Scenes From The ‘Hood: A Story In Photos

I’ve had two appointments with Dr. Sebring in the last week to discuss my lousy-high level of Reverse T3. That is a lot of driving (an hour each way) and new info to process. I’m doing said processing by lying on the couch with a Dick Francis novel and hiding from real life for a while. I’ll give you a full update on all that’s transpired when I’ve got it all straight in my head. The news wasn’t great, but it’s not too terrible either. The treatment (experiment?!) means a whole new thing, though, and it’s forcing me to remember that if you want a situation to change, you have to change.

Anyway, more on that soon. For now, here are some snaps from my various adventures walking around Austin today.

#1. Weird Creature
This morning I walked halfway around the lake, then did 8 rounds of intervals: run 1:00, recovery walk 2:00… then I walked around the lake some more. As I strolled, listening to my iPod, I saw this next to the trail:

Does anyone know what the devil that is?! I mean, I know it looks like a lobster, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have lobsters in Austin. (It’s tough to tell the scale from the photo; it was about the size of a softball.)


#2. Best Walking/Running Song (right now)
I think it’s my duty to inform you that right now, the best walking/running song going is “Rain Over Me.” It’s the perfect cadence for a serious video vixen strut or a well-paced run. (I should also confess that I have a soft spot for this song because the music channel in our apartment in Paris played it every morning during our trip last October.

Give it a listen!

#3. Message From The Universe
On the pedestrian bridge that crosses the river, I saw this:

#4. Bulldozers Are Fun
There’s been massive road construction going on in our neighborhood for months. It’s terribly annoying when one is, say, trying to drive to the grocery store, but on foot: amusing! Dave and I went out for lunch today (YAY!) and confronted the humongous bulldozer on our way.

Just a few seconds after I stopped playing in the bucket, the bulldozer operator picked it up to dig in the street! I kinda wish I could’ve hidden inside to go for a ride.

Our Trip to Stockholm: Fika, Meatballs, Ships & Books

After the hoopla of fall travel and the winter holidays, Dave and I decided we would not travel at all until the summer. But you...

Read More
Leeds: Coffee, Books, Abbey Ruins, and a Steam Train

To celebrate my 50th birthday in May, my husband David and I joined up with our friend Tillie to visit London, Leeds, and Haworth, the...

Read More

Comments

  • Katherine says:

    It’s a crawfish!

  • Stacy W says:

    Yep, a delicious crawfish. Totally Paleo!

  • Suzanne says:

    If that crawfish is the size of a softball, tell me where he is! I’m having a crawfish boil tonight!

  • Celia says:

    That shit cray!

  • April says:

    Aw- sorry that the results aren’t so good! What you said reminded me of the butterfly story you posted earlier 🙂 It can definitely be hard to change habits, especially ones you already thought were healthy!

  • Rebecca says:

    So sorry about the RT3. It really sucks. I know I am there. Was back to see my guru, Dr. Shah, a couple weeks ago and the results of my tests were not good.
    Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) Antibodies (Ab) is 574, extremely high
    Free T3 is way too low, 1.8
    Free T4 is way too low, .76
    TSH is way too high, 15.040
    DHEA is 62.7
    Cortisol is 8.6
    SO I am back on Armour, 120 mg, split into two doses per day, 60/60 every 12 hours. Taking DHEA 2 x’r per week, Adrenal supplements, Vit D and probiotics for some infections and also a cream becasue my progesterone, estrogen and testerone are all too low.
    I just quit everything over a year ago because i was just tired of all the ups and downs, but I am back at it again. Praying something finally works.

    • Angie says:

      Have you read the book “Stop the Thyroid Madness!” I was just diagnosed w/ stressed/fatigued adrenals and have been hypothyroid and this was a recommended read. I’ve already visited the website and it looks AMAZING! Already got some good info.

  • Annie says:

    Crawfish are delicious! Just avoid the corn and potatoes that are traditionally thrown in the boil.

  • Kim M. says:

    That looks like a very healthy sized crawdad!

  • Mudbug!! And they are DELICIOUS.

  • Susan Sullivan says:

    Pictures of you in the bucket…completely adorable. Thanks for your earlier pre-Olympics post. I’ve got Olympic fever bad. Hope all is well with you! Any SF visits in the works yet?

  • KJ says:

    I second Angie’s comment about Stop the Thyroid Madness. Janie has a fb group with over 5000members talking about what works for them.

  • LabRat says:

    Just a crawdad, and a big healthy sucker too.

    When you see these around, those are their dwellings.

  • Carbzilla says:

    Hey there – I’ve also had high levels of RT3. I could finally lose weight while taking increased doses of T3 but it made me completely ragey. Totally long story but I was very Incredible Hulky. I wasn’t me, for sure. I went off it bc it really didn’t help reset my RT3 permanently. I just went to my naturopath today, and I’m just stayng on Thyroid 65, which is basically Armour. She prescribed some other tweaks that I’m happy to share over email. In general, I feel much better than I have in months (though I have 20 lbs to lose – again). Hang in there, you’ll find the right combination.

  • Emily says:

    Yummy yummy crawfish!

    And, that is an excavator or a track hoe, not a bulldozer. I’m sorry, my seven-year-old son wouldn’t let me let that one slide. 🙂

  • Thyroid results are always so much fun. I hate that my Synthroid dose has only gone up over the past 3 years. My last test has my TSH at 3.29, but my Free T3 and T4 were fine. I don’t think my Reverse T3 has ever been looked at, though. Hmmmm.

    Anyway, I’ll be interested to see what you have to change. Good luck!

  • Kathy says:

    When I was a kid, we’d “fish” for crawdads by tying a piece of bacon on a string and dropping the string down the whole. He’d grab it and wouldn’t let go so we could just pull him out.

  • Kathy says:

    That’s “hole”, not “whole”. Where’s my head today?

  • AustinGirl says:

    Your adorable dress+converse outfit inspired me to snag a pair of grey one stars from Target yesterday. They are soooo cute with a skirt or dress! I see sparkly ones in my future…

    • Mel says:

      Glad you like the outfit! Those Converse were fancied up with studs at a little shop in Prague where they sell jackets, sweaters, Converse, and rain boots customized with metal rivets and studs. So awesome!

  • Insomniac Mom says:

    Sorry to correct, but that is not a bulldozer…it is an excavator with a 4 yard bucket.

  • Mel says:

    1. I had no idea crawfish could get that big. I’m kinda weirded out by that 🙂

    2. Thanks for the correction. I call all big, yellow vehicles bulldozers. I will attempt to be more accurate in the future.

    3. Thyroid friends: if you have good TSH and high free T4 and/or free T3, but still feel crappy, ask your doctor to test your reverse T3. Yes, I’m familiar with Stop the Thyroid Madness… and I’d like to recommend this book that I’m reading now. Look for a full blog post about it soon: http://amzn.to/Pugpor

    • Angie says:

      Mel – I had no doubt you were familiar with “Stop the Thyroid Madness!” That was mainly for the other poster. You are on top of your thyroid game! I’m definately going to check out this book, too. What does your cortisol look like? I’m being treated for Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome (not typical hypothryoid) and I just had cortisol checked (in the crapper) and I’ll talk to doc about how to start treating that. I’m also having a huge hormone panel done to test for estrogen dominance, etc. Since I’ve started treating the thyroid, I’ve only started feeling worse – and GAINING weight! Ugh – the human body is SO complicated. . .

      • Mel says:

        There’s a lot of good stuff about rT3 and the relationships between thyroid hormones and the rest of our hormones in the book I linked to above. You might like it! I really learned a lot AND felt comforted by the info.

        I’m starting the Wilson’s Syndrome protocol, too! Before I can start the T3 treatment, I have to go off all of my T4 and T3. I’m on day 3 of no thyroid hormones at all. I feel the same so far, but I have to admit, it was a weird feeling to agree to stop all thyroid hormones for 10 days. Good luck to you!

  • Tricia says:

    I have gotten to ride in a excavator bucket — but don’t tell anyone because its a bit of a safety violation.
    It is fun though 😀

LEAVE A NOTE