Hair everywhere

One of the things I deal with is excessive hair growth. I have dealt with it in some form since I was a teen. Over the years it has progressed to more areas & just gotten worse. I always figured it was some kind of hormone thing but in the last 10 years we haven’t really had insurance to try doing anything about it. Before that, even when I mentioned it to my doctor, we never did anything about it. He did not understand how much it bothered me. Well, that “bother” has only grown as time has gone along.

Caution: there could be TMI to follow ….

Some of the extra hair I have no issue with in general. Yeah, my legs are hairy & it’s all dark hair. Oh well. I shave. I have for about 36 years now.

The hair on my arms has gotten thicker & darker as I have aged. It got to the point where I just did not feel like a girl anymore. So, after talking several times with my hairdresser of all people, I shaved it! OMG I felt like a girl! I knew it would grow back but until it did, I felt so much more feminine. I did not feel the desire to cover my arms. Granted, my arms are still fatter than I like but that’s another story. So for now, I just shave them every so often. It seems the hair does not grow back as fast, or as thick. Too bad I didn't try this, years ago! LOL

Hair on my belly, happy trail & downward. Yeah. There is a lot. And it’s dark. Not exactly sexy. And yes, over the years I have shaved it many times. Or I have used the hair removal cream. Obviously at the pubic hair line I don’t use creams. And yes, there is a lot down there too. That, doesn't bother me. I can keep it trim, clean or bushy. And it been all those over the years. Like I said, TMI.

But here is one I don’t like … or find sexy. Hair around my areolas. Yup. And in between them. Sigh. Oh the hours I have spent plucking hair there. And the countless ingrown hairs that have required a little extra care there. Not sexy at all. And besides annoying, time consuming! And I’m not talking about thin blonde hairs. No. It’s thick, dark (& now gray!) hairs.

If I would never shave this could easily be me.
But mine extends up on my chin
& also my upper lip

Wait! There’s more … my face. My upper lip, my chin, my neck, my sideburns. And even some strays on my cheeks. We won’t even mention how thick my eyebrows are. My side-burn area I pick at with tweezers. Same goes for the sides of my upper lip. But my chin? Yeah … no. It gets shaved about every other day these days. Sometimes it’s daily, depending on life & sometimes I can go several days & give my face a break. My upper lip & sideburns get waxed every 3-5 weeks. You would think all that plucking would eventually cause the follicles to make smaller finer hairs or just stop. Not for me.

And to think … it could all be caused from an imbalance. Something I have lived with for way too many years. Something I will now work to correct. If any of this makes you look at yourself & wonder … go see your doc! Don’t wait like I did. Well, I still don’t have actual insurance but I am finding a way to do what needs done, for my well being. After all, I’ll be 50 in February. I do not want to live the second half of my life as lazily (& out of balance) as the first half. 

Tomorrow I go back to the doc & we talk results of the bloodwork. Not sure I'll get another entry in before we leave on vacation so I'll update when we get back. And the technical side of hair growth? Yeah I think i can blog about that too.

Feeling Validated

Thinking back to almost my entire adult life I think my hormones/thyroid must have been off (to some degree) the whole time. No doctor has ever taken the time to check. And me? Well, I mostly thought it was just me, and normal. I thought I was just a lazy person. I thought that the lack of desire/focus/motivation/drive was just me … a lazy me. And not really knowing better back then, I never pushed the issue.

I have tried to work with it, overcome it, hide it. I have been successful, but only in mostly small doses. “I don’t feel like doing anything” or "I'll do it later" has come from me way too many times. Way too many. Getting all excited about any number of my projects (loving the whole craft thing, but it's not limited to that) only to have them sit for sometimes years has left me with untold amounts of guilt.

And now, finally, I am getting solid answers? And it’s not all me? It’s not all just my fault & being lazy? What? No way! Yes way. The fact we can now work to fix this, has me both excited & nervous. Why nervous? Well, I have no idea what it will be like to want to do things all the time (or at least more often), for one. What it will be like to actually want to follow through on a project I start. What it will be like to want to go for a walk because I should, both for me & the dog (instead of wanting a nap). What it will feel like to just not feel so lazy all day long, day after day. Another small part of me worries that my blood work will come back normal. Then what? I really am lazy? I’m crazy with my symptoms? LOL Not likely, but it’s how my brain works. We’ll find out on Friday.

As these things begin to happen & answers come, I will try to keep up & share those feelings!

Road to Rebalance

For many years I have dealt with:

Excessive hair growth

Mood swings beyond a menstrual cycle

Fatigue

Lack of focus

Memory loss

No drive/motivation or just short bursts of it

Weight that wont come off

Elevated blood pressure & cholesterol levels

And a few other things

While I *know* the potential cause of much of this, having a doctor say so, makes it more real. What I did not realize is how connected all of this is. While we wait for the blood work to come back to confirm things, he has already told me most of not all of this can be due to hormone levels & thyroid. He predicts my thyroid is low & my hormones are upside down.

 I had my cholesterol checked in 2009 & brought that paper to show him. Only one of the levels actually concerned him. While my blood pressure is slightly elevated according to “standards” he is not concerned. We agree standards are just that, & not right for everyone. I am to eat more protein & salt. And of course, pay close attention to what I crave as that is what my body needs.

I have been learning a lot of things over the years. I talk a great game. I try to do what I say but often fall short. I have felt guilty when I fall short. When I explained the things I have done for my diet & our general food intake, he commended me for being that much ahead of the game.

I have felt guilty over many things that I learned today are not all my fault. Many of the things I have felt guilt over, were because my hormones & thyroid are so very out of whack & have been for a long time. My lack of motivation, lack of focus, lack of desire. Yup. Hormones. Low thyroid. I am anxious to begin a road to rebalance.

You know, I don’t know if I can even begin to tell you just how this has affected my life over the years.

A new journey begins

It has been a long time since I wrote in here. I think perhaps I need to rectify that. I think I have a good reason now.

After about 10 years of not seeing a doctor, I am now seeing one. A Naturopath at that. No, this is not thanks to Obamacare. We can’t afford that. The monthly cost might be okay but the rest is not. And while this alternative is not cheap either, it feels better. With Dr. Hoey being a Naturopath, there is not simply a test for everything & a pill to match.

My journey started yesterday when I enrolled in a direct patient care program. A small local clinic has evolved over the years & is now offering this groundbreaking awesome new care model. When you enroll, you pay a monthly fee. It is based on your age. This fee then allows you to choose your doctor (they currently have 3). You then have access to that doc via cell phone, email & office visits. You can go in as many times as you need in any given month. You get discounts on lab work & prescriptions. Now, this does not seem to be a substitution for serious care or surgeries but will most certainly work for the simple doctor visit stuff.

Today I went & had a meet & greet with my new doctor. He spent almost an hour with me. We went over my small laundry list of issues I would like to find answers to. After listening to me, asking more questions & listening some more, he already had answers & ideas. And thankfully, fairly simple answers as a whole. We drew blood & I will go see him next Friday morning to talk about the results & start my road to wellness.

Until I see him again the only thing I am to work on is getting more protein & salt in my diet. I think I can handle that. I think I will use this to document my journey. And yeah, I’ll go into my laundry list of concerns too. I welcome any reader’s comments & input if you care to follow along.