How To Keep Your Thyroid Resolutions in 2001

Join the Discussion After I had my baby 3 years ago, I was successfully losing weight, then I got off track and on track and off track several times. Currently off-track, and ready to get back on!! ;-) I did my treadmill today, and found a site where I am keeping track of my calories and exercise...Ok, so it's only January 1st, but I'm off to a good start! Anyone else? Mary     Related Resources • Read Thyroid-Related Articles Here at the Site • Sign Up For Thyroid Newsletters

It's a new year, and that means that many of us are making resolutions. If you're like me and many of our fellow thyroid patients, one of the main resolutions we all share is the desire to lose some weight! Or, if you are a smoker, 2001 may be the year you decide to quit for good. Or perhaps you just want to gain a better understanding of your thyroid condition? Whatever your resolution, there's help for you here at the thyroid site!

Lose weight.

If it's time to tackle that extra weight you gained along with your thyroid problem, your first stop should be the Thyroid Weight Loss Information Center, located at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weightloss/blmain.htm. You'll find diets you can start today that actually work for thyroid patients, articles on weight loss, recommendations regarding the best books, programs you can join, and other resources specifically to help you as a thyroid patient to effectively lose weight.

This is my number one resolution this year...if it's yours, join me at my thyroid diet forum, where I'll be posting updates on my own efforts. The Thyroid Diet and Weight Loss Forum is located at: http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroiddiet.

Feel better.

If you've been diagnosed and are being treated, but are one of the millions of people who still don't feel well, then it's time to start investigating whether you're at the right TSH, T4 and T3 levels, whether you need to change medications or add a new medication to the mix, or explore alternatives. To help guide you in your effort to get beyond just surviving -- and really feel better and live well -- read: Help, I'm Hypothyroid and I Still Don't Feel Well, located at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa090700a.htm.

Quit smoking.

I smoked for more than ten years, and quit several times before I successfully quit in July of 1995. As a thyroid patient, there's even more reason than usual for you to quit smoking. Find out more about the connections between thyroid disease and smoking, and what you can do to quit -- including what I finally did that allowed me to give up my favorite bad habit... It's all in my article: Your Thyroid Up in Smoke, Cigarette Smoking's Little Known Links to Thyroid Disease, located at: http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa102400a.htm. And don't forget to check out About's excellent Smoking Cessation site, at http://quitsmoking.about.com.

Find a new doctor.

When your thyroid disease has been diagnosed by a family practice or primary care doctor, should you request a consultation with an endocrinologist? Or, if you're being treated for thyroid disease but still don't feel well, is it time to ask for a second opinion? Find out more about when you need to see a thyroid specialist, in the article "Do You Need an Endocrinologist?" Located at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa061000a.htm .

You may also need to decide what type of doctor you need. Does your current doctor view him or herself as dictator, a parental figure, a teacher, or a partner? Do HMOS or national health programs serve up a revolving door of new doctors every visit? Find out your physician's "DoctorStyle," and what it means mean for you and your health, in "DoctorStyles: What Type of Doctor Do You Have? And What Style Do You Need?" online at: Http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa111000a.htm.

You can search for a good doctor recommended by our fellow thyroid patients at my Thyroid Top Doc Directory. The Directory features US and international doctors by state or country. The Directory's located at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/bldoc1.htm. Please note that you'll need to contact the doctor directly though, to find out his or her individual philosophy concerning optimal TSH levels or use of T3. I'd suggest a call ahead of time for a brief pre-appointment consult or interview.

If you don't find any docs in the Top Docs Directory, or if you want to have more interaction with others about requested and/or recommended doctors, the place to go is my interactive Top Thyroid Doctors Forum, where you can post your requests and input by region of the world, regarding doctors and practitioners you are seeking, or recommend, and see what others think about particular doctors. See The Thyroid Top Docs Forum online at: http://forums.about.com/ab-thyroiddrs.

Have a baby.

If you've tackled your thyroid problem, but now you want to think about starting or adding to the family, you need my "Fertility, Pregnancy & Thyroid Disease Information Center." I had this resolution in 1997, and my daughter was born at the end of that year!!! The Center features articles about infertility and thyroid disease, and hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism in pregnancy, and how to have your own bundle of joy in 2001! You can find the article online at: http://thyroid.about.com/blpregnancy.htm.

Exercise.

Exercise is an essential part of losing weight for thyroid patients. About has some wonderful sites that will help get you moving, so check out some of these terrific exercise-related sites:

• Exercise
• Walking
• Bicycling
• Running/Jogging
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Martial Arts
• Bodybuilding