My Thyroid is Making Me Crazy

Let’s have an honest, ‘no holds barred’ conversation about thyroid disease. My mission is to stop women from suffering in silence. The best advice I got about combating my disease was from a blog post. FINALLY there was hope, not secrecy.

Just to be clear, the thyroid is a powerful little joker that controls everything. It’s a butterfly shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck. The thyroid secretes several hormones, collectively called thyroid hormones. The main hormone is thyroxine, also called T4. Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth, development, and body temperature. There are many chronic thyroid conditions, but for the sake of sharing my story I’m going to talk about my ‘daily dance’ with Hypothyroidism.

I remember certain things like it was yesterday. Out of the blue my skin was itching and burning from the inside out. I couldn’t stand putting anything on my face, let alone moisturizer or makeup. One day my cousin was doing my hair, and towards the end she lets out a loud gasp. Tells me not to panic…yes I panicked. There were bald spots where my hair used to be. My thick curly eyebrows were no more. To add insult to injury, my new size six dresses were so tight, people thought I must’ve stolen some poor little girl’s clothes.

Things went downhill rapidly, and I equated it to an out of body experience. Suddenly I was the poster child for Alzheimer’s and obesity. I gained 3 to 5 pounds weekly in-spite of my healthy lifestyle. I was so depressed and over it all. Exhaustion and sleepless nights became the norm…emotional about everything, and at the same time nothing. I was either crying or yelling.

And barely functioning during the day, then wide awake full of energy at night. It took hours to muster enough energy to dress and drag myself to work everyday. It was all a blur I wouldn’t remember anyway.

I kept my struggle private for many months. I tried to act normal but failed. I looked fine on the outside, but I wasn’t fine on the inside. Sharing how I felt would get me labeled as crazy for sure. My guardian angel was my cousin who insisted I get my thyroid checked immediately. She’s struggled with childhood Hashimoto’s and Hyperthyroidism that carried into her adulthood. She understood my pain and struggle. I’m so grateful to her for holding my hand throughout this process, getting me to the right specialist, sharing resources, and allowing me to mourn my diagnosis.

Is anyone at the beginning of their thyroid disease journey? Who was able to stay positive? Who is still mourning their diagnosis? Let’s have a conversation.