EDIT as I compile these for the new blog: Post from my Live Journal as I tried to make sense of the hypothyroidism discovery and why my numbers initially appeared normal. (This was before my antibodies were tested).
March 15, 2006 Health updates
So I've been reading tons on hypothyroidism. I keep coming across these stories from other women that I could have written myself. The rapid weight gain (50 lbs in about a year), the tiredness, the achy joints, the weak muscles, the depression, etc etc etc. It feels very validating to read these stories, and yet very frustrating as well. I know of many reasons now why my bloodwork might appear "normal" and yet my symptoms are very real. I'm nearing that dead end with my current Dr. about to embark on paying out of pocket for a more open minded, alternative medicine doc. Insurance sucks. The only docs on those lists are the ones that the big pharm companies want.
Right now I'm supposed to come back in 30 days and do more bloodwork just to see if anything comes back different. I am going to push for a few more tests that would rule out or confirm autoimmune thyroiditis. I also learned from my sis that caffeine can mess up test results (it lowers your TSH level which is one thing they look at) so I'm trying to quit caffeine before my next bloodwork.
I have gone from drinking over 200 mg of caffeine (2 cups of coffee) to about 60 mg (2 cups of yerba mate/green tea). I hope to be able to cut out completely but I'm not sure I can do that. I would just sleep all day without something to get me going.
From what I've read, getting treated for my hypo, won't be an easy fix for the weight gain, unfortunately (although it will level the playing field for me). It is going to be a long road back to training my body how to properly store and release fats, handle blood sugar etc etc again. I've got some really good books and am doing the research, but it is going to be some major work. If y'all thought I was a nutrition nazi before, I'm going uber-nutritional now. And (gasp) I might even try a supplement or two...
It is time for health and healing.
Oh and yeah for the coming Spring! Cold weather puts extra strain on the thyroid because the body has to work harder to maintain proper body temp, so with warmer weather my symptoms should ease up a bit because my body can make do with less thyroid hormones.
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