confused

May 20, 2000

I don't even know where the hell to begin with this.

I don't know if he's dwarf, but I think we have all the measurements

necessary to sew this guy a suit for his wedding.

Nick Scalan

marlin@...

http://marlin.lonestar.texas.net

****************************************

* The voices in my head only bother me *

* when they don't speak English *

****************************************

confused

First, I am not a dwarf or a knoen carrier. I do not discriminateagainst

dwarfs/little people or anyone else. My problem is that myfamily is

concerned about me and my choice for a life partner. Myfamily seems to

think my fiance is a carrier of the dwarfism gene. They say that his

characteristics are obvious and that I would haveto be crazy not to see it.

Even if he is, I do not care. I love himvery much and want to spend my life

with him no matter what. But Ido feel I should know either way because we

plan on having xhildrenlater on. Is it possible that he is a carrier and

that his physicalcharacteristics show he is a carrier? I looked at a short

list ofpossible charateristics but I really don't understand many of

thedescriptions. He is about 5'8 " , which I know is shorter thanaverage. He

has a pig-like nose ( I think its cute) but his naselpassages don't look

small; they are actually a little big. His jawdoes not seem pronounced to

me but to my family it does. His teethare not at all crowded together, they

are actually spaced a littleapart. His neck is 16 1/2 " and his arms are

32/33 in a dress shirt. His inseam is 30 " . I'm not sure of any other

physicalcharacteristics...if he were a " dwarf " , would it not be obvious?

orcan a carrier have a few traits but not be extremely short? Can youplease

help me????? Curious, Jessie

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best friends, most artistic, class clown Find 'em here:

1/4054/9/_/77518/_/958877147/

------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 8, 2002

Hello )

My advice is to just be patient...it all takes time...eat

right...exercise...do all that you know to do for your physical

health...and then be patient...and hey I don't mind the whinning. )

~Amy~

P.s. Are you paying attention to your mental and spiritual health? as

well?

> Hello, everyone!

>

> I hope you will all forgive me while I whine for a minute. I'd

call

> a friend but then I have to translate all the med. stuff and it

ruins

> the whining.

>

> In May, I went on 1 grain (60 mg.) of armour thyroid and I felt

great

> for the first time in years! I was very excited to also lose a

> significant amount of weight. (I lost 20 lbs. from May 1 to June

> 1).

>

> Since June 1 I have been unable to lose weight regardless of what I

> do (I only gained back 3 lbs.). Then I started being forgetful, my

> hair started falling out, I was having extremely bad mood swings,

and

> my menstrual cycle was disrupted. I went to the doctor the other

day

> to have my tests done again, convinced everything was out of whack.

>

> I just got my test results back and I started to cry. My free T3

is

> at 4.2 (the top of the range), my free T4 is 1.1 (pretty much the

> middle of the range). I thought for sure they must be off. The

only

> thing off is my TSH at 3.39 (we keep me between 1 and 2 where I

feel

> best). My doctor told me to take the same medication Monday

through

> Saturday and on Sunday, take 2.

>

> I requested that he write me a prescription for 1/4 grain (15 mg.)

> and I'll cut it in half and take 1 full grain plus 1/8 grain a day,

> and spread out the dose instead of give it all to me in one day.

> He's going to get back to me tomorrow.

>

> I suppose I should be thankful that my thyroid is not way off, but

> the way that I feel, it should have been. But then I keep telling

> myself that maybe I caught it quick this time, instead of letting

it

> all go for too long (in the past I've felt poorly for months before

> going to the doctor. This time it was only month). Maybe that

> explains it--it's just starting to go, so the TSH is just stepping

> up production, but it hasn't effected everything else yet?

>

> If anybody has any tips I'd appreciate it!

>

> Thank you for letting me whine! It's stupid to be so upset that

> something isn't wrong!

>

> Hope everybody else is having a good day!

>

> Shimiah

August 9, 2002

Hi Shimiah,

That tsh is more than double what was found to be the average normal

tsh in newer research. The subjects of this research were people with

normal thyroid function and no symptoms...the average tsh was 1.52...

Also, the free t4 would be a little low for most people to feel

good...most feel best when it is around the area of the upper 1/4 of

the range...

A lot of people find that they need to add a small amount of a t4

drug with their armour to balance out the difference between the

t4/t3 ratio between a pig thyroid and a human thyroid...in a pig it

is 80(t4)/20(t3) and in a human it is 90/10...this may be the case

for you also...a lot of doctors balk at this since they aren't the

one suffering, they feel no need to tweak your dosage to get you in

the optimal range for you...

Also, break the extra pill in 1/4's and spread it out over the course

of the week (maybe 1/4 every other day)instead of taking the doubled

dose all in one shot...doubling the dose like that could have you in

the hyper range temporarily and that could have bad consquences...the

t4 in the doubled dose would probably not have that big of an impact,

but doubling the t3 all in one shot could be disastrous...also, the

longer you are too patient with not feeling well the longer you live

1/2 a life...you are lucky to have found a doctor that rx's armour,

but don't let him drag it out too long...that sounds like an awfully

small uppage in dosage...usually the standard for upping the dose is

1/4 grain (daily) at a time and then testing in 6 weeks to see where

you are...make sure he tests you at 6 weeks so you can see if it

needs upped again, so you don't have to wait any longer than

neccessary to feel better.

Best wishes, Bee

I couldn't find the article that mentions the 1.52 average, but did

find the one that mentions research that shows that everyone has

their own individual set-point:

http://intl-jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/mjgca?

SEARCHID=1028904287635_1891 & TITLEABSTRACT=Narrow+Individual+Variations

+in+Serum+T4+and+T3+in+Normal+Subjects%

3A+A+Clue+to+th & VOLUME=87 & FIRSTPAGE=1068 & JOURNALCODE= & FIRSTINDEX=0 & hit

s=10 & RESULTFORMAT= & gca=jcem%3B87%2F3%

2F1068 & sendit=Get+All+Checked+Abstract%28s%29

Abstract 1 of 1 The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Vol. 87, No. 3 1068-1072

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Endocrine Care

Narrow Individual Variations in Serum T4 and T3 in Normal Subjects: A

Clue to the Understanding of Subclinical Thyroid Disease

Stig Andersen, Klaus Pedersen, Niels Henrik Bruun and

Laurberg~~Department of Endocrinology (S.A., N.H.B., P.L.) and

Clinical Biochemistry (K.M.P.), Aalborg Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark DK-

9000~~Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Stig

Andersen, M.D., Department of Endocrinology and Medicine, Aalborg

Hospital, DK-9000 Aalborg, Denmark. E-mail: . stiga@...

Abstract

High individuality causes laboratory reference ranges to be

insensitive to changes in test results that are significant for the

individual. We undertook a longitudinal study of variation in thyroid

function tests in 16 healthy men with monthly sampling for 12 months

using standard procedures. We measured serum T4, T3, free T4 index,

and TSH. All individuals had different variations of thyroid function

tests (P < 0.001 for all variables) around individual mean values

(set points) (P < 0.001 for all variables). The width of the

individual 95% confidence intervals were approximately half that of

the group for all variables. Accordingly, the index of individuality

was low: T4 = 0.58; T3 = 0.54; free T4 index = 0.59; TSH = 0.49. One

test result described the individual set point with a precision of

plus or minus 25% for T4, T3, free T4 index, and plus or minus 50%

for TSH. The differences required to be 95% confident of significant

changes in repeated testing were (average, range): T4 = 28, 11â€ " 62

nmol/liter; T3 = 0.55, 0.3â€ " 0.9 nmol/liter; free T4 index = 33, 15â€ " 61

nmol/liter; TSH = 0.75, 0.2â€ " 1.6 mU/liter. Our data indicate that each

individual had a unique thyroid function. The individual reference

ranges for test results were narrow, compared with group reference

ranges used to develop laboratory reference ranges. Accordingly, a

test result within laboratory reference limits is not necessarily

normal for an individual. Because serum TSH responds with

logarithmically amplified variation to minor changes in serum T4 and

T3, abnormal serum TSH may indicate that serum T4 and T3 are not

normal for an individual. A condition with abnormal serum TSH but

with serum T4 and T3 within laboratory reference ranges is labeled

subclinical thyroid disease. Our data indicate that the distinction

between subclinical and overt thyroid disease (abnormal serum TSH and

abnormal T4 and/or T3) is somewhat arbitrary. For the same degree of

thyroid function abnormality, the diagnosis depends to a considerable

extent on the position of the patientâ€™s normal set point for T4 and

T3 within the laboratory reference range.

[ Full Text of Andersen et al.] [Reprint (PDF) Version of Andersen et

al.]

May 20, 2003

Here we are Lunar, [ my biopsy was a breeze, no pain at all.

Heck they didn't even give me anything for pain or nerves. My doc was

very good. ]

November 16, 2003

Hi ...

There are a lot of us who had good outcomes, but most of those people don't

spend their time in this sort of forum.

Congratulations on having such a great outcome. Please remember to take it

easy. I can't tell you how many people I know who felt really good right

after they returned from the hospital, but who overdid it and had some bad

months.

Regards,

November 17, 2003

Dear ,

Congratulations! Thanks so much for chiming in.

Other posts are accurate about good surgery scoliomites moving on with their

lives and not posting here. But if you chose to hang around those of us

facing surgery will cherish the hope you offer. Our fears grow

disproportionally

to the days leading up to our revision and positive outcomes are food for the

soul.

Jolene-1960 fusion w/o instrumentation- upcoming 2004 revision with

November 17, 2003

Dear ,

I am almost 30 years post surgery, and although I do now suffer from

" flatback syndrome " , which is a problem caused by the Harrington rod

hardware used back in the 1970s, I certainly consider myself a success. I

lived pain-free from the time of my surgery in 1975 (age 13) until I got to

be about 30 (1992), when I started to experience some very minimal pain,

nothing that really caused me any grief. At age 35 I started to really

suffer from the flatback, but I do not think that is something you will face

(your hardware is different from mine). I assume many folks out there who

have had this type of surgery are like me, who did not ever consider looking

into a forum like this one until I started having significant problems.

This group is a good place to share information on coping with post-surgical

problems, but the people who have no problems are mostly out living their

lives and not thinking about their scoliosis or posting to boards like this

one.

Don't be scared. You are not a fluke.

mary b

confused

I am about ten days out of the hospital with a fusion from L3 to T3,

23 pedicals, two rods and three cages. I feel great. I am reading

all these messages and no one seems to have had any success! Please

tell me there are people out there who have made it through and are

living with some reward of this surgery. I am 37 so I am not a

teenager, but I sure feel like one now. The pain is minimal, much

less than it was pre op. My curve was reduced from 67 degrees to 40

and the appearance is amazing. I am hoping I am not a fluke and

nothing terrible is going to happen since reading all the posts. The

surgeons are all pleased with the success and I am in heaven for the

first time in about 20 years!

February 1, 2005

,

Welcome to the world of acclimating to an implant! Some days are better,

some days are not. Some maps are great, and some last only as long as our

visit to the audie. Sometimes our ability to hear with the implant improves

more

quickly than other times. The one thing I wouldn't do at this point is judge

by radio/TV stations. The way they sound can be so different and it is not

'normal' sound.

February 2, 2005

Hi ,

Try not to be discouraged. Each mapping is a new adventure for the brain,

especially at the beginning. I have had many maps which I really didn’t

like but over time, with continued wearing, my brain accepted the map and

once again, I could hear things and usually better than before – but not

always.

Right now, I’m using a map (the one I told you about yesterday) that was one

I thought I could never tolerate. If you remember, I mentioned that I have

two processors. On one of them, I had a map that was put on it last

February. I had used that one continually. A different map was put on the

other one in late August. I just hated that mapping and I put that

processor into the Dry and Store, without batteries, where it stayed until

sometime in October when I decided to see if I could use it again. In the

beginning, it wasn’t easy but I wouldn’t let myself forget that I needed to

get used to it. I even kept the volume wheel at either at 1 or 2 to try to

tolerate it. All of a sudden, it became very clear to me and I realized I

was getting more sound than ever. This is after 5 years. I then started

using it entirely and had the same map at 5% lower put on the other

processor as suddenly the map I had used since last February wasn’t good

enough.

So you see, even after all this time, mapping can mean a brain adjustment.

Since you have two processors, hopefully the audiologist left your last map

on one of them. If so, you can decide if you want to wear that map until

you are ready to try to adjust to the new one. It’s possible that the new

one isn’t going to be one you prefer but as you know, you have another

appointment soon and you can get another mapping. If this one is on both

processors and you can’t tolerate it, get in touch with the audiologist and

let her know but you should give it a chance. They can always put your last

map on one of the processors. I usually try to keep the old map on at

least one program so that I can use it if necessary.

Now – Does this make sense or is it all Greek to you? These are the things

we learn as we go. I hope the map sounds better to you today.

Alice

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February 2, 2005

> I'm confused... not even a word or two. I don't get it...

, I'm sure people with much more knowledge than I will reply; as

Alice did. May I also suggest trying to listen to your books on tape

with your cables; I did this at first and the words started coming.

If after a few days you are not back where you were I would call

your audie. Andi

February 2, 2005

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply. TV and radio voices aren't the only ones that sound

high pitched and whiny --everyone's voice sounds that way. However, I'm

relieved to know this is normal and that it's not uncommon for people to

take two steps forward and one step backward after a map.

I plan to visit the Randall website to work on their listening exercises

again

to see if I can get back to where I was yesterday afternoon. Looks like I'm

back to square one again, but at least I know this is something to expect!

Thanks for easing my concerns!

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Deafblind/Postlingual

BTE hearing aid user 20 years

Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

February 2, 2005

Hi Andi,

Now that I have my accessories (and several talking books) I will do just

that. <smile>

What confused me was the fact that everything sounds (and continues to

sound) exactly like it did on my activation day (a high pitched, whiny

monotone). If anything, I guess I wasn't expecting to lose my speech

understanding...I thought I'd retain *some* of that -- even with a new map.

I'm glad this experience is normal. Each time I go for a new mapping, I will

keep in mind what said about each map being a completely new

adjustment.

I e-mailed my audi only because I lost the speech discrimination I told her

I had yesterday. Today I plan to spend the day listening to talking books,

etc. to see if I can regain any speech understanding.

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Deafblind/Postlingual

BTE hearing aid user 20 years

Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

February 2, 2005

Hi Alice,

That makes me feel *much* better...Thanks! <smile> I'm relieved to know that

mapping is a continual adjustment process that can have occasional bumps in

the road but does get better over time.

What you said makes perfect sense (so it wasn't entirely Greek to me

<grin>). Unfortunately I don't have my old map, but will ask my audi about

this when I see her on the 15th. Keeping the old map is a good idea --

especially when I'm in a situation where I need to understand speech.

I don't like the high pitched whiny monotone I'm hearing today, but I turned

down the volume and that's helping quite a bit.

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Deafblind/Postlingual

BTE hearing aid user 20 years

Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

February 2, 2005

,

You're doing fine....be patient and keep your cool!

Alice has explained the mapping process much better than I ever

could! I just wanted to say she is right! It's also one reason that

I advise people to let the sound come to you.....practice listening

to EVERYTHING without necessarily doing an " exercise " . I had felt

guilty for a while that I was not doing enough " practice listening " .

I finally realized that every time I listened and focused on the

sound, that I was practicing, even though it was not a formal

exercise. The important thing is to have some way of gaining

feedback on what you think you heard; otherwise, you have no way of

knowing if you heard anything correctly. The strangest sound I have

heard (so far) was in a little coffee cafe. I was with several SHHH

members and no one could identify the noise I heard. It was so LOUD

and seemed to fill my head with the sound. Some thought it sounded

like a vacuum cleaner...others had no idea what it was. As we left

the cafe after our meeting, we heard the sound again--and I glanced

at the coffee counter where they made the coffee. Steam was

everywhere! Hot steam was being released in a giant cloud.

SSSSsssssss!! I was elated to realize that I was hearing the steam

being released. I can only hope that my brain was " programmed " to

recognize that sound in the future.

I don't know when things will sound " normal " but I do know I don't

yet have the full dynamic range I'm looking for. I've discovered I

don't seem to be able to whistle anymore. At least if I am

whistling, I still cannot hear that sound. I've decided I simply am

not yet able to hear that pitch. I've a lot of questions about what

I hear as well as what the future will sound like. I can only assume

everyone else is going through a similar process yet we all hear

things differently. I'm just so grateful that I am no longer in

complete silence and I know that one day, I am going to recognize

almost everything I hear.

Hang in there!

Gayle

N24C, 3G

Implanted: 9/25/04

Activated: 10/06/04

Sensorineural hearing loss from birth

Hearing aids for past 50 years until total deafness

> mapping is a continual adjustment process that can have occasional

bumps in

> the road but does get better over time.

February 2, 2005

,

Hang in there, you'll probably have a few ups and downs in the

beginning. It's still very early in activation for you so don't be

discouraged. I've come home with maps that I had liked when I left

the audi's office, but within a day or two, couldn't stand them. I

imagine it's even more difficult for you as you don't have any

visual cues to help figure out what's being said.

Give it some time, and I'll bet you'll look back and say... " WOW..How

far I have come with this ci! " It'll happen, I know it will.

Keep letting us know how it goes though. that's what we're here

for.. to help you through the entire process.

You've had so many good ci moments..I know there will be many more

to come.

Hugs,

silly MI

In , " Kozlik " <lisak70@t...> wrote:

> I'm confused... I was in bed listening to the radio and noticed

that the

> high pitched whiny quality to voices has returned I can no longer

hear

> pitch changes the way I did earlier today and speech is no longer

> understandable -- not even a word or two. I don't get it. Could

this be the

> result of today's mapping? (>

> Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

> Deafblind/Postlingual

> BTE hearing aid user 20 years

> Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

February 2, 2005

Hi Gayle,

Thanks for sharing your experiences -- and for the encouragement! <smile>

I've been letting sounds come to me without worrying about what I hear or

don't hear. In fact, during the first two weeks following my activation I

did nothing except listen to environmental sounds. I didn't even *think*

about understanding speech even though someone on the list gave me some

great recommendations for listening. It wasn't until last Thursday when I

visited the Randall's site that I realized I could understand a few words. I

continued listening to the TV and radio without expecting to understand

everything. Then, on Saturday evening while listening to a radio program,

everything " clicked " and I found that I could understand 50% of what was

said by one of the callers.

I hate to sound so discouraged, but I want to be honest with the list about

my feelings. I feel like I've taken 2 steps forward and 6 steps back. Just

when everything was starting to sound " normal " (as I remember with hearing

aids) and I was beginning to understand speech, all of that was instantly

taken away in only 24 hours. I certainly don't blame my audi <smile> but I

guess I wasn't expecting that to happen. Now that I know *anything* can

happen at a mapping, I'm going to go into my future appointments with the

realization that I may lose everything I've gained before I came into my

audi's office. At least that will help me keep my expectations in check.

Each day gets better, so I'll see what tomorrow brings!

Implanted: 12/22/04 Activated: 1/18/05

Deafblind/Postlingual

BTE hearing aid user 20 years

Severe-profound hearing loss 10 years

February 2, 2005

,

If the map is very annoying to you, call and get an appointment before two

weeks are up. Your audiologist isn’t going to want you to have these kinds

of problems. I think she will make an appointment for you. I know this is

probably inconvenient for you but you are still very new in the process and

frequent mappings are not the least bit uncommon.

Alice

* I hate to sound so discouraged, but I want to be honest with the

list about