A (small) Defense of the TSH Test

I can KIND OF understand why doctors prefer using the TSH test to diagnose and treat hypothyroidism, instead of the old-school method of ACTUALLY LISTENING to their patients.

No, really, I can.

Why Gluten-Free Cheerleaders Work My Every Last Nerve

When I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, I joined a lot of online support groups in the hopes of finding people to share my experiences with. Every time I mentioned that I was new, I would get bombarded with suggestions… no, not suggestions, people INSISTING that I absolutely HAD to go gluten-free, or else.

There were absolutely no ifs, ands, or buts about it. If I had Hashimoto’s, it was imperative that I remove any and all traces of gluten from my diet, lest I die a horrible, slow, and painful death.

When I told them that I’d done the research on gluten and was pretty sure that I didn’t have an issue with it, I was told that I just didn’t know how sick I was. That, once I quit gluten, I would feel so much better and realize exactly how wrong I am.

Well, fuck you.

What Was I Thinking?

As a freelancer, I often find myself looking for new ways to make some cash. It's a never-ending process because I encounter so many workload fluctuations.

For example, from February through mid-April I had so much work that I didn't now what to do with myself. Then, things started to slow down. By the end of May I was making about half of what I was making previously. Essentially, I am entering the "famine" part of the feast-or-famine equation.

An Open Letter to All the Doctors who Expect Us to Live and Die by the TSH number

Here's a fucking news flash:

THYROID PATIENTS DON'T COME TO YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT THEIR TSH LEVELS.

I TOLD You I was sick!

I used to joke that I would have that put on my tombstone, after I died of my undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

Because I honestly believed that it would have to come to that before ANY of the doctors I'd consulted would actually believe that I was sick.

I'd be on my death bed, bald, 400 lbs, and bloated with fluids, my TSH in the stratosphere, and my T3 and T4 non-existent, and the doctors would finally concede that MAYBE I was onto something, all those years ago, when I kept insisting that SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

My... My... My...

Such a long time it's been.

In the year or so since I have started this blog I have switched to taking Thiroid (an Armour-type desiccated thyroid from Thailand) and supplements with mixed results.

I got a job and ended up putting my health on the back burner, then I lost that job and I am now recommitting to my health, and sharing my journey.

Going forward I will offer more reviews of products and therapies that I have tried, and general information about how things are going.

Peace.

If you have an autoimmune disease, any autoimmune disease...

Remember one thing:

No matter what, despite your best efforts, even if you are 100-percent compliant with your meds, even if you are following all the "rules," you will have a flare.