Okay, who out there knows what these test results MEAN?  Because I got my results today and I’m totally scratching my head.

Back when I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism, my levels were (I’m told) something like 36.  Didn’t mean much to me until the doctor explained to me that normal levels are 0.5 to 5 and that he’d like mine 0.5 to 2 in order to get pregnant.  Okie dokie!

This last pregnancy, when my OB called me all in a tizzy over my TSH level and the existance of antibodies in my bloodstream, the level was 16.  That’s when she bumped me up from 150mcg of levothyroxin to 200mcg.  Which is what I took until I ran out of pills (and refills) like THE DAY Evie was born.

I’m not sure what my levels were the first time they were tested by the new doctor back in August but they were a “jumping off” point anyhow, as if I had just been diagnosed.  He had me taking 100mcg.

Now I was supposed to get this test done a month ago.  (Oops!)  Actually, like a month and a HALF ago.  Anyhow.  I got a call from the nurse yesterday saying she had gotten my results and they were “high”.  The doctor wanted me to take 150mcg.  I pointed out that I had no refills and she said to have the pharmacy fax over a refill request which would be for 100mcg and not 150mcg but I’M NOT GOING TO ARGUE at this point.  And he wanted me retested in December.  Okay, whatever works.  Right?

Today I got the lab results in the mail.  And… well… I don’t want to jump to conclusions or anything but it says the result is 116.527.  (And, ever so helpfully, next to it is a flag that says High.)  (For the record, the “Reference Interval” is 0.45 – 4.500, which is in line with what I know.)

Uhm.  Is that the same number as the 36 and the 16 from before?  Because if it is, then that’s kinda beyond HIGH and more into OMG, HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?  Or am I being a doofus?  I swear, you could never tell I’ve had hypothyroidism for 5 years (well, more if you wanna get technical but I’ve known for five years), I’m still pretty naive about it.

Do any of you know how to read a report like this?  Cuz DUDE.

I hear the words “date night” and I cringe.  I know that having regular date nights with your spouse is one of the keys to marital happiness when you’re bogged down in raising children.  But being that we neither have friends nor any family that live here in town and, well, we don’t get out for date night a whole heck of a lot.  Of course, the great irony is that now that we have three children, we need it more than ever.

So it would seem that the best solution would then be to set up a little “date night” here at home.  Something we can do after the children are in bed or otherwise engaged.  However, I lack the necessesary imagination to think up fun and interesting ideas on my own.   I know, it’s amazing that I once harbored aspirations of becoming a writer, isn’t it?  I have a desperately difficult time thinking outside the box.

I mean, I have your basic date night ideas.  The whole “rent a movie and pop some popcorn and snuggle up on the couch” routine.  I mean, there’s a reason it’s so common.  It works.  But we can’t do that EVERY time, right?  Variety being the spice of life and all.

So what do all of you guys do?  What are your best “staying in” ideas?  And I could also use inexpensive “going out” ideas since one of these days we might actually find a babysitter.

I know.  Shock, huh?