Traveling Cleverly Since 2001

on Wednesday, August 15, 2012 | 0 comments
I am 35. No longer young, but not yet old. I guess I'm middle aged? In the middle of writing my Belize trip report (which I still have not completed), I got sick. It was early stage bronchitis, and it knocked me down in a serious way. I couldn't get out of bed one day. Literally - no energy to move. I haven't been feeling well lately anyway, but I realized I was way off when I had bronchitis. It was such a mild case, yet it hit me so hard and took too long to recover.

I went to the doctor. It's my thyroid. Apparently, it's slow and lazy. Which explains why I've been exhausted, unable to get out of bed, unable to lose weight, etc. It was easy to chalk this up to depression and stress. After all, I am a FT lawyer and mother of two children under 3. Hypothyroidism is a common enough condition, but I'd never realized the impact an incorrectly functioning thyroid can have on your entire health.

So basically, I'm on thyroid hormones, likely for the remainder of my days. The solution seems simple enough, though getting the dosage correct is a moving target. I've only been on meds for 10 days, and it should take 6 weeks for full effectiveness. I have to be diligent about my food intake and exercise, as it's going to be harder to lose and easier to gain weight than someone without this condition.

So, now I begin to try to lose my remaining baby weight in earnest, realizing that I have a handicap that normal dieters don't face and that this will be a long process. I've started running again (slowly) and I'm going to one vigorous 90 minute yoga class a week. I'll add more in as my energy (hopefully) returns.

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