Perhaps MY story may help you...and I hope
that it does. I was diagnosed
>with thyroid cancer about 2 years ago. But
about 7 years before that I
>began a journey of thyroid problems that
started with me telling a doctor
>that I thought my neck looked big.
Anyway...after numerous doctors and
>misdiagnoses, I arrived about 6
years later with this diagnoses. I
>originally had multi-nodular
goiter...a very common thyroid problem. I went
>from my primary doctor,
to an ENT , finally to a WONDERFUL endocrinologist
>and then to a
surgeon. I have experienced MANY times the hell of being
>hypothyroid and
even being hyperthyroid. I have had two surgeries to remove
>my thyroid,
and had radioactive iodine treatment...with multiple scans,
>biopsies,
and treatments. Before you get scared, let me assure you that
>being
diagnosed with thyroid cancer is very , very rare..and even if you
>do,
it is a very treatable cancer.
>
>I would like to suggest that you
get The Thyroid Sourcebook or The Thyroid
>Sourcebook for Women by M.
Sara Rosenthal. They are excellent books that
>explain the whole thyroid
dilemma. I read everything that I could get my
>hands on. I'm sure that
you know that Hashimoto's Thyroiditis is an
>autoimmune disorder. As I
understand it, the body is actually attacking the
>thyroid for some
reason. I'm not sure that the experts quite know why this
>is. So, it is
a very tricky thing all of the time to get this under
>control. I did not
have Hashimotos, but anyone with a thyroid problem can
>certainly relate
to all of the ups and downs that it brings. I got myself
>to the best
endocrinologist that I could find, and he was WONDERFUL. A
>doctor that
you trust and can talk to makes all of the difference in the
>world.
Unfortunately, this one decided to go into private research AND
>ended up
with lymphoma himself.( so far he is doing well) I am in the NYC
>metropolitan area.. if you are near a university or a big city, my
advice
>is find the best that your insurance covers or that you can
afford.
>
>The idea with a endocrinologist is that the thyroid
medicine takes so much
>fine tuning. I began this whole procedure by
going to an ENT who gave me
>three times the amount of levoxyl that I
needed. I became hyperthyroid..and
>awoke one night, bolted out of bed,
heart beating what seemed thousands of
>beats per minute, blah blah...and
yes....huge panic attack time..but,
>really due to this hyperthyroid
state I was in. So, it is really important
>to get the TSH...thyroid
stimulating hormone as close to 1 ( I am not a
>dr., but I have read
this) as possible.
>
>When a person has thyroid cancer and has no
thyroid, one of the tests that
>you are given afterward is a radioactive
scan to see if there is thyroid
>cancer anywhere else in the body. In
order to do this, you have to go off
>your medicine and become extremely
hypothyroid. We have no thyroid. The
>thyroid is responsible for all
metabolism in the body and if I remember my
>science there is a condition
in the body called homeostasis...when all
>things are working at a good
level. Without a thyroid and without the
>hormone, this can't be
achieved. That is the way I think of it, anyway. So,
>what is happening
to you is this extreme reaction of your body to being
>unsettled..hense...hair falls out, depression, extreme cold, periods
>off...etc, etc. Anyone who has experienced this hypo hell (as the
thyroid
>cancer patients refer to it) realizes that it is nothing like
you imagined.
>It is a feeling of your body actually shutting down
in my experience.
>Being depressed, cold, gaining weight, etc. is an
oversimplification of a
>feeling that I felt like like I was slowly
dying. I had flatlined, in a
>sense..In Hashimotos, I think...you
experience this but also the flip
>flopping of symptoms sometimes into
hyperthyroid. This is where the good
>endocrinologist comes in. You
should have your blood drawn at least every 6
>weeks until you have
reached what I call homeostasis.( thought that is not
>correct, I know)
After that, you should be having your blood tested at
>least every 6
months to make sure that you are at the correct level.
>Furthermore, you
should have a doctor you can talk to. Mine sat with me for
>almost one
and a half hours and called me frequently to discuss my test
>results.
>
>Now to the panic and anxiety...and I am getting
long winded here. I have
>had anxiety and depression for most of my life.
At times..it is worse than
>others and there are times it is gone. During
illness and certainly thyroid
>illness, it is going to raise it's ugly
head. My opinion at 53 years old is
>that anxiety is a form of
depression. When you are depressed either the
>anxiety is more prevalent
or the depression is more prevelant. AND YES..the
>thyroid comes into
play here, also. But, certainly who wouldn't find
>themselves
depressed, anxious, or having anxiety attacks with all of the
>stress
that you have been through?
>
>I had the type of depression where
the anxiety was more prevelant. It is
>HORRIBLE...however, through a lot
of reading and talking ...I have come to
>a place that worked for me. I
believe that when you have overload, shock,
>grief, and/or illness...your
brain chemistry changes and you get in this
>cycle of feeling
nuts.(sorry, that is the only way that I can describe it)
>For me, I
found positive thinking, relaxation and guided imagery, eating
>the best
foods that I could, exercise,music, talk therapy, and prayer..
>(and
getting the thyroid hormone in check) changed my brain chemistry back
>to
balance. I did not go the medication route because I have a fear of
>medication and I wanted to feel that I was in total control. That is not
to
>say that I don't feel that it is for some people, but it wasn't for
me..and
>eventually..it worked. I realized that a lot of what I was
feeling and
>acting out came from my own way of thinking. I suggest you
read The Panic
>Attack Recovery Book by Swede and Jaffe, Hope and
Help for your Nerves by
>Claire Weeks and Instant Calm ( don't know the
author). They are all on
>Amazon.com. It is worth a
try.
>
>Lest I sound like a know it all, believe me this is not my
intention. There
>were times when I didn't know how I would make it
through 5 mintues let
>alone the whole day. Now, I am passionate about
passing along the things
>that I have learned about it. In this long
letter I have only touched on
>the things that I have learned. I had a
wonderful support system of
>family..my husband, my kids, my sister..etc.
and it sounds like Brandi sure
>has that, too. It is so important. The
one thing that I have learned
>throughout it all..and believe me there is
a lot worse off than me...but,
>you are not alone. Most of us in this
life experience some pretty down
>times, but there are so many many up
ones in your future. One of my
>favorite little "mantras" is 'this , too,
shall pass.'. And, it will.
>Please hang in there and if you need any
atta boys along the way, I
>understand and would be happy to
help.
>
>Best wishes,
>Cindy
>
>
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