Fatigue, insomnia, apathy, anxiety, cold, depression...anybody experience these symptoms? Would you hire a personal trainer with these symptoms to inspire and motivate you? I finally decided it was time to try to connect the dots with why, in spite of the fact of exercising, eating right, and living a healthy lifestyle I still felt like a wreck (except when teaching Pilates!) Yes me...Miss Positive....Miss Lovin' Life...Miss Carpe Diem! The only 100% score out of all Westbury Bank employees and families on our annual health insurance assessment, still felt crappy. My Pollyanna positive thinking self was struggling and in the words of a kind doctor, even "suffering."
I took a field trip yesterday to better understand these symptoms I have experienced for too many years. A friend referred me to Dr. Douglas Brown, an internal medicine doctor who has his own private practice in Brookfield. This doctor's office was clean, sparsely furnished, and quiet. Not a bustling medical center but rather one dedicated man and his wonderful administrator Jackie. A week earlier he had ordered multiple lab tests for me to have done at the West Bend clinic. Yes, lab tests were ordered before I saw the doctor. The first appointment he reserves two hours to meet and complete the assessment. Yes, two hours, nobody else is in his office--it's just you and him and all he cares about is you! A thorough health history, family history, personal review of your symptoms, lifestyle experiences, current supplements and medications. Following this he sits next to you and reviews page after page of the lab results. Potassium, triglycerides, cholesterol, white blood cell counts, red blood cell counts, renal function, liver function, thyroid function, etc. All these blood panels are reviewed and explained. In addition he takes your blood pressure, your weight, listens to your heart and lungs, tests all your reflexes, and in my case paid particular attention to glandular swelling related to hypothyroidism. There was no nurse. My vague symptoms did not frustrate him but rather "made perfect sense" in relation to my labwork, physical presentation and emotional symptoms.
And that is sometimes the trouble with being a woman. You think you are crazy, that it is all in your head, that you are tired, cold, depressed, anxious. You tell yourself, "get over it," stop getting stuck in your head and just live your life. But something just doesn't seem right. And it doesn't necessarily matter if you have had children or not because your body still runs in cycles of very sensitive hormones that can affect everything from your skin to your energy to your mood. In my case, I have been on Levoxyl for 12 years. My thyroid gland essentially burned out, sputtered and went kaput, after having my daughter. I lost 30 pounds in 1 month while eating as many Big Macs as I desired. I just thought I had an awesome metabolism until finally, 6 months later, I told my doctor something just didn't seem right. She did a thyroid test and my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)was 50--50 times above normal! I had gone from a state of hyperthyroid that first month post-partum to extreme hypothyroidism and had Hashimoto Thyroiditis. So I started taking thyroid medicine, which incidentally, never changed my symptoms even though general lab values reflected everything was "normal." There again if the value says it is "normal" then it must all be in your head...."Quick, get this girl some prozac! Still feel sad? Double the dosage!"
Last year, after years of feeling anxious and depressed I finally confessed to my physician that I thought I needed an antidepressant. She agreed and kindly disclosed that many women and men, herself included, at times may find a prescription necessary. I appreciated her honesty as she shared that sometimes a crisis, conflict, personal issue can affect a person to the point that their body simply can't rebound without some help. And it doesn't have to be long-term but 6 months or so to assist in your body's recovery from prolonged stress. And of course as a fitness enthusiast, I thought I could eat myself to physical and emotional health, or exercise myself to physical and emotional health, or perhaps even pray and counsel myself to good health. But sometimes your body's' chemistry is significantly impaired to a degree that you need more than health food, supplements, exercise, and counsel. What I discovered yesterday is that sometimes even an anti-depressant may not get to the root of the problem.
In my case, my hypothyroid symptoms were never going to leave until the results were interpreted in depth by someone like Dr. Brown. Rather than just looking at the TSH value he looked at the other 4 thyroid values. One which shows increased antibodies as your body fights an imaginary enemy...your own thyroid gland. Elevated antibodies are similar to what is revealed in autoimmune disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition he looks at the T4 and T3 levels. I can't explain the lab values and their relationships but T4 is supposed to convert to T3 (Triiodothyronine (T3) is a thyroid hormone. It plays an important role in the body's control of metabolism.) T3 is also 90% responsible for mood, energy, and skin. T3 is actually approved to be prescribed to people as an anti-depressant...it is that strong and helpful of a hormone. In my case my T4 was high and my T3 was very low in comparison; meaning T4 doesn't know to convert to T3. So in someone like me who is already feeling depressed from situational stress plus my body is not producing its' natural antidepressant...get out of my way or there's gonna be hell to pay! Just ask my neighbor when I stomped over to his yard last year complaining about why he had planted his shrubs a foot into our yard. I was not nice. Later I did make a chocolate eclair pudding for them and ask for forgiveness but it didn't change the fact my initial reaction was quite extreme considering my generally passive personality! (In no way am I suggesting we can say and do whatever we want if our thyroid is out of whack...I am just imploring you to consider why your behavior and feelings may be uncharacteristically extreme!)
And Dr. Brown agreed that to address my emotional state, I first need to be on solid ground with my body's chemical state. Once those values are in a normal state for my function then the areas that have caused me significant grief (primarily relationship issue) can be better assessed. Perhaps I will see that I have been overly sensitive in our marriage---maybe my body's chemical state was so out of balance that my emotional state had no choice. Or perhaps I can confidently tell my husband that it is him...not me...with the problem! That is yet to be determined but I am hopeful this T3 value is a significant source of my poor coping skills. Instinctively I never considered myself a "depressed" person but I had no other choice than to first meditate, then medicate, the diagnosis. I had to force myself to socialize; simple activities would create anxiety; when I did socialize I felt like it took me 24 hours to recover; I could no longer gather the energy or motivation to run--something I did fairly easily for years, my mind felt like it was in a fog bank. So while the Lexapro (antidepressant) has likely improved my mood the past 8 months; knowing that my body was not capable of bailing me out of this experience makes a lot more sense to me than I simply got depressed. My family physician does not have the time nor perhaps the practical knowledge to interpret results that may broadly appear "normal" but when systematically examined reveal a much more serious impairment. Part of the problem of medicine these days, treating the symptoms but ignoring where the root problem might be hiding.
Visit www.Stopthethyroidmadness.com for comprehensive understanding of thyroid disorder. I wish I had known about the site a decade ago. The developer is a fitness enthusiast and I felt like I was reading my own biography. I share this story because I know I'm not alone and perhaps my story can help you. My friend Tonya who is a yoga instructor and esthetician in Whitefish Bay--one of the most beautiful, healthy appearing women I have ever met, was kind enough to share her history with me. In spite of her overall good health, she too experienced symptoms similar to mine and had the good fortune of meeting with Dr. Brown last year. She admits since being under his care, it is the best she has ever felt. He has adjusted my thyroid medication to a natural derivative called Armour. He praised my current supplements like Vitamin D, biotin, chlorella, and spirulina...all supplements designed to support a healthy body. In addition he even suggested I increase my potassium and cholesterol a bit as my fairly clean diet is almost too strict. Your body needs cholesterol so tonight we are having steak. He also gave me a B12 shot as a parting gift.
Cheers to feeling well, an abundance of energy, good friends, and red meat! Thank you for reading.
I took a field trip yesterday to better understand these symptoms I have experienced for too many years. A friend referred me to Dr. Douglas Brown, an internal medicine doctor who has his own private practice in Brookfield. This doctor's office was clean, sparsely furnished, and quiet. Not a bustling medical center but rather one dedicated man and his wonderful administrator Jackie. A week earlier he had ordered multiple lab tests for me to have done at the West Bend clinic. Yes, lab tests were ordered before I saw the doctor. The first appointment he reserves two hours to meet and complete the assessment. Yes, two hours, nobody else is in his office--it's just you and him and all he cares about is you! A thorough health history, family history, personal review of your symptoms, lifestyle experiences, current supplements and medications. Following this he sits next to you and reviews page after page of the lab results. Potassium, triglycerides, cholesterol, white blood cell counts, red blood cell counts, renal function, liver function, thyroid function, etc. All these blood panels are reviewed and explained. In addition he takes your blood pressure, your weight, listens to your heart and lungs, tests all your reflexes, and in my case paid particular attention to glandular swelling related to hypothyroidism. There was no nurse. My vague symptoms did not frustrate him but rather "made perfect sense" in relation to my labwork, physical presentation and emotional symptoms.
And that is sometimes the trouble with being a woman. You think you are crazy, that it is all in your head, that you are tired, cold, depressed, anxious. You tell yourself, "get over it," stop getting stuck in your head and just live your life. But something just doesn't seem right. And it doesn't necessarily matter if you have had children or not because your body still runs in cycles of very sensitive hormones that can affect everything from your skin to your energy to your mood. In my case, I have been on Levoxyl for 12 years. My thyroid gland essentially burned out, sputtered and went kaput, after having my daughter. I lost 30 pounds in 1 month while eating as many Big Macs as I desired. I just thought I had an awesome metabolism until finally, 6 months later, I told my doctor something just didn't seem right. She did a thyroid test and my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)was 50--50 times above normal! I had gone from a state of hyperthyroid that first month post-partum to extreme hypothyroidism and had Hashimoto Thyroiditis. So I started taking thyroid medicine, which incidentally, never changed my symptoms even though general lab values reflected everything was "normal." There again if the value says it is "normal" then it must all be in your head...."Quick, get this girl some prozac! Still feel sad? Double the dosage!"
Last year, after years of feeling anxious and depressed I finally confessed to my physician that I thought I needed an antidepressant. She agreed and kindly disclosed that many women and men, herself included, at times may find a prescription necessary. I appreciated her honesty as she shared that sometimes a crisis, conflict, personal issue can affect a person to the point that their body simply can't rebound without some help. And it doesn't have to be long-term but 6 months or so to assist in your body's recovery from prolonged stress. And of course as a fitness enthusiast, I thought I could eat myself to physical and emotional health, or exercise myself to physical and emotional health, or perhaps even pray and counsel myself to good health. But sometimes your body's' chemistry is significantly impaired to a degree that you need more than health food, supplements, exercise, and counsel. What I discovered yesterday is that sometimes even an anti-depressant may not get to the root of the problem.
In my case, my hypothyroid symptoms were never going to leave until the results were interpreted in depth by someone like Dr. Brown. Rather than just looking at the TSH value he looked at the other 4 thyroid values. One which shows increased antibodies as your body fights an imaginary enemy...your own thyroid gland. Elevated antibodies are similar to what is revealed in autoimmune disorders like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition he looks at the T4 and T3 levels. I can't explain the lab values and their relationships but T4 is supposed to convert to T3 (Triiodothyronine (T3) is a thyroid hormone. It plays an important role in the body's control of metabolism.) T3 is also 90% responsible for mood, energy, and skin. T3 is actually approved to be prescribed to people as an anti-depressant...it is that strong and helpful of a hormone. In my case my T4 was high and my T3 was very low in comparison; meaning T4 doesn't know to convert to T3. So in someone like me who is already feeling depressed from situational stress plus my body is not producing its' natural antidepressant...get out of my way or there's gonna be hell to pay! Just ask my neighbor when I stomped over to his yard last year complaining about why he had planted his shrubs a foot into our yard. I was not nice. Later I did make a chocolate eclair pudding for them and ask for forgiveness but it didn't change the fact my initial reaction was quite extreme considering my generally passive personality! (In no way am I suggesting we can say and do whatever we want if our thyroid is out of whack...I am just imploring you to consider why your behavior and feelings may be uncharacteristically extreme!)
And Dr. Brown agreed that to address my emotional state, I first need to be on solid ground with my body's chemical state. Once those values are in a normal state for my function then the areas that have caused me significant grief (primarily relationship issue) can be better assessed. Perhaps I will see that I have been overly sensitive in our marriage---maybe my body's chemical state was so out of balance that my emotional state had no choice. Or perhaps I can confidently tell my husband that it is him...not me...with the problem! That is yet to be determined but I am hopeful this T3 value is a significant source of my poor coping skills. Instinctively I never considered myself a "depressed" person but I had no other choice than to first meditate, then medicate, the diagnosis. I had to force myself to socialize; simple activities would create anxiety; when I did socialize I felt like it took me 24 hours to recover; I could no longer gather the energy or motivation to run--something I did fairly easily for years, my mind felt like it was in a fog bank. So while the Lexapro (antidepressant) has likely improved my mood the past 8 months; knowing that my body was not capable of bailing me out of this experience makes a lot more sense to me than I simply got depressed. My family physician does not have the time nor perhaps the practical knowledge to interpret results that may broadly appear "normal" but when systematically examined reveal a much more serious impairment. Part of the problem of medicine these days, treating the symptoms but ignoring where the root problem might be hiding.
Visit www.Stopthethyroidmadness.com for comprehensive understanding of thyroid disorder. I wish I had known about the site a decade ago. The developer is a fitness enthusiast and I felt like I was reading my own biography. I share this story because I know I'm not alone and perhaps my story can help you. My friend Tonya who is a yoga instructor and esthetician in Whitefish Bay--one of the most beautiful, healthy appearing women I have ever met, was kind enough to share her history with me. In spite of her overall good health, she too experienced symptoms similar to mine and had the good fortune of meeting with Dr. Brown last year. She admits since being under his care, it is the best she has ever felt. He has adjusted my thyroid medication to a natural derivative called Armour. He praised my current supplements like Vitamin D, biotin, chlorella, and spirulina...all supplements designed to support a healthy body. In addition he even suggested I increase my potassium and cholesterol a bit as my fairly clean diet is almost too strict. Your body needs cholesterol so tonight we are having steak. He also gave me a B12 shot as a parting gift.
Cheers to feeling well, an abundance of energy, good friends, and red meat! Thank you for reading.
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