March 29th, 2011
What Happened When I Found Out I Had Hypothyroidism
There was nothing to worry about is what I tried to tell myself. There were changes in my body that did not seem to be normal. I chalked some of it up to the fact that I was getting older. But it was hard not to believe that something else might be wrong.
I did some research on the computer and went to a medical website that allowed me to put in the symptoms that I had including recent weight loss, sluggishness, fatigue, I was anxious and irritable, my hands ached and my skin was dry and the website told me that these were the symptoms of low thyroid condition and it also explained why I was feeling more depressed about things I did not understand. An under active thyroid means that for some reason or another a person is not producing enough chemicals from the thyroid to allow the body to function in the proper way. An overactive thyroid is because of an over production of the chemicals.
I found out through my homework that I needed to take some action. I could not hope it would disappear over time. The good news is that it is treatable, and the bad news is that it does not go away so it would be something that I would be dealing with for a long time and it was not a simple solution of taking a few low thyroid diet pills but would require me to make some changes in my lifestyle to compensate for the problems that an under active thyroid cause on a person’s body, but the lifestyle changes were doable and I decided to find out exactly what I would need to do.
I made an appointment to see my physician. The doctor took my history and was also concerned that I might have an under active tyroid. Though all of my symptoms suggested thyroidism, there was still the need for some tests to make sure. He made the arrangements and I went and was tested. It did not surprise me when I got the results. I had a condition known as thyroidism. After the confirmation came the discussion of what to do about it.
My doctor put me on some prescription medicine. When you use drugs to treat it you have to take the time to find the one that works for you and how much of it to take. There was no one answer for all people. There were no guarantees except that at some point the correct combination would show up if I kept at it. But taking medicine was not enough for me. Besides taking pills there were ways for me to help the thyroid that I had seen when I was trying to find out what was wrong with me. I decided that more research was needed.
I learned many fascinating facts about how the thyroid works. A specific food regimen would allow me to alleviate many of the symptoms that I felt. Along with eating things that made me feel better, I learned not to eat certain things. A healthy diet would not only help my thyroid, but it would help the rest of my body as well. It was also said that exercise was another important part of my regimen. Diet and exercise are both an important component of how a person feels. I also learned that I needed to worry less than I was used to doing. Worrying is rarely good for a person to do and it affects many different things.
I found a book that I could right in to help me through the program I was dedicated to doing. The use of this allowed my doctor to make adjustments to my medicine a lot faster. I felt like this treatment was something that was required of me at first, but after time it was just another part of me. Despite being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I feel better than I have in years.