Well, it all started with a visit to my GP for the standard two-yearly pap smear. My Doc also loves to send me for a round of blood-tests just to see how I’m tracking. She knows my propensity to wine so I suspect she’s keeping an eye on the liver function. Anyway, this time it was also decided I needed pelvic and abdominal ultrasounds. We so-called, middle-aged women are prone to a few health issues, apparently. God I hate the term “middle-aged”. I don’t mind getting old because, let’s face it, it is better than the alternative, but really I think we girls like wine or cheese just get better with age.

Anyway, of all the things they check for in a full blood count, mine comes back with something different every time. Liver disfunction – yes, I drink too much, high cholesterol – no surprise, family history and all. Low iron a few times then low calcium levels, D3 deficiency, etcetera.  Something different every year and mostly things that can be balanced with diet or a few supplements. Never the same thing consecutively.

Roll on to my most recent bloods and I have once again a vitamin D deficiency, obviously being too sun-smart is a problem in itself and didn’t known that as we age we lose the ability to absorb vitamin D. Then this new thing – hypothyroidism or in layman terms, an underactive thyroid. WTF?

Anyway, this is the first time that said Doctor has prescribed my anything in however many years.  So off to the chemist I went, filled my script, and started taking my daily dose of Eutroxsig®. Shit then went downhill from there.

Now, you have to bear in mind, I’m probably healthier mentally and physically then I have been in years. I had no symptoms of malaise and certainly none of the supposed symptoms of an underactive thyroid. Well, except for a bit of fatigue, which having been a chronic insomniac for since ever, is nothing new. No symptoms! I’ve since learnt of a correlation Thyroid issues and D vitamins. But I although I have many problems, I refuse to believe a thyroid issue is one of them.

Anyway, short story long, I did start to get very unwell. I felt constantly nauseous, incredibly tired and the mood swings were a roller-coaster of ups, downs, and plateaus. Muscle aches and pains that made it hard to function, after feeling pretty proud of my gym-junkie self, I could barely complete a single 30-minute session.  Even had a panic attack mid-workout one day. After a few weeks I could barely function, couldn’t drive and even thought I might lose my new job – you know – the first real one I’ve had in 10 years, because I wasn’t even getting the simple stuff right.

So yes, eventually at some point the preverbal penny dropped, what was I doing differently that was having this effect on me? Taking shitty medication! Seriously, I’d taken about a weeks worth and lost months. After that first week and subsequent episodes of crazy, multiple apologies I finally made the connection that the thyroid is part of our endocrine system.

Hello hormones, and I was putting synthetic ones into my body, not welcome here. I’m not big on pharmaceuticals for anything! Well okay, maybe I’ve taken the odd party drug in my day, and a I am a recent fan of a bit of Xanex to help me sleep, but otherwise I pretty much go the natural route of honey, garlic, and lemon as a cure-all for everything.

After coming to the realisation that this drug that I’d freely put in my body for a whole week was hindering rather than helping, I did a bit of research. While I’d had many of the side effects, causing all sorts of grief (side effects of taking he drug) I then self-diagnosed myself to be one of the few that have significant adverse reactions.

But here’s the #TWIT. An underactive thyroid is most commonly a symptom of an immune disfunction, so taking hormones surely only masks the problem and doesn’t address the cause. Ten days into detox, and stopping with the revolting medication, I am finally started to feel ‘normal’ again. In fact, better than normal because a bit more research, and a few dietary adjustments to ensure I’m getting all the right vitamins and minerals, I feel back in balance.  Even having a glass of wine as I write this, cos wine with Eutroxsig® was seriously not a good combination.

Probably time to throw in a disclaimer here: Not a medical doctor, this is only my opinion, #TWIT, that’s what I think. If you do have thyroid problems, seek proper medical advice. Don’t be guided by me, don’t be a #TWIT.

So, what are my lessons learnt? One: do my research. Seriously, I’ve always been a proponent of research, and of natural remedies so why I didn’t go here first is a mystery even to me. Do I know that what I’m doing will fix my so-called hypothyroidism, absolutely not! Only a further blood-test will show the results of that. Do I care, not so much. How I get on will be the content of another post. Lesson number two: mindfulness and self-care are a daily practice.