Long time no write

So, here we are again. I'm still in Texas. Got a new job where I get to spend my mornings from 5 am to 1:30 pm knitting quietly and playing on the internet. I am actually at work right now with the cast on for a slipper or a sock sitting right next to me. If you're looking for a new job, reception work is probably the way to go. I just wish it was a permanent position instead of a place where the facility is closing in 2 months. Bummer, right?

Anyway, I've been meaning to make this post for awhile so you'll have to forgive the random topic. My mom doesn't really read magazines anymore, but apparently when she first moved she did. During the power outage, I started reading a Woman's Day or Woman's World or Good Housekeeping or one of those magazines. Anyway, they had an article on health concerns your doctor might miss. One of those listed was hypothyroidism. Now, I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I actually have hypothyroidism. Shocking but true. Anyway, apparently it's incredibly common for people with this illness to not be diagnosed. Apparently about half of everyone suffering from it doesn't know they have it. The symptoms are crazy obscure. Things like insomnia, constipation, dry skin, and mood swings.

The thing is, I actually suffered with hypothyroid for about a year or two before I caught it. I am so incredibly lucky. I went for my first OB/gyn appointment and my doctor asked if my neck was always that swollen. I'd never thought about it before and said I just assumed I had a fat neck. Since I'd wanted an STD test anyway (I'd just broken up with my ex and even though we'd both been virgins I believe people should always get STD tests before they get a new partner) she went ahead and ordered a blood test. My gynecologist caught my hypothyroidism. I am so glad she did! My hair was falling out, my skin was getting acne for the first time in my life, I couldn't focus, everything just seemed insurmountably difficult, I was depressed, I was sleeping a solid 16 hours a day, and my weight was fluctuating. My periods had even started becoming so severe I was forced to take days at a time off from school because I couldn't physically walk to class. I couldn't even walk to the cafeteria, I had to rely on whatever groceries I had sitting around in my dorm. All I did was sleep. I got put on Yaz and Synthroid and after taking those for a few weeks, everything got better. I got a job 3 weeks after starting on my pills when before that the very idea of waking up in the morning, going online, and putting in applications was so strenuous that I would become so exhausted I had to go back to sleep. Not actually even putting in the applications, mind you, just thinking about doing it. I could not function. Now I function. I'm healthy and happy and exercising, for God's sake. Hell, I even got a job!

So the thing is, I was really really really really lucky. I got caught early, got medicated early, and now I'm healthy. I'll probably have to take a little pill every day for the rest of my life, although there is a possibility that having children could fix the problem. I'll have to be monitored if I DO get pregnant to make sure my thyroid doesn't hurt the baby. I have to have blood tests every year to make sure my levels stay constant. I can never take diet pills. Otherwise, I am completely and totally normal. I'm one of the lucky ones. I am thankful for that.