::Dr. Bolte Update::

My trip to NY was good. I really enjoyed walking around and seeing the sites. Dr. Bolte was nice and spent about 3 1/2 hours with me but I am unsure of how I feel about it. He had me do a stool tests with Genova Diagnostics and also a leaky gut test. I was somewhat disappointed because he is known for solving medical mysteries but for now he is going down the same road as every other doctor - bacteria, leaky gut, stool, etc. I feel I have addressed those issues extensively and that there is something else going on. I am still waiting on the test results.

In the meantime I have had bloody urine twice, flank pain that has now stopped, blood in my stool, and am more fatigued. A urinalysis revealed a pretty bad kidney infection. To avoid taking antibiotics I started taking D-Mannose and hope it will clear it up. I guess it could explain why I have been feeling even more fatigued and why my WBC keeps going down.

I also had some more blood tests done and my aldosterone continues to be high - even higher than the first time. The question is why. The abodminal CT would have revealed an adrenal tumor. I guess it could be a pituitary tumor but I doubt it. So there must be some external reasong for it (secondary hyperaldosteronism). High aldosterone will cause loss of potassium which can result in edema - I sure have a lot of that!

There was another disappointing thing about Dr. Bolte. He feels that Synthroid is better than Armour which I SO do not agree with. He also feels I need to stop taking hydrocortisone and my thyroid medication. That's great - I am all for getting off meds - but with all the stress we currently have trying to move there is no way I can make it without hydrocortisone. I feel I need to stay on it a little longer until we have moved and are settled in. Furthermore, I already gained 14 lbs which I would like to lose. Going off thyroid meds sure won't help me do so.

In an effort to get some hormonal balance I contacted Dr. Franklin's receptionist. He is an old friend from Austin that initially helped me with bio-identical hormones. There is an annual fee for seeing him but it's only $295. Given the fact that some doctors charge that for one visit I didn't think it was bad at all. I was asking some more questions about consultations, fees, etc. and also if he is familiar with hydrocortisone and cytomel (they thyroid med I currently take) and his receptionist said he would waive the annual fee AND he is very familiar with cytomel. I felt SO relieved. I used to trust him with my hormones and while it is hard to trust anybody at this point because I have been misdiagnosed and made worse so many times, if I can't trust him I don't know who I would trust. So it looks like I will start "seeing" him again and I am praying that he can bring my body back into balance. I have been feeling SO miserable and just want to be better.

I am also still on GAPS. I started the intro on 04.20.2009, made it about 7 days, then messed up with too much honey and nut butter. The latter is not supposed to be introduced until stage four or five I believe. So today I am starting over. I am hoping that working with Dr. Franklin on my hormones and doing GAPS will finally allow me to get back to where I need to be. I am SO tired of feeling lousy and having a pregnant looking belly every day since November.

Speaking of pregnant - I watched Knocked Up today again and I cried during the birth. There are many reasons I regret that I had a hysterectomy, and sometimes it's because I cannot have children. There are days - like today- when I am SO sad about the fact that I will never know what it feels like to have a life growing inside of me. And that I will never experience the love you can only have for a child - your own child. I have made a lot of wrong decisions in the past few years and I hope that going forward I will make the right decisions. I am praying for wisdom and clarity.