Hearing my Doctor saying to me, “you have Hypothyroidism” on that beautiful and sunny afternoon back in 2008 was surprisingly not alarming enough for me to take it seriously. Unaware of the condition and the symptoms, as I remember it, I had just brushed the whole thing off. In my ignorance of my condition, I went on to live my life and found myself getting worse and worse over time. I had severe weight gain, felt extra tired all the time, getting chills even during warmer weather days, and many other symptoms. Hypothyroidism was slowly turning me into someone that I was not recognizing anymore. I want to say that I felt as though my body had been taken hostage and was making me feel all of these horrible feelings. I sought help, but because I did not do my proper research, I wasted a lot of time before I actually made a commitment to myself to take myself seriously enough to follow through. I had to get sick to push myself to get healthy.
So what is Hypothyroidism?
Hypothyroidism in plain English, it is a condition that involves a butterfly shaped(Thyroid Gland) located at the base of your neck, and the lack of production of hormones to help regulate your body and allow it to function properly. In the early stages the symptoms may not appear noticeable, but over the course of time, you will definitely feel the changes. From what I have experienced, I was living with an under-active thyroid due to my pregnancies, and life as well as my poor decisions got in the way of me following through with proper treatment early on to help me get better. Thankfully I came to my senses.
I wanted more information, and as time went on, that is exactly what I got. I started to fully understand what my symptoms were and what they meant and how I was going to be able to accept the help that I needed. The thing that alarmed me as well is that this condition can also appear in children as well as older adults. Women are more prone than men to have this condition, which is why I believe that as moms we should really look into checking this out and to not put it off any longer. Don’t put any symptoms off.
Mayo Clinic Radio- With Dr. Hossein Gharib
What can you do today?
Go and get your yearly checkup, or just follow up with your primary care provider. If you feel any of the symptoms mentioned in the video or the ones I mentioned, go and get tested for your thyroid. You never know how your T4 is functioning let alone your thyroid gland if you never ask to get it checked. Get that clean bill of health for a peace of mind. It is better to find out sooner rather than later. Your body is constantly changing and requiring attention in many different areas. For me, it was me finally admitting that I need to commit to taking my Levothyroxine, at least for now, until something better comes along and helps with the possible elimination of this condition. I know that there are many people that go without getting the proper diagnosis and are not aware that they may be suffering from this condition. I implore everyone that may read this that even thinks they may be suffering with these symptoms to take this matter very seriously. It can save your life. It has surely saved mine.
StayFittMomllc 