Stress, weight gain and thyroid

Elizabeth_M

Never have I experienced so much stress in my life with a slow thyroid, as I have in the past school year. To make a long story short, I work at a private school (this is my 13th year) and 3 parents made life extremely difficult in the first couple of months. As a result, because money talks at private schools, I have lost my job. I did nothing wrong. Problem is, my husband is without a job, too - and is suffering from side-effects of prolonged exposure to stress at his previous place of employment, so holding down a 9-5 job is tricky if at all possible. That kind of leaves the onus on me (I feel) to find a job, but try finding a teaching job in southern Ontario - Toronto and area! next to impossible.

ANYWAY - I have been so stressed that since December, I have packed on 25-30 pounds. I look even worse than I did before, I hate myself even more than I did before. I am not making the best food choices, but the weight is coming on so easily!! I don't know what this post is for, but feel I need to get it off my chest. I know that cortisol and the adrenal glands and all that can affect weight gain when under stress, and I feel that this f'n thyroid is making things worse, too!

To top it off, my Dr. refuses to prescribe natural thyroid supplement, so I am stuck with Synthroid. The cytomel I have been on in the past 6-9 months doesn't seem to work.

Sigh.

Thanks for listening.

fiberartist219

That sounds awful. I hope that you and the hubs find jobs soon.

KathleenSweetie

I find that when stress is really, really strong in my life that a long, warm shower helps to relax me and my muscles. My thyroid meds too only go so far too during these times, so I have to pull out a few extra ways to boost my mood. I enjoy sipping on chamomile tea at night, to also calm me. Last pointer is walking at minimum 15 minutes and pretending like all my problems are disappearing into thin air (for at least during that walk). Hope this helps.

Syriene

The suggestion about chamomile tea is defintely a good one (caffeine can make adrenal fatigue worse). I hope you are able to find employment soon. Once you do, I definitely recommend getting your adrenal glands/cortisol levels checked- your husband's too. If you both have had chronic stress, I'm sure your levels have been affected.
There is a list of great doctors in the notes section of the facebook page called Thyroid Sexy. Maybe there will be one in your area that could better help you.

VastBreak

I try to create a stress free period each day. My daily schedule is packed between kids, work and sports schedule. Life is always interesting and chaotic! I try for 20 minutes a day, when I let my mind calm. Sometimes it is the treadmill, sometimes a book, sometimes it is laying on the floor and just breathing. No thinking, planning, organizing or note taking. It helps me unwind and usually I'm just more calm and relaxed an often it just helps me regroup for the rest of my day. It doesn't always work and sometimes I can't squeeze it in but I am usually much better after my "break"

Also I make awful food choices when exhausted! I try to avoid this as often as possible!

teateatea23

That sounds super tough, have you tried burning or diffusing essential oils? I bought a cheap ($10) oil diffuser and diffuse lavender and eucalyptus oil in whatever space I'm in, focusing on deep breathing. It really helps to bring me down and relax a little bit.