Entry #1
~ In the Beginning
In July, at the urging of some good friends, I decided to
go and see my family doctor about some issues that I had
been putting off. One of those is a finger that I was
fairly sure was arthritic. Two of the issues resolved,
but rheumatoid arthritis was mentioned. That week, I had
a terrible flare. I went to bed achy and woke up sore
everywhere! I did call back to the doctor as requested,
but over-the-counter meds were suggested. They helped.
In
August, I noticed that I was not feeling well. I was so
tired out of proportion to what is normal for me even
with a six-month old nursing baby. Along with that, I
was terribly hot this summer. I took two cold showers
a day because I was so uncomfortable. Then I started losing
a lot of hair. Now that's always been normal for me post-partum,
but not at six months post-partum. I was so irritable
with the kids and my husband. He noticed that symptom
right away. I couldn't remember things. I couldn't concentrate,
my hair was dry, my weight, which has always been slow
to creep up after pregnancy, was way back up there. My
eyes were dry and I was hoarse. The hoarseness began this
time in March of this year—around five to six weeks
post-partum. I had this problem in 1999 and it lasted
almost a year, stopping when I got pregnant last summer!
After
talking with a friend who has been hypothryoid for a long
time, she told me that many of my symptoms fit that profile.
So, after looking at the very detailed lists one can find
online, I called my doctor's office again and was given
an appointment. After listening to my symptoms, I was
sent for a complete blood count to check for anemia and
a TSH test, which checks how much thyroid you have in
your system. A low number indicates an over-active thyroid
and a high number an underactive thyroid. (The thyroid
is a butterfly-shaped gland above the Adam's Apple.) Sure
enough, the number came in low indicating that I was hyperthyroid,
for the moment. I had been told to see my allergist to
follow-up on the hoarseness. I was pretty sure that it
was not my allergies, and I was correct. She suggested
that I have a rheumatoid panel done and a full thyroid
panel as well. She also told me to go see a different
ENT from the one I saw in 1999 to make sure nothing was
missed the first time. I made that appointment for October
1.
My
family office had told me to follow-up with my regular
doctor in the practice and get another blood test in one
month. I did all of that and my TSH came in high at the
end of September. This time I was hypothyroid. By the
end of the month, I was feeling like the walking dead.
I hurt everywhere and I was very tired every day. I had
diarrhea. I was a mess. I had two migraine headaches in
September. Like my husband, my two older children had
gotten sinus infections. The baby was cutting three teeth
and got the same cold which turned into an ear infection
for him. Everyone was sick from our first school cold.
I
went to my doctor armed with a list that included every
symptom, and I told him I was sure that whatever it was,
it was "autoimmune something." The look on his
face was something else. I was a puzzle to be solved!
I went for more blood work that week. I ended up getting
my results from the lab myself because the doctor was
out that Friday and I wanted to know what was wrong with
me! The results indicated that I was hypothyroid. My ESR
or Sed rate was a bit elevated as well, but my rheumatoid
panel was otherwise normal. The doctor diagnosed it as
Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an immune condition where the
body attacks its thyroid. Turns out that the morning stiffness
and lack of libido as well is all related to how well
the thyroid gland is functioning, or not. I was put on
Synthroid the following week. I also started reading as
much as possible so that I would be armed with knowledge.
ENT
- More bad news
Just
prior to starting the Synthroid, I had my ENT appointment.
Due to the length of time I've been hoarse, along with
all the thyroid problems, I have polyps and swelling on
both vocal cords. I may never recover my voice. If the
Synthroid does not help with the vocal cords, which it
is supposed to, then I may need surgery at some point
to take the polyps off my vocal cords. Hearing that I
may not recover my voice is just about the most difficult
part of all this. I've always loved to sing ...and I talk
too much sometimes. (grin) In the past, I've been rather
vain about my singing abilities and once aspired to sing
opera professionally. Now I would settle for being able
to sing to and with my kids, sing hymns at church in the
congregation, and sing songs on the radio.
The
cold that everyone else had and recovered from hit me
just about the time a second cold was making its rounds
at my house. I had a sinus infection, so I was in to see
my doctor the week before I was due to follow up at the
end of October. I joked about wanting to stay out of the
office, that I was hoping to avoid another doctor's appointment.
Between all of us, there were twelve appointments
over the two months. I had five in September and October,
my husband had two, my two older children had three between
them, and the baby had two in one week. I'd like to stay
away from the white coats for awhile!
In
my next entry I'll have had my follow-up appointment,
and we'll talk about an issue that most people avoid -
depression.
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