New Member - This site is a revalation for me

[Guest guest]

My name is Nicola, I am a 48 year old English Lady currently living abroad in

Dubai with my husband and adult daughter, and I am a housewife.

One of my friends visited from the UK and bought an article from a newspaper

dated July 3rd 2011 about a lady named GC who had been treated by Dr P. To be

honest I cried as I read the article, it could have been me.

I have all but given up ever feeling healthy again, as I'm always told by

doctors there is nothing wrong with me. I have been told I am lazy, I must eat

and not know it, I am lucky as I would survive being marooned on a desert island

as my body must take every single bit from food, that I lie when I say I

exercise.

I now just try and accept that I will always be fat, even though I eat a fairly

healthy diet, and exercise by swimming training for an hour 3 times a week (I

mean fast repetitive lap training with a Masters Swim squad). I also attended a

boot camp 3 times a week over a period of 3 months but got so tired and noticed

no difference in my weight I gave up.

I had lots of symptoms of underactive thyroid for sometime before my GP in the

UK finally agreed to test me, looking back at pictures etc I think I must have

been affected for over 1 year before I was diagnosed. When the tests came back I

was told I was producing no thyroine at all, and was put on 200mg thyroxine

daily, this was around 16 years ago. My dosage was then reduced to 150mg, which

I have been taking ever since. This has all been based on blood tests not how I

feel and has ignored that my symptoms are still there.

I asked to be referred to specialist, but was also told by them I was normal!

And my excess weight and the way I felt was down to me. They suggested I was

depressed, stressed or had chronic fatigue, I think I was in a way but because

no one believed me and when you are told it is your fault by so many people

including specialists you start to believe it.

With the support of my husband and daughter I believe I am fairly sane and have

started to accept I will never wake up feeling like I have energy and get up and

go again, but I do my best.

It was not until I came to Dubai in 2008 when the doctor I registered here asked

me what the underactive thyroid was caused by, that I was tested and the results

came back positive that I have Hashimotos. Still the only treatment I have been

offered is to continue with 150m thyroine daily, the make I am currently using

is Levothyroxine.

Before this all started I weighed between 10 and 11 stone, now I weigh between

15 and 16 stone. I am 5ft 8 inches and wear size 18 clothes.

I have had 4 miscarriages, 3 were very early and the 4th was at 3 months and was

a twin, I was very lucky to have the other child who is now a healthy 28 year

old beautiful lady.

My periods have always been very heavy, I was given a Mirena coil around the

same time that my underactive thyroid was diagnosed. I no longer have the

Mirena, as I was concerned that some of my continued symptoms were caused by

this, as doctors were telling me it was definitely not my underactive thyroid.

Currently my periods are so heavy that I do not want to go out on the first 2

days, I have to wear 2 super plus tampons and a pad if I go out. I also have

very large blood clots.

I am always cold in bed, but I also have night sweats. During the day I appear

to get a lot hotter than other people and during exercise I get very red and

sweaty, my breathing recovery is very quick though but it takes a long time

after exercise to stop sweating.

Occasionally I get the feeling I am going to faint, I know the signs now, my

ears appear to block and are buzzy, I am aware of my surroundings but everything

seems to be in slow motion, I get very sweaty and feel nauseous. If I sit

quietly and take deep breathes it will go away. If I have been eating before

hand, once I am sick the feeling also goes.

My other continued symptoms are, excessive tiredness, weight gain, occasional

palpitations, loss of libido, muscle aches (sometimes my legs feel like they

have run a marathon), my ankles, feet, hands and face also get swollen, my skin

is very dry, I also sometimes get a very bloated stomach and wind, PMS, I also

don't feel great about myself and feel a failure.

Around 1993 I had a bad horse riding accident where I snapped my arm in 2

backwards – this resulted in the end of my radius snapping off and being

removed. (This happened before my symptoms started.)

I also have had my Gall bladder removed in 2006.

So having found your site, I am both elated that more can be done for me but

also sad that my life has been not as it should have been if only 1 doctor had

listened to me and tried to help.

I am crying as I write this to you, I don't know why. Is it because I feel there

may be hope or am I afraid this will be another dead end.

But I have no idea where to start:

Thyroid, Candida, Adrenals, leaky gut, food intolerances, Vitamin/mineral

deficiency.

I have never had more than a thyroid blood test for TSH.

I have been completely oblivious to everything else as has every doctor I have

seen.

I would love some idea of where to start – I have even considered flying home

just to see Dr P as I have no idea on any doctor who would help in Dubai, or

what they would/could prescribe and where to get the meds.

Sorry the post is all over the place, I am actually a clever and intellectual

person but this subject is very emotional for me.