depressedI know that there is nothing that I did to cause the hypothyroidism, and that it is relatively quite common... but that is for other people! I feel like my body has betrayed me.
I guess that I am mostly upset because this will mean daily medication for the rest of my life in the case that it is a long term affliction... which it usually is.
I looked up the symptoms of hypothyroidism to see if I had any of them...
1. Poor muscle tone *not really*
2. Fatigue *I have been feeling unusually craptastic as of late.. but I was kinda chalking that up to the January blahs.*
3. Cold Intolerance *um... duh. No change there*
4. Constipation. *I had this a few months back... not so much now. I know, I know.. TMI. But this is MY blog!! :P*
5. Weight gain. *I have gained about 20lbs since the wedding... but I was also eating more! lol*
6. Muscle cramps and joint pain. *I have been having more of this... but I chalked it up to muscle pulls at work - and I still think so!*
7. Brittle fingernails. *no more than usual*
8. Thin brittle hair. *not per se*
9. Paleness. *um... I am a white chick who works the night shift!!*
... and less often
10. Heat intolerance *not really*
11. Impaired memory *all my life*
12. Impaired cognitive function/ inattentiveness *um... yeah... *hangs head**
13. Hives *no*
14. Migraines *not to speak of*
15. Slow heart rate, and cardiac output. *no, and not of last May*
16. Post-prandial hypoglycemia *no idea... but I don't think so. All my blood sugar tests have been fine*
17. Pericardial effusions. *Not as of last May*
18. Sluggish reflexes. *Actually I would have to classify myself as hyper reflexive*
19. Hair loss. *not more than normal*
20. Anemia *no*
21. Anxiety/Panic attacks. *actually yes... *
22. Difficulty swallowing *hrmm... again, occasionally, yes*
23. Shortness of breath with a shallow and slow respiratory pattern. *no*
24. Impaired ventilatory responses to hypercapnia and hypoxia. *not tested.. obviously!*
25. Increased need for sleep. *slightly ... perhaps*
26. Irritability and mood instability. *ahh... I am very moody these days*
27. Osteopenia or Osteoporosis. *not sure*
28. Yellowing of the skin due to impaired conversion of beta-carotene to Vit A *no*
29. Impaired renal function with decreased GFR. *not sure about the GFR, but I believe my B/Cr is normal*
30. Thin, fragile or absent cuticles. *no*
31. Elevated serum cholesterol *yes*
32. Acute psychosis *NO!!... though T might disagree! ; )*
33. Decreased libido *Heh... slightly... but its sure not gone! I thought this was from fatigue*
34. Decreased sense of taste and smell. *no*
35. Puffy face hands and feet *NO! I am just big boned!! :P*
Ok... that was either kinda scary, or I am just seeing these 'everyday problems' in hind sight. All I know is that my TSH is 6.1, and it is supposed to be less than 5.5. Last time it was checked (5-4-7) it was 3.09. It is still not all that elevated, but I am not sure what you normally see with elevated TSHs. They did not do a T3, T4, or FreeT4, and at my last go around they were normal. Course they could be normal now and I would still have hypothyroidism because the fact is that my body is releasing more Thyroid Stimulating Hormone to keep those hypothetical numbers normal (compensated). I can't say that I am completely convinced yet, but I guess I will try out the meds and will get my hormone levels retested in 3 months.
So my question now is... how do you remember how to take a daily med 30min before first meal when your daily schedule keeps changing... and you have a bad memory!
