Love what you look like...not right now....

I'm having a rough time lately...

I had a conversation with one of my patients last week that went a little like this:
Mr. G: "Emily, are you expecting?"
Me: "No, Mr. G, not yet."
Mr. G: "Oh, just getting fat?"

Not kidding. So rude. But unfortunately, it's true. I've put on some significant weight and I'm pretty depressed about it. I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Thankfully, I have a pretty proactive doctor who is open to my ideas and doesn't think my research is crap. Unfortunately, what my research has revealed to me is that I have a more difficult condition to treat. I suspect adrenal fatigue and/or thyroid resistance. When we return from vacation, I'll undergo further testing to confirm.

If you know anything about hypothyroidism, it comes with a slew of crummy side effects. Constant fatigue, temperature swings, infertility, weight gain, etc. just to name a few. I used to get something out of going to the gym - not anymore. Now, I can hardly finish a 60 minute class and don't feel energized at all.

If you have experience with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, or thyroid resistance, I'd love to hear from you and how you've coped. I could sure use someone familiar with all this right now...

Oh Sh*t!

So, the ALS patient that I have is a pretty tech savvy guy. He's been working on ways to amplify his voice at work, since his volume is very decreased. Today, he brought in this FM transmitter that he had rigged to work through a regular radio. It wasn't working very well, so I suggested that we try out this device that I had been given at a conference.

The device I have looks like a fanny-pack, but it is a speaker you wear around your waist. It has a corded microphone on a headset that the patient wears. The patient then speaks into the microphone and his voice is amplified at his waist level.



Now, my patient has gotten quite used to his voice being soft. As he was leaving, I reminded him that he would have to get used to his louder voice. His balance isn't so good, and now he's using a cane. As he was leaving my office, he stumbled a bit - not too much though - and through his waist speaker I hear "Oh Sh*t" really loud! Needless to say, he turned down the volume just a little!

Oh the problems you encounter as a speech therapist!