My Hair's Falling Out

Health is usually not something we think about until we are sick, which just kinds seems backwards.  Some time ago I had written down the things that I value in life and health was on the top of the list.  So it's something that I have been working hard to achieve, I eat healthy and exercise, no I am not perfect by any means (Starbucks and Chocolate are my weakness).  But it always is in the back of my mind to strive to be healthy so I can live a long, healthy life, disease free.

Can you tell that I like to give the thumbs up?  I'm cool. 

A couple weeks ago I had kind of touched on how my life is sorta just a wake up, work, exercise (which I force myself to do), eat, sleep kind of deal.  For years I’ve been struggling with low energy and I had gone to a doctors but they didn’t really seem to think it was a big deal because I was in college and just probably late nights studying partying.

I feel like I need to go back and explain some other things first till I get to where I am today.  A year ago I found out that I have shitty hormone issues.  Basically what it all means is I am able to conceive, my ovaries and eggs seem to be fine but because my hormone levels are low and off my cycle sorta restarts itself and would more than likely kick anything out. As in miscarry. What? Not the news that a person wanting to have a child someday wants to hear.  It had taken me some time to process it all and wanted to get the bf's input and see how if felt about it. 

With all my conscious health efforts I knew something was off.  It was more than just low energy and being that girl who was tired all the flipping time.  I was starting to not feel like myself.  My moods were all over the place, which others even pointed out.  I was up and down, I just couldn’t guess what I was going to feel when I woke up.  I cry a lot, which part of it is just me.  There are days that I feel sad and I never pinpoint why.  I’ve always been the silly girl, the girl that loves to make everyone laugh, including myself. 

You bet that's a watch around my belt loop.

Here I am mopping around, sad for no flipping reason.  Ugh I hate it, I hate, I hate it.  There is no reason for me to feel like this because I’ve got a great thing going on.  I’ve met the man that I want to spend the rest of my life making happy, I’ve got the most supportive family, two beautiful pups, a cute lil house, a job, you get the deal.

The hardest thing for me is that last year around this time I weighed 103 and my highest weight this year was 118.  I’ve always been tiny so putting on this much weight in such a short time has been hard. It makes it even more frustrating at the fact that I work out, even though I am so tired.  I box, I take a boot camp class, I’ll walk the dog, hike, workout at the gym.  Plus I eat well as I said before.  

I'm throwing it all out there folks...

My face has blown up, almost like it looks swollen.  I’ve joked about how I call it my “love” weight but now it’s gotten to the point where I’m sad when I look at myself in the mirror because I don’t like what I see. Since the spring I have only lost a few pounds and I’m not that concerned about the actual number, I just want to see results. 

Left: November 2012                                    Right: June 2013

All I want to do is sleep.  This month has been one of the worst I’m in bed anytime between 7pm and 9 the absolute latest.  I take naps in my car on my lunch. On weekends I drink caffeine like it’s my job to stay up later.  You can bet that the bf and I don’t do a damn thing on weeknights.  This is the reason why I haven’t blogged nearly as much as I would like to.  Thanks to my readers for your love through my lack of posting. 

The final kicker for me was when a couple weeks ago I discovered that I was losing my hair. What da fuck?  I’ve already got thin hair to begin with and this girl who was growing out her hair did not need it to be thinning. This is not normal my friends.  I even asked my hair dresser if she noticed anything, because who knows your hair better than your hairdresser?

So off to the doctors I went.  Side note:  I hate going to the doctors.  So this was a big step for me.  The doc wanted me to get some bloodwork done, did I mention that I hate needles too. K well I do.  On the 4^th of November I got my results back…The doctor had believed it to be thyroid related and he actually was correct.  It’s called Hypothryoidism, which is somewhat common but it’s still nothing that anyone wants to live with. 

I was relieved to finally know after all the years why I was feeling the way I was but it still sucks to know that there is ACTUALLY something wrong and i'm actually "unhealthy".  I’m 24 years old I should be healthy and enjoying my life.  This is the time to be adventurous!  I’m not old yet people!  But I’m acting like an 80 year old. 

What da fu*k is hypothryoidsim?  It’s when your thyroid gland doesn’t make enough of the hormone thyroxin and it can affect the way you feel, the way you look, and the way you sound. 

Here are a list of the Symptoms:

Weight gain

Dry Skin

Yellow Skin

Hair loss

Swollen face, hands, legs, ankles, or feel

Feeling cold

Hoarse or raspy voice

Constipation

Irregular periods

Fatigue

Slower thinking

Trouble remember things

Slower speech or movement

Feeling down or depressed

Slow heart rate

Infertility

Changes in cholesterol

I can put a check mark next to almost all of these symptoms.  Who know that this lil butterfly shaped gland could affect my life completely.  I’ve been reading about it all over the internet and blogs about people who are going through exactly what I am.  My heart breaks for other people who are going through this because though it may not be life threatening it does affect your life in a big way.  Underactive thyroid  also been linked to pregnancy dangers (infertility, still birth, pre-eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, low birth weight, and deficits in intellectual development in infants), heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s according to some of the literature.  No thanks. 

I’m someone who rarely takes medicine, I haven’t been that way my whole life but I’ve always been a hippy at heart and feel like there are natural ways to going about things, or at least try the natural approach before diving into medicine.  Such as diet, exercise, supplements, etc.  But now the doctor insisted that the only treatment is taking a pill every day for the rest of my life.  This goes against everything I believe in.  After much researching I decided to start on the medicine until I can look more into if there is a natural way to go about this and if it actually works.

Now you are telling me that I’ve got a crappy functioning thyroid and shitty hormone (which could or could not be related)?  Suck it Thyroid!  I don’t get it. 

I want to be able to prove to my doctor that I can reverse my inactive thyroid without supporting the pharmaceutical Industry.  How kickass would that be?  Anyways, I mean who seriously wants to be dependent on a pill for the rest of your life? But at the same time if there is no other way and medicine is the only thing to truly help me than of course I will continue to take the route for my health.

If anybody is going through or know someone going through this I would love to hear from you and the steps you have taken to help you through this.  Holla at your girl, lets discuss and drink beers!