Yeah, they had me on an obscenely high dosage of that for a while, but it wasn't helping much. I gave up on the medications because my numbers just kept getting worse, and they were super expensive. I stopped trusting my endocrinologist completely after he put me on metformin, it completely destroyed my liver function, and his response was "yeah, that can happen...maybe a different dose?" At this point I try to avoid foods that I know are bad for thyroid function (chiefly soy products) and keep my fingers crossed. I should probably see if I can find a specialist here since thyroid problems are pretty common, but it's really stressful going to doctors here because even if they "speak English," they usually don't do it very well and my medical vocabulary isn't terribly extensive in English, never mind in Japanese.

I marched for all 4 years...I even cut studying abroad down to one semester instead of a full year so that I wouldn't miss a season. I was lucky to have the absolute best director there's ever been...he was a legend in his own time, and is sorely missed now. I'm a trumpet player, so a lot of people in my section were douchey (I'm not one for stereotypes, but trumpet players are known for their egos, and a lot of people in my section...definitely fit the generalization), but somehow the 400 member band still had a family feel to it.

Soy products are the worst. I didn't realize that and had to stop drinking chocolate soy milk last year. my favorite thing ever. so mad. I've never been to an endo but a lot of them sound kind of sketchy from what I've been reading up about them.. but I've never really been committed to fixing it because nothing seemed to work. Then they labeled it Hashimoto's and are seeing if the works better. who knows! Would it be weird or even possible to take a Japanese speaking friend with you to an appointment? Ahh.. trumpets. I know the doucheyness you are talking about. I was a clarinet.. and I fit the generalization to a T.

I've gotten two different responses on whether or not I have Hashimoto's...It seems likely with how bad my numbers were when I last checked and the fact that medication only seemed to be making it worse. For the bringing a friend thing, I know one person that might be willing to do that, but I would have to locate a good doctor first. Unfortunately I'm in the middle of nowhere, and I wouldn't ask someone to go all the way out to Tokyo with me if that's the closest doctor...

I...don't remotely fit the trumpet stereotype. I like to hide in corners in groups of people and don't like attention...fortunately I have 6 other instruments to choose from (I play violin, clarinet, French horn, trumpet, trombone, euphonium, and fife). If anything, I'm closest to the stereotypical quirky trombonist...I almost switched to trombone my senior year, but then I decided that I didn't want to go back to being a "rookie" after 3 years...I don't know if it's any better in your band, but woodwinds were the butt of most jokes in my band...they usually kept the back sideline company, and honestly we had a lot more talented brass players than woodwinds (with the exception of saxes)...no one beat our drum line though. There was a bit of a rivalry between the drums and the trumpets because, well, they're the two biggest attention hog sections, but there was no denying that our drums were first class. They have 4 or 5 big name endorsements and the director is nationally recognized and has his own line of sticks...

That would stink to go all the way out to Tokyo. But kind of fun if you could sight see and stuff while you were there. Wow! That is a lot of instruments. Trombones and Tubas always did seem like the quirky ones of the group. And yes woodwinds were the joke.. But that's ok. That's crazy about the endorsements!! Drums were always the cool kids.

Heh...our tubas weren't quirky; they were batshit insane. They were all good people (and good crossing guards--when we marched through campus to the stadium they'd run ahead and pull various antics...then when we got to the main road they'd make a human shield on either side of the crosswalk. You can buy bumper stickers in the school store that say "I brake for tubas."), but completely insane. Before the first game, they'd all sleep on the field so that they had no excuse to be late...if it rained, they'd still do it (no tents, mind you...stakes would ruin the grass). They also had tuba drag day...which was the third most painful practice of the season on the eyes following the color guard's naughty nightie day and the clarinets' pimps and hos day. One year the band fraternity decided to have a snuggie day to coincide with naughty nightie day and they brought duct tape and tried to duct tape their snuggies onto the color guard girls. Oh marching band...I miss the crazy...

Wow!! That is crazy. It almost makes me wish I stayed on!

Ok. So, my mom is looking up toilets in other countries because she's going on a cruise and wants to prepare herself. She ended up checking out Asia's toilets out of curiosity. She wants me to ask if all toilets are the squat toilets. Weird. Sorry. haha

There's about a 50/50 chance that there'll be a western style toilet if you use a public bathroom...and by "western style," I mean still very Japanese (there's a whole control panel on most of them with but warmers, bidets, the option to play a sound like water running so that no one can hear you pee...to name a few things that aren't on my toilet in the US...I never touch buttons because I'm terrified of what might happen) but they're shaped like western toilets where you have a seat to sit on... I HATE the squat potties...I always feel like I'm going to manage to pee into my own underwear and if there's liquid on the floor, even though I know it's probably just the toilet sweating, I assume that the person before me probably missed and get squicked out.

hahaha! Wow so you've either got really high-tech toilets or super low-tech. I would be afraid of the squaties too.. She now wants to know if they all offer toilet paper... lol

Most of them do in Japan...I've gone into a few train stations that didn't but it generally isn't an issue because they love handing out free packs of tissues with advertising information printed on them...and conveniently enough they do that a lot right outside the station. They use tissues in place of napkins a lot of times too, so in general it's just a good idea to carry tissues with you in Japan. If all else fails, you can always find multi-packs of portable tissues in 100 yen shops (100 yen shops are essentially dollar stores, except they actually sell decent quality stuff instead of crap. All of my dishes came from the 100 yen shop).

Ok thanks for the information. She probably won't ever go to Japan, she's just curious lol. But that's cool about the dishes. I don't know if western dollar stores even carry non-disposable dishes.

I remember when my parents went to Tokyo they took pictures of the squatty potties. :D It kind of reminds me of going backpacking, lol, except less dirt. :)

Thanks for the congrats, I am starting running on Sunday, doing the rest of the second week of C25K. I've been slacking off since I have had lots of homework and I'm trying to keep up with that. I went back a little, up to 219 but that's still less than I weighed before I had the weight gain. Besides, I can probably get it off again when I start exercising and running.

Yeah apple picking is fun, especially since it means the start of fall. The apples and the other crops have been kind of early this year though because of the drought and the crazy warm temperatures. I can't wait til September and October, when they start bringing out the pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored stuff. I know this is horrible and bad for you but I love pumpkin-flavored coffee. Sounds dreadful unless you've had it, then you know it is real good, lol.

Well, dbf is about to get here so I guess I will head out, have an awesome day/evening. :)

hey everyone, sorry again for the MIA-ness, and thanks to everyone who sent me well-wishes about my eye! Its doing a lot better but we still dont know what caused it. We're looking at allergy desensitisation anyway and to be honest, I think I will take that option, because it really would make life so much easier to not be allergic to so many things! Here's hoping the insurance will cover it. My skin is looking good at the moment though, but I think I am allergic to the antifungal med he gave me :( Which is particularly bothersome since I am on day 5, pill 9 of a 30 day, 60 pill regime! At least the wedding planning is going smoothly though, ordered my bridesmaids dresses last week which was heaps of fun. I cant believe how close it is getting!

All your stories of Tokyo make me want to travel!

Namaste- I am secretly pleased that your autumn is looking like it is coming, because our spring is also looking like it is coming and I am so over winter! Bring on the sun and some vitamin D!

Beahawkins and Hotaruchan
You two didnt happen to be in SAI did you?
Namaste
Fall is my favorite! This will be my first fall in Oklahoma, so I have no idea what to expect, but I hope its nice.
Ghost
I'm sure you've posted this already, but i must have missed it. When is your wedding?

The weigh in this morning went pretty well. I'm still in the lead so far. I think theres a cash pot. The last weigh in is the first week of December(my cousin's wedding).

It's January 20th :D I dont expect people to remember, I know its far more important to me than it is to everyone else! Congrats on the weigh in, I hope you win for your health and your wallet's sake :D

Namaste: I understand completely. I am so nervous about this next week and my work out schedule. good luck!!

Kendal: I wasn't. Well that's awesome! December isn't too far away.

Ghost: Congrats on the wedding. How is planning going? I have been in 2 weddings in the last year or so and right about now the brides were going crazy...