Okay. So, about a year ago, I thought I was depressed. My wonderful father had suddenly died, I was helping my mother cope, I had all kinds of symptoms of depression. Didn’t want to leave the house, didn’t want to read or listen to music or watch TV or do anything at all except sleep and stare at the wall. I gained around 35-40 lbs in <6 months, while skipping most of my meals from lack of appetite. (That one was a real mystery.) My hair was like straw, my skin was flaking off, and for the first time in my life, I was so damned constipated I couldn’t bend in half. Finally, when I noticed a big swelling in my neck, I put two and two together and went to the doctor.
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Just as I suspected.
The test for this is TSH. I won’t go into it, but mine was slightly elevated, which sort of confirmed. (Of course, having a big-ass goiter helped too.) My doctor put me on Levoxyl (thyroid hormone) and all was well.
For 3 months.
Then, the symptoms started coming back. After about a month, I panicked and went back, begging for more Levoxyl. My TSH looked OK, but the doc was a nice guy and increased my dose. I felt better in a couple of weeks and all was well.
For 9 months.
Then, the symptoms started coming back. After about a month, I panicked and went back, begging for more Levoxyl. (Does this sound familiar?) My TSH just came back, and the lab looks just fine, hunky-dory. The only problem is, I was feeling like shit (not that I could actually produce any of same without Ex-Lax) when the blood was taken.
I started taking a tablet and a half after my doctor’s visit and the blood test, to see if I felt any better. After a week or two, I feel normal again. No more Ex-lax, no more 4 hour naps on the weekends, no more falling asleep at work, and I’ve lost two pounds in the last two weeks.
BUT!
I am waiting for the doctor to call back. Now, I’m really stressing out. Will he trust me, trust that I know my own body, and give me more? (I was on 125 mcg/day, hoping now for 150 or 175 mcg/day. Not the top possible dose by any means.) Or will he treat the lab value, and ignore me? I have told the office that if the Dr- who has been my GP for the last 15 years–doesn’t feel comfortable giving me a higher dose, I’ll need a referral to an endocrinologist to work out what’s going on.
CRIPES!!!
Now, this is just what I need. A specialist, who will take a month to see me, and another month to do anything about the problem, while my meds run out. While I spend my days in a half-asleep fog, and spend all night straining on the john in hopes of pushing out the raisinets that pass for poops when the thyroid isn’t putting out.
ARGGGGGH!!!
Nobody cares that my blood pressure isn’t high, my heart rate is perfectly normal, and I’m not trying to become HYPERthyroid, for pete’s sake! I have no interest in being hungry all the time, having palpitations, jumping out of my skin, and having my eyes bug out. I just want to feel normal! I just want my body temperature to go above 97 degrees for a change!
Whew…that feels a bit better now. I don’t really need a response, I just needed to vent…
Thankew.
(Next time, if I feel better, maybe I’ll put in more profanity.)