Where to start, that's the question

[Guest guest]

Hello All,

I am totally confused about this thyroid thing and my brain just isn't

sharp enough for me to get it straight. I know I need help though, so I

joined this list recently and reading the volumes of email posted here

got me even more confused trying to discern what might apply to me. I

can't even remember how I found this list. I'm feeling rather pathetic. :-P

Lately I'm thinking " endocrine " system. If anyone has any tips for me,

I'd appreciate hearing them. I'll give you a brief description of my

situation. I'm not sure what, if anything that's going on with my body

is relevant to my thyroid situation. I've also been reading about

adrenal fatigue and wondering how I can know if that is relevant.

I'm 56. About 11 months after my son was born, 14 years ago, my OB

diagnosed hypothyroid by a blood test. She started me on synthroid. I

was under a bit of stress at the time. I was working full time/high

pressure management job, new/first/only baby, nanny problems, and my

mother's heath was chronically in crisis, topped off by a husband who

was having trouble adjusting to all of this. When my son was 1 year old,

I quit working, and then my mother died, so life was eventually somewhat

simplified. No more trying to juggle middle of the night breast feedings

and emergency trips to the hospital.

I started gaining weight and went from 150 lb (5' 10 " ) up to 235 lbs

over a period of about 12 years. I have stayed at that weight for the

last 2 or 3 years. I have noticed that even though my body is no longer

commanding me to eat, and I think I should be losing weight, I'm not. I

eat healthily, mostly whole foods, simply prepared.

Worse than the weight gain, I have been able to accomplish less and less

as the years have gone on. My brain is fuzzy and my body is falling

apart. I manage to injure myself, especially my joints, even in a gentle

yoga class. My body isn't healing as it used to, so these injuries are

piling up, my left shoulder, my right heel and my left knee. My right

heel makes it painful to walk and my left knee " catches " when I stand up

or twist a bit when I'm walking. Sometimes I need to use my right arm to

lift my left arm, as its like a dead weight. Other times its just fine.

I've also been through 4 different primary physicians during this time,

as they keep leaving the family practice that I belong to. I have never

seen an endocrinologist because my docs felt they could properly

subscribe the synthroid based on blood work results. I have had testing

done every 6 months or so and they have adjusted my synthroid dosage

based on those results.

The latest primary doc can't cover more than one complaint of mine in an

office visit; he seems frustrated by me, and I can't blame him as I'm

frequently not articulate when I'm visiting him. He gets frustrated with

my story, and when he asks me to explain further, I get confused. Pretty

silly. I'm a reasonably intelligent woman. Or I used to be.

My blood pressure had been borderline hypertensive (runs in my family)

for a few years and so I was put on atenolol about 10 years ago. Over

the years the dosage was increased and so a diuretic had to be added,

and then potassium supplement to replace what was removed by the diuretic.

I started with a chronic cough when my son was a toddler. I couldn't

sleep at night because I was to busy coughing. It took a couple of years

and a tip from my dentist, for several trips to see a GI doc that led to

a diagnosis of GERD. So, I have taken Prilosec ever since. Every time I

try to go off of it, the GERD symptoms come back.

Chronic sinus infections also plagued me during my sons early years. I

had sinus surgery to remove polyps. To get rid of the sinus infections,

my ENT finally put me on an antibiotic for a couple of months straight,

and that finally did it. Of course, I needed a course of probiotics

afterward to get a healthy bacterial load re-established.

About 4 years ago, after several episodes of gall bladder attacks, I had

a cholecystectomy.

At one point I went to see a more holistic doc and he changed my thyroid

med to Liothyronine. I now take 3 - 15 mcg capsules every morning.

I also am on HRT, Prempro, as when I went through menopause several

years ago the hot flashes were unbearable and every time I try to go off

it they come back, and my brain gets even fuzzier.. The holistic doc I

saw changed my HRT to BIEST, but it requires that I rub it into my skin

every day, and to tell you the truth, I just don't have the energy or

the presence of mind to pull that off.

Keeping my Rx's refilled and organized into a monthly pill organizer is

a major chore. I down all of my medicines at once, every morning. Its

the only way I can can remember to take them.

I have to get off of this roller coaster. I'm surprised I've been able

to even put this all down in an email. I'm having an unusually lucid

moment. ;-)

I think it was this list where someone posted a link to an article about

having only so many spoons allotted to each day, and when they were all

used up, that was it, they were out of energy, and if they tried to do

more, then they suffered the consequences for the next several days. I

could sooooo relate to that. Even taking a shower is exhausting. An hour

long gentle yoga class demands a nap later that afternoon.

Every time I go to see a doc about something they want me to see another

doc, and on it goes. I won't even go into the many months long wild

goose chase that I've been on regarding the pain in my right heel. To no

avail. I don't have the heart to set up appointments to investigate

what's happening with my left shoulder and knee.

My latest thing is I have set up an appointment with an endocrinologist

for March 15. I have no idea how open this guy is to anything

alternative. I'd like to be sure I get the most I can out of this visit,

so if anyone has any ideas what I should be sure to tell him, please let

me know.

Whew! Probably more information than anyone needs to know about me.

Thanks for even reading this,