The post below was originally published in 2011, and it's been updated each year to reflect where I am in my life and the new...
Read MoreNew Legs
Yesterday I had a less-than-awesome review of my thyroid situation with my endocrinologist. I was disappointed and allowed myself to wallow last night: pajamas immediately after work, Law & Order: Criminal Intent re-runs, nuts and blueberries and coconut milk, unremitting pouting. I threw an excellent pity party.
But throughout the day, my little voice was also reminding me that I am fortunate. My condition is well-understood, and the treatment is clear. I’m not in pain. Suck it up, buttercup.
This morning, I saw this: a video of Joao Silva, a New York Times photographer walking on his new legs. He stepped on a mine while documenting a squad of American soldiers in Afghanistan and lost his own to the explosion.
The slideshow of his photos is amazing: he squeezed off three more frames after the explosion, from his position on the ground. And the video of him walking on his new legs – triumphant.
I suspect that Silva and the soldiers he photographed do not have the luxury of throwing themselves a pity party on the couch; there’s no time for that when there’s real work to be done.
See Joao Silva’s photos and watch the video.
Learn more about Joao Silva here.
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There is a balance with feeling down. There is always someone less fortunate but sometimes you need to feel your feelings…
LOved the video of Silva…how courageous. His photos are amazing too
Hi! I'm a new reader, so I don't know your whole backstory. So, yeah, should keep my mouth shut. 🙂 That said, I know you're super into health and fitness. Have you ever considered going to a naturepath to have him look at your thyroid and adrenal function? 4.5 is definitely not ideal function, but neither is 2.3. There are also other alternatives to Synthroid that may help you feel better (i.e., Armour). Might be worth a shot. Robb Wolf talks about adrenal issues on his podcast sometimes.
"pajamas immediately after work, Law & Order: Criminal Intent re-runs"
I see you and I have similar coping strategies. Thanks for the video and the perspective – it's good to remember to be thankful, and often we have more to be thankful for than we think. Good luck with your thyroid issue, I'm sure you'll be able to sort it out in no time!
Love this post. Love that you had a pity-party, everyone needs to throw one once in a while, and nice that you were lucky enough to get some perspective on the situation so it didn't last too long and ruin your week. Bah! Who needs thyroids anyway! *hugs*
Thanks, everybody, for your comments! My thyroid thing is just a little hiccup in the continuing saga. I have a really great doctor who LISTENS to me, and I trust his advice, so I'm feeling optimistic… just still kind of grieving the fact that I had to have my thyroid removed in the first place.
And for those of you worried I felt bad about throwing a pity party, I did not! I embraced my bad mood and gave it lots of fuel — and now I feel great!
Y'all are the best readers ever; thanks again.
You have an endo who listens to you? I just broke up with mine after 2 years of crap treatment and just started seeing an internal medicine doctor to fix it. Hint: I gained 35lbs in a year, while crossfitting and working out 6 days a week and eating well. Lame. 😉
I hope the pity party is over – but don't feel TOO badly about it – we all need one once in awhile!
Kel –> Yes, I feel like I got really lucky. My endo is very nice and lets me talk. And he listens. He told me that the numbers are helpful but he wants to know how I FEEL because he trusts that I will know when I feel "right."
I'm adding some T3 to my Synthroid to see if that helps better manage my TSH and my energy levels. Yay, human guinea pig!
Good luck with your doc. I know how hard it is to eat right, train hard, and not have your body do what you want it to. Hang in there!
Have you read this????
http://www.amazon.com/Thyroid-Solution-Revolutionary-Mind-Body-Program/dp/0345429206
Got rave reviews from clients at the shop I used to work for before becoming a BodyTalk practitioner!
Melissa, if your endo is giving you T3, then indeed you did get a good one. Consider yourself very lucky — the endo community as a whole does not treat thyroid issues well in my opinion.
Melanie –> Thank you for the book recommendation. I just ordered a used copy from Amazon. It's always such a comfort to read others' stories and know that I'm not crazy and will eventually get this thing sorted out.
Oh wow, no you are so not crazy (well maybe, but not as far as your thyroid stuff is concerned ;D) – I used to work for a natural pharmacy that also sold Rxs – we specialized in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy as well as thyroid, amongst other things and my boss made it clear it was really important to test FREE T3 and FREE T4 as well as TSH (will reveal a lot more than just standard T3 and T4)-not to mention get ahold of some better markers than what the medical field will use in general. Let me know if that book is helpful!