Please rest assured, you are not alone. Thyroid disease and associated illnesses will wreck havoc upon your body. Some of us will be fortunate to have quick successful treatment of our illnesses. Others, unfortunately, will watch their life trickle away and continue to ponder “What happened to me?” If my body was a beach, the government would have instituted reclamation standards and put barriers to prevent further erosion.
My understanding of thyroid illness goes something like this. Again this is MY understanding. I am not a professional in the study of thyroid disease, just a professional patient. The thyroid gland when functioning properly will produce the thyroid hormones, T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (L-triiodothyrine) which in turn will regulate the bodies metabolism. The slightest imbalance will cause storms. Fatigue, inability for the body to self-regulate temperature, confussion, pain, gastrointestinal issues, non restorative sleep are but a few of the symptoms. A simple blood test provides a quick glimpse as to the status of your thyroid. This should be 3rd generation TSH testing, including Free T4 (.7 - 1.85 ng/dL), Free T3 and anti-TPO antibodies tested.
At this point I can not stress the importance of personally understanding your lab work. Always get a copy of your lab work and ask questions. Please do not let a physician tell you that because your lab work does not fall outside normal parameters, you are in the clear. The standard for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone or thyrotropin, this is secreted by your pituitary gland and regulates thyroid hormone production as well as iodine trapping) values now fall between .03 - 3.04 mcIU/mL with some endocrinologist placing that value below 2.0. Bottom line, blood work is invaluable, but if my body is telling me it does not feel good, the bottom line is it does not feel good.
Medications for the treatment of thyroid dysfunction and disease are readily avaiable. The one that works may be found immediately, others may take some time. Do not give up. As I mentioned earlier, the effects of hypothyroidism are far reaching. Taking medications as prescribed, without foods at the same time greatly impact the success of them. Eating healthy is of vital importance as well, but there will be a new definition to the term of healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables can contain high amounts of sugars and if you have intestinal problems (which is likely with hypothyroidism) any problems may arise.
Just remember, you are not alone, I am not alone and He is with us always.