Kaitlin's Story

Hello my lovely thyroid haters..

So I did not post last week due to being extremely exhausted and just overwhelmed with this life with no thyroid. I still can not believe how much my life has been affected by this measly little gland called the thyroid. Pfft. Any ways, Im back at it and ready to kick lifes ass!

Today Im sharing with you the story of a dear friend I have known since I was a little girl. Shes a beautiful, talented, giving and all around amazing woman. Ladies and Gents, meet Kaitlin.

So at the ripe old age of 20, I had been working at my job as a 911 operator for two years, and we had just switched to night shift (we switch every 4 months).  I was working out trying to stay healthy because we all know what happens when your body gets its sleep pattern out of wack, you normally get sick!  Well I started gaining a good bit of weight, like 5 lbs every 3 weeks.... I kept saying it was "just muscle weight" I had no idea that there was something going on inside my body!  In my mind, "IM ONLY 20,  I'M INEVIDABLE".   It was about 5 months later that I started getting really sick, I was in and out of the doctor, missing work, couldnt get out of bed!  One doctor visit, I went because I couldnt break my fever, thad a paramedic check me (while at work) the paramedic told me I needed to go somewhere asap, my fever was spiking around 104.1.  I spent 4hrs at the local urgent care, and after blood work (they never checked my thyroid levels) , urine tests, flu tests, strep test, mono tests, the list goes on... They came to tell me "I am really sorry to tell you this, but we dont know what is wrong with you."   I left there with so many questions... at this point I knew there was something wrong but didnt know what!  I did a lot of research, but never had the guts to go to the doc and try to diagnose myself , and tell someone who has gone to scool for internal medicine, and has worked in the field longer then Ive been alove, how I think they should do their job!  So I waited it out, knowing our yearly health screaning was right around the corner, and they check all that!!  So I get my results back and low and behold , My TSH was really out of the norm (cant remember the numbers exactly) I also had very high white blood cell count, high glucose, high blood pressure, the list could go on.  At this point, I feel somewhat relieved... but scared all at the same time!  I didnt know what that all really meant, and I didnt know where to begin.  I knew I wasnt, as some people were calling me, 'crazy' or a 'hypocondriac' ... There was something medically wrong with me! 

I then started the process of finding the right doctor, ( which has taken me 4years ) I have now gone through 4 different doctors and sooo many different millagrams of medicines, but my symptoms are still there!  My first doctor, looked over my lab numbers and told me, "I think you may have leukemia, due to your white blood cell count, and your border line diabetic"   My heart sank, I went to this doctors appt alone, thinking 'I'm a big girl, I can do this alone'  at that moment, I was terrified.  We then began lots and lots of extensive blood work, and I DID NOT have leukemia, I WAS border line diabetic, and I had  a Hypothyroid.  Within a year of being undiagnosed, I had gained over 70lbs, once I was put onto Levothyroxine 125mg I dropped about 30lbs... but then my levels were showing hyper and the doctor reduced  my dosage and I gained about 10lbs back.  I have an everyday battle with myself, to just GET OUT OF BED!   My medicine has gone from 125mg to 100 mg to 125mg to 50mg and now I'm at 25mg, and at one point I, myself, changed my dosage... I knew my levels were out of wack, and I went to the doctor, they did my lab work, and they called me the next day to tell me that my levels were "fine".   I then went to a different doctor two weeks later for another opinion, my levels were far from fine, I was showing severely Hypo again, with all the symptoms! Obviously, my doctor at the time didnt have enough time to read the results right , or didnt care enough!  This was when I found my new doctor, that I see now, she really scared me though, which I think I needed to realise just how serious my disease is... she proceded to tell me that with  thyroid disease, you can become infertile, and not have children.. Im only 24 now, I WANT KIDS!  No one had told me that risk factor this whole time, and this was just a year ago... she has really put it into realistic terms with me, and I truly appreciate that with her! She has recently diagnosed me with Hypertension as well, after having severe migraines, and lots of testing... she believes it is due to the weight I have kept on for over the years.  I am, at this time, having another 'levels out of wack' time, and will be going to see the Doctor next week for more lab work and hopefully changing medications! :) It is a ongoing struggle, an ongoing battle, and if youre one of the 'lucky' people to have some sort of thryoid disease, cancer, disfunction.... YOU'RE NOT ALONE!! I tell myself this everyday.  I have been dealing with this invisible illness now for 4 years, and will be for the rest of my life.

My point is, YOU are the only one who knows YOUR body!  Dont put all your trust into a Doctor just because he or she has gone through a lot of school... NO one is perfect and NO ONE cares about YOU like YOU do!  Always demand answers,  always ask questions!  Always DO YOUR RESEARCH!!  If your Doctor acts like he or she doesnt have time for you , its time to find a new doctor!!

Thanks for taking the time to read my story!!