From the article: I'm Tired, I'm Frustrated, and I GIVE UP!
Have you tried everything to live and feel well, but it seemed like nothing was working, like nothing would help? Did it seem that no matter what you've done, no matter what doctors you saw, or medications you took, you were still feeling tired, depressed, or struggling with symptoms like weight gain and hair loss? Have you ever reached the point where you felt tired, frustrated, and ready to give up trying to ever feel well again? What helped you get past that point? What did you do to overcome that difficult time? I welcome you to share your thoughts, ideas, advice, and stories with your fellow thyroid patients! Share Your Best Ideas
I Give Up!
- Thank you so much for this entry. I have been on a journey much like yours and have seen tons of doctors and specialists. I am facing a surgery for what they think is a thymoma in one week and am scared to death. What if...what if....what if... But this email has definitely given me courage and the realization that I am NOT alone and there are so many out there who suffer from chronic diseases that we may never recover or heal from. I have been living one day at a time, and this entry has renewed my resolve to deal with my symptoms and care for myself as best as I possibly can. A self proclaimed "tuffy" I never paid any attention to my own needs, I was busy caring for everyone else. Scary now that I HAVE to care, and strange how others respond now that I can't "carry" them anymore. The time has come for me to give myself permission to have the best care possible and allow myself to be cared for by others. Thank you for your words of inspiration. They are greatly appreciated.
- —Guest momonamission
yakled@gmail.com
- I am 69, 12 years with Hashimotos, taking 2 grains of Armour. Still felt half dead, but much better than before. Since Jan. 09 I have been on 50,000 IUs of Vit. D except. Now on 100,000 per week and feel like I did when I was 50. Mowing my lawn, have a garden, working in my flower beds. No allergic reaction to being outside. And best of all I have lost 12 lbs. Please get your Vit. D checked. And if the Doc says a low number is fine, tell the doctor you want it up around 60 to 80. You don't want borderline.
- —Guest grtgranny
Yo-Yo Journey
- For 10 yrs I've taken thyroid meds. I took levothyroxine, then a few months ago switched to Armour. The thing that pulled me out of the fatigue for awhile anyway, was exercise and a very healthy diet of fresh fruit, veggies, and cutting out pork & all processed foods. However, in my zeal to continue to feel better and keep the weight off (I lost 25 lbs) I overdid it and probably crashed my adrenal gland. At that point, last fall, I swung back into the extreme fatigue, depression, etc. My goal now is to do 20-30 minutes of light to moderate exercise a day. I can remember exhaustion episodes as far back as a young child. At 10 I got a bad case of mono that took me out of school for a month. It's been a long, hard journey, but as many have said, God is the only One we can turn to for comfort & answers. I've started a web site on exercising in which I share what I've learned & to gain incite from others. Helping others and getting out of the house helps.
- —Guest Cathy Ulrich
Armour and Synthroid
- I'm hypothyroid, my endocrinologist says he does not know how to prescribe Armour Thyroid. So I take it and have to suggest what and how to cut my dosage. Now I know why I could never take Synthroid, which is the doctor's choice. I am lactose intolerant and allergic to many molds, grasses, and pollens. I get more information from your newsletter than from my thyroid doctor. Why? Do the doctors just not care about your symptoms and how you are doing? Or have I just not found the right doctor for treating me.
- —Guest jmreyes
Giving Up and Going On
- I am repeatedly learning that giving up IS the answer to progress. Giving up on perfection. Giving up on waiting for a miracle. Giving up on a cure or a permanent solution, on being a slender energizer bunny, giving up on others to understand & be supportive, giving up on being who I thought I was supposed to be & realizing maybe who I am is far more real & compassionate than the Pollyanna I used to be. With all that responsibility off of me, I can be more relaxed, learn what I can from who I can, do my best to eat right & get some exercise & forgive myself when I don't, allow my doctor to treat my depression because my whole family is happier when I am, accept taking sleep medication because I am healthier when I sleep (these both took me years to accept), so many more things. Also, when I most feel that need to give up, I just GIVE UP and watch a funny movie or take a nap or pet my kitty. In giving up, I allow God a chance to work in me and my situation. So, I give up.
- —Guest RobynHerself
Asking for Help
- After my third baby I went back to my normal weight of 8 & half stones, size 12 in UK, then after an operation which cut my tubes, my weight just steadily rose. I asked my doc for help and was diagnosed borderline hypothyroid, which meant I could not get treatment. I remained like this for over 40 years. I was also borderline with b12 and Iron and eventually was given regular b12 injections and last year I qualified for 25 mcg of levothyroxine. I had to go back and beg for more and was put up to 50 then 75 over 9 months. When I complained my weight was still creeping up, I'm now about 15 st, size 22, My doc said it proved that the thyroid was not the cause of my weight problem. He refused to give me more. A man in my church said God had cured him of heart trouble by using doctors and prayers, so I prayed that God would do the same for me and went back and ask my doctor what he could do to help me. He put my dose up to 100mcg. It was praying that helped me, and having faith.
- —Guest Beth
gabby
- I too was on a roller coaster of ill health and a merry-go-round of doctors for 2 years. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than being your own health advocate; something I discovered myself. Finding a good doctor is crucial; mine is brilliant, always knowledgeable of the latest developments and encourages me to take charge of my own health. Dessicated thyroid is the only thing that worked for me, but I discovered I also needed DHEA, hydrocortisone for adrenal fatigue, (an essential test for hypo patients) vitamin D, iron and vitamin C and testostorone as well as melatonin. I also take fish oil daily. Yoga and Pilates are excellent once you begin to feel better. Avoid gluten and dairy and I can virtually guarantee the weight will come off as well as losing the congestion and yeast infections. Brighter eyes and better sleep will be the result. Hope this helps.
- —Guest gabriela
What Helped Me
- There were two things that really helped me turn the tide in a long struggle with severe hypothyroidism (TSH=86) turned mild hyperthyroidism. The first was stopping taking Lithium. For me that drug was extrememly toxic and wreaked utter havoc with my thyroid and my mental status. There are alternatives that may be much better for those with known thyroid problems. The second was embarking on a wellness program including monthly Whole Body Balancing and Bio-Meridian testing at a local wellness center with a very experienced practitioner. Those two steps changed everything for me. I have a clearer mind, more stable mood and some more energy. I wish everyone struggling with thyroid disease all the best. Stay strong and fight for your well-being. It is not "in your head". You deserve to feel WELL.
- —Guest Elana
In the same boat.
- I understand fully what one guest just said. I feel like no one around me understands. The doctor will not adjust my medcine right. It has been 16 months and I am steadily gaining weight and have no energy. I am not a lazy person, and I have goals and daily choirs to do. I pray and I try to eat and exercise. This is the worst thing I have ever had to deal with. I think it is time to change drs. I have seen three different ones and even a specialist. Like I said, No one understands around here!
- —Guest Linda
More Info
- I happened upon this forum at one of my lowest times. I have been thinking the horrible depression I've been suffering was only due to the tough times we're facing (& that I'm "not doing a good job of handling them") but reading what others have shared here, I realize I've never been "back to normal" after surgery for thyroid cancer & RAI treatments that followed. Although my "numbers" are where they should be, I've suffered from depression ever since (6 yrs now) and recent pressures are making it MUCH worse.
- —revlarson2
My story
- I have been fighting my right to health for over two years! Although I had almost every single symptom and a family history of hypothyroidism my doctors wouldn't treat me until I reached a TSH of 10 on their stupid scale. I put on 3 stone, had symptoms too numerous to mention and thought I was going crazy! On the 2nd September 2008, I final reached this goal, then and only then did she say "You will be glad to know we can treat you now." I was angry, disgusted and seething but took my T4 gladly. At first, they made me very ill while I took them for seven months, until I'd really had enough of all the debilitating symptoms. Still gaining weight and very few if any symptoms less, I obtained Armour. What wonderful stuff. After just 5 week I can feel me coming back. How strange that the endocrinologist said I would have a placebo effect. I never felt well not even for one day on the other stuff. What a fantastic placebo that makes my hair shine, gives me energy...
- —Guest Denise Belgacem
My Story
- Short of sacrificing a chicken on my deck and doing a rain dance, I have done it all for my thyroid. This journey has been since 97. At first no one said I had a thyroid problem. When finally diagnosed with Hashimoto's, I was given Synthroid which I didn't tolerate, and then told they couldn't help me. I went to 8 thyroid/endos/alternative, etc doctors, 6 acupuncturists, homeopaths, etc. etc. etc. All i can say is be your OWN patient advocate. Western medicine has not helped. If I listened I would have had 5 surgeries, taken multiple pills and been in the pscyh ward. You think you are f.... nuts! But you're not. These symptoms are very real. I just wish someone had the magic potion. What works for me is chiropratic, yoga, deep breathing, acupuncture. Keep trying!
- —Guest wendy
Giving Up
- I have been where "Ellen" is many, many times. I have finally gotten to the point where I give myself permission to give up for now. It gives me the opportunity to appreciate who I am and what little I do still give to others. I always give what I am capable of, and I am sure you are the same way. That is to be commended! Do you realize how many people are healthy and give far less? So I have given myself permission to rest, feel sorry for myself, etc. Then the minute I start to feel some improvement I go back to focusing on moving as much as I can, eating healthy, etc. Then when I am emotionally ready, I put myself out there again to try another doctor, do some more research, or whatever the spirit moves me to do. So go ahead and give yourself permission to give up. My guess is, you will be back out there trying your best again soon. Life is a challenge, let's face it. So one day at a time is all each of us can do. May today be a good one!
- —Guest BrendaLBaker
Thanks for the inspiration
- I am suffering from hypothyroidism for the last 9 years. Though the counts have come under control by medication but the symptoms haven't. I have been trying everything to no avail. Reading Ellen's letter was like reading my own story but your reply has been really inspiring. Yes on the way I have learned a few good things about life and living but the most important thing is to move on and do not keep looking back and getting depressed. From today, I will try and do my best but not get frustrated at the extra kilos that I have piled or the number of other problems. Thanks a ton!
- —sangeeta_gurha
Look to the positive
- I read the response Mary put forth on her reply and I can't agree more. My history is Graves', RAI, and more importantly a thyroid sufferer many years before a diagnosis of Graves' and now a life long hypo "survivor" after RAI. I have spent years, when at my worst health, digging through medical journals, turning over every stone on alternative medicine and begging for "help" from God and anyone to give me my life back. If not the one I had - just something. I almost died from hypo coma so I know the term "giving up" very well. Fast forwad to now, my children kept me alive. A thyroid forum I now moderate saved my emotional stability. For me, Armour thyroid started my journey back to the living. I owe my wellness to God, then to myself for being strong willed enough to find my health/life again. Am I cured? I will never be cured from thyroid disease. Am I living again? You bet! and I now share the wealth of information I learned with others that were just like me, not so long ago.
- —Guest Nikki (Stella5349)
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