Life goes on while we wait...

I don't want you to believe that my life revolves around trying to figure out what;s wrong with me.. I am also a full time supermom, and wife. My oldest child, and only daughter is preparing to graduate high school, and head off to college. We went prom dress shopping today, and while her taste is questionable, I enjoyed spending time with her. She actually thanked me, which is a first. My middle child is busy with drum lessons, baseball practice, and everything else that almost ten year old boys do. Then there is the little one, who I affectionately call my evil genius. I don't care how cute he is, I just know he is planning my demise. I love him anyway. I love to cook for my family, because I love to see them happy. They are my life, and I love them all. I also recently temporarily adopted two little dogs, so trying to find them a home is also on the agenda. I don't know what I was thinking. So, I have 4 dogs, a cat, a ferret, 3 kids, and a firefighter husband.. One big crazy family.. I wouldn't have it any other way.

The new guy, or girl...

I found out there was a new doctor in my city. She was young, and smart, and the word on the street was that she actually listened!! I was so excited for my first appointment. She was all of those things and more, I can't say enough about her. She sat there in disbelief as I told her about my ordeal, and lack of treatment. She seemed especially astounded that my previous doctor refused my requests to refer me to an endocrinologist. She drew my thyroid labs immediately, and told me that my levels were so bad, she couldn't believe I wasn't complaining more. Little did she know, I complained plenty, but the others refused to listen, or maybe i was complaining to the wrong people. She then told me that she could not treat my hyperthyroidism, because my levels were not even close to being normal, and hyper is more difficult to control than hypo. She did refer me to an endocrinologist though. A huge step in the right direction as far as I was concerned.
The endocrinologist was very nice. He put me on anti-thyroid meds immediately, and ordered bloodwork every 6 weeks. I was so excited to be on the road back to normal, or so I thought. I told him about everything, from the pain in my bones and joints that made it difficult to stand, or exercise at all. I told him about the hair falling out, the blurry vision, all of it.. I also watched while he played with his pen and I talked. I remember asking myself if I was talking too much, maybe he was just bored. At my second appointment I found out I had lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks without dieting, how awesome is that?? I was so excited, until my next appointment when i learned I gained SIXTEEN pounds back. I was horrified, I wanted to cry. I brought this up, and he seemed unconcerned. My most recent lab work showed that I had become severely hypo. So from one end of the spectrum to the other I went. I was told to cut my meds in half, to see if I was just over medicated or my thyroid had burned itself out.. The waiting begins, and this is where I am today.
In the time since my last appointment I have become proactive. I bought a book called "The Thyroid Diet" by Mary Shomon, and it may have saved what little bit of sanity I had left. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with thyroid problems. I decided to start the plan, and have lost 5 pounds so far. I exercise daily, even though it hurts sometimes, because it is a necessity. I also made an appointment with a new endocrinologist who has come highly recommended.. Fingers crossed.

Where do I begin??

I will probably be the worlds worst blogger, because it takes time, and whenever I find myself with some of that I usually sit here and do nothing. The main purpose of this blog is to chronicle my journey from normal to frantically trying to find my way back. I am not there yet, but i will be, because I have left myself with no other option.
I guess my story begins after the traumatic birth of my third and final child. A few months after his birth I started complaining of severe debilitating gyn symptoms.. I heard everything from "it's normal" to "we better make sure this is not cancer." It was not cancer thankfully, but there was something wrong, this is my body, and I know when it is not right. I wish more doctors would believe us when we tell them that. I was lucky enough to see a very nice and understanding nurse during one of my emotionally charged, "Please help me" visits.. She recommended testing my thyroid. The test was not normal, and she referred me to my PCP.. He drew his own blood work, told me I had Graves Disease, but it required no treatment. I went on for a year with no follow up blood work, and no treatment. I was OK with it at the time, because no treatment required means you are OK, right?? I thought so, but after my third admission to the hospital for rapid heart rate, and chest pain I realized it meant I needed a new doctor.