Endo Update

I went to see my endocrinologist today to get the results of my recent blood work. As I suspected, my labs look great. My endo seems to think that the triiodothyronine hormone (better known as T3) in the Nature Thyroid medication I’ve been taking is the cause of my new symptoms. He said my body is most likely producing enough T3 on its own and is fighting the synthetic T3 from the medication. He gave me two options: Continue with the Nature Thyroid or go back to square one and start new medication and see what happens. Part of me told myself to suck it up and continue with the Nature Thyroid but I wasn’t sure. He noticed my hesitation and said that if I were his daughter, he would advise me to try the new medication. So, that’s my plan. I will start on a new strand of Levothyroxine tomorrow. He warned me that I may backslide and lose some of the progress I’ve made and experience some new symptoms until my body is used to the new meds.

That part of the appointment was the easy part. Every I go to an endocrinologist appointment, a small (huge) part of me expects him to come in with his fancy iPad, sit down, look me in the eyes and apologize as he tells me that he made a terrible mistake and I in fact do not have Hashimoto’s.  I imagine myself being overwhelmed with relief, hugging him excitedly and riding a fancy unicorn on a magical rainbow the hell out of that office and never go back. Well, that did not happen today! He in fact told me quite the opposite. He said that the Hashimoto’s is causing chaos in my brain which is leading to my constant state of “brain fog”.  I told him that I have been following the AIP protocol hard core for weeks and although I’ve lost 16 pounds (YAY!), I have not noticed any other improvements. Where is this miracle “relief” I’m supposed to be feeling? He said that even though we discussed changing my diet by adding and deleting certain foods from my daily intake, it is not guaranteed to work. Everything is trial and error. He advised me to eat healthy, continue to be as active as my body will allow, get proper rest and minimize stress. I gently reminded him that I am a kindergarten teacher and school starts in a little over two weeks. He ended the appointment by telling me that Hashimoto’s is not going away. He said it’s bad luck and a very crappy situation. He said I have to get used to this as being my new “normal”.  As he walked out of the room, I told myself not to cry as I tried to digest what he just said. Ummmm, this does not work for me! I truly value him as a doctor, but refuse to accept this as my new normal. I am going to continue to play around with lifestyle changes until I begin to feel better. Then, I just might begin to accept this new “normal”.  A big issue with Hashimoto’s is that I look completely normal. Well, most days I look normal. I only slept 4 hours last night, so today I look like hell. But I don’t look sick. I don’t look like my body is literally attacking itself from the inside out. Keep your finger crossed that this new medication helps and I have a more positive post in 12 weeks! I would love to hear your feedback/comments. If you know me, you know that I am not going to bring this up in conversations. But, I will answer questions if they are brought to me. Thanks for your continued support!