Some Rights Reserved
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
United States License.
Thyme For Literary Healing: I Just Knew
I Just Knew, is a literary discussion I would love for us to have today about knowing something was/is awry and how you managed that emotional transaction:
- What were your initial symptoms?
- Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass?
- Did you feel like a freak?
- Were you scared?
- Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray?
- Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?
- How long did you know before seeking treatment?
Ready? Set. Write!
Tags: emotional feelings related to onset of thyroid disease or cancer, empowering patients by educating and researching symptoms, feeling scared when your body feels sick, ignoring signs that something is wrong with our body, seeking a diagnosis post-diagnosis, seeking treatment for thyroid disease, Thyme For Literary healing: I Just Knew, thyroid blog, thyroid initial symptoms, thyroid literary healing, thyroid patient discussions, thyroid patient support
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!
Reader Feedback
6 Responses to “Thyme For Literary Healing: I Just Knew”
Leave a Reply to Bahar
Comments are moderated in an effort to control spam. If you have a previously approved Comment, this one should go right through. Thanks for your patience!
1. What were your initial symptoms?: Swelling and pain at the base of my neck. Ouchie.
2. Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass?: I did for a couple of days or so, but then I ended up telling my mother because none of it went way.
3. Did you feel like a freak?: Nah, I just thought I had a cold of sorts.
4. Were you scared?: Nah. Not until I got diagnosed.
5. Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray?: I didn’t do any research until I got diagnosed with PTC. Then, my boyfriend at the time and I started looking things up and got information.
6. Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?: I went to my pediatrician not soon after I got the symptoms, and when I got my sonogram of my neck, they immediately sent me to a surgeon.
7. How long did you know before seeking treatment?: I didn’t exactly have time to wait, and I wasn’t given any choice, really. I was just kind of sent along this crazy path to deal with this thing.
<3,
Dori
1. What were your initial symptoms?
10 years ago I got vertigo. Then 3-7 times a year I started getting colds, and the like. Then my hair started thinning, weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, heart palpitations, night sweats, dry skin and dry eyes. Severe depression. Fun stuff. Then my hair started premature graying. Gas, bloating and diarrhea were not my friends. Fatigue was my new buddy. Oh and mother nature, she was not very nice either. I begged for a hysterectomy thinking it would solve some of my problems.
2. Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass?
I went to the doctor religiously. My labs were all “fine”. I was told to sleep better, change jobs, reduce my stress…it’s being a mom, and getting older.
3. Did you feel like a freak?
110% all the time.
4. Were you scared?
I was too defeated, too tired, I felt too freakish to be afraid.
5. Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray?
I did research. I put together a simple complete list of ALL of my symptoms. Moved cross country, and went refused any lab work until I found the right doctor who took me seriously.
6. Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?
I found my doctor August 2009. I had a total thyroidectomy in Nov. 2009. They called 2 weeks later to tell me I “had” thyroid cancer, and Hashimotos.
7. How long did you know before seeking treatment?
I called it baptism by fire. Less than 100 days from start to finish.
1.What were your initial symptoms?
Trembling hands, awful headaches, scratchy watering
bulging scary-looking eyes, huge neck, heart palpataions, increased sweating, insomnia, inability to lose weight, lack of energy, always tired, scaly skin, fatty deposits on toes/feet/lower legs/hands, mood swings, constant irritability.
2.Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass?
Yes, I did! Initially I thought it was all because I had a young baby & a toddler – later I thought I had a brain tumour (family history)
3.Did you feel like a freak?
Sometimes. Mostly though I just struggled on & tried to ignore how I was feeling.
4.Were you scared?
Yes! When I was thinking brain tumour, I wondered how long I had left!
5.Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray?
No, I didn’t start researching until 8 yrs after my diagnosis. Now I wish I had taken control earlier
6.Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?
I was at my gp’s office regularly – his answer to my various ills was … get more sleep, try these relaxants/anti-depressants, you are genetically predisposed to carry more weight, you have young kids, its postnatal depression, you have the headache gene & there’s not much to be done, all manner of fobbing off and never a blood test – grrrrr!!!
7.How long did you know before seeking treatment?
Once the stupid dr made the connection (thanks to my Mum telling me to mention the word THYROID next time I was there) I had tests & a diagnosis within days. I’d had symptoms definitely since my early 20’s & probably since my teens, was diagnosed with Graves in 1998 (I was 36), had a total thyroidectomy in 2000. If I had done some research, I might still have my thyroid. Nothing better than hindsight.
1.What were your initial symptoms?
I started nodding off at the drop of a hat the minute I would sit on the couch. I found it odd b/c I thought I was getting enough sleep. I had female issues which weren’t too odd to raise red flags. Just felt old in a young body.
2.Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass?
I tried to take better care of myself- more sleep, more water, healthier living, etc. I guess you’d call it self-medicating!
3.Did you feel like a freak?
No…Just odd. Not myself. i was struggling to remember things where prior I was like an elephant!
4. Were you scared?
Nope..concerned.
5.Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray? Had I known what to look for, I would have. After you hear so many times that your TSH levels are fine, why would you question it? Why ask for more testing if you didn’t know what to look for?
6.Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?
After the miscarriage they had me see my OBGYN to follow up. He commented during this appt that my neck looked big. He ordered some labs and then suggested an ultrasound. He looked at me when ordering this, and said I have no experience with thyroids, but your neck looks bigger.
7.How long did you know before seeking treatment? I left my OBGYN and went straight to my General Dr’s office and explained things to him. He told me that once we had all the results in we would discuss a course of action. It took 6 mos to wait to get into the ENDO. During that time I googled, read, researched, tried, etc and learned as much as I could. I went into my first endo appt with a list of 10 questions. My Endo took a look at me and said, I’m going to listen and you are going to explain. Now, all three of these dr’s work together to take care of me. 8 yrs after struggling I finally have answers. The end result- it’s not ME. It’s my body.
What were your initial symptoms? Lots of things: I was always tired, couldn’t do things I used to do, as going to the gym, keeping my home tidy, going out with my friends, I was running out of energy, everything was a great challenge, couldn’t think properly, that famous brain fog, heavy periods, swinging moods…
Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass? I thought it was just stress, because my life was a mess then, and yes, I thought that when that was over, everything would be fine again.
Did you feel like a freak? I thought I was completely crazy and depressed.
Were you scared? I was very scared, everything startled me.
Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray? No, I didn’t have time at that moment, and I didn’t know which way go.
Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis?
How long did you know before seeking treatment? I think I was very ill for a year and half before nobody diagnosed me. Every doctor said everything was just stress. But I knew it was something else, never felt like that.
What were your initial symptoms?
Severe neck pain, sore throat, insomnia (mainly due to pain), feeling suffocated when I slept on one pillow, extreme irritability, fever, exhaustion.
Did you ignore it at first, thinking it would pass? I did. Partly because of no insurance.
Did you feel like a freak? Not really. I just was angry all the time.
Were you scared? Well the uncertainty was very uncomfortable.
Did you start doing research? Did any of that research lead you down a path that now makes sense, or did it lead you astray? I did. At first I thought I had mono, but then I started questioning the thyroid.
Did you immediately seek treatment or a diagnosis? I’m afraid not. We didn’t have insurance, so I waited.
How long did you know before seeking treatment? I had been battling a cold on/off for a month and had gone through two separate courses of antibiotics. Since we didn’t have insurance, I got the antibiotics from my dentist friends. But, when the second course ended and I still had pain, I made the appointment. By then, the insurance had kicked in.