While I write mostly about congenital hypothyroidism, I also write about MY journey with thyroid disease. I think being open about our entire family's struggles with thyroid problems is one of the ways I can be most helpful to you. Some of you may recall my January "resolution" post about 2014 being the year that I'm undefeated as a thyroid warrior. Read the full post here, as well as my summary report on the 1st Quarter here. Can you tell my husband is in sales? He encouraged me to update you all on my progress during the 2nd Quarter. So, here goes: 1) Climb. My first goal was to rock climb more. Well, I was doing that until my back decided not to cooperate. I have spent much of this last few months in fairly severe pain … [Read more...]
Undefeated – Q1
Some of you may recall my January "resolution" post about 2014 being the year that I'm undefeated as a thyroid warrior. Read the full post here. I want this year to be the year that Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, Sjogrens, and Fibromyalgia are things that I have, not things that define me. Well, as we approach the end of the first quarter (Q1), I feel as though I owe myself and my readers an update on how I'm doing. My husband is in sales, so we are always well aware of the end of each quarter. Particularly the first quarter, I think is important because it's a measuring stick for how the rest of the year is going to go. So, here goes: 1) Climb. My first goal was to rock climb more. I have done that! I joined an indoor rock climbing … [Read more...]
Undefeated
I have spent much of the last 2 years feeling defeated and betrayed by my body. Auto immune diseases, fibromyalgia, allergies, etc. - the list goes on and on. I get sick a lot. I feel like crap a lot. When I go to the doctor and they ask me what medications I take, I have to turn on my phone and open up the list I have saved, because I can't remember them all. I feel too young to have such a long list of medications. I'm supposed to be at my peak. I'm not 40 yet and have 2 young, very active boys that I need to keep up with. Why is this happening to me? I was laying in bed the other night wide awake (thanks to my husband's snoring), and I kept asking myself that question. Finally, I came to this conclusion: I may never know why. … [Read more...]
Hair
That’s me - with mighty big hair. As you can tell, I have red hair, well it’s really more strawberry blonde, but I’ve been classified as a redhead. I have the fair skin and freckles to go with it. As a child, I was often picked on and teased because of the color of my hair. I was called “coppertop”, “Clifford, the Big Red Dog” (yes, I have the unfortunate combination of having red hair and Clifford as my last name) and told “I’d rather be dead than red on the head”. Even as a teenager, I would hear things like “no offense, but I’d hate to have hair like that” – mostly centered around the fact that I didn’t tan like everyone else and my friends feeling sorry for me and my perpetual need for sunscreen. I was constantly counseled on what … [Read more...]
My Journey
That is a picture of me climbing at Joshua Tree in CA. Climbing is something that both thrills me and terrifies me. Overcoming my fear of heights to be able to do climbs like that was quite a feat and quite the journey. Similarly, my journey with thyroid disease has been an adventure. I have shared a lot about how my children were diagnosed, but I haven’t talked much about my journey with thyroid disease. I’ve heard some people say that we should call it a disorder, but to me, it feels like disease is the right word. Lots of folks ask me what my symptoms were and what led to my diagnosis. The truth is I didn’t have any symptoms – at least none that I had really been paying attention to. I was in my twenties, and my husband and I were … [Read more...]
“Of all the sly, subtle problems…”
“Of all the sly, subtle problems that can affect physical or mental health, none is more common than thyroid gland disturbance. And none is more readily and inexpensively corrected. Yet none is more often untreated and even unsuspected… One of the most common symptoms is fatigue. It can vary from relatively mild to severe. It may come on so slowly that a victim, feeling no sudden or precipitous decline in energy level, may come to accept fatigability as--for him--a virtually normal state. I have seen many children who suffered from repeated colds followed by complications such as tonsillitis, sinusitis, ear and mastoid infections, who needed repeated antibiotic treatment and went right on getting new infections until their … [Read more...]
The First Appointment – Pediatric Endocrinologist
If your child has congenital hypothyroidism, then you will probably be referred to a pediatric endocrinologist. The first few appointments my husband and I went to with my newborn son at the pediatric endocrinologist's office were not so great. My sweet boy hated riding in the car and screamed the entire way to the children's hospital located about 40 miles away (1 hour if you count driving and parking). We waited for over an hour to see the doctor. We didn't bring anything to write on and ran out of diapers. Truly brand new parents. We left feeling a little better about our son's condition, but in general, disappointed with the lack of information. Over time, we learned the tricks of the trade and … [Read more...]
Saying Goodbye
So, a few days ago, I had a pretty emotional day. I received a call from our pediatric endocrinologist, saying that it was her last day and that she was taking a new job outside of the university. I am so thankful that she took the time to call and say goodbye. Having a child with a chronic condition means that you visit Drs a lot. Continuity of care becomes a big issue. We have been seeing this Dr since my oldest was born, so about every 3 months for the last 7 years. That's more than we've seen some of our family! When you see a Dr that frequently, you bond with that Dr and so do your children. They know everything about your children, your family, your lifestyle, etc. You begin … [Read more...]
The Phone Call
I wanted to start off by talking about the day I received the call from our Pediatrician telling us that there was something wrong with our son. We had only met the Pediatrican once and that was at the hospital shortly after our first son was born. He was very nice and we liked him a lot. We were surprised, though, for him to be calling us at home only a few days later. He told us that the newborn screening test revealed that our son had a very high TSH and that it may mean that he had a disorder called Congenital Hypothyroidism. He indicated that he had referred us to the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology at the Children's Hospital about 30 minutes from our home. He said they needed to do more blood work and told us which lab to … [Read more...]