (under-active) so I've had to stop my medication immediately and had another ultrasound yesterday. I have to get another bloodtest in 1.5 weeks and then back to the doctor again for the results. Makes a lot of sense now that I think about it, I was gaining weight for no real reason and feeling quite lethargic. Feeling slightly better now that I've been off the tablets for a few days. Apparently this isn't all that uncommon as the thyroid eventually burns itself out from being over-active and swings back the other way. 

Yesterday was payday and I decided to put $500 into stocks, $50 into crypto and sent $250 to the offset. I will probably save all my extra money from my next few paychecks as I have decided to approach the cabinet company who did my kitchen renovation to do some extra built-in storage for me in a spot that's near-ish to the kitchen. The area is otherwise wasted space and I've been wracking my brain over what to do with it for a long time. So I will get a tall cabinet for the vacuum/mop/brooms etc and cabinets/countertop that I can use as a coffee bar for my kettle and coffee maker etc. I'll call them tomorrow and see if I can book someone to come out and give me a quote. I had been considering for a long time getting cabinets from the hardware store and doing it myself but I have a feeling that getting the kitchen company on won't be much more expensive. Don't know why I didn't consider this earlier but I suppose that's just what my brain is like at the moment! At least if I get them to do it, it will all be matching and I won't have to battle with doing it myself. And being a more permanent fixture, it will add value to the apartment. I'm very excited to have decided this and to know that I won't have to trip over the vacuum and mop for much longer!

Oh and I forgot to mention that my best friend from high school just had a baby! So I am off to visit her and another friend this weekend which I'm very excited about. They are considering moving to the town that I live in which makes me so excited as it would be great to have her closer. I had my whooping cough booster vaccine yesterday and must say my arm is hecking sore! I'm excited to have something fun to do this weekend and will leave work early on Friday to make the two hour drive and stay overnight. We are going to go Christmas shopping at one of the big shopping malls. Life finally feels like it's getting back to normal which makes me really happy. This new C0vid variant had better stay away from here!

badmemory

So glad your thyroid is getting sorted out.  It is a really annoying gland that most people don't know exists until it decides to throw a wobbler.

Cherryfudge

I hope your thyroid stabilises soon. I imagine it's a bit of a seesaw while they work out the perfect dose.

New cabinets are a great idea! Houses so seldom have proper vacuum cleaner/ironing board storage!

VelvetFreak

I had a fun Saturday shopping with my friend and then going to see my other friend and meeting her baby! Seeing someone I went to high school with holding their baby is quite possibly the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. I know that 28 is not young at all to have a baby but she's really the first of my actual friends (aside from much older work colleagues) to have one and I am just like 😱😱 in total shock. We have been friends for almost 15 years and she's always been the crazier/more irresponsible one and for a while she didn't seem to want kids so it's all a bit bizarre. She seems really happy and her partner seems like a great dad and is really helpful and supportive but it will never not seem weird to me 😂

Anywho, I drove the 2 hours home that night and I didn't even get home that late (11pm) but I was absolutely exhausted and could barely function at all on Sunday. Had a blood test this morning (a few days earlier than the doctor told me to) as am worried my thyroid is going crazy again. Had to haul self to work today and it was an absolute drag and I had a lot of trouble concentrating. Couldn't get a good Dr appt. til Thursday but if I feel really bad again tomorrow I might ring and try and get something earlier. 

It's such a strange tired feeling to try and describe. I feel fine but then when I try to get up and do something it's near impossible and I have to force myself to do it, but once I'm up and walking around it's not that bad. It's kind of like being in slow motion 🤨

I keep meaning to write down this but keep forgetting, but I am 99% sure that I've had some kind of thyroid issue since my early teen years or possibly even before then as I have always felt this strange tiredness to varying degrees over the years. I've had on-and-off sleep issues and insomnia since I was a really young child. Always had a really strange appetite and sometimes would want to eat a lot and then other times would hardly eat anything. I remember being so tired at some points during my teenage years that I struggled to make it up the stairs at school and coming home every afternoon and falling asleep from 3-7pm. For my whole life I've struggled to keep up with the amount of normal "life" activities that other people seem to be able to manage and it's all starting to make sense now 🧐. I always thought I was just a tired because I never slept properly which is probably the case but perhaps this is the reason. 

badmemory

What you are describing sounds like underactive to me.  Hope they sort you out asap.  The good thing is that it can stop that feeling of there is "something wrong with my head to feel like this"   Then there are the accusations of eating food & denying you are eating it & that is why you are putting on weight.  I wonder if you have one of those rare thyroids that goes from working overtime to deciding not to work at all.  I do hope not as they are harder to treat.  It may be easier to kill the gland & take the right meds.

Cherryfudge

I agree with @badmemory, it sounds underactive to me. Mine is unstable so most of the time the medication is perfect but sometimes I get a few tired days and very occasionally I have a day with so much energy I could do anything.

I liken the tiredness to a car with a faulty battery that stays charged when it's moving but drains when it stops.

I hope they can give you an accurate diagnosis, it's not a good one to have to live with as all body systems can be affected even though there's nothing wrong with them in themselves. (In my case different ones are affected at different times).

There's a website called Hypothyroid Mom which I found quite helpful.

VelvetFreak

Hello diary! 
The thyroid saga continues. I felt a bit strange at work yesterday around 2pm. Was sitting at my desk minding my own business when I felt my heart rate get really fast all of a sudden. Thought I was going crazy but then got a warning alert on my Apple Watch telling me that I had an increased heart rate while being inactive so at that point I knew I wasn't making it up. My heart was racing and hammering but other than that I didn't feel too bad (120 beats per minute while sitting at my desk doing basically nothing). Called my doctor's office and they would not let me speak to a doctor or nurse and had no available appointments which was very annoying. Contemplated hauling self to the hospital or calling the ambulance if it got any worse. Called my friend who's a nurse for moral support and felt a bit better after a while. Ended up dragging myself to the blood testing place that's just down the street from my office. Figured I'd get a blood test while I felt not-so-great to get a more accurate reading and also figured I'd tell them what was going on and get their opinion on what I should do, or at least if I got really sick I'd be at some kind of medical facility as I was at work by myself that day. The guy who did my blood test was a little concerned but not overly so I went back to work. I felt better by the time I was ready to go home although my heart rate was still a bit high.

Anyway, I went to the doctor for my appointment this afternoon and sure enough my thyroid is Hyperactive again so I'm back on some medication. Got a referral to go and see an Endocrinologist which is good but not sure now long it will take to get an appointment. Would you believe, the doctor forgot to talk about the results of my ultrasound and she forgot to give me a blood test form! She could not get me out of there fast enough. Luckily I have the special blood test card that my previous doctor gave me and I'm supposed to do weekly appointments now so I can talk about the ultrasound next time but ugh! I am so fed up. My previous doctor left the practice and I can't find him on google or I'd go to wherever he has moved to I've seen this doctor twice and she seems like a total air head and she just doesn't care. Last time they let me leave without getting my whooping cough vaccine that I had booked! Not sure what it's like in the UK but we have a major issue with this here in Aus. The doctors just do the bare minimum and kick you out, never really ask any questions or anything extra. I think I will find a new doctor but will need to think about what to do. 

In other news, between buying christmas presents, paying for medical stuff and buying all those extra bits of groceries that you end up needing when you move house...I currently have pretty much $0 left in my normal accounts. I'm determined not to access the money that I've got in the offset so will need to wait until payday on Tues to buy anything else 😂. Thankfully I've got plenty of food in the house. I'll be having a quiet weekend as more than likely I won't be feeling well by that point and will be happy to sit around. I don't feel too bad all things considered, but really struggle waking up in the morning so will be nice to catch up on sleep.