My closest friends  and family members know that my thyroid has failed me. And just like Oprah-who also has an outta control thyroid {but that’s an entirely post unto itself}- I’m officially coming out of the “thyroid closet” by sharing it with the rest of the world.

 Shortly after the birth of  my last baby ”it” decided to take a vacay and still hasn’t come back. So today I am finally announcing to all the blogging world…

“My name is Debbie and I’m and hypothyroidolic”

 Who would have ever thought that something as small as the thyroid gland could cause such big trouble for me- as well millions of other women- who suffers from hypothyroidism? I’m sure that there are thousands more women… {Sorry men-I know you suffer too-but since I’m of the female gender I’m approaching it from this perspective}…who are suffering and don’t know it. Here’s an “extensive and exhaustive list” of the symptoms of hypothyroidism that I found on a great website “Stop the Thyroid Madness“-with my own commentary, of course! Look it over and see if you can relate.

• Less sta­mina than others (You mean that’s why I need to drink Diet Coke 24/7?)
• Less energy than others (So that’s why I need to drink Diet Coke 24/7?)
• Long reco­very period after any activity (And I thought it was due to old age!)
• Ina­bi­lity to hold chil­dren for very long (Once again-chalked this up to old age.)
• Arms fee­ling like dead weights after activity (No- thank goodness.)
• Chro­nic Low Grade Depression (Really-it’s not all in my head?)
• Sui­ci­dal Thoughts (No-thank goodness.)
• Often fee­ling cold (Yes even on a hot summer day with 110 degree weather-I’m cold.)
• Cold hands and feet (My husband will back me up on the cold feet symptom.)
• High or rising cholesterol (Yep-been high since the thyroid quit.)
• Biza­rre and Debi­li­ta­ting reac­tion to exercise (Does NOT WANTING to exercise count?)
• Hard stools (No comment.)
• Cons­ti­pa­tion (No comment.)
• No eye­brows or thin­ning outer eyebrows (Yes! Not a pretty thing…)
• Dry Hair (Check!)
• Hair Loss (Check!)
• White hairs gro­wing in (Don’t know since I color my hair on a regular basis-but don’t we all?)
• No hair growth, breaks fas­ter than it grows (No hair growth- a bad thing when it’s on your legs and underarms.)
• Dry crac­king skin (Ouch-especially the cuticles.)
• Nod­ding off easily (I think the large consumption of Diet Coke prevents this-thank goodness?)
• Requi­res naps in the afternoon (You mean I’m not lazy?)
• Sleep Apnea (which can also be asso­cia­ted with low cortisol) (MAYBE…I think my loud snoring is a symptom.)
• Air Hun­ger (fee­ling like you can’t get enough air) (Really? I thought it was due to being claustrophobic.)
• Ina­bi­lity to con­cen­trate or read long periods of time  (Maybe…but I’m still thinking about it)
• For­get­ful­ness (Somedays with increasing regularity.)
• Foggy thin­king (Of yes-just ask my kids.)
• Ina­bi­lity to lose weight (YES !YES! YES!-I hate this the most)
• Always gai­ning weight (YES! And it’s getting worse as I get older.)
• Ina­bi­lity to func­tion in a rela­tionship with anyone (Let me ask my family and I’ll get back to you on this.)
• NO sex drive (No comment until I check in with Gary.)
• Fai­lure to ovu­late and/or cons­tant blee­ding (No longer a concern.)
• Moody periods (Does this mean that I go several days where I’m in a bad mood?)
• PMS (No comment until I check in with Gary.)
• Ina­bi­lity to get preg­nant; miscarriages (No longer a concern.)
• Exc­ru­cia­ting pain during period (No longer a concern.)
• Nau­sea (I wish-it might help with the weight control.)
• Swelling/edema/puffiness (Do eyes count? Then YES!)
• Aching bones/muscles (Oh yes…especially the muscles.)
• Osteo­po­ro­sis (So far the bones are holding up.)
• Bumps on legs (No-thank goodnes-I don’t need leg bumps to go along with my thinning eyebrows!)
• Acne on face and in hair (An occasional red bump -but easily covered with concealer, makeup and powder.)
• Brea­kout on chest and arms (No-thank goodness. See “Bumps on legs” comment.)
• Hives (Not yet.)
• Exhaus­tion in every dimen­sion – phy­si­cal, men­tal, spi­ri­tual, emotional (Yes especially around Christmastime.)
• Ina­bi­lity to work full-time (No problem-thanks to Diet Coke.)
• Ina­bi­lity to stand on feet for long periods (Sometimes-especially when I’m waiting in a long check out line.)
• Com­plete lack of motivation (I wish I had this problem.)
• Slo­wing to a snail’s pace when wal­king up slight grade (Not yet…)
• Extre­mely crabby, irri­ta­ble, into­le­rant of others (Only when driving.)
• Handw­ri­ting nearly illegible (NEVER! If I ever have bad handwriting then it’s time to take me out and shoot me.)
• Inter­nal itching of ears (Not a concern…yet.)
• Broken/peeling fin­ger­nails (Not sure-maybe I should forgo the acrylic nails to see?)
• Dry skin or snake skin (Dry skin-YES… Snake skin-NEVER (going to admit it)
• Major anxiety/worry (YES-My name is Debbie and I’m also a “hyperanxiety-olic”)
• Rin­ging in ears (Yep-and I thought I was hearing “things” that didn’t exist!)
• Lac­tose Intolerance (Don’t get near me if I eat ice cream-I’m warning you now…)
• Ina­bi­lity to eat in the mornings (Unfortunately-this has NEVER been a problem.)
• Joint pain (YES-I knew it’s wasn’t due to old age like my husband insists…)
• Car­pal tun­nel symptoms (NO-that would be my husband’s current symptom.)
• No Appe­tite (I wish! Oh how I wish!)
• Fluid reten­tion to the point of Con­ges­tive Heart Failure (No-BUT my hearts been feeling a little funny lately)
• Swo­llen legs that pre­ven­ted walking (NO-thank goodness-puffy legs just aren’t that attractive on me.)
• Blood Pres­sure problems (Yep-if low blood pressure counts.)
• Vari­cose Veins (Spider veins=YES.)
• Diz­zi­ness from fluid on the inner ear (Not yet.)
• Low body temperature (Oh yes! Stay tuned next week for the “ adventures of temperature” taking post.)
• Rai­sed temperature (Sometimes-but only when sick.)
• Tight­ness in throat; sore throat (No-just an occasional frog in my throat=memories of Grandma Mary.)
• Swo­llen lymph glands (No-but I check the NODE on a regular basis.)
• Aller­gies (which can also be a result of low cor­ti­sol–com­mon with hypothy­roid patients) (Not too bad.)
• Hea­daches and Migraines (Only when I skip a dosage of Diet Coke.)
• Sore feet (plan­tar fas­ci­tis); pain­ful soles of feet (Yes-when I’m walking around a lot wearing really high heels.)
• now how do I put this one politely.…a cold bum, butt, derriere, fanny, glu­teus maxi­mus, haunches, hind­quar­ters, pos­te­rior, rear, and/or cheeks. Yup, really exists. (Yes-and I thought it was because I’m just a cool person.)
• coli­tis (Nope.)
• irri­ta­ble bowel syndrome (See lactoce intolerance above.)
• pain­ful bladder (At times…is that TMI?)
• Extreme hun­ger, espe­cially at nighttime  (YES-unfortunately-but I resist the urge to eat…most times.) 
• Dyspha­gia, which is nerve damage and cau­ses the ina­bi­lity to swa­llow fluid, food or your own saliva and leads to “aspi­ra­tion pneumonia (No-thank goodness-it sounds like a terrible weight loss program.)

 As you can see it’s a long list of symptoms. And even though I joke about it- I’m really frustrated that I’ve been dealing with these physical symptoms/conditions for 21 years while taking thyroid replacement medication. And this growing frustration {the weight gain, lack of energy and muscle pain are the most frustrating of them all}… has motivated me to research why my thyroid continues to be “outta control” and how to find the best treatment for ME.  Thanks to the internet-there’s much more information available now.

This picture  depicts how I sometimes feel-no matter how hard I work-I still see my weight going up and up (and many other symptoms increasing). It’s a terrible cycle to be caught up in. So I’ve decided that now is the time for me- ”Debbie the hypothyroidolic”- take on my outta control thyroid and…

If you think you might be suffering from hypothroidism like me, “Stop the Thyroid Madness” is a great website for information on this thyroid disorder. In addition, I suggest you consult a doctor who specializes in this treatment as well. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments or thoughts-please let me know. It’s always nice to know that there are others out there like me…and Oprah!

Debs

Next week: Part II of My Outta Control Thyroid

 The “Adventures of a Temperature Taking” … and more!

Related posts:

1. My “Outta Control” Thyroid War Strategy!
2. “Subtle” Signs that I’m Outta Control…
3. I’m Outta Control….Obsessing about OLD!
4. “Subtle” Signs that I’m Outta Control-(The Saga Continues…)
5. Outta Control Remedy #2…