Happy 2018, all! I, for one, am incredibly happy for a new start and 365 pages of a new travel book to write!
In my life, 2017 started out with a bang, until chronic fatigue took over. I chalked it up to having a newborn who was born in October 2016, but I just didn't feel right. I no longer felt like myself and was tired all the damn time. I traveled to Europe three times in a row between the months of March and April, and each time I came home, I blamed the travel for my extreme sleepiness. I also lost a lot of motivation. Here I was, back from three consecutive trips, and should have felt energized and ready to write and throw my travel photos out into the world, but my motivation was nonexistent and I barely wrote. I also went into a bit of seclusion, avoiding many social situations and phone calls - I just wasn't myself.
I was at a loss, that is, until a close relative of mine told me all about the chronic disease she was diagnosed with, urging that I should get tested since there is a hereditary component to it. I went to my PCP and the nurse practitioner, familiar with the condition my relative has, sent me off for the proper tests. The results? I had what my relative has.
The illness is a two-parter - I have hypothyroidism (that's part one) caused by Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (the part two). Hashimoto's, albeit very fun and exotic to say, is an auto-immune disease which causes my body to attack my thyroid. (You can read more about that here: https://www.thyroid.org/hashimotos-thyroiditis/)
So, what does this mean? For one, I will have to be on a medication called synthroid for the rest of my life, which isn't that big of a deal, just part of life now. It also means I get to see an endocrinologist a few times a year for follow-up testing and to make sure I am on the correct dose of the meds. Fun times!
After my diagnosis, I was quite angry that no doctor had ever diagnosed me with this before. I was diagnosed with a small goiter when I was a teen, but that's as far as that went, a casual mention of it, which happens to be indicative of Hashimoto's, of which there was no mention. It just seems that, although thyroid conditions are quite common, there aren't enough primary care doctors who know much about them. I had also had bouts of depression, have major sensitivity to cold, among other symptoms, throughout my life. As frustrating as it is to realize I've probably had this disease for most of my adult life, I am just happy that it was diagnosed and that I can start to feel normal again.
I have been on the medication for about 7 months now and can finally sense a difference. I have a bit more energy, although fatigue does take over once in a while but at least not like before. I have finally felt more motivated. But, most importantly, I realized how important it is to take care of one's health. I am trying to avoid stress as much as possible, since that seems to exacerbate the symptoms of my condition. And I am planning on writing on a regular basis now.
So, you will be hearing more (a lot more) from me this year. May 2018 be a wonderfully clean slate filled with many travel adventures for us all! Wishing you a very happy new year!