Does anybody else notice that you feel more Ill with your thyroid when you are stressed out? I have 2 autistic children and get stressed quite a lot but the last few days I have been dealing with a school issue and the education department and I feel totally zonked and out of it now. Just wondering if anyone else are this pattern?
Katie
I do, my dad is very sick and im finding out he and my mom never had any legal paperwork filled out regarding the two houses and i needed to step in and help. it caused me to be super stressed, it was right before bedtime, and i believe my cortisol started to act up in a negative way, my thyroid meds didn't work like they normally do, i was getting the "head pressure" i sometimes get when i need more thyroid medicine or finding out now, when im stressed out. i had to calm myself down so i could sleep and it seems to have worked.
Yes I notice with me that I get all puffy and swollen around my neck and hands when stressed. Also my hair falls out more the day after.
i can relate to that, my thyroid gland (or at least that's what i believe) seems to get irritated and painful when im going through something difficult. i cant imagine taking up yoga with two little ones that need you with them would be something you could do, but, what about a yoga video? it could really help i think
m.youtube.com/user/yogawith... Try this free yoga site on YouTube I find it really helpful as she has loads of different routines for different situations. Most of the videos are about half an hour or just under . I used to go to a class but gave up as it was too stressful getting there on time and it was expensive . Like you I have two autistic kids both grown up but the stress over the years has definitely had an impact .
Thanks lots I will look at this. Yoga has always appealed to me but never tried it.
Try her beginners routine and then if you get into it try the yogacamp which is brilliant
i noticed since taking NDT for my thyroid, my hair has stopped falling out as much, and i also take biotin for hair and nails, it may sound disgusting, but i wash my hair only about two times a week, if i washed it more often, i think id be bald
Yes may look into biotin I don't take that as a suppliment. I do take NDT. My hair stopped coming out but started again today. I think it's just the stress from the last 2 days. Yoga sounds good. I am thinking of starting swimming to relax, love swimming. Thanks.
Quick comment - if you take biotin make sure you stop it for a few days before blood tests as it can upset the results. There was a post about it a few weeks ago - here's the link.
healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...
Ok thank you will keep that in mind.
Katie, I wonder if there is a site for parents of autistic children, you could have more people near you and not even know it, I think you could help one another in so many ways, sort of like us all finding each other on this site, its important to surround ourselves with people that understand us, and maybe you will find a few friends for your children along the way. I just found a site called "Autism Support Network" you enter your country and city, "Autism Speaks" is another site I just found and it has lots of resources
Vitamin C as well as being an all-round vitamin is helpful when stressed.
Some hints:
doctoroz.com/article/less-s...
Hi, I do take vitamin C but only started last week so may need to build up in my system... thanks
i am so sorry you have such stress in your life, my brother and nephew are high functioning aspergers and on the low spectrum of autism, but having two children with special needs, that has got to be to difficult.
Thanks, it is hard but it's other people's attitudes that can often be worse and the constant fight to make sure they are treated fairly. One is Aspergers and high functioning and the other is severly autistic, low functioning. Never a dull moment in our house though haha. I am wanting to home school them as not happy with their school so been dealing with that for the last few days. My youngest gets funding for a one to one so the school are making it difficult for me to do it as they want to keep the funding.
i know in my area, because of the high numbers of children with autism, there are a lot more programs for them, my nephew is now 23 and still in an all day program for people with autism, but the stares he gets from others and it doesn't help that he is about 6'5" with the mind of a 10 year old, it is heartbreaking, he is deemed disabled so the state pays for him to be in the program
Bless him, I know I get people looking at my youngest like that all the time. I do worry about how he will cope in adulthood. Or you get people thinking autism is down to bad parenting or lack of discipline. Yes it is totally on the increase, either that or people are just becomming more aware of it now.
If it's any comfort, when they reach 6ft you still get some looks but at least you don't get the comments as people finally realise it's not down to your parenting.
It is a comfort and it isn't. I guess part of you hopes their autism will get better with age, or at least be more manageable. It doesn't, in reality problems just change into others that's part of autism.
Our son, now 16, is profoundly autistic and although he hasn't made huge progress, he is much more manageable now than when he was little. Lots of children with autism do make great strides though so please don't lose heart.
Thanks for your kind words nice to chat to someone who understands.
I home schooled mine too schools stress me out far more that the autistic problems
Did it go ok? It's quite scary but I am prepared for it. My aim is to push my high functioning boy a bit more as he is bored at school he has completed his entire year. Also teach my youngest through more autism geared activities and projects as he just doesn't learn in the traditional way that school does it. I plan to follow the curriculum.
Hi Hidden , I home-educated my 3rd child, I just wish I'd had the confidence to home-educate the other 2 who are on the autistic spectrum.
None of my lot liked to learn in the way schools are geared up for learning. I think that schools have just become controlling and inflexible.
I hope it will be of some comfort to you to learn that most things do improve when they get older (they're still living at home, but that's due to economics!)
As KGeorge said, home education is a much easier ride than dealing with the Education system!
Thanks Annie yes you are correct, they seem more bothered about telling kids what they should and shouldn't think than actually expanding their minds to great subjects. If you get a good teacher then that is fantastic. One of my sons had a fantastic teacher last year and he loved school. It's just gone boring and flat for him this year. I am going to try it and give it my all. If it doesn't work out then at least I have tried and I will put them back into school. It's my youngest 5 year old I have the most concerns about in school as he is just being left behind and it's being left to his underpaid one to one to educate him whilst the rest of his class is steaming ahead. I can see my higher functioning boy returning to high school but see how it goes. Thank you!
I should add that you don't need to follow the national curriculum, just teach them what they are willing to learn.
We had to see someone from the education dept. about once a year just for them to check everything was ok. Home education was the best thing I ever did, stress levels came down immediately.
Just found this link: gov.uk/home-education
I am nervous and excited about it to be honest. The more I hear about just doing it from people like yourself, the more I know it's the correct thing to do. Our LA here in Cheshire West and Chester. check up on you after 4 weeks!! A bit soon if you ask me it will take a good few weeks to get them into a routine and establish what teaching styles works for them. The homeschooling networks online are good though, plan to try and join a network where you actually meet up with other homeschoolers too.
Definitely!! I always suffer more when stressed. I feel exhausted and my hair falls out and the brain fog goes wild. Another thing I always notice is when I look back to a particularly stressful episode I always have a horizontal ridge on my nail from where the nail has stopped growing due to stress. I gain weight as well cos I eat with the stress. I really sympathize, I can't imagine how you cope, I am shattered when my grandkids have been x
Yes I eat with stress too. All those sugary things you really shouldn't. Its bizarre how your body gives you these little signs. When you are very ill with your thyroid though you don't always pick up on them. I've noticed it more since I've generally become better on meds.
Yes I flare up during and after stress too... bloat up like a pufferfish and then NEED to sleep immediately. It's not possible to keep going because every system is forcing me to shut down and reboot.
It was worse when my Son was younger. He is now generally considered as high functioning ASD (despite a lack of diagnosis) and is supported well since starting secondary school. Things also started improving for us about 4 years ago when he discovered Minecraft. I swear that the game is a lifesaver!
Yes I get like that too. It's like your whole body just shuts down. It's good that things have improved for you both. My older son is high functioning and really clever but has social problems in regards to mixing with kids his own age and has meltdowns and emotional issues he's 8. He is obsessed with minecraft too. I have a 5 year old severly autistic boy too and an 11 year old daughter who is also obssessed with minecraft but not autistic. So I get some time out sometimes when they have their hour on their tablets. I have to limit it otherwise they fight with each other as they go on each others worlds on minecraft! My kids would argue over a piece of string though.
I am lucky that their dad is very hands on so I do get breaks. Also they visit their Nana a few times a month, they are there now. It can be very difficult though when some days you just want to curl up and sleep. Since starting on meds though I have much more energy and don't feel as run down. I was a mess before thyroid meds. So things are improving slowly.
I also find life more manageable since starting thyroid treatment... funnily; my Son's meltdowns have decreased in relation to my increased ability to cope with them! x
That is good that you feel more able to deal with things better. Yes same here. That constant tiredness and brain fog lifts so you can deal with meltdowns with a more level head. I find I am more able to intervene early now and bring my son out of it by distracting him and physically taking him by the hand. Or by difusing something before he even goes into one. When you can't think straight it affects everything down to how you interact with others.
I think you are correct about the video games and autism, im not sure which game my nephew played, but maybe it helps allow all the thoughts to have an outlet, I hadn't ever thought of the video games being a positive for autism, but I think it could be helpful after reading your post, though my nephews mom would allow him to play the violent games, I bet minecraft would be much more suitable
It is but because it is within the pattern of behaviour to become fixed and obsessed with games I have to limit it for everyone's sanity in the family because they would be on it all day. I don't let any of my kids play violent games at all. The thing with minecraft is that it is never ending so they don't complete it and get bored. I tried it a few times and I have no idea about anything on it and couldn't see the appeal. Must be getting old, technology is going over my head now lol.
Hiya friend...yes i am the same as you ...we have lots in common...i have 5 kids 3 are autistic and i am in a constant state of stress....yet to actually get a diagnosis as my levels are just in range but my gosh have i got all the symptoms...so i hear you sister its a complete nightmare and very mismunderstood...you are amoung friends here xx
Ah thanks, wow you have your work cut out. Hope you get breaks now and again. We just get on with it though don't we. Have no choice really.
Yes I think stress has had a gradual drip drip effect over the years which eventually caused problems with my thyroid and also brought me to the point of crisis at work . All the time I thought I was coping with all the stresses And it appeared to be the case outwardly but my body said otherwise !
Yes you are right, especially if you are stressed everyday in your job like you have been. It builds up and grinds you down physically within then, WHAM you are ill with lots of health problems.
Totally recognise this, Katie.
The real bummer is that even getting ready for a holiday counts as 'stress' these days...
Forge on !
I feel worse (much, much, much worse) when I am stressed.
I went through severe stress a couple of years ago when I simply wasn't well enough to tolerate it and I had a major meltdown.
I'm going through a lot of stress right now too, for almost the same reasons, and although I don't feel as well as I could, I have avoided total meltdown this time. (For now, at least.)
I'm assuming that if we get on to the correct thyroid hormone for us, at the right dose, then as the body heals, resilience builds up.
This is something I have worried about over the last two or three years. If I collapse every time something serious and stressful happens then I couldn't consider myself well. But it does look as if resilience does build up eventually.
That's reassuring hb thanks for posting. I feel I'm in the recovery / healing phase but certainly not there yet. In 1997 my TSH was 2.97 - now concluding I've been hypo for a very long time, although the hashi's kept me an acceptable weight - not the case, now but I have to feel well before I look that elephant in the eye.
I hope your stressors are soon alleviated
Yes you are correct. I think it just takes a very long time to get perfectly well again and some of us never do reach that point. Thyroid disfunction is linked directly to anxiety levels/depression too but maybe the combination of meds that work and the lifting of brain fog and imbalances within the body makes us able to deal with stress better. I had a break down when I was 25. I think you come back from them stronger and wiser. I am a true believer in what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger although you don't feel like that at the time.
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