I aint dyin, and I aint losin my woman, but that's about the best I can say right now.
Last week at work, they announced a surprise re-org. By surprise, I mean NO-ONE knew this was coming. It came down from the enterprise CIO, and was a surprise to everyone under that, including the guy who proposed it (who didn't expect it would be approved when he proposed it).
Meanwhile, we're 18 months into a four year merger integration, and our group already has over 100% workload through the end of the year... and we're already losing a guy in November (contractor), and another guy next March or April, maybe two (retiring).
Theoretically the re-org will be good for us. It may be very good for me personally... maybe... On the other hand it may not be. It's hard to tell. Upper management knows who I am, that I'm important to my part of the organization, that I'm one of the best guys in my role etc... But the guy we're being re-orged under is personally kind of difficult (he's a 60 someodd year old disabled viet nam vet from New Jersey; and manages to fulfill multiple stereotypes simultaneously), and doesn't like what we do (which is what prompted his agitating for the reorg in the first place). He has a different "vision" for what we do, parts of which I agree with, parts of which I don't.
Its going to change my boss again (my sixth in four and a half years), but we're not sure how or who. The guy we're being re-orged under has too many direct reports, so he's going to have to set up at least three sub managers, maybe as many as six. Don't know how many, or who they're going to be yet; but it's a good bet my current administrative manager won't be retained in the group (I have a manager I report to for HR purposes, but my real boss is HIS boss). Also, it's going to take one step out of our reporting chain.... and much as is currently the case, we'll only be nominally under the people we report to for HR purposes; in reality we'll be reporting to the big guy.
The big problem is, we have that over 100% workload, and we have no idea what the situation is going to be. The re-org was made official last week, but literally no-one knows what's going to happen or how; including the guy who we're being reorged under, and the guy who made the reorg decision.
Complicating the matter is that my real boss prior to last Tuesday, has told my new real boss that he's going to need my services at least 1/3 or my time all through next year.
So... we shall see...
Then Friday, I had my final doctors testing followup for a while; to review the previous tests, as well as my records for the last couple years.
What it comes down to is, they still don't know what's wrong. We can identify symptoms, but not causes; and those symptoms are masking whatever the core issues are.
My testosterone is almost off the bottom of the chart, so we're moving to intramuscular injectable testosterone therapy. It should be much more effective than the androgel, and about 1/6th the price.
We're starting out with 1cc every three weeks, but will most likely need to move up both the dosage and the timing. He thinks we'll stabilize at 1.5cc every three weeks, I think we'll get to 2cc every 2 weeks; with a goal of an average T of 800 mcg/dl
My blood sugar is high, but not diabetic high. I IS however spiking higher than it should after meals, so that's something to worry about. Especially since the testosterone therapy can screw with blood sugar. Right now he doesnt think we should go with any direct therapy for it, we should try to control it with diet, excercise etc... The big issue, is that most of the medications that might help, might also make other things worse (especially metformin); except maybe Januvia, which is still under patent and therefore ungodly expensive (a couple hundred a month apparently).
My thyroid function is low, but not low enough to risk screwing things up worse by supplementing it. My cortisol is high, but not high enough to risk screwing something else up by medicating, especially since my ACTH is low (but not low enough to be a problem etc... etc... etc...).
Basically, everything is interacting with each other, they're not sure how, and they dont want to mess with anything they don't have to so they don't make anything worse.
THIS IS A GOOD THING.
It means I have docs who know what they're on about, get that this isn't about me overeating or being lazy, and understand that you can't just throw scrips at a problem to make it go away.
For the rest, the doc doesn't want me on any scrips; but he thinks I'm vitamin deficient because of my UC, my diet, and the other meds I take (Prilosec, OTC painkillers, Sudafed etc...). He wants me to take higher dosages of a better multivitamin, PLUS a b complex, and extra C and D; and then 2000mg a day of slow release niacin to help improve my HDL/LDL balance.
Also the niacin is important, because testosterone therapy can make my HDL/LDL balance even worse (and my overall cholesterol and my blood pressure, which I'm supposed to monitor regularly).
By the by, taking 2 grams of Niacin a day is quite uncomfortable. It causes what they understatedly call "flush". What that means is that you turn bright red and get very hot all over, like a bad sunburn. You also get the worst case of goosebumps you've ever had, and your body itches all over. This effect lasts for a half hour to an hour and is quite unpleasant, even using the "slow release" form of niacin. It is mitigated somewhat by taking the Niacin with meals, and by taking aspirin or ibuprofen 20 minutes or so before you take the niacin. Somewhat.
Combine that with a diet that weights protein heavier, and fats and carbs lighter, and getting back to regular exercise; and that should work to help my body self regulate, and bring things back into line. Maybe then, we can find a root cause for the hormone regulation issues.
We'll see...
Finally, I'm spending only the third night away from my wife in the last five years; while she heads up to Vancouver to meet with our Canadian lawyer in person.
He's very confident we can get the kids back quickly. Mel is enthused about a possible quick resolution... I think there may be some more delays, and she should moderate her expectations.
We'll see...
