Greetings! Thank you for visiting the Traveling Thyroid. This is my journey of health and wellness, so please join me on this experience.
I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism on Friday 13 September, 2013. It was a completely unexpected diagnosis, for which I am eternally grateful to my OGBYN for running the labs. When she recommended a thyroid panel, I actually said to her “Okay crazy lady, whatever you want, but I don’t need to deal with the results until after I return from my three month work trip!” I actually called my gyno a crazy lady… and she is the one who perhaps saved my life. So THANK YOU, Dr. Clifton!
I was only 26 when I was diagnosed. Twenty six years old. Hypothyroidism happens much more often in post menopausal women, so of course I was thrown for a loop. I didn’t know what the thyroid did, where it was in my body, or how its poor function affected me. In hindsight, I had many indicators of my dwindling health, but was too proud and arrogant to go to the doctors to seek help. I thought I could manage my fatigue, lose the weight on my own, and if only I ate better, I could feel better. However, those weren’t my only symptoms. I had gained about 35 pounds in under a year, without large diet or activity changes; my skin was so dry, that with my weight gain I had severe stretch marks, deep purple in hue and more than some of my friends who have had multiple children; I was so fatigued at work, that if I talked to somebody for 20 minutes, I’d have to sit like a zombie for two hours to get my energy back up. I had always been an outgoing, energetic, happy person, and I was merely a shell of my former self. I would come home from work, so exhausted, that I’d lay down on the floor or on the couch for 30 minutes so that my dogs could greet me, as I was too tired to play with them. Then, I’d drag myself off the couch to “cook”, which was by this point almost always a frozen bagged meal, as I didn’t have the endurance to stand around the kitchen preparing dinner, after such an exhausting day.
About a month before my diagnosis, my husband asked me to see a doctor. Phew, that man is brave! Not only was I have physical physical side-effects, I was also have emotional ones. I was so irritable and it showed in my marriage. I married a magnificent man, he’s patient, kind, and supportive. Early in our courtship, I had told him that “I need a husband who is willing to stand up for my health and wellness, even if I don’t see it myself”. That may not be a normal request in a new relationship, but I lost my mother to suicide when I was only five. I’ll never have an accurate picture of her health, mentally or physically, when she took her own life, but I’d always known I needed a life partner who was willing to be honest with me, even when I refused to see the bigger picture. Well, my husband did just that. He told me that I’d be so terribly rude and abrasive, although I didn’t need him to tell me, I knew deep down I wasn’t loving him and was driving him away. Lo and behold, he was aware that something was off with my body, although we didn’t know until just a few weeks later. To this day, he has never said “I told you so” about my health. He’s been supportive and for that I am grateful.
I could go on and on about my side-effects, but I will disclose some of the others as time goes on. For now, I need to figure out how to Blog! This is entirely new to me. Thank you for your patience and support, and thank you for visiting the Traveling Thyroid!
xoxo,
-V
Traveling Thyroid 