Hello Readers :)
Since the successful campaign of my recent kickstarter, I have put alot more focus into pursing my dream as an artist. A self-sustaining artist would be ideal, but I'm okay with taking baby steps for now.
So what does this have to do with hypothyroidism? It has come to my attention that there isn't much plublicity for a condition so many people are afflicted with. As someone with thryoidism, I don't want to feel shamed. While "proud" isn't the right word. I feel many people do not take this hormone imbalance/ auto immune disease fairly serious and have been told that I am overplaying my hand.
I never want to feel that way and want to have a small reminder that yes, I have a lifelong condition, but I am managing it to the best of my ability and I will not be discouraged.
Yea yea yea, but you still haven't mentioned WHERE this post is going...
With my recent love of block printing I would like to make small bags to hold my prescription bottles (when I need more than a weeks worth) that have a design handprinted on the front. I have already created a mock up design that measures a little under 4''x5''inches. It is probably not the most adorable of images, but it showcases the thyroid around the trachea with a banner underneath that simply reads "strong."
If enough people show interest, I would like to make a small production run of these bags. So where does your opinion lie? Do you like the idea? Does it seem a bit extreme? Is there another image you would prefer printed on the outside of a small prescription bag?
Let me know in the comments below :)
Cheers,
Maddy
Showing posts with label hypothyroidism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hypothyroidism. Show all posts
Monday, January 6, 2014
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Two Months in a Nutshell:
Last we spoke I was starting to take vitamin D supplements, I began a kickstarter campaign and I admitted to the internet I had agrophobia. I had moved back to a state where I had friends for support, but didn’t have the nerve to drive anywhere. It was a pretty stressful time in my life.
So where am I two months later? Feeling pretty damn great, actually!
Vitamin D isn’t a cure all pill I take everyday, but since I have been taking it ive seen a vast improvement in my joint paint, energy levels and even stress. I still have some difficult days with all those mentioned, but those days are few and far in-between. I would seriously recommend having your levels checked by a doctor if your thyroid medication just isn’t cutting it!
Another reason I feel like im walking on sunshine these days is because my kickstarter was successful and I feel like its giving me some purpose and hope. I hope that doesn’t sound as melodramatic as I just read it, but its true. I wasn’t sure what to do with health that fluctuates and a sense of dread when I leave the house. Art has always been a wonderful therapy for me and I am so happy that I can make my hobby into a small-time business for the time being!
As for my agoraphobia? Its improving. I try to get myself out of the house everyday, be it time with friends, or just a drive around the neighborhood. I am thankfully to have friends that support me and can work around the things I am working on in my life. And that is about where I am these days folks. Sorry I haven’t been around much recently but I thank everyone for the kind words people leave :)
Cheers!
So where am I two months later? Feeling pretty damn great, actually!
Vitamin D isn’t a cure all pill I take everyday, but since I have been taking it ive seen a vast improvement in my joint paint, energy levels and even stress. I still have some difficult days with all those mentioned, but those days are few and far in-between. I would seriously recommend having your levels checked by a doctor if your thyroid medication just isn’t cutting it!
Another reason I feel like im walking on sunshine these days is because my kickstarter was successful and I feel like its giving me some purpose and hope. I hope that doesn’t sound as melodramatic as I just read it, but its true. I wasn’t sure what to do with health that fluctuates and a sense of dread when I leave the house. Art has always been a wonderful therapy for me and I am so happy that I can make my hobby into a small-time business for the time being!
As for my agoraphobia? Its improving. I try to get myself out of the house everyday, be it time with friends, or just a drive around the neighborhood. I am thankfully to have friends that support me and can work around the things I am working on in my life. And that is about where I am these days folks. Sorry I haven’t been around much recently but I thank everyone for the kind words people leave :)
Cheers!
Friday, September 13, 2013
Vitamin D - Did I put myself in a rut?
Getting blood work done always brings around a strange mixture of emotions. On one hand, I want my results to come back with golden stars, A+ and two thumbs up. However, I am getting blood work done to hopefully find what is causing a kink in my health. If everything comes back great, than what the hell is causing my symptoms?
I am happy to say the recent blood work panel came back with a lot of optimal scores. There were only two main things I needed to fix: I needed to exercise more (very very true) and that I have a high Vitamin D deficiency. Optimal scores are between 30-100, but my doctor recommends a score of 50 for woman. I was a 21. Yikes!
The more I looked into vitamin D, the more my deficiency made sense. Vitamin D is not just a vitmain, its a hormone that supports bone and immune health. It can cause muscle pain, joint pain, and in many cases stress and depression. Eventually this became a vicious cycle. I would feel sick and not go outside to exercise, hence not getting any natural sunlight (a excellent source for vitamin D). And because I wasn't getting outside for that natural cure, I was feeling worse and I would get stressed. Eventually the whole thing becomes a rut. My doctor has thrown some supplements into the loop, and in a few months I will go back to see if this helps. If things seem to be improving, I will highly recommend others get it tested.
Cheers,
Maddy
P.S. On a side note, my Kickstarter is now half way thru its funding period! You can see more here: Classic Fairy Tales in Print
I am happy to say the recent blood work panel came back with a lot of optimal scores. There were only two main things I needed to fix: I needed to exercise more (very very true) and that I have a high Vitamin D deficiency. Optimal scores are between 30-100, but my doctor recommends a score of 50 for woman. I was a 21. Yikes!
The more I looked into vitamin D, the more my deficiency made sense. Vitamin D is not just a vitmain, its a hormone that supports bone and immune health. It can cause muscle pain, joint pain, and in many cases stress and depression. Eventually this became a vicious cycle. I would feel sick and not go outside to exercise, hence not getting any natural sunlight (a excellent source for vitamin D). And because I wasn't getting outside for that natural cure, I was feeling worse and I would get stressed. Eventually the whole thing becomes a rut. My doctor has thrown some supplements into the loop, and in a few months I will go back to see if this helps. If things seem to be improving, I will highly recommend others get it tested.
Cheers,
Maddy
P.S. On a side note, my Kickstarter is now half way thru its funding period! You can see more here: Classic Fairy Tales in Print
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Six Week Check-In
I've only recently started taking medication for my thyroid, so my 6 week check-in to retest blood levels seems to have flown by.
My new results are:
Doctor likes my results, and i'm quite pleased with them too, so no changes for now. One wonderful thing about the German doctor i’m currently seeing is he too has hypothyroidism. I don’t wish the condition on him, but it is nice to have a professional know really what its like.True to the doctor's advice, it takes 3-4 weeks for the medicine to really kick in, so you have to stick with it.
Currently I'm on a German brand called L-Thyroxin Henning 100. In preparation of seeing the doctor, however, I looked into Liothyronine (generic name) / Cytomel (brand name) / Novothyral (german brand). Currently my medicine is purely T4, but I’ve been reading that people that take liothyronine, which contains T3, have improvement with concentration issues and “brain fog.” That and fatigue, are two continuing symptoms I have.
I suspect that I also have some adrenal fatigue going on from all the stress these last few months. I never thought to ask for a look at my cortisol levels. I'm gonna have to get use to requesting tests if I suspect. In a few weeks I will be returning state side and will pursue both matters later when I have to switch my medication over to an American brand anyway.
In the mean time, are there any other avenues I should be looking into in terms of medications, supplements, etc?
My new results are:
- TSH level 0.37 (normal range 0.3 - 3.0)
- Free T3 3.72 (normal range 2.0-4.4)
- Free T4 1.32 (normal range .90-2.00)
Doctor likes my results, and i'm quite pleased with them too, so no changes for now. One wonderful thing about the German doctor i’m currently seeing is he too has hypothyroidism. I don’t wish the condition on him, but it is nice to have a professional know really what its like.True to the doctor's advice, it takes 3-4 weeks for the medicine to really kick in, so you have to stick with it.
Currently I'm on a German brand called L-Thyroxin Henning 100. In preparation of seeing the doctor, however, I looked into Liothyronine (generic name) / Cytomel (brand name) / Novothyral (german brand). Currently my medicine is purely T4, but I’ve been reading that people that take liothyronine, which contains T3, have improvement with concentration issues and “brain fog.” That and fatigue, are two continuing symptoms I have.
I suspect that I also have some adrenal fatigue going on from all the stress these last few months. I never thought to ask for a look at my cortisol levels. I'm gonna have to get use to requesting tests if I suspect. In a few weeks I will be returning state side and will pursue both matters later when I have to switch my medication over to an American brand anyway.
In the mean time, are there any other avenues I should be looking into in terms of medications, supplements, etc?
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
My Diagnoses
A goal for me in this blog is to stay positive, but I also want to start off with my (abridged) months into diagnoses which will most likely sound melodramatic. Apologies if I dip into some suppressed teen angst.
In March I was on a short vacation with my family in North Carolina. I remember the exact moment I began to feel sick. The second day in, I was getting ready for bed when this wall of exhaustion hits. Now I don’t mean the usual, “Oh right, I’ve had a long day, my body is weary” kind of tired. This was an oh-my-god-my-body-is-shaking ordeal. I didn’t tell anyone because I mostly just found this odd. That night, and for the next month straight, when I closed my eyes I had the sensation of phosphene until I fell asleep.
The next day my exhaustion was continual. Sitting actually made it worse so I opted to stand all the time. I would get pressures in my skull that made me feel like I was going to pass out. Headaches that moved around during the course of the day. I promptly went to a doctor when I returned only to have a multitude of blood work done on me. Inflammation? No. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? No. Thyroid issues? No (TSH Level was at 0.6 at the time).
A month passed and I felt I was taking crazy pills. The doctors couldn’t come up with anything, and yet I felt horrible. I was tired all the time, there was nausea and the muscles in my arms always felt weak. The worst sensation was the pressure in my head that made me feel faint. Work was becoming a strain.
In April, breathing issues started up. One day I was out walking in the local park about 2 blocks from my apartment when I felt a pressure in my chest. To this day I have a hard time explaining this sensation, but later the E.R. doctor described it as being “oxygen hungry.” And that I was. I could take a full breath, strain my lungs to the max, but it never felt like enough. These episodes would last sometimes for hours and all I would do is hope it wasn’t anything serious. Chest pains came a week later and prompted a doctors visit. They listened to my heart and my lungs, and I was given a clean bill of health.
For this visit I went to a new doctor, my TSH levels were tested again. My doctors were very suspicious of hypothyroidism. In a month it had increased to about 3.0, starting to borderline on “healthy”. I didn’t commit the previous number to memory and hadn’t notice the sudden change in just over a month.
The next day my exhaustion was continual. Sitting actually made it worse so I opted to stand all the time. I would get pressures in my skull that made me feel like I was going to pass out. Headaches that moved around during the course of the day. I promptly went to a doctor when I returned only to have a multitude of blood work done on me. Inflammation? No. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? No. Thyroid issues? No (TSH Level was at 0.6 at the time).
A month passed and I felt I was taking crazy pills. The doctors couldn’t come up with anything, and yet I felt horrible. I was tired all the time, there was nausea and the muscles in my arms always felt weak. The worst sensation was the pressure in my head that made me feel faint. Work was becoming a strain.
In April, breathing issues started up. One day I was out walking in the local park about 2 blocks from my apartment when I felt a pressure in my chest. To this day I have a hard time explaining this sensation, but later the E.R. doctor described it as being “oxygen hungry.” And that I was. I could take a full breath, strain my lungs to the max, but it never felt like enough. These episodes would last sometimes for hours and all I would do is hope it wasn’t anything serious. Chest pains came a week later and prompted a doctors visit. They listened to my heart and my lungs, and I was given a clean bill of health.
For this visit I went to a new doctor, my TSH levels were tested again. My doctors were very suspicious of hypothyroidism. In a month it had increased to about 3.0, starting to borderline on “healthy”. I didn’t commit the previous number to memory and hadn’t notice the sudden change in just over a month.
Later that month I went to the E.R. Anxiety got the best of me, with chest pains and my breathing issues, I was driven to the hospital from work.
One of my good friends was on her way to keep me company but in the mean time, I had a mini-pity-party. If I called my friends, who would actually come to the hospital? Why had I lost touch with so many people? Would I lose my job over this? What if they find something serious?
And strangely enough, this thought scared me the most: What if they didn't find anything wrong?
I had been sick for 6 weeks at that point, and no answers, just more and more symptoms building up that couldn’t be explained. It was at this point I felt like I was going to die. Melodramatic, I know. I kept imaging my body was slowly falling to pieces around me. That something quiet , but deadly was lurking somewhere in my body. Too small for doctors to pick up, but being that it was in my own body I could feel its manifestation.
Doctors ran a D-dimer that tested for the presence of a clot. It was slightly above average and so a CT Scan of my chest was performed to see if that was the cause of my chest pain/breathing problems. It may be strange to read, but I was hoping that it was a blood clot at the time because finally I would have some answers. The results came back negative, which really was a blessing despite my feelings in the moment.
My mood started to change. I started to get angry at people as a scapegoat. People who had truly done nothing wrong to me. Most people didn’t even know the extent to which I was feeling sick, but I assumed they should check in on me. Me, me, me. I became spiteful when I saw pictures online of friends having a good time. No one could please me. If I was invited someplace, I felt too bad to go and I felt like I was missing out on life. If they didn’t invite me, I felt like they had simply given up on me.
Fast forward to May. I’d come to a point where I was seeing specialists and still no answers. I was afraid of driving because I would get dizzy and I had a hard time concentrating. It hit a point where I called in sick from work because getting out of bed and getting dressed was expending too much energy. And yes, the breathing issues were still happening. In the end my dad flew in for a week to check in on me.
With support, I started to feel okay and went back to work. This only lasted about another 2 weeks before things got seriously bad again. Breathing issues, fatigue, and now horrible stomach pain had emerged. On the last day I went into work and was asked to leave because I obviously was not okay.
That was my breaking point. I was on week 10 and I didn’t even make it to my car in the parking lot before I started to cry. I called my mother and bawled my eyes out. I felt like I had lost everything I had worked for. I was loosing my social life. I wasn’t able to do anything outside of work, and than, I couldn’t even work. I gave up.
From that phone call in the parking lot I remember two big things ; I kept telling my mother “I feel like i’m between a rock and hard place,” and my mother suggesting I come live with her and my dad for a few weeks.
It didn’t take much to convince me at this point. Anxiety of being sick all the time with no answers had wrecked havoc on my calm. I was always stressed out and hated to be alone. I started asking my roommate to stay in the apartment with me because I had become so paranoid that I was on some kind of downfall.
And strangely enough, this thought scared me the most: What if they didn't find anything wrong?
I had been sick for 6 weeks at that point, and no answers, just more and more symptoms building up that couldn’t be explained. It was at this point I felt like I was going to die. Melodramatic, I know. I kept imaging my body was slowly falling to pieces around me. That something quiet , but deadly was lurking somewhere in my body. Too small for doctors to pick up, but being that it was in my own body I could feel its manifestation.
Doctors ran a D-dimer that tested for the presence of a clot. It was slightly above average and so a CT Scan of my chest was performed to see if that was the cause of my chest pain/breathing problems. It may be strange to read, but I was hoping that it was a blood clot at the time because finally I would have some answers. The results came back negative, which really was a blessing despite my feelings in the moment.
My mood started to change. I started to get angry at people as a scapegoat. People who had truly done nothing wrong to me. Most people didn’t even know the extent to which I was feeling sick, but I assumed they should check in on me. Me, me, me. I became spiteful when I saw pictures online of friends having a good time. No one could please me. If I was invited someplace, I felt too bad to go and I felt like I was missing out on life. If they didn’t invite me, I felt like they had simply given up on me.
Fast forward to May. I’d come to a point where I was seeing specialists and still no answers. I was afraid of driving because I would get dizzy and I had a hard time concentrating. It hit a point where I called in sick from work because getting out of bed and getting dressed was expending too much energy. And yes, the breathing issues were still happening. In the end my dad flew in for a week to check in on me.
With support, I started to feel okay and went back to work. This only lasted about another 2 weeks before things got seriously bad again. Breathing issues, fatigue, and now horrible stomach pain had emerged. On the last day I went into work and was asked to leave because I obviously was not okay.
That was my breaking point. I was on week 10 and I didn’t even make it to my car in the parking lot before I started to cry. I called my mother and bawled my eyes out. I felt like I had lost everything I had worked for. I was loosing my social life. I wasn’t able to do anything outside of work, and than, I couldn’t even work. I gave up.
From that phone call in the parking lot I remember two big things ; I kept telling my mother “I feel like i’m between a rock and hard place,” and my mother suggesting I come live with her and my dad for a few weeks.
It didn’t take much to convince me at this point. Anxiety of being sick all the time with no answers had wrecked havoc on my calm. I was always stressed out and hated to be alone. I started asking my roommate to stay in the apartment with me because I had become so paranoid that I was on some kind of downfall.
My family lives in Germany, I lived in Colorado. In late May I settled matters at home and flew over there. My saving grace was actually my forgetfulness. I could not find, at the time, my paperwork from previous doctors outlining blood-work already done so we wouldn’t have to start from scratch again. TSH levels were missing so for a third time they tested my thyroid and surprise surprise - I was a 4.6.
In just 13 weeks my TSH levels went from .6 to 4.6. The average range according to American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is 0.3 to 3.0. I’m not sure what in March, or perhaps even late February caused my thyroid function to start its downward spiral so abruptly.
In just 13 weeks my TSH levels went from .6 to 4.6. The average range according to American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists is 0.3 to 3.0. I’m not sure what in March, or perhaps even late February caused my thyroid function to start its downward spiral so abruptly.
I am grateful for the answers though because now I can take steps to fight back. I want to be the person I was before March and I'm going to see it through. So watch out thyroid!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Why This Exists
To cut to the chase: Not too long ago I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the age of 22.
Recently, I was *trying* to research troubling symptoms and was disheartened by the lack of support sites where people could share their personal experiences. Which is odd. If you were to look on endocrineweb.com and search hypothyroidism you’d find the following line : “..as many as 10% of women may have some degree of thyroid hormone deficiency.” That means a whole lot of ladies out there are working through fatigue, depression, muscle aches and pains, etc, without knowing if or what their feeling is common.
My blog is about my personal experience with hypothyroidism. I began writing a lot of things down before and after I had a firm grasp of what was happening to my body, but never shared them. In many ways this is therapy for me as I work through where i’ve been and where i'm going. However, I want to keep this open and share this with others, with thyroid disease, and hopefully turn this into advice and support as I discover things along the way.
***
IN NO WAY do I want to replace medical advice. Seek your physician if you are concerned with your symptoms, medication, etc. I am not medically qualified, nor will I ever claim to be. I just write from where I stand on this.
Recently, I was *trying* to research troubling symptoms and was disheartened by the lack of support sites where people could share their personal experiences. Which is odd. If you were to look on endocrineweb.com and search hypothyroidism you’d find the following line : “..as many as 10% of women may have some degree of thyroid hormone deficiency.” That means a whole lot of ladies out there are working through fatigue, depression, muscle aches and pains, etc, without knowing if or what their feeling is common.
My blog is about my personal experience with hypothyroidism. I began writing a lot of things down before and after I had a firm grasp of what was happening to my body, but never shared them. In many ways this is therapy for me as I work through where i’ve been and where i'm going. However, I want to keep this open and share this with others, with thyroid disease, and hopefully turn this into advice and support as I discover things along the way.
***
IN NO WAY do I want to replace medical advice. Seek your physician if you are concerned with your symptoms, medication, etc. I am not medically qualified, nor will I ever claim to be. I just write from where I stand on this.
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