Heavy. (I make pun!)

[mightyjesse]

It sounds utterly ridiculous to me, when I stop and think about it, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I have never been so relieved as I was last night to get a letter from my doctor telling me that I have a condition that needs to be treated for the rest of my life. No. Really. I know it sounds stupid, but bear with me.

Last week, I missed a day of work to go to the lab and get blood tests done. (I didn't really need to miss work, aside from the fact that they told me not to eat or take any drugs for twelve hours. Not eating for 12 hours makes me cranky, and this year, not taking any allergy meds makes me itchy. Being as I have some accumulated sick leave, I decided that it wasn't necessary to subject my colleagues to itchy-cranky MJ.) So the letter I got from the doctor yesterday was expected. I had asked them to check my cholesterol levels. So I read through the expected stuff:

Your cholesterol is 201, which is the high end of normal. Exercise and eat a healthy diet. Your blood sugar levels are normal. Your blood-pressure is at the lower end of normal. We don't know why you needed to have your blood drawn before we could give you your blood pressure, since they didn't even take a reading before sticking you with a needle. This just seemed like the logical place to record that information for you.

What was NOT expected was the additional paragraph of writing tacked on to the end of the note from my doctor:

Your thyroid appears to be underactive. Your prescription is attached. Please take one tablet daily by mouth on an empty stomach and we will test your blood again in three months to see if your dosage needs to be adjusted.

...

I am pleased that I am a smart enough monkey to use google, otherwise I would be thoroughly put out with my doctor. I mean, it's one thing to avoid being alarmist, but sometimes patients have *questions*.

I googled my prescription for Synthroid and followed a series of links on to read about hypothyroidism, for which levothyroxine sodium is normally prescribed. It was at that point that the relief kicked in. I am *not* actually allergic to Wisconsin. The littany of strange ailments that have been plaguing me since I moved here are NOT just me being whiny. And no... it is NOT normal for one's metabolism to come to a screeching halt just because a girl has turned 30. (I mean, I was anticipating *some* slow-down over time, but the fact that I have been restricting myself to 1200 calories a day and still not losing any weight, while naughtyaelf has lost 1/3 of my body weight in the same period of time hads made me quite cross and dispirited. I *used* to be able to lose weight just by cutting out 1/2 of my daily donut intake... I used to be able to down about 4 in one day without blinking. I don't remember having had a donut since I moved here...)

So... Here's a list of symptoms caused by hypothyroidism (as provided by the Mayo Clinic): I have complained of everything with an asterisk at least once since moving to Madison. Many of these complaints appear in this very blog...

• Fatigue*
  
• Sluggishness
  
• Increased sensitivity to cold* (Heh. I guess Zig will be relieved to know why I need to wear a parka on long car rides with him on days when he is wearing a tank top and shorts.)
  
• Constipation *
  
• Pale, dry skin* (I'm always pale, but I count at least 2 entries in my blog where I complain about what Wisconsin has been doing to my skin.)
  
• A puffy face* (On the other hand... I'm half Asian, so it's hard to say.)
  
• Hoarse voice
  
• An elevated blood cholesterol level* (One assumes it's elevated, considerring the amount of salad and oatmeal I eat.)
  
• Unexplained weight gain* (AMEN. It wasn't just me making the thin woman's complaint.)
  
• Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness* (...I wouldn't feel normal if this wasn't the case. It's hard to say if this is MORE than normal.)
  
• Pain, stiffness or swelling in your joints* (This has been mystifying doctors since just before I left Pittsburgh.)
  
• Muscle weakness* (Again... Hard to say. My exercise regime has changed drastically since I left Pittsburgh.)
  
• Heavier than normal menstrual periods
  
• Brittle fingernails and hair* (Yes. My hair is fine. I'm half asian, what do you want? It's my finger nails that I've got complaint with...)
  
• Depression

Also listed on other sites and not mentioned by Mayo were:

• Low blood-pressure*
  
• Absent periods*

So... yeah. I have a lot of reading to do about treatment and symptoms and whatnot (I read that the Synthroid causes bone loss. This was not mentioned by the doctor or pharmacist. I shall ask eithni about this before I have a freak out. Also my prescription and pill bottle say .75 or .075 but the pills I was given are aqua and say 137 515 on them, thus indicating 137 mcg doseage I misremembered. These are correct doseage generic pills...), but it's a relief to know that my inability to lose weight is not just me being impatient or undisciplined. (Because really. I have gone on a successful diet before. The same diet that I'm on now resulted in 2 lbs/week of weightloss 4 years ago...) My phantom joint pain and swelling is NOT all in my head, and I'm not REALLY turning into a lizard, despite my attempts of late to shed my whole skin. It's also nice to know that I'm not slowly becoming stupid and lazy. I had been wondering about my recent (last 2 years) inability to think clearly... I had never heard of people getting stupider as they got older, but I was definitely having some issues...

It is my understanding that it will take at least 6 weeks for the hormones to start working, so I won't be able to get in shape for Pennsic (Not that I intend to stop trying...), and even after they re-test my blood in 3 months, my dosage levels may not be correct and may require further adjustment. But at least I know what's wrong with me...

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yay for explanations!

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

Yes. Knowing why is half the battle. Just as I can adjust to a laptop that doesn't have integrated wifi, I can adjust to a body that doesn't have an integrated thyroid. I just need to know what's missing. Just as not having internet connectivity causes a wide variety of computing issues, not having T3 and T4 hormones in correct balance was wreaking havoc on my normally efficient metabolism.

It does occur to me that Zig may not recognize me if the hormone therapy is successful. I've been having these problems ever since we started dating. I'm not sure he'll know what to do with the *real* sleeps-4-hours-a-night-and-orders-pizza-at-1:00-am-me.

I can't wait to have me back.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I sympathize. I miss me, too.

[ragincajunette.livejournal.com]

My mom has/had an under active thyroid - she actually had it removed when I was about nine, so I'm not sure if it should be a present or past tense statement. She still has to take the daily meds though.

While it's nice having an explanation for your symptoms, I just hope it doesn't bring you as much depression as it has my mom. The inability to lose weight really gets to her sometimes and I really can't say anything that'll make her feel better.

[medeine.livejournal.com]

I'm *so* glad you got an answer you can work with - I've been frustrated to no end by the fact that I have many of the symptoms of hypothyroidism, *without* the low blood levels. Although my medical-type friends tell me the docs aren't doing the 'right' tests, since sometimes it doesn't show up with the hormones they initially screen...

Anyway - enough about me - yay you! :D
::hugs::

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

I suspect my mother may have the same issue, since she has many of the same symptoms (most of which I brushed off for quite some time because "Mom is the same way.") but her TSH serum levels are in the "right range".

Though, from what I've read, they've recently adjusted the acceptable TSH serum level from 5 down to 3. It may be worth having it checked again, by a different doctor.

I dunno... I'll let you know in 3 months when the hormones kick in...

[rmitz.livejournal.com]

Oh, my. Sending hugs and good vibrations your way.

[ilaifire.livejournal.com]

I think I might have that too. Didn't occur to me to check symptoms until a few weeks ago. It's not exactly sensitivity to cold as much as to extreme temperatures, most often cold. I went to check why I might have extreme sensitivity to heat, and a decent amount of the symptoms of a thyroid problem coincide with problems I've had. I'm vaguely considering going to see a doctor about it, but for now I don't really care.

[jinglymushroom.livejournal.com]

Oh, gosh!
On one hand, I'm sorry to hear that you have the condition at all, and that it has caused you so much trouble. :(
On the other hand, it's good indeed that you have found it now and have an explanation, as well as treatment. :)
I wish you much success with the treatment and hope they adjust the levels to the needed amount quickly.
But gee whiz, you're awesome for, well, just cause you're awesome all over, really, but specifically at the moment for your ability to embrace what to others could be devastating news. Go you! :D

[eithni.livejournal.com]

Eeep. First of all - put me in the medical TMI filter, then call me later if you want to talk about drug stuff. I'm hypothyroid too, so I even am personally familiar with much of this...