There are some days when you’re casually spending the evening surfing the beloved Internet and you find someone has posted something from someecards (yes, we all know the website!) that is absolutely perfect. Tonight I found that something…
I didn’t waste a second posting it to all of my social media. First stop was Instagram which sent it right to Facebook and twitter. It was then, once I stopped, I realised how true the sentiment in the image was.
Very few people understand what it’s like to suffer a thyroid condition. And 99% of the people who do understand DO have a thyroid condition. I fit both those categories. I understand the hell that is an abnormal thyroid and yes, I do fight a thyroid condition.
For me, thankfully most of it is controlled these days, but even with everything mostly stabilised, the pre-thyroid-condition “normal” is still unachievable. I have had to adapt to my new normal and accept that things will still be different than before. Nothing will ever change this.
Having a thyroid condition affects every day of one’s life. The thyroid controls every function of the human body. So when you find your thyroid isn’t functioning the way it should be, all the systems in your body are affected and just to keep it interesting (read: hellish), the symptoms can be so wide ranging it’s hard to keep track of where you’re at and what’s happening inside your neck. I tend to keep a journal of symptoms and corresponding blood test results in an attempt to keep on top of what is thrown at me, but it takes persistence and detail. Even if I miss one symptom, that journal page can read something totally different than what is actually happening. One little symptom can throw off an entire system!
I’ve been fighting this a while now, and over the years I’ve learnt to adapt. My morning schedule has changed to accommodate thyroid medication which is taken an hour before breakfast or coffee. My perspective has changed in the way that I see life in my new normal now rather than the typical daily plans of a 20-something. When my thyroid levels are off target, I don’t often have the energy to do what my friends are doing (and what I’d like to be doing) so there’s definitely a sense of “oh, I’d love to. But maybe next time.” My priorities have also shifted since my diagnosis. Now my number one focus is always on my health and keeping those thyroid levels as close to target as possible. I won’t push myself beyond reasonable limits because I know that if I do, my thyroid will probably give its revenge in ways that I don’t even want to imagine! If my body tells me to slow down, I know my thyroid is behind this message and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my body happy! If that means missing certain things, well, so be it.
I’ve lost a lot of friends thanks to my thyroid. Being diagnosed as a young adult, we are at the point in life where it’s all about fun and doing the things our parents advised our teen-selves against. Most of my friends don’t understand what I go through on a daily basis and over the years, some have walked out on our friendship because they didn’t want to do things in my time or didn’t understand why I was constantly saying I couldn’t do certain things with them.
But, my thyroid has also given me some amazing friendships. Particularly online. Twitter is excellent for this. I have a few close friends from different parts of the USA and UK who also have varying thyroid conditions and we touch base regularly and compare notes. We also cheer each other on through the tough patches. Because we DO completely understand. Another thing about having friends with the same experiences is we can laugh about the ridiculousness of it all without fearing if we’re going to cross the line. We know what we’re laughing at and we know how far we can push it before it’s no longer funny. Laughter and understanding helps more than almost anything else. For instance, a few weeks back, I was in my doctors waiting room before an appointment to get my latest blood test results and I was frustrated at a very non-understanding reception lady who wanted me to see any doctor who had the shortest wait. Now this would be ok for most people, or if I was there for something trivial. But I told her I would wait until hell froze over to see my regular doctor, if that’s what it would take, because he knows my health. He is the only one who knows my case so his is the only opinion I trust. As I waited, I tweeted my frustration at her wanting to put me with any doctor. A fellow thyroid fighter saw my tweet and replied how she agreed with me and this started a back and forth chat about everything thyroid including awful reception ladies and how even though we’ve had thyroid tests a million times (might be a slight exaggeration), we both still get slightly nervous as we wait for the results. That conversation made me feel normal again and helped pass the time and I went into that appointment knowing this friend had my back since she knew exactly where I was coming from.
So yes, understanding is good. But only true understanding. Those who say they know where I’m coming from annoy me. If you don’t understand or have any questions, always feel free to ask me…but what I don’t appreciate is people giving me the “oh yes…you’d should try this…and that…” without having any idea what you’re actually on about!
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