My Thyroid

I've had thyroid issues for so long that I forget not everyone knows about it, or understands exactly what it means.

I believe I was a freshman or sophomore when I was diagnosed - somewhere around 15 or 16. I have hypothyroidism, which means my thyroid doesn't work as well as it should. Some people are hyperthyroid, which means it works too well. In my case, it means that my metabolism is extremely slow, I'm tired all the time, and I'm always cold.

The technical term for my "disease" is Hashimoto's. The other wonderful part of this disease is that it compromises the immune system and the body's ability to repair itself. Thus the never ending aches and pains I experience on a daily basis. And I just thought I'd abused my body with too much competitive softball!

Hashimoto's is the reason I have a difficult time losing weight, and it's the reason I like to sleep 10 hours a day. It's the reason I minored in naps in college, the reason I always have on 2 sweatshirts and a hat at games. It essentially explains away all of my quirks and idiosyncracies. Ok, most. Fine, some!

Anyway, a normal person's thyroid would test between a .5 and a 4ish. Different doctors have different ranges of acceptability, but generally anything higher than a 4 is considered to be out of whack. A year ago, I tested at 33. Six months ago I had dropped to the 20s. Two weeks ago I was all the way down to 14. So we're definitely getting there, but we're not close enough yet.

I was starting to worry about why my thyroid was so out of order, but my dr said it's really nothing to worry about. The simple explanation is that my body is clearing the synthetic thyroid from my system too fast, so it's not given enough chance to work. In essence, my kidneys and liver are too efficient. I guess they're trying to make up for my lacking thyroid.

So there you have it, the basic explanation of what is wrong with me. I get another round of blood tests in 3 months. We're hoping to be down to at least a 4 by then!