Trusting My Gut: Blending My Intuition with Science for the Best Possible Outcomes
Hi Everyone!
This month I am dedicating my editorial to both glaucoma and thyroid information as January is both glaucoma and thyroid awareness month. So here is the journey I have had with both of these important subjects.
It is wonderful to be feeling better (FINALLY) and writing to you in 2025! 2024 ended up being quite the year for me, personally. In the spring I started to feel like something was off in my throat. Nothing was visible from the outside and I couldn’t feel any strange lumps or bumps. I felt a little odd swallowing sometimes but nothing strange consistently so my doc and I agreed to let it ride for a bit.
My labs for my thyroid were within normal limits, and I had gotten an ultrasound of my thyroid two years ago. I had not gotten any follow up requests or reminders that it was time to come in for a checkup. My thyroid hasn’t been working well since I was 42. I had never had a thyroid ultrasound until two years ago when a number of my friends who also have thyroid problems told me they got routine ultrasounds every one to two years to ensure all was well. They also all went to a doctor who is known for being the best in the area.
I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong so I got my current doc to send in a referral to a thyroid specialist. I was able to see him at the end of September. He immediately found a nodule that looked suspicious in the left side of my thyroid. I went back the following week for a biopsy. A week later, I got the call that the doc wanted to see me ASAP. I found out I did indeed have cancer. Happily I was able to get scheduled for surgery at Duke, which is over two hours away, for mid-December. I let the surgeon’s office know I would gladly take a cancellation if it meant I could have it out earlier. The surgeon called me the night of my 60th birthday and asked if I would take a cancellation that would be a month earlier. Of course I said “YES! Please and THANK YOU!”
All went great and recovery was going along and then I got sick. I thought it was a sinus / bronchitis type of thing which I had earlier in November. I had switched to a concierge doctor who is more of an active manager role than a regular primary doc. (I write about how fabulous they are in my book.) My wonderful new doc could see how sick I was and checked my blood count after tests for Covid, flu, RSV and Strep and a chest x-ray all came back negative. She was BRILLIANT and thought outside the box. She saw me a week later and rechecked my blood count since my white count had been high. She also decided to test me for Pertussis / Whooping Cough even though I never once “Whooped”. Well, she right! Even though I had gotten a vaccine booster in 2020 that contained the Pertussis vaccine, I still somehow got it! I was so grateful that I had the booster since the case was awful and likely would have been much worse if I hadn’t had it.
Both these stories had great endings because I TRUSTED my gut / God when I “knew” something was wrong. I pushed on for answers because I could not get comfortable with the idea that we could wait until something showed up. My new doc also followed her gut by getting the blood test on me that showed I did indeed have Pertussis! My white count had jumped even higher on the second blood count check and would have been a real cause for concern along with how sick I was if she hadn’t followed her gut / God and had me tested for an old contagious bug!
I ask all of you to PLEASE trust yourselves!!!! You all know your body better than anyone and know if something feels off even if you can’t explain why or what is wrong. If you are a parent – or a spouse, you KNOW when something is off with your spouse or child. Please BELIEVE IN YOURSELF and your knowledge. We don’t give ourselves enough credit. Whether or not you believe in a particular religion, higher power or not – consider that nagging feeling your “higher self”. I know that you understand what I am trying to explain. If you doubt me then just think about how my thyroid cancer was stopped before it could really start.
The other thing about thyroid issues is that your thyroid gland controls how your body works and balances. There are a number of different blood tests that should be run that will expose what is working and what is not working with your thyroid. If your child stops growing prematurely – have their thyroid checked. Often it can mean that their thyroid isn’t working properly. For the rest of us, please talk with your doctor about checking the base levels of your thyroid at whatever interval they recommend. Hair loss and weight issues and sometimes even sleep issues can all be attributed to thyroid disorders.
Keeping Your Eyes in Working Order
Another sneaky thing in our bodies that can have serious and sometimes irreversible effects is our ocular pressure / eye pressure. All of us have fluid in our eyes that allow our eyes to work properly. We all also have drains to ensure that excess fluid safely drains out. Unfortunately, they don’t always work.
Glaucoma is basically what they call it when the fluid in your eye does not drain properly and so it “squashes / presses“ on your optical nerve causing damage. If the pressure is not relieved by eye drops, laser surgery, or another procedure it can squash the optic nerve to the point where it no longer works and, without treatment, you will go blind or have impaired vision. Our dad taught us to always ask the person looking at the inside of your eye to let you know if there is any “cupping” that is the first physical sign that something is wrong other than just having your eye pressure taken.
There are two kinds of glaucoma – Narrow angle and Open or Wide angle glaucoma. If you have Narrow angle glaucoma, then you can have it controlled with laser surgery. The surgeon will cut a tiny drainage hole in your eye so that the fluid has another way of escaping when there is too much.
Unfortunately, Wide or Open angle glaucoma is a bit more complicated. Our dad had this kind of glaucoma. Back in the 1970s they did not know as much as they do now. He had too much fluid, but the way your eye is formed if you have the Wide / Open angle does not work the way it does for Narrow angle glaucoma. There is no simple laser surgery to correct it. Instead you can have various procedures done to help your eye release the extra fluid but it must be monitored and your eye pressure checked regularly.
Glaucoma can completely kill your optic nerve or damage it. The worst part about it is often silent – you may not ever feel any pain or discomfort. This is what makes it so dangerous and why it is so very important to have your optic nerve and your optic pressure checked at least once a year. One last gut / God story.
Because of what happened to our dad, and the fact that I too have Open or Wide angles like dad, I have always gotten my pressure checked at least every six months. When I was in my early thirties I got the feeling that I should have my pressure checked every three months even though the eye doctors all said it wasn’t necessary. Trusting my gut / God I continued to do as I had and would have my optic nerve and pressure checked every six months, and then would stop into an optical store in the mall to have the eye pressure checked in the middle so that I was having the pressure checked every three months.
Because of my allergies and asthma I have been on a lot of steroids over the years. This can increase your eye pressure. I was thirty four or so when surprise surprise, my pressure was double it’s usual 14. I have been on eye drops to lower my pressure ever since and, knowing my pressure is well controlled, I am comfortable having my eyes checked just every six months. Who knows if I would have ended up with optic nerve cupping and glaucoma damage to my nerve and my sight. It may or may not have been okay. But after seeing how hard life is when you can no longer see, drive, etc… I consider myself Blessed that by trusting that funny not so good feeling that won’t go away for saving me from finding out firsthand what my dad went through.
Please make sure that you get the standard blood work including thyroid levels, and a complete eye exam at least once a year to ensure that you are healthy! You can find out more about these things at these websites –
Thyroid – https://www.thyroid.org/thyroid-information/
Glaucoma – https://glaucoma.org/understanding-glaucoma
Prayers for all who are impacted by the fires in California. As well as those in my state of North Carolina and neighboring states that are still struggling without homes and roads because of hurricane Helene last year.
Remember to ALWAYS trust the voice inside of you!!
Much Love,
Lili