New Pup in the Neighborhood

[Labrador]

Howdy everyone. I stumbled on this site and sure glad that I did.

I'm a big and brave, confident, 38 year old ... except when I'm dealing with issues. Then I'm quiet and endure my suffering in silence. I've decided to change that. I've been making quite a few changes during the last 2 years. I've always suspected the doctors weren't telling me everything. I've made an appointment for later in the week with the only doc I trust to try to get to the truth. (I'm mustering up the courage to speak to him.)

I suspect I have congenital adrenal hyperplasia. From reading online, it would be the "late onset", "adult onset", "nonclassical", blah blah blah (so many names for the same thing) form. I won't go into my whole history now. (I tend to write novels without even realizing it.)

Guess that's enough about me for the moment. Time for me to catch up on reading in the forums. I look forward to meeting ya'll,
lab

[apple]

Welcome Labrador! :)

I once knew a woman with late onset AH, and it was really terribly difficult for her. People are so apt to make stupid assumptions.

I hope things go better for you than it did for her.

[Glenn]

Welcome, Labrador! Congrats for ending the silence - that takes a lot of courage.

[Labrador]

Hi apple. I've tried to talk to two people about it and it didn't go over so well. My doctor's appointment is tomorrow. I'm hoping he is a little easier to talk to than my closest friends. The stress from this is causing lots of physical problems. I can't wait for tomorrow to come and go.

Hi Glenn. Thanks :) It was pretty tough writing it. About as hard as it's been trying to talk to folks in real life.


I'm so thankful to come back here and see two positive, welcoming posts. Can't tell you folks how much that means. If I have cah, I already know there won't be support in real life with my present friends. It's a bit of a relief to know there is at least one place I can come talk about it.

[JOS]

Good luck with your visit to the doctors, I hope you start to find some of the answers you need.

People can really surprise you sometimes... one of my oldest friends (over 20 yrs) has barely spoken to me since I told her about stuff I found out lately but three other friends, who I hardly knew before, have been so supportive and kind.... you just can't predict what's going to happen next.

I'm afraid I still don't know much about CAH but hopefully you won't hold that against me :-)

Anyway good luck..... just remember to keep on asking, sometimes doctors need the right prompts before they give you all the information you need

[Labrador]

Good morning Jos,

I leave the house in about an hour to head over to the doctor. I'm a little nervous, but holding up pretty well. I'm determined to bring it up and be done with all the questions. I've wanted to talk to this doctor for over 20 years now. Just could never get the courage.

I don't hold it against you that you don't know a bunch on CAH. :) I don't know that much either. I've been reading for the last year or two about it and other conditions. I'm not sure I have CAH. I'm fairly certain something is wacky with my adrenal glands. The symptoms of CAH match up. We'll see what the the doc says and then, of course, the tests. (Ick! Hate tests.)

Thank you for the reassurance that not all people will be judgmental. My best friend and I ended up talking a bit last night and she was a bit more understanding. I figure, I'll just keep my fears and insecurities to the online community until I know something for certain. I don't really need to deal with people freaking out and judging me. It's just one more stressor. And I certainly don't need that right now.

Okay .... have to run. Thanks again for responding. It really helps. :)
lab

[steve/lisa]

Hi labrador and wecolm,But first if I may,Thank u apple for the thought on being normal as i have been wishing for just that lately thanks apple.
Well labrador u have come to the right spot i think U have curage too.To come forward and at least ask us to help is a good trait to have,Thats at least a big step for many to make.It was for me and trusting normals is really hard for me too.They R so quick to judge us, When they to have so many hidden secrets to keep,How a group like the normals can make so much fun of us and still look themselves in the mirrow amazes me to no end,when they have so many secrets to hide also.Anyway I will sign off for now cause if I don't, I to have tendences to write volumes of books on here hope to see u around soon as u sound fun,And smart....Lisa...

[Labrador]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for the warm welcome and comforting words. It really is an enormous relief to have somewhere to come and talk. Thank you for being here and responding.

Yesterday was one of the hardest days in my life. The doctor looked at me like I was insane during the consultation. During and after the physical examination, his demeanor changed considerably.

I'm still processing everything I heard. Lots of bloodwork was done. Results will be in on Monday.

I'm not ready to type out on the board what was said. I think I can share that through a PM.

I guess I'm still in shock.

Thanks again Lisa for being here,
lab

[JOS]

Hi Labrador

Glad to hear you managed to find your voice... at least that's the first step over.I've mentioned this in other posts but anyway, it's sometimes quite easy to forget details over time.... doctors take notes and I reccommend you do too. It can really help if you're trying to find out about things later when you're more mentally prepared to deal with it.

I've got my first ever appointment with an endocrinologist next week. Not too sure what I'm going to say yet and, strangely, getting pretty nervous.

Jos

[Meresa]

Welcome to the board, Laborador!!
:sign16: :ARMS1: http://MermaidLady.com/images/usflag.gif :wavey:

[Kailana]

first of all, welcome to BLO.

2nd you really ought to be carefull about what your doctor just told you, each of these conditions we all live with, while they may have similarities, affects us all differently. It could be that what the Dr. said, may be the information that he is familiar with, if he is not well trained on CAH and its various forms, and affects, he might of just told you everything he knew, and not the exact affects/ that you may be experiencing/showing/exhibiting. My best advice is to relax, give yourself sometime, and wait for your results. The last thing is you also need to be cautios, as there is still alot of biasis within the medical community, and alot of miss information, so when your all done, just give yourself some to take it all in. And as others have mentioned, take notes, its not always easy to remember everything that gets said.

[Labrador]

Hi Jos. I think you're right. I've been keeping notes. I have had to refer to them a lot this weekend. My mind is just overwhelmed at times. Congratulations on the endo appt. I'll send ya some courageous thoughts to help you get through that.

Hi Meresa. Thank you for the welcome :)

Hi Kailana. Yesterday I woke up a mess. I couldn't cope at all. I figured it was best to calm down and not try to figure anything out at this point. And that I'd really not think about what my doc said since he is not a specialist in this area. Until I have the results for all the blood work and can see a doc that specializes in whatever, I'm just going to try to stay calm. Maybe stay in denial for a while. When I think of the doc's physical findings, I just shake. Not sure how to deal with it, or who even to talk to about it. It's very confusing. Big sigh, thank you for posting. And I will definitely keep notes so that one day this all makes some sense to me .... I hope.