Another Diagnosis

For a while now, I've been feeling miserable. Not as in sickly but just always emotionally drained, fatigued, and short fused. I have no energy or the desire to go about my days, sometimes forcing myself out of bed. There are some days that I feel great and I accomplish a lot. Unfortunately, it seems that the bad days outweigh the good.

After observing my behaviors for a while, a good friend, who I'm thankful the Lord put in my life, finally suggested that I get my thyroid checked. It never occurred to me, although it being prevalent on my mom's side of the family, to get it checked out. On Wednesday I went to my OB/GYN and we talked about my concerns. She was very opened to it, and agreed that it would be in my best interest to run all the tests (5) to see what my Thyroid is up to. She called me yesterday evening and told me that I'm positive for 2 types of antibodies and that my thyroid is not functioning well. She is starting me on Synthroid and referred me to endocrinologist whom I'll take a copy of the lab work to. In 30 days of being on the medication they will recheck the blood levels. She said she can treat me herself but typically sends her patients to an endocrinologist if testing positive for antibodies. So, I have Hypothyroidism or Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.

Some might think I am crazy but I was really happy when I heard the news. Instead of thinking I was crazy, bi-polar, or just physically breaking down at 26, I now know that there is an explanation for feeling the way I do. I'll be able to feel good and be a better mother and wife, and that means the world to me! Although a life long treatment, I'm ecstatic to know that in a few months I will be on my way to recovery, stabilized and feeling "normal"--whatever THAT feels like. I'm also thankful that Jon and I made the decision to postpone furthering our family. My ob/gyn told me that it would definitely be something to take care of prior to getting pregnant because it can cause problems. I have a couple of friends with Hypothyroidism and they had complications trying to GET pregnant, keeping the pregnancy or problems throughout the pregnancy. I'm wondering if that's why my body stopped replenishing the amniotic fluid during Kayden's pregnancy. It's a speculation but not far fetched.

So, the next step is to start on the medication for now, a synthetic hormone and contact an endocrinologist. I eventually will get to where I use natural hormones and I've heard that I will have to be proactive at this as the doctors don't get a heck of a lot of kickbacks from natural hormones as they would the prescribed synthetic ones. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.