My thyroid and I

I've wanted to do this post for a while. But I thought I would wait until at least after the year mark. 

About a year ago I found out I had a thyroid problem and they aren't just for old people. 

Later I found out I have hashimoto's disease- which is an auto-immune disease.

So pretty much my thyroid was enlarging because my body was attacking it. 

So some signs that got my mom thinking about. I put on a large amount of weight in a 2 week period. 

I was working out and eating right but I wasn't dropping anything. I was sleeping all the time.  

As soon as I got done with classes for the day I was home having a 3 hour nap. 

I was cold even though it was pretty warm. 

And yes I, the thing most young women are scared about, I was getting a goiter. 

So I went to the doctor as soon as I was home for a good while. 

He confirmed what my mom believed. I got blood drawn, something I'll have to deal with the rest of my life.  

I got put on a thyroid medication and it was a long, slow wait to see improvement. 

While home I still felt like crap, I felt fat, and I felt very unpretty. My mom says most of those feelings just came because I was sick and unwell. 

Once I got back to school for spring semester I started feeling so much better. I was running and I wasn't sleeping all the time.  I had energy again. I was finally going to the bathroom again for heaven's sake{sorry for that visual}. 

Things that are normal function I became grateful for because it meant my body was working again. Your thyroid controls a lot and when it is shutting down, so is your body.  

And even though I wasn't losing weight yet I felt comfortable in my body. I felt pretty. And it has been 

getting better ever since. I dropped a pant size and clothes that fit before I got to college were fitting again. 

After this whole experience I have decided when you are healthy you have every reason to be comfortable in your own skin.  I'm more conscious for the most part about what I put in my body. I've limited the fast food and I'm eating better while I am at school. 

I owed it to myself to be healthy. Our loving Heavenly Father has given each of us an amazing body and we should do everything to take care of it. Eat healthy, exercise, and yes occasionally eat the food we crave. My reward is having my life back and being healthy again. So there is me on my soapbox about healthy living and doing it for the right reasons. 

                 {April 2011}                                                                                      {January 2012}

I'm proud of the girl on the right because she is more confident, she's healthy and well, and is getting her priorities straight by worrying about the right things.