Well it's been ages since I've actually published a blog post (since March to be exact). I have quite a few sitting in my drafts just waiting to be finished but I just never seem to have the time or the energy. But I've had some things weighing on me lately that I finally felt the need to sit down, write out and share.
Two months ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and a severe vitamin d deficiency. A week ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease along with my vitamin d deficiency. I went from no diagnosis to one irritating diagnosis to an even more irritating auto-immune disease diagnosis. It's been a bit of a whirlwind but I'm actually relieved that I finally have an answer to what has been going on because it's been going on for a long time. Let's look back.
When I was pregnant with Davis (2015-2016), the anxiety started. Normal considering he was a pregnancy after loss. After he was born, I suffered from PPD. I took the antidepressants prescribed by my OB and I felt better within a week I stopped taking the meds within a few months (February of 2017). Regardless, recovery after Davis was much harder than any of my other kids and it took about a year until I felt somewhat normal again and I still have pain to this day.
Flash forward to November of 2017. I went to the hospital with a terrible pain in my leg. I couldn't walk, I was feverish, shaking and just sick. I was septic when I got to the hospital. They scrambled to figure out what was wrong but were never really able to tell me exactly what was wrong or why it had happened. Their best guess was an infection in my blood caused by cellulitis in my leg. It took a few days for the doctors to figure out the correct antibiotics and I was finally sent home after five days. I had an allergic reaction to the Percocet they gave me in the hospital and to one of the antibiotics they gave me when I left. It took weeks for my leg to heal.
Flash forward to the following November (2018). I went to my doctor for what I thought was an ear infection. As I answered their typical questionnaire, the doctor realized that not only did I have an ear infection and respiratory infection, I also had depression. My doctor ordered some standard tests and prescribed me my usual antidepressant and sent me on my way.
All of my blood work came back normal. Nothing to be seen. I had specifically asked for a thyroid panel and it all came back normal.
I took my meds and realized they were giving me more anxiety so my doctor switched me to Lexapro. That was a mistake. I felt worse on that than I had before I started taking any meds. So I weaned myself off so I could see how I would feel.
The depression didn't go away. It got worse. The insomnia got worse. The headaches, the fatigue, the muscle aches. It all got worse and more symptoms were cropping up each month. I just figured it was all party of my depression.
When I went for my annual OB appointment (September 2019), my OB felt a nodule on my thyroid. She insisted I get it checked by my PCP. I saw my doctor the following week and she ordered labs again and sent me for an ultrasound of my thyroid.
My labs came back with numbers indicating hypothyroidism and the ultrasound came back showing many tiny nodules on my thyroid, consistent with Hashimoto's disease. She immediately started me on Levothyroxine and referred me to and Endocrinologist.
The first month on the meds, I noticed my mood had improved, my anxiety wasn't as persistent and my paresthesia was practically gone. I still wasn't sleeping well and I still had ZERO energy. This is the most crippling part of this disease. The extreme exhaustion. I can't even explain it.
During the second month, all of my symptoms came back, worse than before. It was like the medicine had just somehow stopped working altogether. It was very discouraging.
I was able to get in to see the Endocrinologist in November. She went over my entire history, symptoms, medications, recent blood results. She wanted to take the labs again for my thyroid and switch me to the non-generic brand of the medication I was on (Synthroid). She called me the next day to tell me that I tested positive for the Hashimoto's anitbodies so that was my official diagnosis.
So now here I am. Trying to figure this shit out. The Synthroid has helped my anxiety and exhaustion but has turned me into a raving lunatic. I'm hoping it's just my body still adjusting to the meds. I've been incredibly moody and irritable and I'm to the point where I'm even annoying myself.
I've been doing tons of research about different things to try. Most of them involve some sort of extreme diet change, which I'm terrified of. I have the palate of a toddler (as my best friend likes to put it) so I am finding it difficult to commit to any specific diet.
The autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is the most extreme diet that has been mentioned. It's basically completely stripping your diet down. No grains, dairy, refined sugar, processed foods, nuts, etc. It basically takes away everything I eat and then has me slowly reintroducing foods to find my triggers.
More research concludes that going gluten free can be beneficial Other people say they haven't made very many diet changes and they've been fine. It's been a lot of overwhelming information to say the least. I'm trying to process it all before the new year so I can start my year off with a plan.
So this is where I'm at. This is why I've been more quiet on social media. I've kept it all to myself for the longest time because I didn't want to admit that depression had gotten the best of me. Turns out, I was right. It wasn't specifically depression but my asshole thyroid wreaking havoc on my body.
My husband doesn't get it. He basically just thought I've been depressed and lazy for the past two years. Now that we have an official diagnosis, he still doesn't get it. I feel completely alone in this. It's been difficult to maneuver around all of this and it has taken a huge toll on our marriage (not that there aren't other things adding to it). My kids have suffered because Mommy is always tired and now because Mommy is always grouchy. It's been rough.
But now that I know, I can research. I can try things out. I have a food journal that I will start to use to figure out how certain foods make me feel and try to eliminate them if they make me feel like shit. I have supplements, recommendations from my Endocrinologist as well as other people. And I have friends. One friend in particular who also suffers an from autoimmune disease. And while her disease is different from mine, she at least understands how I'm feeling and can help me find ways to figure this out because she's been through it all.
I posted about my diagnosis on social media, just a brief 'hey this is what I have and it sucks so tell me about your experience with it' and the replies were astounding. So many people I never knew were suffering. I've gotten some really good advice from many of those people and I'm so happy that I have people I can turn to for advice.
So that's it. I have a shitty autoimmune disease and I'm trying to figure it. If you suffer too, hit me up so we can chat. This shit sucks and it helps to have others to talk to.
Two months ago, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and a severe vitamin d deficiency. A week ago, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease along with my vitamin d deficiency. I went from no diagnosis to one irritating diagnosis to an even more irritating auto-immune disease diagnosis. It's been a bit of a whirlwind but I'm actually relieved that I finally have an answer to what has been going on because it's been going on for a long time. Let's look back.
When I was pregnant with Davis (2015-2016), the anxiety started. Normal considering he was a pregnancy after loss. After he was born, I suffered from PPD. I took the antidepressants prescribed by my OB and I felt better within a week I stopped taking the meds within a few months (February of 2017). Regardless, recovery after Davis was much harder than any of my other kids and it took about a year until I felt somewhat normal again and I still have pain to this day.
Flash forward to November of 2017. I went to the hospital with a terrible pain in my leg. I couldn't walk, I was feverish, shaking and just sick. I was septic when I got to the hospital. They scrambled to figure out what was wrong but were never really able to tell me exactly what was wrong or why it had happened. Their best guess was an infection in my blood caused by cellulitis in my leg. It took a few days for the doctors to figure out the correct antibiotics and I was finally sent home after five days. I had an allergic reaction to the Percocet they gave me in the hospital and to one of the antibiotics they gave me when I left. It took weeks for my leg to heal.
Flash forward to the following November (2018). I went to my doctor for what I thought was an ear infection. As I answered their typical questionnaire, the doctor realized that not only did I have an ear infection and respiratory infection, I also had depression. My doctor ordered some standard tests and prescribed me my usual antidepressant and sent me on my way.
All of my blood work came back normal. Nothing to be seen. I had specifically asked for a thyroid panel and it all came back normal.
I took my meds and realized they were giving me more anxiety so my doctor switched me to Lexapro. That was a mistake. I felt worse on that than I had before I started taking any meds. So I weaned myself off so I could see how I would feel.
The depression didn't go away. It got worse. The insomnia got worse. The headaches, the fatigue, the muscle aches. It all got worse and more symptoms were cropping up each month. I just figured it was all party of my depression.
When I went for my annual OB appointment (September 2019), my OB felt a nodule on my thyroid. She insisted I get it checked by my PCP. I saw my doctor the following week and she ordered labs again and sent me for an ultrasound of my thyroid.
My labs came back with numbers indicating hypothyroidism and the ultrasound came back showing many tiny nodules on my thyroid, consistent with Hashimoto's disease. She immediately started me on Levothyroxine and referred me to and Endocrinologist.
The first month on the meds, I noticed my mood had improved, my anxiety wasn't as persistent and my paresthesia was practically gone. I still wasn't sleeping well and I still had ZERO energy. This is the most crippling part of this disease. The extreme exhaustion. I can't even explain it.
During the second month, all of my symptoms came back, worse than before. It was like the medicine had just somehow stopped working altogether. It was very discouraging.
I was able to get in to see the Endocrinologist in November. She went over my entire history, symptoms, medications, recent blood results. She wanted to take the labs again for my thyroid and switch me to the non-generic brand of the medication I was on (Synthroid). She called me the next day to tell me that I tested positive for the Hashimoto's anitbodies so that was my official diagnosis.
So now here I am. Trying to figure this shit out. The Synthroid has helped my anxiety and exhaustion but has turned me into a raving lunatic. I'm hoping it's just my body still adjusting to the meds. I've been incredibly moody and irritable and I'm to the point where I'm even annoying myself.
I've been doing tons of research about different things to try. Most of them involve some sort of extreme diet change, which I'm terrified of. I have the palate of a toddler (as my best friend likes to put it) so I am finding it difficult to commit to any specific diet.
The autoimmune protocol (AIP) diet is the most extreme diet that has been mentioned. It's basically completely stripping your diet down. No grains, dairy, refined sugar, processed foods, nuts, etc. It basically takes away everything I eat and then has me slowly reintroducing foods to find my triggers.
More research concludes that going gluten free can be beneficial Other people say they haven't made very many diet changes and they've been fine. It's been a lot of overwhelming information to say the least. I'm trying to process it all before the new year so I can start my year off with a plan.
So this is where I'm at. This is why I've been more quiet on social media. I've kept it all to myself for the longest time because I didn't want to admit that depression had gotten the best of me. Turns out, I was right. It wasn't specifically depression but my asshole thyroid wreaking havoc on my body.
My husband doesn't get it. He basically just thought I've been depressed and lazy for the past two years. Now that we have an official diagnosis, he still doesn't get it. I feel completely alone in this. It's been difficult to maneuver around all of this and it has taken a huge toll on our marriage (not that there aren't other things adding to it). My kids have suffered because Mommy is always tired and now because Mommy is always grouchy. It's been rough.
But now that I know, I can research. I can try things out. I have a food journal that I will start to use to figure out how certain foods make me feel and try to eliminate them if they make me feel like shit. I have supplements, recommendations from my Endocrinologist as well as other people. And I have friends. One friend in particular who also suffers an from autoimmune disease. And while her disease is different from mine, she at least understands how I'm feeling and can help me find ways to figure this out because she's been through it all.
I posted about my diagnosis on social media, just a brief 'hey this is what I have and it sucks so tell me about your experience with it' and the replies were astounding. So many people I never knew were suffering. I've gotten some really good advice from many of those people and I'm so happy that I have people I can turn to for advice.
So that's it. I have a shitty autoimmune disease and I'm trying to figure it. If you suffer too, hit me up so we can chat. This shit sucks and it helps to have others to talk to.
Comments
Post a Comment