When does it end?

[murielm99]

I am going hypothyroid after radioactive iodine treatment.

I do have a puffy face and hands most of the time. My voice does not sound right. My heart races, then lags.

But the forgetfulness is appalling. I made a complete fool of myself today.

We had a parade. One of our better candidates was walking with us, along with some of his supporters.

I invited him to our committee's picnic and meeting. I gave the wrong dates for both. And, I had no tickets with me. My daughter could not believe it. She knows I carry tickets with me at all times. I am a good salesperson for our biggest fund raiser of the year.

I had to write a check for another event where our committee is involved. (I am our treasurer). I had to send two e-mails to our secretary before I knew why I was writing a check, and to whom.

Fortunately, our other officers understand what I am going through. Our secretary is hyperthyroid herself, and facing radioactive iodine treatments.

I am terrified I will do something really stupid, like failing to stop at a stop sign.

My labs indicate that my TSH is low, and T3 and T4 levels also suggest my thyroid is becoming under active. I have labs tomorrow. If I have to go without some sort of thyroid replacement much longer, I may go mad.

As I understand it, not everyone has a completely non-functioning thyroid after radioactive iodine. Some people remain hyper, and need to re-do the treatment. Some go back to normal function, some stay under active.

Some of you have much worse conditions than I will ever experience. But this memory loss, for me, is worse than the weight gain/loss, racing heart, puffiness, etc., etc. Things have to change.

[ThomCat]

1. Memory problems are horrible.

I find that my memory is spotty when I'm in a lot of pain. I don't know if it's the pain, the meds, or a combination of the two. But either way, I find myself unable to remember simple things. Like you, I find that it really gets in the way of being able to function.

A friend of mine once joked that she didn't mind the bad memory. It meant she could watch re-runs and enjoy them for the first time again. I never want to get to the point where all I'm able to do is sit in front of a television.

Hang in there.

[Warpy]

2. This is the worst part, and it's going to have an end at some point

The fact that you're aware of your memory problems is a tough thing to cope with, but your awareness of them is a good thing.

Eventually your thyroid will stabilize and they'll be able to get you on replacement thyroid hormone and you'll find out what "normal" feels like after too many years of too much and a horrible transition period of too little.

In the meantime, slow down a little. Call the candidate's office with the correct time. Then forgive yourself for being sick right now. Getting sick happens to everybody, and getting better will happen, too.

[murielm99]

3. Thanks, Warpy.

In the past, I have only slowed down when I collapsed.

I have to re-learn that, too. I think that came with the hyperthyroidism. It also comes from being a committed Democrat. I feel like I can never do enough, but I do too much. That may have helped ruin my health. Stress contributes to ill-health.

I am not the only Democrat in this county. The rest of them can pick up my slack sometimes.

[sandnsea]

4. I'm hypothyroid

I don't forget things like stopping at stop signs - but everything else, pssht, gone. I forget names, common words, appointments, all sorts of things. I just regularly repeat to people that my memory is shot to hell. People think they understand, I know they don't, but I just acknowledge it and move on. People think I'm stupid because I can't carry on an intelligent conversation anymore, the words just don't pop the way they used to. I've been on synthroid for a year and the memory isn't any better; it's not worse, but it's not better either. I don't mean to discourage you, but I had such high hopes to return to some kind of normalcy. Some of the puffiness is gone, I'm not gaining weight anymore, so I got a little bit of relief. I just have to remind myself the alternative was being dead, so I'll just have to work with the bad memory.

But who knows, maybe you'll have better luck, keep your chin up!!

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. Investigate Armour Thyroid (natural byproduct)

It's more bioactive than the Synthroid and Cytomel. It's also cheap.
I've been on it for decades for my hypothyroid.
Armour thyroid has both T3 and T4 in it and other fractional thyroid hormones.

Check out this website: www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

This lady has been thru all the arguments with doctors I have, and more. It's very informative.