Hypothyroidism - a Blessing!

I slept 12 hours last night and I actually feel rested. Monday night I slept 11 hours and still felt tired. My last blog post, I explained some of how the thyroid works and how every cell in the body needs the thyroid hormones to function properly. I don’t know if I was trying to teach people about the thyroid as much as I was trying to convince myself why I am so tired right now. It’s hard when we realize we can no longer physically do what we use to be able to do.  I’m really not that old, so in my mind I can still get by on 6 hours of sleep and have energy to do anything I want during the rest of my 24 hours. It can be a humbling process when you realize that is no longer true.

Today as I lay here in bed before getting up, I came to a striking realization. A friend wrote on her blog about obeying God, passing the test of faith, and giving God total control in every area of our lives. I realized today that I have not given Him control in the area of my life where my hypothyroidism is concerned. I have been trying to take care of it myself, yes, I take my medicine, and I watch what water I drink but I have been fighting the sleep issue. I try to get by on as little sleep as possible. I know that sounds funny after telling you I just slept so much the past 2 nights but it is true. Many times I will not go to bed even though I’m tired just because it isn’t even dark outside – Monday night I was asleep by 7pm. Last evening I took a nap from 7 – 8 pm.

God has allowed the hypothyroidism into my life; I don’t know why but I truly believe He is going to use it to 1. teach me something or many things (this is already happening) and 2. use it to bless me and/or someone else.  I have a friend whose daughter has been ill for most of her life with a devastating disease, yet she is a beautiful girl, inside and out.  She doesn’t look at her illness as a roadblock but as a stepping stone to better things.  She is a true inspiration to many.

So I am no longer going to look at my hypothyroidism as a burden but rather as a blessing that God is going to use for His glory!

Til next time!

Linda

Exhaustion and Prayer Request

I am exhausted after working 4 days this past week. I know some of you are saying “I do that all the time” or “I work 5 days a week.” Please don’t judge me too harshly. I haven’t worked a job since the middle of January 2009 when I went on medical leave.  Since that time, I became sicker before I started getting better.

Hypothyroidism doesn’t just make you tired or cause you to gain weight.  These are the symptoms that most people know but the thyroid produces hormones that are necessary, YES NECESSARY, for proper functioning of every cell in the body.  In hypothyroidism, the thyroid isn’t producing these hormones; therefore, the cells in the body are not receiving the hormones they need to function properly.  That’s why there are so many different symptoms and why many people are misdiagnosed.  In my case, I believe this is what happened.  My symptoms included: emotional changes misdiagnosed as depression for 19 years; joint pain, especially the knees; fatigue (at my worst, I was sleeping 18-60 hours each day); I went from having hot flashes and being warm all the time, to getting cold. It started with being cold when I was tired, to being cold much of the time.  I was having a lot of difficulty remembering things.

It wasn’t until I told the doctor about sleeping for 14 hours in bed and then falling asleep in the chair for more hours, that I was finally properly diagnosed.  Wow!  Once he said hypothyroid I started putting 2+2+2+2 together (some nurse huh?!).  I immediately started reading about hypothyroidism on the web.  A cousin of my husband told me about Mary Shomon and the work she is doing as a patient advocate, so I bought her book, Living Well with Hypothyroidism.  It is an excellent book full of wonderful information.  I learned about the disease process – how the thyroid works and what it does to the body when it doesn’t work properly.  I learned how important it is to take my medication at the same time and when the optimal time for me to take mine.  I learned I’m not going to get better in a short period of time. It took years for me to get as sick as I was and that just because I now have a diagnosis and medication, I’m not all better. Sometimes I push myself too hard, and then it takes days for me to recuperate. It’s now a part of my life and something I have to plan for, even though I hate it! I’m thankful, that the longer I’m on my medicine, the less time it will take to recover – I look forward to that!

Now back to the beginning where I mention being exhausted. I work 4 days this week: 7am to 3 pm on Monday and Tuesday, then 3 pm to 11 pm on Thursday and Friday for more orientation.  On Sunday the 17^th, I start my 3 pm to 7 pm shifts and will do the same on that Monday.  So I’m working 6 days out of the next 8.  I’m sure to be extremely fatigued during that time.  I’m asking for your prayers to help me through.  I know I can do it with God’s help, as He says in Philippians 4:13“ I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  What a blessing that we can call on Him for help and KNOW that He will help. It’s not a case of if he remembers but it is a guarantee!  Haw many guarantees do we get these days!

Til next time!

Linda

Hypothyroidism and Fluoride

When I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I started reading and searching the internet for information and this thing that had such control over my body.  One of the things I found was that fluoride can negatively affect someone with hypothyroidism.  I thought I was one of these people but the past 3 weeks have now convinced me.

We usually fill water jugs with water from a local spring dam but when we couldn’t drive our van, we had to give up on this for a while.  This meant drinking tap water because I was not willing to spend money on spring water when we are already counting our pennies.  So for approximately 3 weeks I’ve been drinking tap water; I drink anywhere from 60 to 80 ounces of water each day.  For the past 5 days, I have been more tired and sleeping more than usual.  It is frustrating since my sleep was starting to get a little regular and now I am sleeping too much again.  Yesterday we did not get to church because I was sleeping - slept 18 hours.  I would get awake, look at the clock, think I should get up and then be back asleep before I knew it.

Hubby is going to fill the water jugs before going to work so I won’t be drinking more of the tap water but I do not know how long it will take to get this fluoride out of my system. Hopefully not too long!

Til next time!
Linda <3

Sleep and Hypothyroidism

If you read my last entry, you know how my sleeping has been messed up with me sleeping 15 hours one day and then being up for 24 hours.  I didn’t like that anymore than the 12 hour sleep days but things are changing again.  Sunday night I slept 8 hours and was up at 8:30 am.  I liked that!

Although I was afraid I’d fall asleep in the evening but was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t and went to bed a little after 11:00 pm.  Yea!  I was even able to do a little reading before falling asleep!

Okay now for the bad part, I woke up a little after 6 this morning and wasn’t able to get back to sleep so here I sit.  Now I’m wondering how long till I get so tired that I can’t stay awake.  It’s Wednesday and that means prayer meeting at church tonight.  I want to go which means I will have to take hubby to work so I can have the car to get there then pick him up from work @ 11:30 pm.  I wouldn’t mind so much if I knew I could get a little nap before church and make sure I get up in time to get ready.

I guess I’ll let the day unveil and see what it brings!

Til next time!
Linda <3

Changes in Sleep Pattern

OK, so I’m not sleeping 12 hours a day now but this isn’t much better.  For over a week, I’ve been sleeping 15 or more hours one day and then staying up for 24 hours, then repeat.  I would love to change this because it is as frustrating as the 12 hours per day.  Saturday was one of those days that I was up for 24 hours and actually got some things done.  I went for groceries in the morning and in the evening my hubby and I went to a concert and then an outdoor movie showing.  It was a good day but then Sunday I slept and slept and slept; missed church and time that I could have spent with my hubby.

Now here I am again up all night and not tired; looking at being up till sometime tonight and then sleeping way to long on Tuesday.  I can’t figure out how to change this; since I’m not working, I don’t have to be up for a job so I guess part of me figures if I’m tired I might as well sleep.

I don’t like feeling this way; I long for the days when 6-8 hours of sleep was all I needed and I had energy to work a full day, even cleaning the house.  I feel useless, lazy, and worthless.  From my research on hypothyroidism, these are not uncommon emotions to experience.  I don’t feel this way all the time but certainly more often then I should.

Fortunately, I have a savior who wants me to pray to Him for help and I do that.  I also have friends and family who pray for me.  I truly do not know how people without the Lord handle things like this.  I am so thankful for a loving God!

Til next time!
Linda

Family Reunion and Sleep

Last week I posted about how much I was sleeping but the past few days have seen a change in this.  Thursday night I slept 8 hours and felt fairly good upon rising for the day and was able to stay awake till about 10:45 pm then I dozed for 20 minutes and thankfully that was all because I had to go pick up hubby from work, he gets off at 11:30 pm.  I stayed up till about 1:00 am then fell asleep around 2.

Saturday we had a family reunion to attend; it was with my Dad’s family.  Most of them I only see once a year but last year our nephew got married on the same day as the reunion so it’s been two years.  These are my cousins whom I played with growing up and some are the ones I babysat for years.  Yes that means you Jeff and Sandy!

I got up at 9:00 am because I had to finish my food preparation.  It was good to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and their kids and grandkids.  There are so many little ones that I don’t know their names nor who they belong to but it was fun to watch them.  I even got to hold one of the three babies there and I thoroughly enjoyed that!  I’m glad we were able to go and have marked the date for next year already.

Back to my sleep situation; as soon as I got home, sat down in my comfy chair and relaxed I fell asleep, it was around 8:00 pm!  I kept trying to wake up because I had homework to do but I could not keep my eyes open.  Finally some time after midnight I got awake enough that I could get on the computer and complete my homework.  It had to be posted before 5:00 am EST in order to be considered on time and not have points deducted for being late.  I have been able to maintain an A average in all my classes so far and didn’t want to risk losing that.

I finally got to bed and to sleep around 4:00 am, the bad part was that meant I couldn’t wake up enough for getting to church this morning.  That frustrates me.  This hypothyroidism is the pits sometimes.  Or I just haven’t figured out how to make it work for me.  I guess I will have to keep working on that!

Til next time!
Linda <3

I like my Sleep but this is Ridiculous!

I cannot remember the last time I felt rested after 8 hours of sleep.  I currently sleep about 12 hours a “night” and do not feel rested when I get up.  It’s not every night anymore but still more than I would like.  One of my goals of hypothyroidism treatment is to get awake in the morning after 8 hours of sleep and have energy to get work done.

I have a difficult time dealing with the sleeping thing; before my hysterectomy, I slept 6 hours a night and felt good when I got up.  I actually long for those days!  Now I spend more time sleeping than doing anything else and it seems like such a waste.

My doctor wants to do a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea but I don’t want to do that yet.  I want to get off the Effexor XR and get the thyroid levels to where I have some energy and then if I am still sleeping so much I’ll do the sleep study.  I think he’s a little perturbed with me but I really don’t care at this time.

I’ve been reading Mary Shomon’s book the thyroid diet and am starting to think I need to change my diet not so much to lose weight but to see if there are certain foods that enhance the effect of the hypothyroidism.  A little back, I started drinking spring water to see if the fluoride in the tap water may be affecting me negatively, I continue to do that and have noticed a little increase in energy so will continue to do that.

I get frustrated with how I feel physically and need to do two things frequently; 1.  Remember that hypothyroidism isn’t a condition that is going to go away; I will have to live with it the rest of my life and 2. Pray for God’s help and guidance in dealing with it.

Til next time!
Linda <3

No Energy Again!

I am very frustrated with my hypothyroidism.  I felt so good two weeks ago and was sleeping much less and actually had energy but now this past week I’ve been very tired again, hence the frustration.

I’ve been trying to figure out what was different between then and now.  Here’s what I came up with: I was eating more salads, at least one every day and the other thing is that I was drinking more root beer and less water.  Now none of that made much sense to me until I read a recent post on this blog.  She mentions fluoride and the link between it and hypothyroidism and how those of us with hypothyroidism should stay away from foods, etc. that have fluoride in them.

Well, that means tap water because as most of us know, they have been adding fluoride to the local water supplies for many years.  Now, I’m seeing a link to explain how I have been feeling and the difference between how I felt two weeks ago and now.  I’ve been trying to drink 80 ounces of water each day and that water is tap water.

I think I may try an experiment and drink spring water instead of tap water and see how I feel after a week or so.  It can’t hurt to give it a try and the results may mean more energy!  That would be wonderful!

I’ll keep you posted!

Til next time!
Linda <3

A New Diagnosis

For the first three months I was off, I still had heart palpitations and difficulty remembering things but they did seem to be occurring less frequently.  The big thing was my sleeping.  I would sleep 12-14 hours each day then get up and usually fall asleep in the chair.  At first I thought I was trying to get “caught up” on my sleep but it never seemed as though I was gaining any ground.  No matter how much I slept it never seemed like enough.

Being the patient that good nurses make – NOT!  I did not go to my family doctor until September 2009! I know, I know, if it was someone else I would have told them to go to the doctor much sooner but I’m sure you’ve heard that doctors and nurses make the worst patients!

Anyway…. I told the doctor about the sleeping and he checked to see if they had done a TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level.  They had and it was high indicating hypothyroidism so I was started on Synthroid which is an artificial hormone replacement drug.  I really did not notice any difference for a few months and an increase in dosage but now I am only sleeping 12 hours in bed and then I’m not falling asleep in the chair.  To some this may not be a big deal but it is a big deal to me.  I still have a lot to learn about hypothyroidism but at least I feel as though I’m on the right track!

More later!
Linda <3