JUST WANT TO FEEL BETTER
wonessa86
Posts: 5
Soooo where to start.....?
Bit of back story - was diagnosed with Graves in June 2010 and was severely thyrotoxic (TSH - 0.03). I was medicated with carbimazole and propanolol for a year and once my levels were normal, i was slowly weaned off these meds, but the symptoms returned after 5 months (early Dec 2011). So this is when I discussed having a thyroidectomy with my Dr as I was wanting to add to my family asap. I had a total thyroidectomy in April 2012 and am now hypothyroid. Last blood test, 6 months ago, was a bit on the high side....TSH - 4.5 (0.5 - 4.0)....but I feel worse than ever, so I am thinking it's higher again. I'm expecting a call any day now from my endocrinologist in Melbourne with my latest blood test results.
So anyway, 7 months later and I feel the worst I've ever felt. I've slowly been going downhill since I had my surgery. I actually felt alot better when I was thyrotoxic!! At least I had energy!!!!
I've been having alot of issues with being hypo - inability to conceive, weight gain and finding it really really hard to lose weight, exhaustion, headaches, brain fog, poor memory, body aches, chest pain, palpitations....same as most hypo's. But I've been really struggling with my infertility and weight gain/inability to lose weight. I was seeing a dietitian to help with my weight and was following a 1500 calorie plan with all my recommended daily intakes (RDI's) and exercising 30 mins a day. I lost 3 kgs in 3 months. I followed this plan 100% for the 1st month and lost 2 kgs, 95% for the second month and lost 1kg and 95% for the third month and lost nothing
and no losses since. In fact, a 1.4kg gain!!
Anyway the last few weeks have been super hectic with one thing after another. And the straw that broke this camel's back came today. My family has just featured in the Christmas issue of Australian Women's Weekly (Better By The Dozen, pgs 75-78)....I come from a big, beautiful family
5 brothers & 6 sisters love them all to bits! Anyway, it's a gorgeous photo of everyone....but me....I look absolutely awful!!!! I look like a disgusting fat pig!!!! The last thing anybody wants is hugely unflattering photo in a popular national magazine!!
My weight is really REALLY getting me down!! I'm turning 26 tomorrow and I just want to look and feel like a regular 26yr old, not fat and exhausted. I'm so angry and upset that all this is happening to me. And when I try to explain it to people, they just look at me as though I just mustn't eat right or exercise, that I'm just not trying hard enough. Nobody gets it!!!! I'm so over it....I just want to look and feel better!!
Anyway, I'm not fishing for attention, sympathy or anything of the sort. I just really needed to vent to people who can maybe relate in some way. I feel that people around me just dont understand and get sick of me talking about it.
Bit of back story - was diagnosed with Graves in June 2010 and was severely thyrotoxic (TSH - 0.03). I was medicated with carbimazole and propanolol for a year and once my levels were normal, i was slowly weaned off these meds, but the symptoms returned after 5 months (early Dec 2011). So this is when I discussed having a thyroidectomy with my Dr as I was wanting to add to my family asap. I had a total thyroidectomy in April 2012 and am now hypothyroid. Last blood test, 6 months ago, was a bit on the high side....TSH - 4.5 (0.5 - 4.0)....but I feel worse than ever, so I am thinking it's higher again. I'm expecting a call any day now from my endocrinologist in Melbourne with my latest blood test results.
So anyway, 7 months later and I feel the worst I've ever felt. I've slowly been going downhill since I had my surgery. I actually felt alot better when I was thyrotoxic!! At least I had energy!!!!
I've been having alot of issues with being hypo - inability to conceive, weight gain and finding it really really hard to lose weight, exhaustion, headaches, brain fog, poor memory, body aches, chest pain, palpitations....same as most hypo's. But I've been really struggling with my infertility and weight gain/inability to lose weight. I was seeing a dietitian to help with my weight and was following a 1500 calorie plan with all my recommended daily intakes (RDI's) and exercising 30 mins a day. I lost 3 kgs in 3 months. I followed this plan 100% for the 1st month and lost 2 kgs, 95% for the second month and lost 1kg and 95% for the third month and lost nothing
and no losses since. In fact, a 1.4kg gain!!Anyway the last few weeks have been super hectic with one thing after another. And the straw that broke this camel's back came today. My family has just featured in the Christmas issue of Australian Women's Weekly (Better By The Dozen, pgs 75-78)....I come from a big, beautiful family
5 brothers & 6 sisters love them all to bits! Anyway, it's a gorgeous photo of everyone....but me....I look absolutely awful!!!! I look like a disgusting fat pig!!!! The last thing anybody wants is hugely unflattering photo in a popular national magazine!!My weight is really REALLY getting me down!! I'm turning 26 tomorrow and I just want to look and feel like a regular 26yr old, not fat and exhausted. I'm so angry and upset that all this is happening to me. And when I try to explain it to people, they just look at me as though I just mustn't eat right or exercise, that I'm just not trying hard enough. Nobody gets it!!!! I'm so over it....I just want to look and feel better!!
Anyway, I'm not fishing for attention, sympathy or anything of the sort. I just really needed to vent to people who can maybe relate in some way. I feel that people around me just dont understand and get sick of me talking about it.
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Replies
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I understand completely. I have hashimotos. People just don't understand, they try to understand. You just want to get to a place where trying to concentrate is not a battle, to have a long active day without getting tired and cranky. To leave behind the mood swings, to not get sick at a drop of a hat. It wasn't until recently that I found people who suffer from the same thing and it was a relief to find that the things I wasn't sure was a side affect really was a side affect. I felt that finally I had been validated. Drs would put it all down to weight because they really didn't understand the thyroid. I now have a specialist and he too has validated me.
So you go ahead and rant and rave as loud (in caps) or often as you want. Get it off your chest. You are not alone here.0 -
I understand. I just feel like I'm never ever going to get better!!! They just put me on a new drug to help headaches and help me lose weight and i feel like a walking zombie. i feel like i'm over medicated. i don't know how much more I can handle this.0
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I understand and I think everyone here has felt the same way! I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's when I was 15 (probably had it longer). I'm 24 and sometimes it is just soooo frustrating to not be normal. It's really frustrating when you make choices and have others judge you because "you're young and don't need to worry about that." Maybe I'm young, but I still have medical stuff to deal with and I don't need to justify that to every single person I meet!
Ok, maybe I needed to vent a little too :laugh:
Hang in there!0 -
Thanks ladies
It's nice to know I'm ot the only one but at the same time I hate that you all know how I feel...because it friggin sucks!!!! I was having a pretty bad "why me???" day yesterday, and even though I am feeling a bit better today, it's so comforting to know that I can come on here when I'm having those days and get that kind of support
So thanks again xxxx0 -
My doctors would never do anything for my thyroid for years. Had my first nodule found when I was pregnant 16 years ago. I always had "low normal" blood work and clean ultrasounds and 3 "normal" fine needle aspiration biopsies. After I turned 40 my new endo said it was time to take out the thyroid because I would turn red and get dizzy every time my arms went higher than my shoulders (found out this was due to my thyroid smashing my windpipe in half). He removed my 1 lb thyroid after a nearly 5 hour surgery and every single nodule (nearly 10) was filled with cancer. I've had my radioactive iodine treatment and my whole body scan is currently clean with followup in 6 months to 1 year. I'm so glad to have my thyroid out because finally I get meds and I feel better and more clear than I have in years. I'm 40, I've had cancer, I have no thyroid but I'm still determined to get to a healthy weight. I've not been under 200 lbs for 13 years and that is my main goal right now. I've lost 40 in 5 years so I'm hoping with some group support and consistency I can lose 46 lbs and hit that goal.
I'm also doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred if anyone is looking for a workout buddy. I also do Leslie Sansones walking workouts for free on youtube.0 -
We really DO need each other!!! Hearing others have same complaints as me keeps me from believing I am a freak. There are days I feel so good but the days I feel so bad really outweigh them. My symptoms fluctuate all the time, sometimes fatigue, always cold, aches, brain fog...I know this is going to be a lifelong battle. My synthroid helps but I sure would like to feel good again.0
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I have subclinical hypo, and I had symptoms for four years before anyone gave me a decent diagnosis and medication. The fact that I was almost morbidly obese made the doctors think THAT was the cause of all my symptoms. Fortuntely they sorted things out and now I'm on levothyroxine. I lost almost all of my extra weight, but let me tell you, it has been really hard! I still must not be on the correct dosage, but I feel better, more normal, and almost all of the symptoms are gone (my hair loss, memory problems and brain fogginess are still there). I won't have my next checkup until january so we'll see if i need my medication upped. Meanwhile I'm killing myself at the gym to lose the last few pounds. Harder than i should be if my metabolism was correct (or so i think).
I hope your thyroid thing gets sorted out, i know how frustrating it can be, and i know how even doctors put all the blame on you.
Cheer up and keep on working hard at it. If you feel you need to, go to a different doctor. Meanwhile, eat clean and do weight training to boost your metabolism. The eating clean part and daily exercise is for life, or so my specialist told me.
Edited: Btw, you might have just hit a plateau. I was stuck in one for months! And my weightloss has slowed down since that episode. I used to lose weight consistently until that plateau, and have been losing weight in chunks since then. Quite frustrating!0 -
Ok - yikes. First and foremost, a TSH of 4.5 is not "a bit on the high side" - that is a VERY hypothyroid results. The revised TSH range is .3-3.0, and will likely be revised down to 2.5 very shortly. Many docs think that is too high, and that 2.0 should be the top.
Second - your doc shoudl NOT be testing and dosing you based on your TSH. Especially for someone who had a full thyroidectomy and is therefore fully supplementing, your TSH can be very surpressed. Many people find that it can be almost negligable in order for them to feel normal, and to have optimal T3 and T4 levels.
Your doc should be testing your free (not total) T3 and free T4 levels to make sure those are optimal. Optimal is in the top 1/3 of the range your lab uses, and NOT just "fine" or "normal". Always get a copy of your lab results for keep for your records. If your doc won't run these tests, you need a new doctor.
Especially when dealing with fertility issues....ah, it makes me so angry for you! You know what, I would actually just find a new doctor NOW. Get lab tests ASAP so you can start feeling better - I can pretty much guarantee that even if your free T4 looks ok, your free T3 (the active thyroid hormone, that does all the work) is in the tank and that's why you feel like crap and haven't been able to conceive. I hear in the US you can get the labs run yourself, and fairly cheaply...?
What supplement are you taking? Many people find that after surgery their body doesn't properly convert T4 into T3 anymore, so you may need to either look at adding a synthetic T3 like cytomel (if you're currently taking a T4-only med like synthroid or levothyroxine), or taking a natural supplement that contains both T3 and T4.
Also, google "baby center thyroid" and join that group!!!!!!Soooo where to start.....?
Bit of back story - was diagnosed with Graves in June 2010 and was severely thyrotoxic (TSH - 0.03). I was medicated with carbimazole and propanolol for a year and once my levels were normal, i was slowly weaned off these meds, but the symptoms returned after 5 months (early Dec 2011). So this is when I discussed having a thyroidectomy with my Dr as I was wanting to add to my family asap. I had a total thyroidectomy in April 2012 and am now hypothyroid. Last blood test, 6 months ago, was a bit on the high side....TSH - 4.5 (0.5 - 4.0)....but I feel worse than ever, so I am thinking it's higher again. I'm expecting a call any day now from my endocrinologist in Melbourne with my latest blood test results.
So anyway, 7 months later and I feel the worst I've ever felt. I've slowly been going downhill since I had my surgery. I actually felt alot better when I was thyrotoxic!! At least I had energy!!!!
I've been having alot of issues with being hypo - inability to conceive, weight gain and finding it really really hard to lose weight, exhaustion, headaches, brain fog, poor memory, body aches, chest pain, palpitations....same as most hypo's. But I've been really struggling with my infertility and weight gain/inability to lose weight. I was seeing a dietitian to help with my weight and was following a 1500 calorie plan with all my recommended daily intakes (RDI's) and exercising 30 mins a day. I lost 3 kgs in 3 months. I followed this plan 100% for the 1st month and lost 2 kgs, 95% for the second month and lost 1kg and 95% for the third month and lost nothing and no losses since. In fact, a 1.4kg gain!!0
