Showing posts with label thyroid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thyroid. Show all posts

Monday, February 13, 2023

Malfunctioning Thyroid?

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Statistics have shown that one in eight women in America suffer from thyroid issues. As one of those unfortunate women, I am constantly looking for ways to make the day to day journey a bit easier. I have done a lot of research, and thought I would share some of the steps I took through the nightmare of being diagnosed, with the hope of helping someone else as well.

Thyroid frustrations seem to run through my family, making me aware of symptoms to watch for through my post teenage years. When I began to notice that I constantly felt drowsy, and my energy was depleted, I began looking at other changes in my life as well. Unfortunately, this was also during the pandemic, and after receiving a positive diagnosis of Covid 19. This hindered a bit of my suspicions, because many of the symptoms were those that could be in relation to the effects of the virus. So I finally decided to make a list of those things that seemed a bit 'off ' to reference during the appointment with my physician. The top five on my list? 
   
     - Constantly feeling exhausted. Like, not just tired, but to the point that I was always falling asleep while sitting on the couch. When I would attempt to be woken, I almost had what I would describe as the feeling of being drugged. It was beginning to cause me to miss important appointments, work, and time with my family.

    - Little to obsolete sex drive. This of course, I felt was due to the constant exhaustion. Intimacy became a thing of the past, resulting in a feeling of depression and inadequacy. 

    -Hair loss. When I did have enough gumption to bathe, washing my hair left my shower slow to drain. I knew this was a symptom of hypothyroidism, but also a symptom of stress. Leaving me to believe it was probably a result of the latter.

    -Increased appetite. It seemed like those rare moments when I was able to keep my eyes open, I constantly felt hungry. But the hunger always accompanied cravings of sweet snacks, and salty potato chips. Again, a symptom of stress, or depression. Both of which I seemed qualified for.

    -Weight gain. Hand in hand with the snacking and sleeping, this made perfect sense.

Once I was finally able to meet with my physician in person, rather than via face-time, (due to the pandemic) I requested she do a panel of bloodwork on me. Three days later, she called and stated that my vitamin D levels were low, but that everything else appeared normal. So I was given a script for a higher dose of vitamin D than you receive in a daily multivitamin, and the assumption that it was all related to post Covid depression.

After three months of noticing absolutely no difference in my daily pattern, I returned to her office for a follow up on the blood work. Once again, I was told that it was in relation to a vitamin deficiency, and sent on my way. Frustrated and feeling helpless, I found myself ranting on the phone to my sister, who lived 5000 miles away, and had recently been diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease. The more we discussed our symptoms, the more I was convinced that I was not receiving the correct diagnosis. Through my sisters diagnosis, we discovered that there is more than one test for thyroid disorders, but generally only one is offered, unless the others are requested. 

Long story a bit shortened, after a year of bloodwork and increased symptoms pointing to so many random health issues, such as the depression, stress, and Covid relations, I chose to find a new physician. Upon requesting that I have what is called a T3 and T4 test done, which is as easy as a simple blood test, I was finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism. 

Don't misunderstand me. Nobody wants a diagnosis of a disorder, or disease. But I was relieved to know that it was more than the original diagnosis, and that I could now be treated correctly, giving me the chance to soon feel alive and myself again. I've wrote this in the hopes of helping others who might be facing the same problem, and feel like they are running themselves into a wall with their physician. Request the extra testing to be done. Yes, they are the ones that went to school and got the degree. But you are the only one who knows exactly how you feel. Follow that gut instinct, and refuse to give up. Believe me, the end result is worth it. 

Good luck, and best wishes. 

    

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Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Energizer Bunny? Not so Much


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I managed to have my children nine years apart. Everyone said it was crazy. I enjoyed it. While the eldest was in school, I got to have one on one with the baby. Looking back, it was wonderful. Wouldn't change it for the world. 

But now, as a middle-aged mom, I deal with a sense of guilt. I always wonder if my second child was robbed of things I did with her brother. I was twenty when I had him. We did everything together.... I was still young and energetic. Fast forward, today I am not. Divorced and with today's recession and economic crisis, I work full time. I'm not the young, new mother with all the energy and time of the Energizer Bunny. Throw in a lazy thyroid, and fibromyalgia, and some days I'm slower than the molasses escaping from the mason jar. 

My daughter is amazing. Vibrant and full of electricity, fueled by sass. I know she was to young to look back and remember the days when I could run around the track cheering her brother on as he fought to cross the finish line first. But I'm not too old to remember, and some days, it makes me just want to cry. 

I can't be the only middle-aged mom who deals with this. It should have a name. We should start a club. Meet once a week for support. {We could meet on face time, so we didn't have to feel responsible to put jeans on and actually GO, lol} But then, of course, I'd feel guilty for using that time for ME, instead of her. Even though she is in her room, music vibrating the windows, and 4 other voices emanating from her phone speaker. I at least know that I am sitting on my couch crocheting a blanket, ready for some one on one with her when she is ready. If I haven't fallen asleep while waiting. 

Does she stay in her room because somewhere, subconsciously, she remembers that volleyball tournament in grade school that I just could not pull myself together for in order to attend? Or is it the lunch date I had to call off, because of a brain splitting headache? The Valentine Party in the 2nd grade that I couldn't take off work for? So many options, leading to one question. Did I disappoint her? Just to type it breaks my heart. 

Tell me I'm not the only one. Tell me someone else had to send their child to daycare and cry all the way to work. Tell me she is a typical teen, who knows her mom would give her the stars in the sky if she were able. 

I need to know what to name our club. Or is there one already out there, and if so... did the mail lady lose my invitation? Can someone send me a new one? 

Oh, and I need written instructions on how to work this face time thing. Add those in the P.S. of the invite. 
Please.
I know you're out there.






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Working, Parenting, and Balance

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