Friday 5 April 2013

Foggity fog, damn creeping fog.....

I have been quiet on here again, did you notice? I didn't! Ha ha. No really, I didn't notice what was happening to me. I was slowly getting a bit hypothyroid again the last few months. It crept up on me. Slowly like a snake. it wound it's way around me and squeezed and I didn't notice I was fading away.....

This illness is nuts. Seriously. I think I've cracked it then it's like I've fallen through another trap door and there's a whole new set of lessons to be learned, assumptions to be adjusted, new stuff to be taken on board. And I just pick myself up and carry on.

So, to update you all...... Remember I told you I had my meds reduced in September last year? After going gluten free I was feeling so much better. I'd been able to come off T3 meds and was taking thyroxine only and feeling good and then became concerned I was actually becoming over active so was actually able to reduce the thyroxine dose slightly. And I was SO PLEASED!! It was like, hurrah, hallelujah I am on the mend. I have cracked this thing.

Well I carried on feeling pretty good for a few months. Over Christmas I abandoned my gluten free diet and I felt a bit rubbish again but I was relaxed about that. I just though, hey ho, festive season is here, I shall eat what I like and put on a couple of pounds and then go back on the straight and narrow afterwards and it will be fine.

cakes and mulled wine at Christmas

Then after Christmas we had a death in the family and I had to go overseas for the funeral and obviously while I was there I just ate whatever came my way because I wasn't going to be fussing about my diet when my family were grieving. And we all got into comfort eating a bit. Why not, right? Hard times call for desperate measures. Cake and chocolate is good medicine sometimes.

I got home towards the end of Jan and I just put the fact that I felt brainfoggy and tired down to the poor diet over a few weeks and I assumed it would sort itself out as I got back on track with eating well again.

It was mid March before I realised that something was wrong. I had been tired for weeks. It was getting worse not better. I was becoming forgetful and a bit clumsy. I would be walking up the hill to our house and feel like gravity was pulling me back down it. Ooh, err, better get my thyroid checked.

I'd had it checked before my trip abroad. It, (my TSH, I won't bore you with my other numbers), was 1.7. Up from 0.9 the previous September. Up from the very suppressed 0.01 or thereabouts it had been for the previous 18 months. I thought 1.7 was a pretty good number. If I felt good at 1.7 then  hurrah. My endocrinologist reckons being between 1 and 2 is probably optimal and that makes sense to me. I'd been too suppressed when I was taking T3 and it looked like it was slowly adjusting to a more sensible level.

But in March it had jumped to 3.4. And I felt awful. So now my dose has been ever so slightly increased again. And I am slowly starting to feel better. Phewwew.  Hopefully it won't take long before I am properly back on track.

Lessons learned:
  1. Meds adjustments can take a long time to reveal their full effect on the body. That's why it makes sense not to make lots of changes in a short space of time. We  need time to adjust. 
  2. Small adjustments can make a big difference. I was taking alternate doses of 100 and 125 micrograms back in September and we dropped down to 100mcg every day. That was, in hindsight too big a drop for me. My endocrinologist has now suggested I take 100mcg 5 days a week and 125 at the weekend. I am hearing more and more about people on very finely balanced doses. We really need thyroxine to be available in smaller doses.  (this is something the BTF is talking to drug companies about and can hopefully influence) 
  3. I need to listen to my body more and take action more quickly if I think I might be going hypo. My husband actually said to me in January he thought I might be getting ill again, but I poo pooed  him. I was so focussed on a positive view of the situation "I'm fine, I'm fine, I know what's going on here, I just need to eat less cake/ get over this lingering virus"  (oh fool me, there probably never was a virus, hypothyroidism was creeping up on me again). So as well as listening to my body more I also need to listen to my nearest and dearest who knows me so well and is so sensitive to what's going on with me. I hate going to the doctor because I don't want to be seen as a sickly person. But I am a sickly person and I need to pay attention and go for help when it's neccessary as help is at hand and I am going to be fine now. I know it. :) 
Hey ho, that's what's been going on with me. What's been happening in your world? Send me some #thyroidlife love please. I feel like I need it! 

#Hope :) 



6 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear things have been tough Lorraine. I don't know what has the most detrimental effect on my thyroid levels - emotional stress or the change in diet that inevitably accompanies emotional stress. When the sun is shining, I am exercising and eating well, getting enough sleep etc.etc. I too feel as if I have this thing cracked. Then life happens and knocks my wonderful routine out of the window and the finely tuned mechanism needs re-tuning. We live. We learn. Big hugs and happy re-adjusting. xx

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    1. thanks FF :) it's so interesting isn't it. I find it's easy not to eat the things I shouldn't when I'm feeling well but it's interesting how that can change if the slightest thing becomes unblanced and of course it can then be a vicious circle. as I can find I "crave" bad food if I'm feeling fatigued and then bad food knocks my blood sugar out of kilter and will inevitably make me more tired and stimulate "cravings" more, so exacerbating any health impact. Still it's all degrees, I was so ill in 2009/early 2010, I can't imagine ever getting that poorly again. On the whole I am 100 x better than back then. And I know so much more. It's all part of life's rich tapestry I suppose. Sending big hugs back to you. so kind of you to post. :) xx

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  2. I TOTALLY recognize the experience you're having!! Hang in there while you 'right the boat'... and thanks so much for sharing again!
    Alyson

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    1. oh thanks Alyson - and I love that analogy of "righting the boat" - it reminded me of a painting I did back in 2011 which I've now added to the Paintings tab of this site - "The warrior queen" - there's a story to that painting which I think I'll write up.... lovely to hear from you, glad you can identify but hope your boat is sailing along nicely for you at the moment. x

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  3. Hi Lorraine~ I am going through the same thing - it just snuck through the back door and all of a sudden I have a houseguest that won't leave :) I put my health on autopilot to get through a stressful time and have been walloped with symptom after symptom. Thanks for your post - it helps to know I'm not alone! I hope you are feeling better and better everyday!!!!

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    1. hi Zen, oh so sorry to hear you're in the same place. I am feeling better already and am confident it's just a matter of time and being more vigilant in future. Sending you healthful vibes. Take good care. xx

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