“Dad – Mom, I am so
cold,” I would say.
“How could you be cold,” they would remark. “You have on a down coat, wool gloves and
snow boots. I suppose you could put on
thermal underwear.”
This was a common experience for me when I was young. I
always enjoyed being outdoors with dad, but after a few minutes I would be
freezing and miserable. I would help
shovel snow (at least thought I was helping), and do whatever little tasks he
would ask of me. Before too long
however, I would retreat to the house.
We had an oil heater and I would sit in front of it until I
got warm. I would stand in front of the
oven if mom was baking. I just remember
that when my hands and feet got cold, I hurt all over.
Snow mobiles were popular when I was in my early teens. One of my neighbors would come get me and we
would go riding. I bundled
tightly but still, oh so cold. He would
let me drive the snow mobile not because he trusted me but because I needed to
get near the engine and thaw out my feet.
I liked playing outside in the summer too. I don’t remember to many heat issues
when I was younger but when I was in my late teens and early twenties, I
started having a few minor issues with heat.
I had problems with not being
able to perspire thus could not cool down. As a result I would over heat
very quickly. Once in the shade and a
drink of cold water, I would be fine.
The next significant experience was after I had my
second child. One evening I was standing
over the sink rinsing dishes to put into the dishwasher. The next thing I knew I did a face plant into
the sink. Now one simply asks
themselves, “What in the world are you doing?”
You feel very silly and question where your mind was, what were you
thinking, did you stumble.
I had a few more strange occurrences mostly when I was
walking. I distinctly remember walking
down the hallway and feeling like someone picked me up and slammed me against
the wall. Clearly I was dizzy, light headed and not in
control.
Another development that occurred over time was my irritability meter. I am sure that my husband questioned why he
married me. The change was gradual and I
thought I was normal. Now I ask, “What
is normal about someone who is constantly irritable?”
Irritability is different
from impatience. I was a naturally
impatient person and over time had to learn how to manage my character
trait. However, and in all fairness to
the ‘condition’, impatience will happen after long periods of discomfort.
I was twenty-eight when my doctor finally diagnosed me with
low thyroid. He was an elderly
gentleman, kind but did not put much credit into thyroid issues. I remember him telling me that too often
people ‘use thyroid as an excuse’ and refuse to address other more pressing
issues.
Nevertheless, he started me on a low dose thyroid which did
not help initially and gradually increased the dosage until we got it
right. This was a process that occurred
over many weeks with regular blood tests to monitor the results. I remained on thyroid for five years and then
we moved to another location.
After a couple more years on thyroid my new doctor decided,
“Since, your thyroid is normal let’s cease the dosage.”
I questioned his actions but as he put it, “I am the doctor
and I know what I am doing.”
Who am I to question.
BIG mistake!
The symptoms gradually returned and once again I became moody,
irritable and otherwise a very miserable person to be around. I didn’t like me so who else could.
Have you noticed how we
tend to turn on a different switch when at work or at a social gathering, but
at home around the people we love we are or can be a horrible person.
Life Point: You
may not realize what you are doing.
Pay attention. Observe how your
family is responding to you. How are
other people acting around you? Are they
avoiding you, using a snappy tone back at you or do they seem at ease? Be
alert. Let this be a caution to anyone who finds they treat friends and acquaintances
one way and family another.
During the next twelve years, under the same medical care, I
encountered a couple more issues that ultimately involved the need to use
hormone replacement therapy. Not once would the physician consider that
my thyroid was posing a problem.
Taking HRT helped tremendously but it too had/has certain
side effects. Nonetheless, I was a pleasant
person, felt great and was more like the person my spouse married.
Fast forward, we moved to another city and being an independent sort of person, I took it upon
myself to stop taking HRT. I made the
decision to stop the medication about two months before a study came out from
the University of Texas San Antonio Health Science Center suggesting the
potentials for increase risk of cancer. Whew!
I was glad I stopped. Until
one day one of my coworkers came up to me and said, “You need to visit the
doctor. You are tearing into people and
not acting like yourself.” I called my husband
and asked how I was acting at home. “Not
bad,” he said. I took that to mean, “not
good.” I called my physician.
She ran a series of tests to determine that in fact my TSH,
T3 and T4 levels were out of balance.
She started me on thyroid, Zoloft® and Ambien®. I really opened up to her and did I mention that I had also dealt with what
she diagnosed as chronic insomnia?
A short note about my insomnia; I would fall asleep at night and then approximately
two hours later wake only to remain awake for four or five hours. I had been this way since I was a
teenager. Naturally once exhausted I
would fall asleep for many hours. Again,
I thought this was normal for me.
I paid attention to my health, my physical health. I exercised regularly. I was an aerobics fanatic for many years, turned
to weight lifting then ultimately turned to yoga. I studied to be a personal trainer and taught yoga
privately. I found great peace and
strength from yoga. (Today I have fallen
away from yoga but look forward to returning to the practice. This is another story during another blog
post).
In
wrapping up this section I have shared excerpts from my life, the symptoms I
had and the medical advice I was given.
Now, I think it is import for you to evaluate your situation.
Consider, is what you are feeling coming from
physical or emotional health or is it environmental? Maybe the answer is all three. Sometimes we become blurred in our thinking
and analyzing. Discuss your situation
with your health care provider.
To your health...
