Diagnosis

 During the first lockdown, I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't sit around all day watching Netflix and eating junk. I'd go for a walk everyday, cook a meal from one of my many cook books everyday and read more. 

I did pretty well for the first couple months, even lost some weight too. Then I started to feel tired a lot, i was constantly napping, whether I'd had a good nights sleep or not, I just felt exhausted all the time. I couldn't figure out why. My periods had also stopped and being a single girl and currently in lockdown, there was no way I was pregnant, so what was happening to me! 

Sitting in my garden one afternoon on the phone to my mum, i looked down and noticed my ankles and feet were incredibly swollen, again for no reason, I'd been in flip flops all day, hadn't yet been out for my walk, I hadn't twisted anything and it was both legs. I couldn't figure it out. 

Whilst all this was happening I had noticed that none of my clothes fit me the way they used to, everything was just a bit too tight and uncomfortable. So I hoped on the scales and was mortified to see that I had gained 5kgs in a month and my eating habits had not changed, this gain in weight simply wasn't in line with what i was putting in my body. I felt like a 40 year old woman trapped in 80 year old woman's body, I was gaining weight, I was exhausted all the time and extremely depressed.

However, for me the scariest part of it all was that every time i got up from my bed or the sofa, i was incredibly dizzy, to the point that i actually fell over more than once. It was like a head rush but so much worse, I couldn't get my balance, I was seeing spots, I felt like I was going to pass out. I live alone, so this was incredibly scary for me. What if I passed out and hit my head, we're all locked down, nobody would know. That's when I decided to call my doctor. 

I told the doctor everything that i was experiencing and he immediately said this sounds like a thyroid issue and asked me to come in for some blood tests. I went in the next morning. That same afternoon, they called me to tell me that my thyroid wasn't producing any hormones at all and said he was surprised I wasn't feeling much worse. He prescribed a low dose of Levothyroxine (thyroid hormone) and asked me to come back for tests in 2 weeks. 

After the first week of taking this medication every day, I felt so much better, still not great, but no where near as bad as I had been feeling. I went back for my second set of blood tests and the low dose they had started me on, wasn't enough, so they increased it from 50mg to 100mg and asked me to return in 2 weeks for more tests. 

Why not just put me on 100mg straight away? It's a balancing act finding the right dose to put you on, as everyone is different. If they start you on too high a dose, this can cause more problems. You can go into something called metabolic shock, which in severe cases can cause death! So they increase your dosage slowly, to find the right level for you. 

I was feeling much better on this higher dose, my periods had returned, I was less swollen, the dizzy spells had gone, but I was still feel really fatigued and now I was back at work, so I was feeling even more tired and was having trouble concentrating. I had my third round of blood tests and the 100mg still wasn't enough, so they increased my dose to 150mg. Once again I had to return in 2 weeks for blood tests.

This time, the doctor felt we had found the right dosage for me, so he asked me to come back in 6 months for blood tests. I'm still on 150mg and have to have regular blood tests to check my thyroid hormone levels to ensure we have the dosage right. 

I feel so much better, than I did. However, the only symptom that I'm left with is the weight gain. I naively thought, that as soon as I started taking medication, my metabolism would kick back into action and I would lose all the weight I had gained pretty quickly. I was wrong, it doesn't work like that sadly. However, now that I am on treatment, I should be able to lose the weight, but it won't be as easy as it used to be. I will have to work hard at it. So if you see me with a doughnut, do me a favour, and slap it out of my hands!!