I have some sort of infection in my big toe of my right foot. I started feeling it yesterday afternoon. It was swollen, throbbing and hot. Then I went swimming, and it felt a little better, and I put an antibiotic ointment on overnight. This morning, it still hurts, but not as much as yesterday. There is a red patch next to the nail, and a dark bruise-like line underneath the nail. Weird. I think I vaguely remember dropping something on my toe a few days ago, but I have no idea what it was.  I put some more ointment on it this morning, and a bandage. Foot care: The key to good health.

I was dizzy when I got up this morning. I actually woke up at 5:45, which is incredibly early for me, and I didn't properly go back to sleep. I got up at 6:45, dizzy, and went and drank some water. It got better after I was able to eat at 7:15 (had to wait half an hour after taking the iron pill), but I'm still feeling kind of floppy.

Well, probably the last one, for the time being, at least. Although I weighed 53.5 kilos, which means I've lost weight again, despite my best efforts. However, it could be due to having had my period and lost some fluids. I am supposed to see Dr. Sutter in 2 weeks (on my birthday, no less) and I should get weighed again, then check back with the nutritionist (whose name I have no idea of!) by telephone. If I want to add calories, she said I should add proteins, esp. at the main meal times.

 

On a side note, Peter's sister has been diagnosed with porphyria cutanea tarda, a dysfunction of iron metabolism that mainly causes skin problems. In 20% of cases, it is genetic, but as it is a dominantly inherited condition, that would mean that one of my in-laws would have to have it, and so far they haven't been diagnosed. In the rest of the cases, it is triggered by too much sun, alcohol, estrogen (contraceptive pills), hepatitis, or HIV.

I went jogging this morning, as I do 1-2x per week now, and after about 15 minutes, started feeling nauseous and slightly dizzy. It was very cold, just above freezing, and I only had on two layers rather than the three I usually wear (although I did have on a good hat and gloves, too). As I took this to be a sign of stress to my heart, I walked the rest of the way and felt somewhat better within a few minutes, and was totally recovered by the time I got back home.

 

I have my last appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow.

Sometimes I have a high-energy day, when I feel like doing lots of stuff. Today's one. Maybe it's because I actually have lots of stuff to do!  

 

This morning, I: sent out emails like a whirlwind, read and handled a bunch of fics for the Harry Potter archive I volunteer for (FictionAlley), went shopping, went jogging, showered, did several loads of laundry, and made soup from scratch. This afternoon, if the mood holds, I want to wash the living room windows, clean out the kids' rooms, do more laundry, wash the bathroom and kitchen floors, and anything else that occurs to me and I have time for.

 

I'm going to try and see if these high-energy days coincide in any way with my double-doses of Eltroxin. Yesterday was a double-dose day, so it would make sense that today I have more energy... if there is any connection at all.

 

Later: Well, I did most of what I had planned (didn't get the windows done), but I also washed all the dishes, handled several more fics, took out the garbage, and mended four pairs of trousers. This may seem like a normal day's work for some, but this is a miracle of achievement for me. Just goes to show how low-energy I usually am. (i.e. lazy)

I had a light headache yesterday, and again today. There is no Föhn, so it must be something else. I also have been experiencing those heart feelings three or four times a day, usually when I'm in the car. Don't know why that would be.

 

I cheated on my diet.  I ate an After Eight chocolate/mint patty. It was so good.  There is so much chocolate around the house right now, it was just too tempting. After Eights, fancy chocolates, marshmallow chocolate bars, Smarties, ... Most of it is left over from Christmas presents we and the kids got.

I had a headache yesterday, probably from the Föhn (strong winds that come down the Alps; they often cause minor health problems like headaches and mood changes). It didn't get too bad, but it stuck with me all day. I took 500 mg of Acetominaphen in the evening, and it slowly faded.

 

I also had a recurrence of that weird feeling in my heart that I also had early in 2007. I don't know if it would be called "palpitations" or "arrhythmia", but it's like a very slight pressure and the feeling that my heart skips a beat, and then beats harder than usual. It's not painful, just kind of weird. I discussed this with Dr. Esposito (the one who made my Hashimoto's diagnosis) last year, and she said it was nothing to worry about, and did an EKG, which showed nothing unusual. Dr. Engel (thyroid doctor) said it might have been caused by a brief overproduction of thyroid hormones which often happens in the initial stages of Hashimoto's. Or maybe this is a side effect of the recent dosage increase of my Levothyroxine.

 

I forgot to take the double dosage last Thursday, so I took it on Friday instead, and then on Monday instead of Sunday so that it wouldn't be too close together. This week, I remembered to take it yesterday (Thursday).