What it's like to have Postpartum Thyroiditis

I was first diagnosed a few months ago.... read about it here.

I went to a specialist at the end of May, and he ordered my 4th blood test. Previously my thyroid had been hyper, then hypo. Now it was reading "normal" even though I was still displaying all of the thyroid symptoms. He said with the up and down my thyroid was displaying, it would probably continue to do so until it evened out on its own. In the meantime... suffer through it.

Let me tell you what having postpartum thyroiditis is like. For a few weeks, you feel fine, then you have a "crash" and feel crappy for a week or two. During that crappy week, what is it like? Well, sometimes I change my shirt 3x a day, because the heat gets to me and I sweat profusely. My hair comes out in clumps. I get a bruise, and it lasts for weeks. I can't think straight.... I leave my purse and diaper bag in the road and drive off. I have to sit down and rest in order to do anything, even something easy like wash the dishes. My muscles are sore, especially my big muscles like my quads, but also stomach and back and arms. I can't lose weight because my thyroid isn't letting my metabolism do its thing, plus my appetite is completely out of whack. I have no motivation, which when you have three kids, an online job, a husband, and a house to take care of.... yeah. I have to take a nap everyday just to manage. But sometimes when I am tired, I just lay there, not able to sleep. In a word, it sucks.

So in early June, I went to a wonderful clinic in town and met with a wonderful pharmacist who had me taking some supplements-- mostly for adrenal gland issues. Right away, it took away a lot of the dizziness and tiredness. It was so wonderful. But I still had odd thyroid symptoms. Later, Jon and his brother gave me a priesthood blessing, and I knew things would work out.

In early July, I went to another clinic, as I was visiting my parents in another state and they had luck going there. I thought there was room for improvement, so why not? This wonderful nurse talked to me for an hour and thought we should focus more on my thyroid and taking kelp and a few other supplements.

So now I take at minimum, 9 supplements per day. I feel my thyroid tingle most every day after I take them. I feel they are helping me, but they can only do so much.

For three weeks (so most of July), I felt the best I had felt since before being pregnant (meaning pre-May 2010). It was wonderful! I was able to do so much more than I had in a long time. I figured I could even start exercising. The first day I felt awesome.... I had a rest day. Then the second exercise session, I felt just ok. Then a rest day. Then after the third session, I crashed. My thyroid went nuts. I could feel it get huge, and even Jon said it looked big. I basically slept for a few days just to recover. That was about 10 days ago, and I still feel really crappy. All of the symptoms you read above? They came back with a vengeance.

It has been really frustrating. I want to at least be able to make dinner and do laundry without getting winded. I want to feel motivated to play with my kids outside and be able to pull weeds and just do normal things. But I just can't. I feel so limited. All I can do is lay down and read, watch TV, stare at the ceiling, etc.

I pleaded in prayer the other night. I felt so defeated, and that I just couldn't do it anymore. I want to feel better, and I don't know what else I can do. I know in my heart this will continue for several more months at least.

I have never been one to accept defeat easily, but what else can I do? I might call my doctor again, or make another appointment with the specialist and have another blood test, but I already know what they will say-- rest when you can and just wait it out.

Update August 20, 2011: I got all my labs from all the different blood tests. It was really interesting to compare them, and my doctor brother-in-law explained how the different numbers interacted with each other. My levels are coming down, which is good. I am still going up and down, but not as dramatically as before. I have felt ok the past two weeks. I am getting better slowly, and I also am dealing with it better by knowing when to rest. The doc wants me to go back again in two months for another blood test.