ExPresSO Medical study

I have been invited to take part in a research study in Oxford, they're looking for volunteers who were born at term or premature to take part. It's just a shame they're looking at my exercise habits when I can't do much exercise! dammit!

Exercise and Blood Pressure Study Oxfordshire

Study Background

High Blood Pressure is a common problem with 1 in 4 of the adult population developing high blood pressure. The likelihood of developing high blood pressure increases with age but for some people high blood pressure develops early during their 20’s and 30’s.

Understanding the factors contributing to high blood pressure and identifying individuals at risk is important so that we can reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke in later life. 

The Exercise and Blood Pressure Study Oxfordshire is inviting young adults (18-40 years old) born at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to provide measures of blood pressure, physical activity and give details on their lifestyle. The unique recruitment method, using historical birth and maternity records to identify potential participants will allow our research team to explore the relationships between birth history and future blood pressure.  

 Study Objectives

We are specifically interested in understanding more about the influence of preterm birth, being born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, on future blood pressure.  A number of European and North American research studies report that blood pressure is higher in young people who were born prematurely compared to those delivered following uncomplicated pregnancies after 37 weeks.

Using the results from ExPresSO we hope to be able to contribute to improving cardiovascular risk reduction in young adult populations including strategies to increase physical activity and reduce blood pressure.

 Study Recruitment

We aim to recruit 600 participants aged between 18 and 40 years old.  Potential participants identified from the John Radcliffe Hospital records will be sent a study letter inviting them to take part in the study. The study team will then contact interested individuals to check eligibility for the study and arrange a study visit.

 Study Visits

Study visits will take place in the Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, John Radcliffe Hospital. We estimate that the full study visit will take approximately 60 minutes. During this time participants will complete the study consent process, complete the study questionnaire which includes questions on alcohol consumption, diet, smoking, family medical history and factors influencing physical activity choices. Recordings of participant blood pressure will be made and participants will be asked to provide a sample of blood. The study visit will finish with participants being provided with a wrist worn activity tracker to wear for 9 days. Similar to a wrist watch the device uses an accelerometer to provide a measure of daily physical activity.

Apple pie cookies

Sorry for the less- than impressive photo, I'm doing baking today, I can't be crafty in more than one way at once!

I made these apple pie cookies half following a recipe which I will post below and they're awesome. They're really moist and actually taste like apple pie (Even if I do say so myself).

This will make 16 cookies which are around 88 calories per serving.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats

1 cup Sultanas

2 eating apples, diced and stewed

1 dsp cinnamon

pinch of sea salt

2 tsp flax seen with 4 tsp water to form an "egg" (Or you could use an egg..)

1/2 cup coconut milk (Or any liquid you like really)

1/4 cup maple syrup.

Method:

• Stew the apples with some water- no added sugar- I mashed mine with a fork once they were soft but if you have a blender that would work much better!
• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
• Whilst the apples are stewing, combine the flax seed and water to make the egg, leave to one side to thicken.
• Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly
• Add the syrup, milk and flax egg and mix
• Add the stewed (Mashed/pureed) apples to the mix

I found this to be a bit hopeless initially but chilled the  mix for about 20 minutes to allow the oats to absorb some of the liquid. once it looks a bit more like dough and a bit less like weird porridge it's ready to be cooked!

• Spray the baking sheets with non stick spray or flour/ grease them- this is a sticky mixture I learned my lesson with the banana cookies, there cannot be too much non stickiness.
• I squidged the mixture into a cookie cutter to make the cookie shapes on the tray and to help me make sure that I was using even amounts of mixture, it's too sticky to make into balls and flatten like the banana mix.
• Bake for about 9 minutes at 200 degrees. 

Apple Pie Oatmeal Cookies

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

27 mins

These soft cookies are very lightly sweetened. If you prefer them sweeter, try adding a little stevia with the dry ingredients.

Author: Susan Voisin, FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Serves: 18

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons chia seeds or ground flax seeds
• 4 tablespoons warm water
• 2 cup regular or quick oats (use certified gluten-free, if necessary)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see Notes)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 large apple, cored and chopped
• 2 ounces pitted and chopped dates (about 4 medjool dates or 1/4 cup packed chopped dates)
• 1/8 cup water
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds (or ground flaxseed) with the warm water and set aside until thickened.
3. In a dry blender or food processor, grind one cup of the oats. Pour it into a mixing bowl and add the unground oats, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the raisins.
4. Place the apple, dates, 1/8 cup water, and apple cider vinegar in the blender. Blend until it’s about the consistency of apple sauce. Pour it into the oat mixture along with the chia “egg” and stir to combine.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork. Bake for about 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Notes

Pumpkin pie spice is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves or allspice, with cinnamon being the main ingredient. You can replace it with 3/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger, nutmeg, and allspice (or a pinch of cloves instead of allspice.

If you omit the raisins, each cookie contains 52 calories. Without salt, each cookie contains 36.2mg sodium.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1/18 of recipe Calories: 59 Fat: less than 1g Carbohydrates: 12.3gSugar: 4.9g Sodium: 100.8mg Fiber: 1.7g Protein: 1.4g

Baking gluten free, lactose free, egg free, Vegan cakes with Jenny

Jenny has given me a baking lesson- in cakes I can actually eat! :D
I'm super excited about these and I'll be experimenting with making more- the texture is pretty dense... think malt loaf- but if you want all the cake action and none of the reaction then they're a pretty damn good start!
(Obviously, if they're for a real vegan, leave off the harribo sweets) Jen's top tip is to leave them in the oven until the oven has cooled as otherwise they're "gooey" in the middle which would probably be disconcerting.

I had a lovely time at Jen's eating turkish delight and giving her half my house (I've finally accepted that I'm moving house and realised that I have too much clutter- So, This week I will be getting rid of the unused, unuseful and ill-fitting items from my home. I'll still have more junk than anyone else I know but it might all fit in one van. That's the end objective anyway!)

More baking lessons please!
I will pay you in dresses and craft books!
:D

I had an awesome day and a good catch up which I needed! It's always nice to be able to spend proper time with my friends and family.

New Dietician. New Diet. Mixed feelings

Meal	foods
Breakfast	Lacto free yogurt sprinkled with flax seeds (Berries & maple syrup optional)
Snack	2X corn cakes 1tsp almond butter/ cashew butter
Lunch	Soup with either beans, lentils or peas (low sugar, low sat. fat) 1X apple
Snack	Vegetable sticks/ celery (Hummus optional)
Dinner	Corn tortilla 2X vegi bacon/ 200kcal protein popcorn

Things that are out:

Milk (Lacto free only)

Refined sugar

Carb heavy meals

Things that are in:

Green tea

Corn instead of wheat

Lacto free dairy products

Fibrous vegetables

gut flora boosting supplements

probiotics

multivitamins

The plan:

Inflammation is caused by immune reactions to “leaky gut” wheat and lactose molecules leak more easily as they are small (Goat and sheep dairy products have bigger molecules so can’t leak) cutting these out for a bit should reduce overall reactions, inflammation and immune response and hopefully then give me a chance when my stomach isn’t crazy to figure out what is good and what is not.

Improve my gut flora, overall guy health and fibre intake and cut my sugar intake so that my insulin levels aren’t all spikes and troughs.

eat better & eat cleaner = Feel better

I really like the idea of this, I’m just going to struggle with reducing my sugar intake.

And no more cake!

Hospital. Start again.

So, after the bit where I get told that I still need to lose 1 stone and a half to reach my "optimum healthy weight" (honestly they're never happy). We met with the consultant.

He has decided to discharge me from his care and seek an opinion from addenbrookes.  Which is fine.  I just don't really know what the point if my going in for that appointment was. They could have just sent a letter, no?

I don't really care what we're calling this "digestive issue". I really just need to know two things:

1) how do I manage the pain I am in? as we seem to have concluded that this is how I will feel for the next 50 years of average human lifespan.

2) what can I eat that isn't breakfast cereals?

These two questions never get answered. So I take boxes of ibuprofen and eat coco pops.  And it looks like I will have to do both of these things forever. Or until I get liver failure or die of malnutrition.

I am feeling pretty fed up about it all at the moment.  I cried lots on Tuesday. The lack of support or advice frustrates me. I just need someone to tell me what I can do or try or read.  someone with more understanding of this than me. Because so far 7 years of trying to figure this all out on my own has landed us at ibuprofen and coco pops.
I don't know what I'm doing and I'm sick of being sick.

I am completely on board with the idea of a second opinion.  Especially a second opinion from someone who understands my thyroid condition and my pcos- hormone stuff is addenbrookes speciality- so hopefully they'll be able to offer advice. I just hope that it doesn't take years. Again. To reach the conclusion that they give up and tag someone else in.

Invisible illness awareness week

Sorry for being so quiet...

As you may have guessed, by the usual pattern, I have been quiet because I have done very little.
I have done very little because I've been poorly again.
Which sucks.
Traff suggested that I am more open with people about whats going on with me- after the crazy week as documented- I'm really embarrassed and uncomfortable talking about this stuff so this is my outlet for the time being.
I feel like I'm making a big fuss and stealing everyones attention. "Fuss me! I'm sick!" I hate people knowing I haven't been well. It makes people anxious that they're going to make me ill, and since I don't know why I'm ill I can't really provide any guidance.

I had an MRI on Tuesday at the hospital. Which is progress of a sort and I'm pleased that we will be able to rule out (I am assuming they show nothing) anything really serious. That will be one step closer to a diagnosis and then hopefully finding some way to manage this chaos.

It got off to an interesting start, theres nothing like the question "Do you know if your lung is held in place with clips? And if you do, are they metal?"
Right before entering a magnetic field. Not so reassuring.

Traff insisted on coming with me and booked the day off work, I laughed at him because an MRI is a solitary experience and I warned him he'd be really bored.
However, After having a really fun reaction to one of the drugs they gave me  and spending between 11am and 4pm with my face in the toilet I was really grateful for his support (Laughter) and humour.
It was so bad the MRI nurses let me have my own toilet. and an absorbent mat for the taxi ride home. And an adult nappy "To make me laugh". It did make me laugh. I'd never seen one before.

They were really supportive and humorous too, as was their porter. They certainly made the experience more bearable. I filled out a comments card at the end and they were like "But you don't know about the services we offer- you've only seen our loo!"

I was totally out of action once we got home on Tuesday. I slept through all my studio ghibli DVDs and Traff made me cups of tea and korean dumplings to keep me alive!

I was so dehydrated from shouting at water that on Wednesday I'd lost 5lbs (all water, but still interesting, especially interesting to see the effect of dehydration on the darkness and size of my under eye bags. urgh!).  Dehydration is exhausting and aging.
Queue day 2 in bed watching TV.

Yesterday I managed to go out. mooching round town and for coffee and cake with Tats, Vicky and Kelly at fancy. Which cheered me up greatly.
I think cake is an excellent way to recover from a horrible 2 days.

I'm feeling much better now and I'm off on my adventures. however self pitying this may read as, I'd like to assure you that I am not!
I see if like this:
Either you can be scared that you'll be ill and stop doing everything that you enjoy, feel sorry for yourself and miss out. Or you can write off the rubbish days as unlucky and grab life by the balls when you're feeling fine.

Amitriptyline to control pain? I'll pass, Thanks.

Occasionally I write about medical stuff. Either because I'm frustrated, or annoyed and venting, or because it's something which might be useful to someone else.

In this case I'm aiming for the former, but the latter is a motivator.  This is my personal experience, from my point of view and if it's useful, insightful or interesting, ace. It's not designed to be advisory.

I wasn't going to write about this- I'm not exactly delighted with the outcome and I'm surprised by how badly this "experiment" went. However, I would have felt better if I'd known that my not-so-positive experience is actually pretty "normal", and not me losing my few, remaining marbles.

I'm reasonably open minded in terms of medical stuff. I can be sceptical but I'll still give it a go. I'd still try things out, but perhaps after this I'd ask a few more questions before hand.

The scenario:
I've been having stomach/abdominal pain for years now as a result of my Thyroid becoming under active, kicking my metabolism into what felt like reverse and damaging my stomach in the process. The thyroid is now under control with Levothyroxine and my stomach should now be behaving itself, Physically theres nothing wrong with it (Stomach issues are common with Thyroid conditions- essentially anything autoimmune is a likelihood, so I know I'm lucky that this manifests as "IBS type" symptoms, sickness and pain, not Crones, Diabetes etc) but I'm ill most days now and in pain all the time.

The background thinking-The consultant at the hospital wanted to try something new:
There are journals, published in the last few years which suggest that Amitriptyline can be used to "reset" the nervous system, as if nerves are constantly sending a "pain" signal they can become disrupted and the receptors inflamed/"broken" so your body still perceives a problem, even though it's actually fixed.
Amitriptyline isn't really used as an antidepressant any more as one of it's more unusual side effects (Other than psychosis) is that it affects the nervous system- and therefore stops you recognising pain properly.

The planning:
I read the side effects list through, and although it's huge, it makes for less scary reading than the contraceptive pill. I take medication every day and have not experienced any side effects so I mostly laughed them off.
The hospital warned me that they'd make me "tired". I already experience fatigue so I wasn't delighted by the prospect of feeling more exhausted than usual.
The box had a sticker on it that said "You may not wish to drive when taking this medication" I figured that related to tiredness and decided to be responsible, and give myself plenty of time before going into work to make sure I was really awake.

It turns out that I seem to be very receptive to these kinds of drugs. Nothing could have prepared me for  developing the whole list of side effects on day 1. On day 7 I almost had a head on crash and so gave up taking the tablets, after consulting my GP...I will explain later.

The outcome:
I want to preface this by saying that I believe that my mental health is actually pretty good. I get stressed out or down occasionally but on the whole I'm happy, and level headed. You can see from the sheer volume of things I do usually that I'm pretty motivated and enthusiastic.
Taking these was like a brain transplant. my body was still running at usual speed but my mind was in reverse!

I couldn't concentrate to follow conversations, I'd forget that I'd done things, I'd forget to eat, I lost my keys, I couldn't watch TV because I couldn't work out what was going on in the TV show. I couldn't crochet or craft because I couldn't get my hands to do what I wanted.I was late for everything, I forgot peoples names, It was pretty weird. And a bit scary. I'd find myself unable to deal with "normal" everyday things- I couldn't remember how to use the washing machine, my spacial awareness was bad and I poured boiling water on my foot. I couldn't buckle my own sandals.
When I went paddle boarding I launched the board and went to jump onto it but missed completely and threw myself into the lake.

Writing this now it sounds kind funny.
It was like being really drunk, but without that uninhibited feeling.
It was pretty isolating.

The days felt really long, so even if I'd had a text or a call or seen someone in the morning, by the evening it felt like I hadn't spoken to anyone for a week. I started to get jealous when I saw posts online or friends said they were meeting each other- but I couldn't deal with being with people, because I couldn't follow their conversations or carry out normal things very easily but seeing other people together made me feel lonely. Because the days felt so long, I started to think people were avoiding me (Even though they were doing what they usually do in terms of texts/calls/seeing them). By about day 3 I was pretty convinced that all my friends hated me.
I had a good cry about it on Traff who was throughly alarmed.
On Day 4 I cancelled all my future plans with my friends because I truly believed that they didn't like me or want to see me anyway and I'd somehow forced my unwanted company on them. I told Traff he hated me. He wore his expression of "kicked puppy" and I had no emotional response. Actually he dealt with it all very well.
By Day 5 I'd turned into a complete emotional mess. I probably managed to confuse and upset almost everyone I speak to on a regular basis. My coordination was totally shot and following normal conversations was nigh on impossible. I did an awful lot of nodding and smiling. Day 6 and Day 7 passed in much the same way.
Except on Day 7, on my way to work, I pulled out in front of a car. I was thinking "Brake" but my foot did not hit the brake. It stayed on the accelerator. It was very scary.

I made an appointment with my GP (Who I'm still avoiding, because he keeps telling me how overweight I am and how I should eat less food) I explained what had happened and he just raised his eyebrows and said "The medication is resetting your nervous system- Of course thats going to mean that sometimes signals don't get to the right place".
In fairness, The tablets were issued by the hospital, and perhaps they should have made that a little clearer.
He told me I would have to stop driving.
I asked how long for, and he explained that I'd need to take at least  1 30 microgram tablet every day for it to manage my pain. Possibly forever but at least for 6 months. He explained that as I was on 10 micrograms currently, I'd take that for 4-8 weeks until I'd "Got used" to the side effects, or they'd subsided (Theres no way to know if they will, and it's pretty 50/50) then they up the dose, wait 4-8 weeks for you to learn to live with it and etc etc.
Basically, at best, that mens I wouldn't be able to drive until the new year- so I wouldn't be able to visit my family, or my friends and I'd be reliant on them coming to visit me if I wanted to see them. It would also be a complete fucker for work.
Couple that with all the other side effects (Imagine them 3X worse!) and I said I couldn't do it.
I quit.

I'd rather be in pain and ill than mental, incapable and probably still ill.
The pain I can manage, it just makes me grumpy and sometimes means I have to cancel plans. Being unable to perform simple tasks or drive or do my job or deal with any social situation is a rubbish trade off.

It's not something I'd rule out completely. Maybe with a different drug I wouldn't end up in such a pickle.
But I wouldn't take that again! Even if you paid me lots of money!

So, you'll be pleased to know that I'm more-or-less back to my usual self.
It's taken a while but I'm feeling much better. It's safe to post your pictures of you having a lovely time with other people. It won't make me cry any more.

Thank you and sorry to everyone who's had to deal with me when I've been a raging neurotic nightmare.
I am really grateful for your support, especially the phone calls and texts. They were always timely- you must all be psychic. As soon as I'd got myself into a dark place someone would send me some encouragement. It really helped just knowing that someone had thought of me- it made me challenge my own negative thoughts.


The only up side to the whole experiment is that I had the best 7 nights sleep I've ever had in my whole life!

Hypothyroidism

I've been frustrated lately by my experiences at the hospital (see last months very self pitying rant) and by my bodies recent refusal to
a) lose weight- or just stop gaining it!
b) Stop being tired

I stayed at a friends recently and they were joked that spending time with me was a bit like spending time with a junkie- Half asleep all the time and not totally in the moment. It's true but it smarted a bit to be told.
It's an issue lots of people experience who take levothyroxine- it balances your T4 levels but not your T3, which is just left to do as it pleases.

I know a few people who also have Thyroid conditions, including family members (This tends to be genetic) and they say similar things- I was sent a link to this blog yesterday by one of them.
Usually I ignore links on the net- and I don't agree with her recommendation to use "natural remedies" to normalise thyroid hormones (For a start, it's a bit unethical to use ground up pig thyroids, for a second, it's not going to give you a similar dosage every time- all living things are subject to hormone level variations!) however, it's good to see that my experiences aren't me going mad.

For me the worst symptoms have always been the insomnia, fatigue and weight gain (it's just so rapid!) but I know I'm luck that I don't experience the skin pigmentation issues or dermatological issues other women often have, I'm lucky my hair isn't falling out (One of my friends experiences this and it upsets her greatly), bone density issues and I'm really lucky that Traff and I are in no rush to start a family- This will affect fertility and make it more difficult for us to have children. I always feel extremely sorry for people on support sites who are desperate for a baby but just cannot conceive (There seems to be a link between hypothyroidism and preeclampsia so it's not just getting pregnant but everything after that too!) I also know that I'm lucky not to have experienced many of the mental health issues associated with this- Largely because of the support of my partner, friends and family when things have been tough and because of a speedy diagnosis if not speedy medication to replace the hormones.
This must be especially tough on people who are not given a diagnosis or do not have a good support network for friends and family.

I can really relate to the feelings of fragility and hating the lack of control- I don't think they're traits that can be easily associated with me!

http://hypothyroidmom.com/how-thyroid-disease-has-completely-changed-my-life/
 I would like to talk about how thyroid disease has completely changed my life, sometimes for the worse, but others definitely for the better. Why, you may ask? Considering this disease has at times brought me to my knees, it seems hardly unlikely that there have been any plus sides; I’ll try explaining best as I can.

You will all be aware of the havoc thyroid disease inflicts upon our bodies, and my story will have little difference to that of your own. Like many of you, this began as a teenage complaint, and I had little knowledge of what was actually going on with my body. For example, I had no clue that my chronic sun allergy was of any further medical significance than a condition in its own right.

Another ‘big deal’ problem for all of us is that of body weight. When you are simply not responsible for the amount of fat your body chooses to adorn your bones with, and no matter how many fad diets you allow to become the next strict eating regime following the failure of generally healthy eating plans, you soon become all too aware that you actually have zero control over what is taking place within your body.

This is a hard concept to grasp for anyone, no matter what age we are when this blight descends; the harsh fact is we have little control over the outcomes and unique experiences this disease will create for us. I am not saying for one minute that we as sufferers will never regain our health, I am simply trying to illustrate the fact that we will at times have very little control over what transpires, and at times such as these, we begin to realise how frail and vulnerable we actually are. In my opinion, this has to be one of the most negative aspects of this cruel condition.

Problem is, we have grown up within a culture whereupon if we should suffer with any simple ailment, we can walk a few steps to the medicine cabinet and usually find a simple remedy. If our ailment is a little more complex, we can visit our family doctor who will scribble the magic remedy on his writing pad and thus provide a suitable cure. Most of our lives have been shaped with the idea that our doctor, or at worse times still our hospitals can usually fix us. Until the loud knock of thyroid disease descends and raps boldly at the door.

I imagine we are all very similar in terms of our experiences of thyroid disease; beginning to feel ill on a low level with little things starting to go wrong. Perhaps our skin is beginning to dry out, or we are starting to feel chilly on the warmest of days. Maybe we have begun to suffer with the embarrassing problem of constipation, or started to endure regular onslaughts of infections upon the body whilst our body weight steadily rises.

To begin, we rely on our previous knowledge and start to look for remedies; antibiotics from the doctor, laxatives from the chemist, emollient lotions from the store, wearing warmer clothes etc etc, but then the signs and symptoms hike up a notch.

We often begin to feel exhausted and find that previous day to day activities are now proving somewhat difficult if not impossible. We try caffeine products for energy and many kinds of diets after we discover the usual reduced calorie and exercise plans fail to work, but nothing changes. In fact weight remains on the increase whilst at the same time feelings of fatigue accelerate.

Perhaps if you are female (and thyroid disease sufferers generally are) you will also be suffering from excessively heavy menstrual periods and this has now become the cause for frequent trips to your trusted doctor. Tests are undertaken and you probably end up donating armfuls of your liquid red stuff as a means to detect the cause.

As you sit in the chair at your following appointment, dressed for the harshest of winters on a mid-July summer’s day, you soon become alarmingly aware that the ‘professional’ on the other side of the desk appears to have the littlest of clues as to what is actually happening to you. No matter how you describe and discuss your lorry load of problems which are in fact beyond your control, the man in the coat smiles in an often patronising manner and goes on to tell you that you are in fact fine, or more appropriately perfectly normal!

Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of utter despair that ensues following the non-diagnosis of a condition that is beginning to take over your life in a devastating manner. Worse still is the emotion that takes place when the doctor goes on to offer you a prescription for anti-depressant medication because he now believes that all of these struggles are in fact in your head. He will also sometimes offer the number of a dietician to further reinforce the notion that this is largely of your own doing whilst you raise from your chair in utter disbelief.

And for me, this was the worst part about the disease itself; although hypothyroidism was a killer to manage, the fact that my trusted doctor would do absolutely nothing to help me proved an awful lot to get my head around.

And this is where the feelings of vulnerability begin to creep in; It’s a scary notion trying to accept that a doctor does not have the wherewithal or knowledge to make you well again. I mean who on earth do you turn to to make this all stop? How on earth can you stand up and fight whilst your energy levels are dwindling rapidly somewhere around the very floor you stand on? Well my friends, there is often and unfortunately no one but YOU to get YOU out of this mess! Or so it feels at the time.

So you begin to research; you read and read and read each and everything you find that discusses a similar pattern of symptoms to those of your own. Each and every time, the search bar leads you to pages discussing hypothyroidism. So you begin to focus your studies on this particular disease and find that the stats read like your own life history. Can it really be that simple? And if so, how could your doctor have missed it?

But then you read a little further and discover there is one blood test being used by most mainstream doctors which is in fact often useless in detecting this disease, and thus if you don’t tick the box at the lab, you are highly unlikely to be gifted with a diagnosis or any treatment whatsoever.

This was my life, and I can tell you it was a scary knowledge. So at this point I figured that I had two options, I could stay ill and vulnerable and simply accept this to be my future path, and believe me, the fatigue I suffered with back then made this option all the more alluring, or I could learn how to make myself well again.

The latter was my choice; at 39 years of age I decided that enough was enough, and that I would have to be my own best advocate.

Websites such as Hypothyroid Mom, and online support forums came to the fore, and soon became my lifeline. I was directed to a more knowledgeable doctor in the UK and I learned about asking for all of my previous blood test results as a means to baseline my health.

I then discovered which vitamins and minerals were lacking from my body and thus began to repair from the bottom up. At this point I began natural thyroid medication and slowly but surely began to regain my health. This was not a simple process, but definitely a liberating one!

I then became more vocal about all that I had learned, realising that so many others were in fact in the same position as me. All I wanted to do therein was create awareness in my own way. I began with the sharing of information provided again by sites such as Hypothyroid Mom, and then I began creating little info bites of my own via typical e-card sites.

The culmination being the attempt at my own story!

Thyroid disease has created mammoth struggles for me, and at times I still slip back into poor health and thus have to work again at trying to put things right. I am reminded of my own fragility at times like these, however, I am now attacking this problem from a completely different perspective; the fact that I am in charge of my own health is an entirely empowering notion. I listen to my body and act accordingly. I have definitely gained strength from taking control, even though I feel that I shouldn’t have had to!

For this reason I will always remain an advocate for thyroid disease, sharing and creating information with others which will hopefully bring about the necessary changes in order to gain us all the help we so richly deserve. It’s a cliché I know, but we must never give up. We have a voice, and we must use it; I have always believed in strength in numbers, and in turn experiencing empowerment when you become your own best advocate!