Decrepitly Young

Hashimotos vs Graves

2010-10-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

I've been a little baffled as to why there are two different names for this. The root cause seems to be the same- an autoimmune attack on the thyroid. This can lead to hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. So why different names?

If your autoimmune attack lead to hyperthyroidism, it's Graves. Otherwise, it's Hashimotos. But since the attack can lead to fluctuations between hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism over periods of name why not just say "x" leading to hyperthyroidism, or "x" leading to hypothyroidism? It doesn't seem to me that two different names are needed.

I can't help but think that there is little more do it. So far the only difference I can really find is that anti-thyroidperoxidase antibodies are more common in Hashimotos and that Thyroid Stimulating Imunnoglobulin antibodies are more common with Graves.... but both can be present with the other.

Someone forgot about her blog

2010-10-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Hello!

The current state of things: I'm still much better off than I was 3 years ago. Still less brain fog, more energy. The bad news? There are some unresolved issues. I can't pretend to be "cured". Notably, I still have chronic tingling in my hands and feet.

As of right now, I seem to have lost the will to continue visiting doctors to get shit fixed.

But... I'll get back there again. It is a must, while I still have decent health insurance.

You see, as soon as I did get some energy, I took it and ran. I've been more productive over all, and have managed to move along on some long many-year standing life goals.

I am 2 months short of graduating with a B.S.! (heh, heh, BS. That is, Bachelors of Science).

There are quite a few drafts for posts drifting about in this here blogger account. I will see about getting some of those out.

I'm sure there are new things to report. For example: I found out that I have an extra lumbar vertebrae!

Hmmmm?

2010-02-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

During my latest appointment with the physicians assistant of the doctor treating my Lyme, I was quizzed on a few things that seemed odd to me. I get the feeling that they were expecting a... marked improvement, after 2 months on antibiotics.

My hands and feet are still tingling away, however, and I've had plenty of those odd shooting pains in the last day, week, and month.

I am left wondering about a number of things. I think I may have "given up" trying to understand, at this point. Either the antibiotics will help, or they will not. Either I do in fact have Lyme, or my troublesome symptoms have another root. For now I can only focus on summoning up my meager scraps of energy for what work I might get done on a given day.

This doctor also asked me to do a heavy metal test. I am quite full of Mercury. Really. It's... appalling. No more tuna from pick-n-save.

You know, I've seen a few stories on the news about mercury in fish. I did assume that, given eating 2-3 cans of tuna per week, maybe I'd have a bit more mercury in me than I ought to.

But after seeing the test result on just how full of mercury I am... I am shocked and appalled.

This or That?

2009-11-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

My MRI showed "some narrowing" that "might be causing symptoms".

My rheumatologist would like to get me evaluated by a neurologist.

I'm not really surprised that it is not a herniated disk or something like that. If it were, the shooting pains would be a bit less wide-spread, more specific to the segments of the spine that were involved. I've gotten shooting pains in all fingers, not just 2/3 of them, all toes, arms, legs, torso, you name it.

I was still hoping for something more conclusive, though.

In the mean time, I learn that the Lyme ELISA was negative, but the western blot was positive. My follow up appointment isn't even until December 10th with that practice.

If you thought it was hard to find a good doctor when it comes to thyroid disease... nothing compared to this whole mess regarding Lyme disease.

There is a lot of controversy about this Lyme disease. I'm going to have to do some more reading.

MRI

2009-11-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

I had trouble getting the MRI scan of my cervical spine; The first time I went in, the tech refused to run the MRI on account of the ear surgeries I'd had.

I was a bit peeved, but he was really in the right. My father had had ear surgery for the same problem, with the same doctor, and does actually have some metal in his head. All these years- I've missed out on the opportunity to joke about him receiving signals from aliens.

At any rate, my ear stapes-replacements, or whatever they might be called, are MRI compatible.

I went in for the MRI this morning. I'm pretty sure they intended to run some music, but they either forgot to turn it on, or the earphones were not working.

I'd hear some knocking, would I? How about car horns and machine gun fire.

It was not that bad though, once the first minute passed, and I become more certain that no bits of metal were going to come bursting out of me.

I await the results of the MRI with interest. Will this be another test that shows nothing, or, will something interesting be revealed?

Long time no post

2009-10-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Still alive and kicking. Well, not kicking. Alive and sitting. ;-)

I'm doing fairly well.

To remind you, I've had problems with aching, fatigue, joint pains, weakness, and such for years. But after I got the flu two years ago, these symptoms were magnified quite a bit. The first few months were terrible. But I've slowly improved.

With the other problems dropping back off to pre-flu levels, one thing that I've come to notice more and more is: shooting pains. These pains are short, sharp, sometimes pulsing... arms, legs, torso...

These shooting pains were not around prior to the flu.

So what are they?

I have no idea.

I have finally gone to a rhuematologist that wants to get an MRI of my neck. Apparently such problems could be caused by some sort of neck injury, or narrowing of the neck... something about the nerves in the spine...

::baffled::

I'm also getting tested for lyme. I don't remember any rash, but if I did get infected with lyme disease bacteria, it would have been 10 years ago. I'm not known for a supurb memory :-p

I shall be back to update you on the test results, I promise.

Lumpless

2009-06-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Long time no post... lets get to it. As far as I can tell, this post is unrelated to my thyroiditis.

I can see it now in the photographs, so obvious now that I look. One side of my face has always been puffier, and, my smile was less energetic on that side.

Undoubtedly this is related to the parotid (salivary gland) tumor I just got sliced out on that side. Nothing cancerous; Just a benign pleomorphic adenoma. Already I have much less "TMJ pain" on that side.

You see, my main complaint of pain was of course on that side, in that area. The tumor itself did not hurt. And it was a rare situation. I have to be in the middle of chewing AND faced with amusement. If I am amused- before I even smile much at all- muscles around my jaw hing and/or the back of my cheeks tighten. Combined with whatever position my jaw was in, this caused a LOT of pain. But it was a rare situation, despite the fact that doctors seemed to assume that this meant I had pain when chewing at any old time. The key, however, was the chewing AND the muscle tightening.

Of course the involved muscles were the ones going around where my lump was.

At any rate, my lump was removed over two weeks ago. It was only at the base of the parotid gland, so I only lost a small bit of that. The swelling from the surgery has gone down, but that cheek still looks a little puffier than the other, as it was before the surgery. I'm hoping that the inflammation will subside, now that the aggravating factor is removed.

I am lucky that this was dealt with- I'd previously mentioned the lump to a doctor, and to a dentist, to no end. I had this lump for at least 6 years.

Grandmother

2009-01-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

Autoimmune diseases run in families. Not necessarily the same autoimmune disease- rather, a propensity for a autoimmune disease.

My grandmother had lupus & probably scleroderma. She lived on a farm with her husband, and raised 4 children.

She died before I was born, so I only know what my mother has told me.

My grandmother also had joint pains and fatigue. My mother would stay home from school to help her out. My mother wasn't too happy with that as a kid, but... dealing with her own mother was an experience that proved invaluable to me her daughter; My mother was a family member who had known someone else with an invisible and difficult illness. Sometimes I would be in denial, and she would still be looking for answers. While it was I that needed the will to do the research- it was she that lent me needed support.

My mother tells me that her mother wasn't really nice in her later years. I imagine the pain, fatigue, and stress, can have that effect on a person. She was diagnosed with lupus, but my mother seems to remember that Scleroderma was added on later, due to a thickening/shiny skin symptom my grandmother was having.

My grandmother was diagnosed, this I know. But how long did it take her to get diagnosed? It also doesn't sound like they were able to afford much medical care for her. Did she get any help? What treatments were even available?

I have seen a couple photos on my grandmother. She looks like me. Skinnier, but similar facial structure, dark hair. I sometimes think about her, and how difficult things must have been for her.

Note: I have Hashimoto's, not lupus, but also have some aches and pains.

The Brain Fog

2009-01-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

One of the top Hashimotos thyroid disease symptoms. It's hard to describe this symptom. Especially given that it often would present with short term memory issues.

I hear that many other conditions also cause this.

Straight from Wikipedia:

Brain fog or mental clouding is a general sensation of unusually poor mental function, associated with confusion, forgetfulness and detachment. A number of medical or psychiatric conditions and treatments can cause such symptoms, including:

Chronic fatigue syndrome
Heavy metal poisoning and in particular mercury poisoning
Hypothyroidism

I was once a "straight A" student. I was able to read the textbooks without problem, and memorize them.

Now, I'm not so great at the memorization.

Worse than the memory trouble, was when I would find myself simply not being able to study.

Studying shouldn't have been such a problem- nothing I hadn't done repeatedly in the past. Noting the unusual difficulty, I would make sure I was well fed, well rested, unstressed. I would prepare myself for my study sessions in all ways possible. It wouldn't really make much difference. If the brain fog was upon me, it was pretty much a futile endeavor.

Even with all measures taken, I simply could not study. I remember nearly weeping over a textbook after I'd been attempting to study all evening without making any progress whatsover. I was that frustrated.

One of the most difficult things has been accepting that I cannot achieve academically the way I used to. It doesn't matter what I do- not happening.

What exactly was the problem, you might ask, because I'm being kind of vague here. What do I mean by "could not study?". Well I wondered that too.

I could not for the life of me understand what the problem was. The most obvious question was, had I spontaneously developed an ADD problem, that would randomly come and go? That didn't seem to be the case. But for some reason, sometimes, my brain would not work. I'd be... in a fog. A few times I thought maybe coffee would sharpen me up... which did not work at all. It'd be very awake... and still confused.

This whole thing was maddening- why was a twenty-something losing her cognitive abilities? Was I a mental case? I still seemed relatively sane, despite the my occasionally fuzziness.

It was if there was a delay in my brain's messages around itself. Normally, you'd have lots of little thoughts every minute. Imagine them clogged up and never making it across your brain. Stalled thoughts that never make from where they are generated to where they are registered and acknowledged.

The brain emails were getting lost and delayed.

The neural pathway were snowed in.

Memory boxes were jammed and refused to open.

After a while, I might just have to give up and lay down, stare at the ceiling or something. That seemed all I was useful for doing.

Now, a few weeks ago, right before finals, I noticed that I was able to open up my textbook and just ... read it. I read for just about 4 hours, even, and seemed to not have any problems. I still can't really memorize the way I used to. I can't write up notes and flashcards without my hands hurting too much. But even this improvement, was a relief.

Wishing you a good 2009

2009-01-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

I for one, have not a single New Years resolution. All year long, I am working to do as much as I can, get as much done as possible, improve in what areas I can.

What else would I resolve to do?

I am a bit optimistic about 2009, at least. While I am still less than thrilled with a longer 10 year view, well, one year at I time. Make that one month at a time. I used to make plans and have long term goals. No longer, I'm afraid. All those plans met a slow death anyways- so I might as well just wait and see what actually happens. I now practice the "not thinking about x issue" method of stress relief. It actually is kinda working for me. This method was easier when the brain fog was around more often, though. ;)

In the long run, I'm pretty much just hoping that each year I will continue to enjoy housing, food, clothes, health insurance, and of course, an internet connection; I will continue to enjoy these in 2009, so let the year roll forward.

From ScienceDirect.com

2009-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Increased occurrence of weaknesses in attention testing in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis compared to patients with other thyroid illnesses:

Click here to read more

Their results "point to subtle brain dysfunction in a subgroup of patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis even in euthyroid state."

Happy Holidays

2008-12-24T10:34:00.000-08:00

Seasons greetings and good wishes to whomever happens upon this blog.

Winter isn't hitting my quite as hard as usual. I am actually still having some pains, but, I'm not as slow/tired/confused. Consequently, I am feeling the holiday spirit a bit more.

Joking with family members about how they can't get away with things now that my memory isn't as iffy, is quite entertaining.

And hey, I haven't managed to lock myself out of my apartment in months!

Above all, my favorite thing is how my hands and feet have stopped chronically getting cold.

::walks gleefully about her apartment without socks and gloves on::

To resume:

2008-12-20T09:05:00.000-08:00

As Winter 07-8 waned (see earlier post), by the time I got to the first doctor's appointment, I wasn't in quite the constant state of pain I had been. Tired as hell? Yes. Not able to do a lot. But there is no swelling or any such outward symptom.

I was a bit frightened still. There was no way to know whether things would continue to improve, or if I would have those same levels of pain and fatigue all the time. I thought to myself- this is too much, I've already been running with fatigue all these years, how am I supposed to manage this addition? The only minor consolation at this time was the certainty that I could not have 'stressed' or 'depressed' or myself into these symptoms, nor could merely being overweight cause this.

I was concerned that I would have to drop school altogether. I found that possibility quite frustrating. No matter how much longer it takes, I plan to graduate with this computer science degree, after all these years of toil and trouble that have gone into it.

So I had my first appointment. The doctor, she was friendly. She ran some tests- mainly the concern was lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. I brought with me a long list of symptoms from the years and my journal entries.

And then I didn't hear from her. I received a postcard indicating that everything came back normal.

I found that upsetting. Both the lack of results, and the postcard notification. Neither was really the doctor's fault though.

So at that point, I was still in pain and did not know why.

I went back (yes, it took another month of waiting for my second appointment), and the doctor seemed a little surprised that I considered myself "decrepit". I fear I may not have properly conveyed my joint pain issues; Or maybe, that when none of the tests came back positive, she assumed that it "wasn't that bad".

She ran some more tests. I got an x-ray of my hands.

This time the doctor did call. But, no results. She did tell me that I should go to a rheumatologist.

A little frustrated, lacking in answers, I almost did not want to try another doctor. I thought about things. I googled.

This didn't seem like a rheumatologist problem to me. I know, that seems like sideways thinking, considering that my main problem was joint pain. But, considering the symptoms over the years... a thyroid problem was too much of a fit.

I looked up an endocrinologist, and quite fortuitously, my insurance would cover most of the visit to the specialist, even without a referral. Off I went.

The first appointment, the new doctor seemed a little skeptical of me and my printed symptom list. I came out of the appointment wondering if any progress would be made. But she did feel the enlarged thyroid- neither of the other doctors I'd been to had. That is probably the only reason she agreed to run more tests on my thyroid. She did scoff at my mention of getting a free t3 test though.

On the second appointment: Vindication. Most definitely Hashimotos, and yes, probably PCOS.

I sincerely hope that is the extent of my problems, but with my luck, one never knows.

What bothers me the most is that... if I had not decided to go to an endocrinologist, how long would I have gone on undiagnosed? I guarantee you a long time. And if I didn't have access to a computer and internet… if my insurance hadn't allowed me the visit...

Now, onto the “other” doctor.

When I was 19, I went to a doctor complaining of fatigue and weakness.

She ran some tests- I give her some credit, she did at least check my TSH levels.

Test results showed nada. So, nothing happened.

She sure did like to mention my weight a lot though, in following appointments.

Now, I understand why a doctor would be concerned about my puffter self and the resulting health risks. But, every G.D. time I went to see her... I just don't see why she couldn't say her piece and then move on to address other health issues.

I did see another doctor at the same health clinic once, and complained about how I would sometimes get the "jitters". She asked me if I cried a lot. I looked at her like she was insane. I was sent to some sort of interview with a psychologist type person in the clinic after that, but for some reason, I did not seem to reveal any deep dark depression. (I was described as a nice goal oriented young woman, by the way :D ).

No wonder I developed an aversion to going to see doctors. That is unfortunate- there are probably a couple of incidents that really should have been reviewed by a doctor.

I can sorta understand these doctors point of view. However, contemplating the effect my symptoms have had on my life for oh, the last 10 years, leaves me in an unforgiving mood.

Above, I mentioned seeing one doctor twice, before seeing the endocrinologist. There was a good 3 month gap in between those two doctors.

In the intervening time, I went to see this doctor that was (technically, I suppose) my 'regular' doctor, the one I went to see when I was 19 about the fatigue and weakness. I went to see her solely for a refill of my Nexium prescription (I have acid reflux- faulty sphincter).

I thought to myself, you should practice full disclosure, as she is a health care worker who is attempting to care for your health. Maybe you were too young before and misunderstood her attitude.

I started in with "I have started to experience joint pains since last winter-"

She goes "You know, losing weight would help with that."

I couldn't believe it. No inquiry as to when the joint pain started, where the join pains were located, no curiosity about frequency or severity.

Nice.

At the time, I was hungry. That occasionally leads to jittering. I was also nervous. Which also can lead to jittering. And then, I was suddenly furious. Well, I... started jittering like mad. I couldn't conceal it.

Suffice to say, she probably thinks I'm insane.

That is okay. I don't really intend to go back to see her. Ever. Except maybe once, with the medical records from the endocrinologist in hand.

The Undiagnosed

2008-12-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

I caught a couple of Mystery Diagnosis episodes on Monday and Tuesday.

What struck me was the fact that 3 of the patients were given the suggestion by their doctors that they had psychosomatic problems.

In one case, a fit runner started to feel fatigued, and then started to get arthritic symptoms. As time wore on, he could no longer run, because depressed, and overweight. Despite the fact that the patient came to see his doctor at least a year before he became overweight and depressed, the doctor still suggested that it was psychosomatic. As I heard this, I asked the TV screen, “wtf?!” but alas, the TV did not answer me. I should mention that this doctor did end up diagnosing the rare problem… but in many cases, the patients end up having to go to multiple other doctors.

In another story, a young woman was forced to go to school every day despite near crippling migraines, because the doctor told her parents that she was making it up. Why did he assume this? Pretty much just because he couldn’t find the problem. If they can’t find the problem, you know, there obviously can’t be one.

The girl then went blind in school. Only at that point was she taken to a doctor that was able to diagnose the problem.

It occurs to me, that all these cases on Mystery Diagnosis- those are people who at the end, found their diagnosis. How many people out there are still undiagnosed? Will they ever be?

I just kinda gave up for a number of years, realizing that I wasn’t being taken seriously. I too was indoctrinated with the idea that doctors know all. Thankfully, in my 20's, I've learned otherwise.

Most doctors are more like... your regular cop. The detectives, those are harder to find. And even some detectives aren't that great at their job.

As far as the thyroid goes, I find it disappointing and irresponsible that so many doctors only test the TSH- I am most certainly not the only case where that one test did *not* find the problem. That was dangerous- I should have been getting flu shots. You bet I would have been if I'd known I had a problem with my immune system!!

Check out this MSN article (2006) with Dr. Judith Reichman, that still purports that unless TSH levels are elevated, no further tests should be run:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12244306/

I’m becoming increasingly fond of Mary Shomon who writes for About.com -these are her articles in response to an earlier article by Dr. Reichman (I could not find this earlier article).

http://thyroid.about.com/cs/publicawareness/a/todayshow.htm

http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aatodayshow2.htm

How would a TSH test tell you if T4 isn't being converted into T3 properly, for example?

The thyroid- there are complex issues there. The TSH test doesn't cut it. Technically, since the pituitary produced the TSH, you aren't even looking at the directly at the thyroid or it's products, you presume that the pituitary gland and negative feedback system are working properly.

I realize the symptoms of hypothyroidism can be hard to put together. The thing is, two of my doctors did put it together enough to test my TSH. Unfortunately, that was not the only test they needed to have run.

Thyroglobulin Antibodies and Thyroid peroxidase Antibodies

2008-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

I've been investigating the difference, finding it odd that both were elevated (in my test results).

I found this as a response to someone's question on yahoo answers:

"Hashimoto’s is confirmed by two antibodies labs: anti-TPO and TgAb. The first antibody, anti-TPO, attacks an enzyme normally found in your thyroid gland, called the Thyroid Peroxidase, which is important in the production of thyroid hormones. The second antibody, TgAb, attacks the key protein in the thyroid gland, the thyroglobulin, which is essential in the production of the T4 and T3 thyroid hormones. Note: it is unfortunately common for a doctor to only do ONE test, and you need BOTH tests, since you can be normal in one and high in another!"

Also, a useful link from about.com regarding these.

Furthermore, a piece of useful information someone wrote on a messageboard: "While TgAb and TPO are the most common antibodies to show up with Hashi's, they are not the only ones that can attack the thyroid. Antibodies can develop for ANY tissue or cell in the body, which means that there are literally thousands of possibilities, and may antibodies that have yet to be discovered."

The story of another girl

2008-12-13T13:04:00.000-08:00

A girl with hypopituitarism

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/
20081207/FEAT05/812070332/1023

Really, doctors? really? Nice. This poor girl =(

I see that a commenter named fatgirl wrote:

"It seems that you have to almost die to get a doctor to actually pay attention to you"

And sometimes, well, that seems quite accurate. I honestly don't know how many hypochondriacs and/or "stressed" and/or depressed and/or crazy people doctors have to deal with. But it seems like, if the symptom is vague, and the doctors don't find an answer right away, you get written off and/or ignored.

This girl... I've probably only had 1/3 as much difficulty as her. But my symptoms have most definitely affected my ability to be productive.

This episode of Mystery Diagnosis is airing Monday December 15th in my area, on the Discovery Health Channel.

Winter 07-08

2008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

In recently years, I have always creaked and slowed in the winter. I live in one of the Northern states.

I seem to remember a time in childhood when I liked winter- cavorted about in the snow and such- but that was surely quite some time ago.

I suppose the start of this story/snippit was actually in fall. This particular October, I woke up one day with such a pain in both knees, that I assumed I must have somehow sleepwalked, during which I must had taken a 5 story leap, farking up my knees.

It was painful. We use our knees a lot. Even a little bit of motion was killer. The staircase up to my apartment became quite an ordeal.

I was almost on the verge of dragging myself to a doctor- ( (which I avoided as much as possible- I always wait, to see if the problem at hand will fix itself) (I had this attitude because the most of the problems that hadn't resolved themselves or were hard to explain, I hadn't gotten any help with anyways) ) -when someone mentioned the glorious Glucosamine and Chondroitin supplement to me. I started taking it. It helped. I then started taking a lot of it. Wallah, I was nearly back to me usual slow working order.

I couple of months pass...

...then in February, I got the flu.

I never get flu shots. I don't like needles, and assumed that any working 20-something year old ought to be able to recover from the flu after about a week.

I definitely recovered from the actual flu. But, joint pain persisted...

... all finger joints, wrists, knees, elbows, ankles, toe joints, hips, shoulders...

Also an overall pain; In past years, I would occasionally get a hard-to-describe aching/burning in my limbs, mainly my arms. Ratchet that particular symptom up and put it on full time duty.

There were times, I'd be lying on my futon, and pain would just radiate to the tips of my fingertips and toes.

If not for a family member coming around all the time to help me, I would have dropped right out of my courses that semester.

I still vividly remember reaching out to a doorknob, turning it, and feeling so many flares of pain in numerous joints that I didn't even open the door. I braced myself and went for it again, though.

Sitting still in class for an hour? Torture.

My writing hand (and elbow, and shoulder) would hurt to much after taking just a few vague notes, that I'd switch to my other hand. That hand would then hurt so much, that by the time class was over, I'd stopped taking notes.

By the time the semester was over, I had just stopped bothering to take notes altogether. I'm amazed I passed my classes, and without horrible grades either.

It was at this point, it as an "aha" moment. Before this, my symptoms had been vague and hard to explain. While I still didn't didn't have a broken leg I could point to and say "fix it", this was definitely something beyond mere "stress". It also signaled to me, that there could be an autoimmune issue.

I had made an appointment with a doctor once I realized this wasn't going away, but I had a month-long wait. I didn't want to pay for an emergency room visit- especially if there was no guarantee that they would find the problem. I could tell that this was a lingering problem that had somehow been aggravated by the flu. Turns out it was a good thing I didn't pay for an emergency room visit- the first two, and only two, visits with that doctor did not yield answers.

Ironically, though, my endocrinologist does not believe my joint pain issues are caused my the thyroid problem. But, I never would have gotten the thyroid problem figured out if this hasn't happened. After other things tested negative, the posts I'd seen from other Hashimoto's patients regarding similar issues kinda nagged at me.

I do actually still believe there is link- too many other autoimmune thyroiditis patients have unexplained joint pains and musculoskeletal discomfort for me to write of my thyroid and/or a resulting issue as the root. I suppose I'll consider all options though- one never knows.

A little off topic- also an Oprah article

2008-12-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

http://newsblaze.com/story/20081209123526lill.nb/topstory.html

I came across this article and had to overwhelming urge to post it, and then publicly call John Lillpop an asshole. Naturally, I have decided that he is an asshole solely based on this article. Some day when I am bored I'll find some more articles he's written to more fully form my opinion.

Now, I don't know how much Oprah is or is not eating. And I'll admit that her comment of 'being afraid to exercise' doesn't really make sense. But this article is still asinine.

My Sob Story

2008-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

There isn't a great place to start my "story". I think the fatigue started when I was 14, but unfortunately symptoms like fatigue can start in very slowly.

Between 14-16, I puffed out so fast I have large stretch marks to this day. They were a lovely shade of red for years.

From girl who climbed trees and went bike-riding to the girl who just took long slow walks.

You may or may not be able to imagine the frustration. In the many following years, I tried dieting, I tried exercising, to no avail. Some of you... you diet, you exercise, you actually lose weight. Thinking back, I'm not surprised I didn't lose any weight with my efforts- I was quite active when I initially started gaining weight, in the first place!

My junior year of highschool I kept getting sick, so my tonsils and adenoids were ripped right out. Senior year though, I was thinking to myself, why do I still have the bouts of fatigue that I had last year, now without actually getting sick?

But when I started college, I was all optimistic- I assumed I would be able to go to school full time and swing a part time job, then maybe fit in a few social activities. A mere 5 years later, surely I'd be on my way to a high paying job. Yeah... no. In college, I started drinking coffee, and then, more coffee, trying to keep up with the worsening fatigue.

Several fuzzy years followed. I remember locking myself out of my apartment 6 times one month. I remember not being able to remember my mail box number, even after months. I remember random things starting to ache, hands getting cold more and more frequently. I remember awful weakness.

The worst part of those years, I think, was:

*The way my hands hurt whenever I got even a little cold. Cold feet, cold hands, to be avoided at all costs. Yes, I'm sure everyone's hands hurt when they are freezing. But not many people report the same aching stabbing *joint* pain in their hands just when they get chilled. Nor do they get chilled as often. I once described it this way to a friend: someone has threaded a piece of yarn or string through all of your finger joints, and then has grabbed both ends, pulling back and forth so that you get rug-burn in your joint.

*The way I'd get jittery and weak. You might think the jitters would be the result of coffee, cause it's the devil, you know. But I didn't actually OD on caffeine, and the coffee was actually just exacerbating an issue I'd had since high school. It's kinda like hypoglycemia (something I'd never heard of until last year, when I was 23). I seem to have odd symptoms in conjunction with hunger- protein seems to help quite a bit. Over periods of time, sometimes this will be more of an issue, sometimes not. During periods of time, if I didn't get food right away, I'd become confused and weak. And by confused, I mean, can't even decide wtf to eat while I'm standing in the kitchen... for an extended period of time.

*The memory troubles and cognitive slowing that would become more frequent. 'Brain fog' anyone? We used to joke about my "early Alzheimers"

I had to drop my job. Too tired to get up one morning for my shift.

I went down to fewer credits.

I moved out of the dorms and into a one bedroom apartment.

I was attempting stress reduction. I'd considered several angles for what the effing problem was, and could tell that stress really, really didn't help.

But still... why were others able to physically handle more stress? Surely a young woman in her 20's should be able to manage full time college semesters? I didn't even have to do particularly well, just to graduate with a decent GPA. College is stressful, we know that, but my decline in the face of these expected stresses was disheartening.

At heart, I'd like to be a workaholic. My parents, they worked hard to achieve what they have. So from a young age, I was all about achieving academically. Accepting that I can no longer achieve the stellar grades I was once able to achieve... was difficult for me.

Well, around age 23, I was managing. Pushing along. Things weren't easy, but as long as I was making some progress on my college degree and getting halfway decent grades, I had something to hang on to. I was in the 'accepting my limitations' phase. Then, the winter of 07-08 smacked me around.

Link between PCOS and autoimmune thyroiditis?

2008-12-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15012623?dopt=Abstract

I appear to have Poly cystic ovarian syndrome as well. I'm so glad my former doctor would repeatedly mention my weight during visits, I'd kill myself on a treadmill, then for years still be overweight without knowing why.

For the record

2008-12-06T12:38:00.001-08:00

Hashimoto's thyroiditis: in which one's immune system rages against one's thyroid.

This leads to decreased function of the thyroid, which is supposed to be super easy to test for. If one's thyroid hormone levels are normal, then surely one should be just about fine until this decrease in function occurs.

**loud "errrt" noise**

A Hashimoto's patient can have normal thyroid levels, but find herself in quite decrepit condition. That, is not even getting into the debate about what should be considered 'normal' thyroid range. Apparently there is more to consider with Hashimoto's than the typically resulting hypothyroidism (or hyperthyroidism).

http://hubpages.com/hub/symptoms-of-thyroid-autoimmunity

Last winter when things took a turn for the worse, I actually thought I was following my grandmother into the land of Lupus and/or Scheroderma. Nope. But my immune system is displaying a sad lack of grace here, what with the attack on my thyroid. Like a basketball player scoring a point for the wrong team. Tisk, tisk.

Dr. Northrup & the thyroid

2008-12-05T17:11:00.000-08:00

Really? Based on this Article, I'd call "moron", but it's only fair to look into her more before labeling her so.

Whilst searching, I found this: A patients story

I can't say that I'm in agreement with this patient's efforts to go after Dr. Northrup legally. Doctors are not omniscient. But the tale does illustrate that sometimes the holistic approach isn't a good idea. When it's not working, you have to acknowledge that. I will say that the way Dr. Northrup treated the patient after the patient sent her information about vitamin A was interesting.

I found an interview with her as well about menopause- I'll not bother linking it- I'll just say, I was not overly impressed. Her statements were just short of ridiculous.

I actually had decided not to publish this post until I read more about this Doctor, and I have not the time to do so. But I'm going to go ahead and publish this post now, with the addition of this article link about Oprah's own weight problems.

I'm sorry, but eating nearly nothing in an effort to slim down is not a diet one can maintain throughout the years. And soy? Soy is not a good diet plan for someone with a thyroid problem! Here is a link to an article about soy and the thyroid.

This is starting to tie in with something my mother said to me once. She praised me for researching my symptoms and taking myself to an endocrinologist. She said, she would have just prayed.

I'm no stranger to the desire... to avoid doctors and hope something gets better. Maybe you've gotten fed up, after encountering a few bad doctors. But some things actually do need medical treatment, and no amount of prayer is going to fix it. Sometimes even the medical treatment won't magically make you better. But at least you are actually getting help.

I'm not a religious person. But as my mother says now: prayer it 10%, your own action to resolve the issue is 90%. As in, god will only help if you are also willing to help yourself.

Or one could look at it in a more atheistic fashion as that some times you get lucky, but most of the time, it would be best to move off the train tracks when you here a horn in the distance.

It's hard to get through to people who are hell-bent on some sort of "holistic" approach though... they are convinced that it's the better way to help themselves, and probably feel like they are taking action. I'm not saying that things like "holistic" approaches are the devil, but people need to acknowledge when their current course isn't working, and then try something else. It doesn't hurt to try something new- but it does hurt to keep trying it with blind faith when it isn't working, and it really hurts if you convince yourself it is working when it isn't.

There is some speculation that Oprah has the same autoimmune disease I do, which has led to her hypothyroidism. If that is the case, It's concerning that Oprah would refuse medical treatment. (I read somewhere, that she was preferring the "holistic" approach to the extent of refusing medical treatment- this may or may not be true).

Oh, I got sidetracked: based on Northrop's comments, I'm fairly certain that she must have felt very repressed as a woman, and that has led to some interesting non-medical theories about medical issues. I can understand that. It's unfortunate that Oprah has lent her more publicity, though.

I found yet another article here that tells me I'm not the only one who has... noticed Dr. Northrop.

Post the First

2008-12-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

I am starting this blog for two reasons:

1) I'd like to complain about my decrepit state at a mere 24 years of age

2) To leave a stepping stone for others to find

Complaining: You see, I am highly irritated that my own body is such a barrier to my achievement. I actually do believe that the fatigue set in when I was around 14 years old, though it only became a real 'problem' at around age 17. I didn't even make it to a doctor to complain about fatigue and weakness until I was 19. I'll gripe more later, but no, the doctor did not find the problem.

It wasn't until age 23, after a particular phenomenon broke the poor camel's back, that I begin putting some real desperate effort into finding out what the problem could be. Turns out: I've got Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I'd like to believe that's all I have. We'll see.

Some people with this ...problem... have no symptoms, I hear. Others, like me, are fatigue ridden, confused, overweight, and... experience migratory pain in multiple joints.

Fun.

What I mean by 'stepping stone': I plan on writing a whole lot, and allowing search engines huff it all up. Those search engines will bring poor confused googling(you know most of you are using google) souls to my blog, wherein they may or may not find a correlation to their own problems.

Search engines and message boards- people's stories- were very useful to me while I tried to understand what my problem was, and why whatever tests the doctor ran (while trying to figure out what the problem was) came back as 'normal'.

Now that I've complained, I will say that I know people have worse problems; I am not a gothicly suffering soul here- things could be much worse for me.

Sure, gothicly is a word.

...yeah, get used to it, I'll probably be making up more words.