physician, heal thyself

So, no secret that I went to see the endocrinologist because this whole thyroidectomy has thrown me for a loop. First they didn't up the synthroid right away, so I had bouts of hypoglycemia and general crappiness. Got on a better dose, but was still so tired. I haven't felt energized since 1995. So, they upped the dose as tiny as they could, and I went nuts. For a day or so, it was great. Then my heart started racing, my cycle went berserk, and I couldn't sleep. Went back down on my dose.

Went to see the endocrinologist to see what he had to say. Bloodwork comes back normal, except for a vitamin D deficiency. So, a few weeks later, on top of the fatigue and sleep problems and other issues I told him about, I start getting WAY stressed out. I'm talking anxiety, panic attacks, numbness and tingling in my toes. No particular reason. But I had some really awful dreams that are still haunting me and making me nervous. So, I emailed the doc these new issues, and his solution was to "correct" the vitamin D. So I take one pill a week for the next 3 months. My toes are better, but everything else is still there.

So at this point, I'm pretty miserable. I feel like I'm going thru the motions, but not really living. I have no energy, I can't get enough sleep to feel refreshed, and this anxiety thing is not fun at all. In my desperation, I have read 2 books so far and have a third one waiting.

One book is actually titled, "Why Do I Still have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests are Normal". Very interesting. It talks alot about Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is what they labeled me with after surgery. I seem to be a textbook case, including the low vitamin D. Hashimoto's is an autoimmune disorder where I attacked my own thyroid. This book explains that even though they can "fix" the thyroid levels, they haven't fixed the immune system. They liken it to having your car's "check engine" light go on. Do you fix the engine, or just remove the "check engine" light?

So, I suppose they removed my "light" but haven't done a thing for my engine. It suggests going gluten free because the gluten structure and the thyroid structure are very similar and anytime you eat gluten, it signals the immune system to keep attacking because it thinks it is thyroid. I do not know for sure if this is accurate. Being the science geek that I am, I would like to see the chemical structures side by side. Some day if I have time, maybe I will google it. In the meantime, gluten is EVERYWHERE! I can't have a sandwich, or my beloved quesadillas. I even found it in salad dressing. And I'm also not clear on if this still applies to me because my thyroid is gone...what is left to attack? Does it move to the parathyroid or the adrenal glands as the next victims? I'm not sure.

The second book is called, "feeling fat, fuzzy, or frazzled?" and it talks about how the thyroid, adrenals, and ovaries are all working together like a three legged stool. If one is not functioning well, everything gets thrown off kilter. According to their little quizes, it seems that my thyroid AND my adrenals are not working well. (By the way, one of the questions I asked the doc was if adrenal fatigue was real or a vitamin gimmick, and he said it was mostly a vitamin gimmick. There are real instances of adrenal failure, but didn't think it applied to me)

So, this book has suggested a ton of vitamins to take to help balance the three legs of the stool. I'm torn between the doc telling me it is a gimmick, and the fact that I have felt lousy since 1995. At this point, what would a few vitamins hurt? Wouldn't it be worth a try? Anything would have to be better than what I've been feeling.

So I still have one book to read about Adrenal fatigue. I did buy some of the suggested vitamins at Target today. The "fff" book says it is better to buy them from one of their recommended labs, not the "discount" variety. Eh. If it feels like they make any difference, maybe I'll spring for the expensive, purified versions they talk about.

And I've already learned that St. John's Wort is a mild laxative...at least in my system...