DEAR THYROID^TM

Yours Truly, If Not Willingly was a beautiful and brave letter written by, Elena. A 21 year old with hypothyroidism. Diagnosed one year ago, and while in college. Sadly, her disease forced her to leave school early. Though, she is finding her way. Our collective support is tremendously appreciated.

Today, so many of her peers, and others not only provided support, but shared their thy-journey, too. Thank you for being there for Elena, and for each other.

Today’s comment of the day….

Terah says:,  April 15, 2010 at 7:38 am

Dear Elena,

Thank you for writing this letter! You are certainly not alone on this journey as I am finding out with this community! ,  And thank you for writing the letter that I could never get around to writing as it took too much effort to; find a thesarous, a dictionary and muscle strength to get upstairs to find those two books and THEN the time and brain effort it takes to compose a letter! LOL I too was diagnosed last summer and put on NDT two weeks ago. I start college classes in May. Was supposed to start last Fall but had to put it off because like you, it was the beginning of the “relationship”.

Thank you again!

Terah

Thyme For Some Literary Healing, And A Few Qs Part II is something new we’re trying on DearThyroid.org; asking questions about issues that we face day in and day out. Today’s topic was bout thymentia, our own tragic brand of memory issues, and how they affect our daily lives. Each person’s story was incredibly validating — we all felt less alone — more connected to each other. Though, heartbreak was ever present. More than anything, I wish none of you had to deal with this, or this wretched disease. Conversely, if I have to walk through the fire, I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather do that with, than you.

Today’s comment of the day…

Kathy Taylor says:,  April 15, 2010 at 1:36 pm

1. How would you describe your memory issues?

I have significant word retrieval issues, so often not,  being able to find the right word or person’s name or,  looking right at something and not being able to name,  it. My memory is best early in the morning. After I,  have been up a few hours and I’m feeling that chronic,  fatigue, my brain begins to shut down. I often have,  trouble doing simple math. That in itself is,  both embarrassing and worrisome.

2. Do you see marked improvement with your memory when your thyroid is balanced or would you say that it doesn’t matter?

I don’t even want to admit it, but I have seen,  significant improvement that may be the effects of,  being gluten free, as I have stopped having the daily,  crippling headaches. Also, being diagnosed with sleep,  apnea and other breathing issues (COPD)..now that I am,  able to breathe better and get better quality sleep, I,  think that helps with the debilitating fatigue.

3. Do your memory issues affect your self-esteem? If so, in what way?

I work with memory impaired persons. I can’t tell you,  how scary it is to know that my brain is experiencing,  the whispers of what may be an all out case of dementia,  and/or Alzheimer’s disease. When I cannot find a word,  in my vocabulary, or I have to ask for help to balance,  a simple petty cash account. I wonder “What next?” It,  makes me feel old sometimes. So.. I try new things, do,  tasks with the other hand, all the tricks to keep my,  brain feeling a little younger, in hopes that I can,  stave something off.

Tags: Comment of the Day, community building, Dear Thyroid, Health Community, health support community, literary community, literary support, thyroid community, thyroid support community

Follow Dear Thyroid on Twitter/@DearThyroid | See our Facebook Page | Become a Fan on Facebook | Join our Facebook Group

You Can Create a Dear Thyroid Profile and share with friends!