Hashimoto’s REVENGE!
Well, it’s official. I’m finally a full-fledged member of my family. I now have a legitimate thyroid disease. It’s a mainstay trademark of the Payne family, at least on my mother’s side. You just can’t go very long without some sort of thyroid problem. But for me, it’s a particularly appropriate disease.
I have been diagnosed with something called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. It’s a great ailment for a scifi writer. Essentially, my body has decided that my thyroid is a foreign object. It has therefore seen fit to create anti-thyroid specific anti-bodies. These anti-bodies have been specially designed to carry out one order: kill the thyroid. And, I’m proud to say, they have been entirely successful. My thyroid has been utterly defeated! Yay anti-bodies! You’ve shown that thyroid menace that he doesn’t belong in my personal ecosystem. Let that be a lesson for any thyroid rebellion that may attempt an organized uprising in the future: you will be quelled.
Now, it’s on to a lifetime of thyroxine replacement drugs. This is in addition to my existing high-blood pressure medication (which was a result of the anti-thyroid anti-body infestation). Along with the horse pills I’ve been taking for my recent sinus infection, I scarcely feel 31 anymore (almost 32, I suppose). These are the degenerative symptoms of a 60-year-old. I’m beginning to already feel like a broken old man.
Of course, all told, as far as inherited genetic disorders go, thyroid problem is on the low end of the scary family medical history spectrum, right down there with sciatica and male-pattern baldness. I could have done worse. There’s very little by way of cancer or heart disease in my family, either side. And I have relatives on every branch of the family tree that have lived past 100. So, all in all, things are looking cheery for a long, productive life, which I’m sure makes all of my friends and family very happy, indeed.
Speaking of which, I’m sure you’re all very concerned about where I am in regards to my novel. I will update everyone shortly.
My awesome family at Mahoney State Park this past summer. From L to R: me; my oldest son, Caleb; baby Harlyn peeking out from behind mommy's shoulder; my wife, Amanda; my son Alex.
Well, I see we both got the very best of legacies from our families! I was diagnosed back in 2006 officially but the moron that initially read my bloodwork and saw my ultrasound said..”ehh.nothing to worry about yet. You will develop hypothyroidism and you WILL know it!” What? This guy tells me I have Hash’s and I have nodules but not to worry? So instead of treating it, Mr. Body decided to take an all out assault on my thyroid to the point of near death (its death, not mine). And I knew it. It felt like freight trains had run me down a thousand times. Drugs for life baby! Oh and the added bonus? I get to have it out someday because “It will have to come out someday, just not now.” Hang in there. Just know there are other geeky Hash’s fiends out here.
I have had diagnosed Hashimoto’s for about 15 years. It could have been caught SOONER. However, my OBGYN decided that even though my thyroid was in the “Normal/Low” range, plus I was struggling to keep a normal weight even though I told him I didn’t gorge and my periods had problems with weird spotting, he still chose NOT to keep an eye on my thyroid every six months. He just said if the problems persisted with my periods, he’d have to do a DNC. In my gut, I knew it wasn’t something with my female system. He should have told me that he would have me checked every six months to see if the thryoid changed at all. BUT NOOOO…he wanted the easy way out with a possible surgery. Needless to say, I changed doctors. It wasn’t for several years later that I finally got diagnosed when I could hardly stay awake on my job!
DOCTORS—LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU….OPEN YOUR EYES AND IT’S BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN HAVE SOME WOMAN SUFFER. IF ANY WOMAN HAS A LOW/NORMAL THYROID READING, I HOPE YOU WILL BE OPEN TO HAVING THOSE WOMEN’S THYROIDS CHECKED EVERY SIX MONTHS. AN EXPENSIVE SURGERY ISN’T ALWAYS THE ANSWER.
AND LADIES…LISTEN TO YOUR GUT. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. I WISH I HAD GOTTEN A SECOND OPINION. NOW I KNOW BETTER!
***Also, I have struggled to be a normal weight especially since the birth of our son around 14 years ago. Although I did go up and down a lot to try and maintain a normal weight. I made feeble attempts to lose weight after our son was born. I did lose some. But I did a lot of yoyo dieting. Just last July, I started watching my food intake more. I did use a low carb system of eating. That helped get some weight off of me. Then I got to a plateau. Then about a month ago, I started watching “The Biggest Loser” and another inspirational show where weight loss was involved. That inspired me. I realized that I was never going to get the weight off if I didn’t get serious about walking more. I put the treadmill in our living room and vegged in frront of the TV while I walked/jogged. I would walk, jog, walk jog alternatingly every 5 minutes. I ususally work out for 45 minutes to an hour 3-4 times a week. I have now lost 21 pounds since early July. This is the most I have EVER lost in one attempt. I usually lose motivation after…well, the longest attempt was 8 weeks. I am really serious now. I also use a great food supplement that I take in a water base for two meals a day. Then I eat a regular meal at night. I can eat within reason at night whatever I want. If I eat too much, I might gain a pound that day. So I do have to be careful not to overdo it at night.
In Conclusion, I do have to say that anyone attempting to copy my weight loss program should consult a physician. My system has worked for me and I have not had any negative health side effects. However, that doesn’t mean it will be safe for you. So please check with a doctor before trying my system. A person without Hashimoto’s might lose weight faster than me with my system as well. Basically, it has taken me almost five months to lose 21 pounds. I do have to say that I took some breaks and maintained and then sometimes went up. But now I am more serious than ever. I want to be an encouragement to men and women out there who have this horrible chronic illness. Oh yes, one side benefit from using the green food supplement is that I don’t get cold sores as long as I am consistantly taking the supplement and I don’t get famished during the day. In addition to all this, I have more energy from the green food supplement.