What Important Life Lesson Thyroid Disease Taught You
Don't ignore fatigue, especially after the birth of a new baby. My second pregnancy left me hypothyroid, but I didn't find out until after 8 months of chronic fatigued. Once on thyroid medicine, I'd feel good for awhile, then the fatigue would come back. Then I'd go back to the doctor to raise the dose, a vicious cycle all of my adult life. It wasn't until an extremely stressful job combined with an extremely disasterous relationship made me break out in hives for 14 months. Then my hypothyroidism turned into Hasimoto's Thyroiditis, an autoimmune disorder. Listen to your body and insist you are treated!
How Has This Lesson Changed Your Life?
If I could go back and change all those years I dragged myself around like a rag doll because of constant exhaustion, I'd go back to all those awful physicians who NEVER listened to me when I told them my symptoms. I'd tell them to quit dismissing fatigue in a woman. There really are sound, physiological causes for a young woman to be so fatigued besides having children, living with and trying to understand the man in her life, and being "hormonal" or "depressed." If you do not bounce back after initial treatment, don't give up. Insist on being heard and taken care of until you can function normally again.
Advice
- If you are exhausted, can't sleep despite being very tired, are irritable but still have to get through the day, go to your doctor. When they don't listen and "blow you off," simply say the following "no's":
- "No, I'm not depressed."
- "No,I'm not hormonal."
- "No, I'm not staying up too late."
- "No,I'm not doing too much."
- "No,it's not just because I have a baby."
- I think you get the picture.
- Stand up and fight for your right to feel good!
