Ya know how this is called “Trying to Find My Normal”? Well, here's a very good story illustrating why I chose that title.
This post is NOT intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition. I'm not a nurse or doctor, I don't play one on television, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. In short, I have no medical expertise, real or imagined. I'm just sharing my story and some research I've gathered through the years. This is my butterfly story.
I'm calling it my butterfly story because of the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck called the thyroid. So many medical professionals overlook its role and yet it can cause so many problems. My personal experience is with hypothyroidism, but many people deal with hyperthyroidism as well. Again, I'm not an expert, but I'm going to talk about my experience with hypothyroidism.
My journey started over 13 years ago. My daughter was a month or two old. I lost about a third of the weight I'd gained right away, then I stopped losing weight. I was exhausted. My hair was falling out. My nails were breaking. I was itchy all over. I had achy joints. I was always freezing. Everyone kept telling me that because I was a new mom, I should expect to be tired all the time. I would have bought into that, except my daughter started sleeping at least 6 hours a night when she was about 6 weeks old.
I went to my doctor, who ran some tests. My labs came back “normal”, but she decided to treat me for hypothyroidism. Thank God my doctor looked beyond the numbers because soon after I started the medicine, I was back to myself. I lost the weight, I was “new mom” tired as opposed to “can't move” tired. I wasn't achy without reason and my phantom itchiness went away. My nails stopped snapping off. I found a normal!
Over time, I've had labs done to keep track of my thyroid levels. I've had thyroid sonograms and the radioactive thyroid scan. I've had my dosage upped until I got to the dose I'm currently taking. Unfortunately, at one point the thyroid medicine I was taking was unavailable, so I had to switch to my current medicine. I lost my normal.
If you do any reading at about hypothyroidism at all, you would know that different thyroid medicines are NOT necessarily interchangeable. Oh, the active ingredient might be the same, but the fillers and/or dyes can interfere with the way your body absorbs the medicine.
Fun fact: I've been plodding along on this stupid medicine for way longer than I should have. I have been feeling terrible and gaining weight. Extreme fatigue, hair coming out in clumps, dry skin, achy joints, phantom itchiness, and a bunch of other symptoms that you wouldn't even think are thyroid related. Like 300 different symptoms! I accepted this as my new normal.
Let me just say, I adore my doctor. I would not trade her for anything. Some of you who live near me go to her, too, and can attest that she's about the best thing that ever happened to medicine. However, she is only human. The last visit I had with her was because I wanted to talk about my thyroid. I've steadily been gaining weight for a long time. I was certain it was my thyroid because in addition to the weight gain, I've had many other symptoms but my labs came back “normal”. Oh, there's that word again! All right, I really need to watch what I eat and exercise more. I have trouble standing to make coffee, but I'm supposed to exercise? I did. For weeks, my calorie intake has been far below what I was burning. I gained 4 pounds. WHAT?!
So, I did more reading and found a different thyroid medication that I haven't tried. I asked my doctor if she would be willing to let me switch, and she sent the prescription to my pharmacy. I picked it up today and I'll start it tomorrow morning. I'll keep you posted whether it makes a difference. Funny thing, though. My doctor told me it will take months before I notice a change. Everything I read about this new medicine says it works faster. I guess we'll see, right? Maybe there will be another normal in a month or two.
My reasoning for sharing this story with you is that you should always trust what your body is telling you. I felt lousy almost instantly on that thyroid medicine, yet I kept taking it. I knew it wasn't helping, but I didn't push for anything different. Here's hoping this new medicine helps!!
Here are some links if you would like to find out more:
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