I was just diagnosed with a thyroid disease.
Yes, it's real and true - and pretty much the answer to all my problems. I have a condition known as hypothyroidism. I'll have it for the rest of my life and probably have to take meds for it the rest of my life. It's nothing contagious by any means, but it can be hereditary (I have a history of thyroid problems in my family). Almost everything in our bodies is affected by the thyroid gland, and when it doesn't function normally then other things kinda go crazy. My particular condition means that my thyroid doesn't produce enough of the necessary thyroid hormone to keep my body functioning at a maximum. To test for this condition, your blood is drawn and they look for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to see how much your brain is trying to get your thyroid to work. A "normal" TSH level is between 0.4-5.0; above that, it means that your brain is sending out extra reminders to your thyroid to work properly and the thyroid isn't responding. The doc nearly fell out of his chair when he saw that my TSH level is 43.8!
Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, sensitivity to cold, getting sick easy, weight gain, hair loss, high cholesterol, and many other things. For those of you who know me really well, the top three symptoms almost describe me to a "t". I wake up tired almost every day, I'm always cold (I'm wearing a jacket at this moment, in fact!), I've gotten sick almost every semester since I started school ... and I could go on, but I won't.
So now I'm taking a hormone medication to give my body that necessary hormone to function properly. I've only taken it for two days so no results yet (it could take a while before I really start noticing a difference) but I'm getting excited about the prospect of not getting tired two hours after I get up in the morning, to ditch my sweaters and . . . on and on.
So the answer to all my problems (hopefully) . . . is this tiny pill:
This is my hormone pill compared in size to my vitamin. It's so small!
9 comments:
Wow, 43.8! I am glad you have discovered this and hope that your pill will fix some of your problems!
Thanks, Sarah! I was a little shocked at the number too once someone explained to me what it all meant. I'm glad to finally have an explanation as to why I'm always so tired! I always blamed it on stress from school but felt like a wimp cuz I knew other people were just as busy as me. So I'm glad. Thank you!
Welcome to the hypothyroidism club! (Aren't you so excited?) I found out about mine April '07 when I started being testing for anything that could possibly have been preventing me from getting pregnant. I'm only on a low dose of the medication, though--50 mcg--because mine's not super bad. I don't remember what my TSH level was.
What I think stinks the most is having to wait an hour after I take it before I can eat. (But I've remedied that by setting my alarm for 6 a.m. every day and going back to sleep until at least 7:00.) After a while, remembering to take it becomes second nature.
I'm the only person in my immediate family with a thyroid problem, but I've got aunts, cousins, and in-laws with it.
Btw, maybe it's because mine is so mild, but I haven't really noticed a difference in feeling cold . . . I'm still cold! (I thought it would change when I was pregnant, too. I hear people say that they're always too warm, but I'm still just as cold as ever!)
Thanks for the welcome Tammy! I didn't know you had it. I'm finding out that it's actually pretty common in women. It's kinda crazy. I don't remember what my dose is - 70 mcg or something like that. My doc said he would start me off low and then test again in a month and see what that's doing.
I agree that the worst thing is having to take it so soon before breakfast. That's really hard for me because I like to sleep in . . . oh well. Life goes on! ;) And I hope taking it becomes like second nature 'cuz right now I need all the reminders I can get!
I guess we'll see how my cold-ness gets. I guess you never know what'll happen. My biggest hope is the fatigue. I hope to be a mom someday and I knew I wouldn't survive being mom-tired if I am already just normal-tired!
I'm so glad you found out what the problem was! It does really help. My level is high too, I'm at 100 mg, so I related. I don't know anything about having to wait to eat after I've had my pill though, they just told me an empty stomach but then it I could eat?
Thanks Kelli! I'm glad too. I think it's a blessing for me to be able to know what to do and how to treat it. I'm glad there is something that can be done about it, so it's not like I just have to deal with it. I'm really excited to start noticing the difference!
The instructions on my meds said to take it in the morning, on an empty stomach, at least 1/2 to 1 hour before eating. I usually intend to eat about a 1/2 hour after taking it but usually forget so it's always closer to an hour after taking it that I eat breakfast! My doc also told me to take it around the same time each day. I don't mind it on days I'm up early anyway, but if I want to sleep in it's not very much fun. I'll be okay though - if that's the worst of my troubles then I have nothing to worry about!
Glad to know they found out why you had health problems - did they take like 10 vials of blood? 'Cause my family has a history of thyroid problems, too, and when I was having health problems it felt like they took my entire artery's worth of blood...:P Yay that you hopefully found out why you're sick!
oh my gosh, thankfully your doctor tested for it! i hope that the meds being to work soon so you can feel rested and a bit warmer!
thanks for commenting today!
Hey Jessica! Wow, I hope that you start noticing a difference soon! And get feeling better! GOod luck!
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