This morning was dreadful, I went to bed bad tempered and awoke in a similar mode, at least I am consistent in my mutterings. My usual autoimmune flare arrived four day's ago in response to my up and down hormones, and made me stamp about wishing I was a man - I have had this reaction every month, (apart from when I had buns in the oven or fed them afterwards), for the last 36 years! In this delightful state sleep alludes me, however I am thankful for skype and other online distractions and enjoy talking or live chatting to people all over the world or doing actual work until I feel sleepy. My general level of pain at these times is off the Richter Scale - I have to sit it out and distract myself. However the roughly 14 - 16 dreadful days predicted every month have reduced to between 4 and 8.. thank you LDN, slow progress but the right speed for me... seeing as every drug including most antibiotics turns me into the lesser spotted creature, last seen running sideways, and acting as an extra in a Hammer Horror! My B movie dramas are continuing in a different direction, thankfully,
Once it all calms down I normally catch up again with four or five blissful nights. My sleep is generally so much better. Until I visited Dr BDP in his clinic a few months back - to confirm my suspicions about hypothyroidism, with my ballooning weight and water retention.. I had of course been told that this was all perfectly normal including staying awake most night other than two or three hours for around ten years! Also the giant heart palpitations I had been having, hardly occur these days. However during these flares, everything irritates me and makes me feel bilious. Considering that Thyroid issues are so prevalent in autoimmune disease... my very obvious symptoms were missed by several hospitals!
Yesterday, I slid off on the bus for some back to school fuss. Having kitted out my middle son with everything he could need, and having managed to actually take his feet along with me to fit shoes, and also ransack the local stationery shop - for everything that could possibly be required, for the start of term. I had felt a slightly smug and organized hormonal lady's huff and a sulk coming on - and had planned to have a rest and indulge this activity yesterday morning. No such peace allowed, on the worst possible day my daughter hopefully and optimistically gave me a list of essential things needed for 6th form. immediately of course. This handed to me with lots of smiling and waving as she left to play chase the morning school bus up the road. . Funny that my careful questions about if anything was required for school the week-end prior to this when she was off to camp with friends....and dance all night! did not enlighten me at all to anything being needed.
So yesterday .. a slightly grumpy and taciturn bus driver honked his horn and drove me off to the local town. It was dreadful... first of all somebody sat next to me wearing what can only be described as 'Eau de Mouldy Laundry Pong'. My migraines and other aliments make me more sensitive to vile things and also smells. How somebody can do the washing and then hang it up days after it has been shut in a machine, wear it, sit pressed up against me, and grin in an oblivious manner, is beyond me. I opened all the windows and nearly blew a neighbour's hair net off. If it had not been wound round her ears so tightly.. the bus might have doubled as a trawler. The woman fashioning this particular head piece, and yes I can see myself wearing one soon, is in her 90's and said that she was delighted to be sitting in a wind tunnel and remarked how refreshing it was - I knew that she too had noticed the pong. Her attitude to life is at Olympic level really. She goes out every day on the bus, marches around town, has a pint of stout, and then follows this up with what she describes as 'a nip of the necessary' before cooking her evening meal and doing vast amounts of gardening! I spent many months consulting her neighbours to find out what the nip was.. it was of course sherry. I once made the mistake of asking her in for tea and the response was most clear. 'I do like you dear, but I am not one for visiting people for tea'...However I enjoy her company on public transport immensely - and make sure I never miss anything she says.!
I was not disappointed as we approached the local town, a wisp of a woman with a very tired appearance crossed the road in front of the bus - clasping the lead of a vast shaggy hound, by this time due to the unfortunate bus whiff I was quite nauseated. My elderly colleague did not disappoint, she and others gazed out of the windows.. seeing the bag in hand of the dog owner.she remarked in true East Anglian rural drawl.. "If you own a dog the size of a donkey, she best carry a bucket and shovel" imagine that hairy backside in your house" I am guessing that she was referring to the dog rather than the owner!
I ambled off the bus to recover from all this, determined to get my priorities right - straight into the best coffee shop in town.. I ordered a skinny cappuccino with no chocolate on top, then due to the lack of calories devoured a gluten free chocolate brownie, which seemed to cure my nausea, if only I had discovered this years ago. After this I got up a good gallop around the local stationers and came out feeling most Valerie Singleton and Blue Peter...My husband has donated lots of old ring binders to my daughters 6th form studies, so the idea to purchase bad taste wrapping paper and sticky back plastic became a reality. This was enough activity for one day, I had to go home to bed, thankfully on an almost empty bus. Having begun my delayed sulk.. my man rang early evening right on time and made me hysterical, he was most keen to tell me how he had caused a commotion locally. Having marched out of the house in his best recycled hippie clothes attire with a view to attending a highly enlightening meeting on global warming and eco planning for our collective world impending doom...he duly arrived on time and found himself rather confused. It became clear after some time that he had gone to the wrong address and indeed the wrong town and was sitting a midst a rather large geriatric bingo game. Laughter is the best medicine in any situation, and he came home early to act out his indignance and amuse me further. However most annoyingly I was not well enough to drink the red wine which was needed to aid his recovery... however I can have it later on in the week as delayed gratification.
Hopefully I will pick up really soon again, I am pretty upbeat about it really. Although this morning, having set my youngest's lessons, as he is too poorly for school currently. I had a quick rest and made myself breakfast in bed. I was feeling quite pleased with my array of toasted brazil nuts, porridge, bananas and peaches.. and after a swig of industrial strength go faster coffee, ate what I thought was a few nuts.. only to find I had mixed up my nutri adrenal extra pills in amongst them... For any of you that take these... even with water, taking these - my behaviour resembles that of of a boa constrictor, when swallowing these horse pills, they are huge and taste vile, and I can assure you that crunched up they are truly revolting, but being expensive... I just could not bring myself to spit it all out. This was unfortunate as I was at my open bedroom window wearing an unfortunate rainbow onesie, with my hair on end, profusely dry retching - as rather a done up lady of a certain age slowed down to read my for sale signs...she took one look and drove off!
Mind you I am heading to being of a certain age.. I have noticed how indulgent I have become with the cat....one in particular... I have started feeding her on demand.. which is dreadful..I guess I am grateful that she behaves like Nanny 911 in terms of my son going to sleep at night.. she literally howls in that I have caught a mouse manner, until he cleans his teeth and gets into bed, at which points she curls up on the end of his bed like a spotty cushion, with one eye open. If he is ill in the night she lets me know!
More fuss soon.
Please sign AND share if you can please: change.org/en-GB/petitions/...
Hypo but untreated for years.
An actual apology from a GP!!!!!! Thyroid patient fights back. 
Changing from a well known specialist to a more supportive one
