-
Hi Heather,
We understand, believe me! We aren’t all in exactly your situation, but this definitely puts a crimp in the things we must do to get through a day. To be Pollyanna, I would say that as soon as you have the correct diagnosis, you start feeling a little better, and it improves from there. To be realistic, I would say that you will begin seeing some improvement as your thyroid hormone levels drop (however you achieve that), but you need to know that you will not get back to what you remember as "normal" quickly. It’s hard to hear, it’s harder to live, but you WILL get there. We are all evidence of that. In the meantime, while you begin and proceed with treatment, you MUST get yourself some help. We suffer because we don’t look sick, but we feel horrible, and so we even push ourselves to do more than we are capable of doing because we don’t see a sick person in the mirror. (Never mind the tremors, heat intolerance, and the mood swings
” title=”Very Happy” />)Pretty much every person I’ve met through this Board was a "super-person" ~ always pitching in, doing everything, unwilling to pass along tasks because WE do it best. I’m not making any judgments, because I was that way too. It’s a habit you definitely need to break, somehow. You’ll recover better for it.
Learn all you can, hang out here, read our recommended books (Graves’ Disease: In Our Own Words is drawn from posts on this very bulletin board in its earlier days, as well as comprehensive information on every angle of GD imaginable), and ask all the questions that come up for you. We’re here for you!
Welcome!
You aren’t alone! I am mum to a 17 year old recently diagnosed with Graves & a 20 year old with Aspergers so I know only too well how difficult these times can be for a mum. Also, I have ME / CFS so totally understand how difficult it can be to get through a day. Half the battle is realizing that you are not alone. There are so many wonderful people here feeling just like you but together we get through each day.
Don’t try to do it all – no one can! Prioritize & do what needs to be done, I mean REALLY needs to be done & don’t sweat the rest.
Your daughter is old enough to help too! Make sure she is aware of how you feel right now & that you need her help. If my daughter is anything to go by, she’ll relish the challenge to show how mature she is.
Take every day as it comes & know that you’ll have good days again. Try to get out & enjoy some sunshine (if the weather is kind” title=”Very Happy” /> ) & remember to take some time out to relax & let your body heal itself.
Be good to yourself,
W xcatsmum wrote:Don’t try to do it all – no one can! Prioritize & do what needs to be done, I mean REALLY needs to be done & don’t sweat the rest.If you can’t prioritize then Delegate!!!!
Your hair will grow back, but until your thyroid hormone levels are normal, and stable, it won’t return to what you know as normal. In the meantime, go easy on it ~ no perms, no color, and look into a cute, short haircut that you can maintain without fussing too much. Less brushing, more "tousling," if you know what I mean.
It’s your body protecting itself. Rapid shifts in thyroid hormone levels trigger an emergency response in the body, so it removes resources from the areas that are not necessary for keeping you alive (like the hair and nails) in order to keep resources available for the parts of your body that ARE essential. For that reason, you’ll find that the symptom continues even when you begin treatment, because the thyroid hormone will be changing, and that triggers an emergency response as well. In a normal lifetime, thyroid hormone levels would not change that quickly. So even when you’re moving toward health, you’ll see some hair loss resulting. That’s why I say do something that will last (like a short haircut) to keep you from being dismayed at every turn. It’ll come back, and then you can grow it long and beautiful again.
Boy, the loss of sleep was absolutely my least favorite thing ~ amazing where our minds can wander when it’s dark and quiet, isn’t it?? Once your levels start to drop, you’ll find that resolving as well. It can rear its head again if you go hypo at all (lovely, isn’t it, symptoms of both extremes are the same), but we’ll be here to help you through! And we have an international group, so no matter when you’re up, someone will probably be here.
” title=”Very Happy” />
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.