I don’t have anyone else to tell who might care or get what it’s like but for the first time in my life since I was a kid, my thyroid is normal. I’ve had an untreated under active thyroid for many years (didn’t know my thyroid was fucked up until’this’ year) and I never realized how much it was affecting me until I recently started getting it treated for it. I always felt like my brain was running on like, 25% (guesstimate) through thick fog and many days I didn’t have the motivation to get out of bed or even do basic self care because of it. It still feels like my brain is in a fog but the fog isn’t as bad and that 25% bumped up to 35%. It doesn’t sound like much but I can get out of bed in the mornings and go to work now and I wasn’t able to do that before.
I’ve been told over the years by everyone around me that my inability to motivate myself to do anything, even get out of bed, was somehow my fault or due to lack of positivity and being grateful. no one ever thought to look at my thyroid before and doctors just threw antidepressants at me as a kid (none of them worked for me in the 12 years I took them). I can’t believe it took this long for any doctor to even consider looking at my thyroid in the 28 years i’ve been alive but im glad my new doctor did and I get to feel what it’s like to have a functioning thyroid for the first time in my life.
I remember feeling ill for ages and then being given levothyroxine. It was pre the internet, and i just went round to people telling them how i felt so normal at last! After 13 years the levothyroxine didnt seem to be working do well, so had another load of battles.... going gluten free was a big improvement for me.
Well done you, pleased to hear you feeling better. Aim for a tsh under 1 and free t4 and freet3 towards topend of the range, dont settle for too little medication..... xx
thanks and good for you. i do want to go around telling everyone but i came here instead. i tried giving up gluten and it would probably do me good but i already have a strict diet due to other health problems and gluten free bread is awful.
Gluten free bread is really horrid. But sandwich thins are ok, as are the gf wraps. I particularly like the sweet potato wraps. I just have those where i would have had a sandwich. Easy!
Not all GF bread is horrid. This is the best I've ever had by a long way. But it's a local bakery. not a big brand available in supermarkets. If you're ever in Pembrokeshire for your hols, check it out wgfbakeryproducts.co.uk/pro...
That's crazy that doctors didn't check more into your health. Sometimes one wonders if it was for money or didn't have time for the patient. Good for you on finding the problem but too bad it took this long.
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yeah, i hate it took this long and i had to listen to even my parents call me lazy but im just glad i finally got this taken care of and one less thing that is contributing to making me miserable. thanks
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Also you can tell us here on this site. This is a success story. Plus now we are kind of like family : caring, helping, and non-judgmental. Anytime there's a success story we celebrate with you.
Sounds like you’re making positive strides forward! But your thyroid isn’t ‘finally normal’ it never will be. I guess your treatment is working or you’ve started treatment? Or your finally moving your dose to a more optimal level?
I don’t mean to be picky but in this game words/meanings matter 🤗
i mean, my doctor used the word normal when he called and im aware im going to have to regulate it with pills for the rest of my life but let me just have this instead of nit picking. i get words matter sometimes but im literally repeating what my doctor said and i “feel” more normal.
The word ‘normal’ isn’t great, what’s normal? But I get that the docs use this term but I doubt he’d have said your thyroid was normal. Your thyroid levels may be ‘normal’ but replacement doesn’t regulate your thyriod it replaces what you don’t produce. It might seem like I’m pissing on your parade but WE the collective have to start educating even ourselves and even our doctors. It’s not nit picking, it’s adulting.
So pleased to hear that a doctor finally thought to check your thyroid! Am so sorry that you suffered for years needlessly. Although your current doctor sounds more on the ball make sure you get copies of all the blood tests. Are you in the uk? If so you need your TSH under 1 and most people feel well when their ft4 & ft3 (thyroid hormones) are near the top of the ranges. Post them if your not sure what they mean.
I only say this as a lot of doctors will say you are fine when your blood tests for thyroid are in range. This is incorrect. Your doctor should be reviewibg you every 6 -8 weeks and slowly increasing your dose. It takes time as effectively your body has to be slowly woken up!! Your body beeds time to adjust after each dose increase so it has to be done slowly. You sill slowly find your energy levels improving and you should be aboe to gradually do a lot more, depending on your other conditions.
It will be intersting to see if when you are on optimum thyroid treatment if any of your other conditions improve.
thanks and im in the US. I started taking something for it for the first time a few months ago so it’s had time to be absorbed and i’ve noticed the progress over the months. the recent test came about because I asked for it and after hearing everything is currently normal, i didn’t think to ask for the results on paper but i’ll do that.
It's definitely worth starting a folder, and getting hold of each set of blood tests that come in and keeping them all safe.
Adjusting your dose and keeping an eye on everything is a lifelong task, as over time things change and our need for thyroid hormone can change and we need to keep on top of it.
Glad to hear it! At certain times if your life, docs will ascribe any hypothyroid symptoms to somethi G completely unconnected. Teenager? Depression. 40+? Menopause. 60+? The ravages of time. Infuriating.
I hope now you have a diagnosis, it can be better controlled to give you your life back.
I know exactly how you feel. I wasn't diagnosed until just before my 30th birthday, and had anti-depressants thrown at me repeatedly. What makes me even angrier is that they actually did test my thyroid when I was 25 and it showed a TSH of 5.6 (abnormal) and a T4 of 12.5 (bottom of range is 12) but no-one explained to me what this meant or how this was affecting my health or that it was going to continue to deteriorate until I was unable to function anymore (whilst doing a chemistry degree). I was just left to get worse and worse and I blamed myself entirely for it.
I'm really happy for you that you finally got the answers you needed, and I wish you a quick journey back to feeling healthy and energised!
That is awesome. The first time my thyroid levels were actually checked was after I had my thyroid removed for thyroid cancer at age 72.. and the only reason it was checked then was I found an online support group and realized that I had never had my levels tested (despite being prescribed meds). I guess all my docs thought it was someone else’s job. So it’s great that you are on a good path now. Hug that doc (when Covid is not an issue) or send her chocolates and flowers.
Patti in AZ
For those of you that question normal. This is going to be her normal. We shouldn't question her "normal". I am glad she is getting "normal". Just like can alcoholic who stop drinking. That is their new normal. It's will take work for them not to fall back into their old habits but this is their normal not drinking. I applaud kara951 for not giving up. Now she feels better and that's better than what she has been going thru. I am not blasting you for saying it isn't normal but to her it means the world that she is " normal". In my situation I am normal because I feel I am normal. I know what else it's going to take for me to get even better but I am happy I am better.
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appreciate the sentiment; just fyi, my pronouns are they/them.
So pleased you’re finally feeling a bit better and can now start enjoying doing the normal things in life! So great that you are on the up and discovering life as it should be! Well done you! X
i remember about 3 years after i was diagnosed and got onto Ndt, then started addressing my vitamins (and in particular vits D, magnesium. b complex and addressing my gut health), i was woke up & was in the shower and i felt ‘normal’ for the first time in my life. it was only then that i realised i had felt bad my whole life. I do understand why people dislike the word normal because so many doctors use it instead of giving us copies of our blood tests, and leave us in years of misery. however i’m really happy for you that you feel an improvement, long may it continue
thanks. I get that, i’ve definitely been miserable in the past because of people’s expectations of me being (or at least acting) normal. normal is often overrated in a lot of instances but it is subjective and in this instance, I just mean my thyroid being balanced makes me feel like I “woke up” to this new and healthier normal. a good normal.
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