Exhausted, forgetful, gaining weight? Check your thyroid!

Winter has never been my friend. I'm one of those people who has to carry a wrap in my purse because cold weather - sometimes even air-conditioning - does me in.

It actually causes my skin to feel as if it's burning.

My dad used to tell a story about the time we lived in sunny California. He'd take us to the beach and while everyone else wore bathing suits, I insisted on wearing a heavy winter coat with fur. Somewhere I have a picture of us kids happily playing in the sand...just me and my parka. My dad took the pic hoping it would embarrass me into changing.

Nope.

If I'm cold, I'll still wear a jacket and pants to the beach while others run barefoot!

A few years ago, my suspecting gynecologist tested me for hypothyroidism and found just what she suspected. I had it. My thyroid was under active and immediate medication was needed to bring it into balance.

I'm writing this post because I recently learned my thyroid again was "out of whack." Even though I experienced the symptoms once again, I didn't pick up on it. Thankfully she did and changed my meds to get me feeling better.

I'm listing common symptoms here (found on mayoclinic.org) just in case you too are feeling out of whack:

          fatigue
          increased sensitivity to cold
          constipation
          dry skin
          weight gain
          puffy face
          hoarseness
          muscle weakness
          elevated blood cholesterol level
          muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness
          pain, stiffness or swelling in joints
          heavier or irregular menstrual periods
          thinning hair
          slowed heart rate
          depression
          impaired memory

Before I found my amazing gynecologist I'd gone to several other doctors who all diagnosed stress. They wanted to give me Xanax and other things to keep me quiet and rein in my protests.

Hypothyroidism is sneaky; it's symptoms can easily masquerade as something else and they tend to layer on top of one another. Like many small broken things in your body.  If it's not treated, it can get much worse.

How about you? Might you have sneaky symptoms too?

              Wishing you wellness in 2015!

Don't Give Up On Your Dreams

Do you have a dream that compels you so strongly you wonder if you have the option not to pursue it?                                

                                      That's how I feel about writing.

I began writing when I was six. I was compelled.

I wrote a poem with some first grade friends, and that's when I decided to be a writer...and an Egyptologist and marine biologist, (until I realized I was terrified of fish).

I got my first paycheck at the ripe old age of nine. I received $ 35.00 from a woman's magazine for a tip I wrote on how to iron a sharp crease in a pair of pants.  For someone who wasn't even allowed to hold an iron, it was better than Christmas.  I was hooked!

The writing life is lonely though. Sometimes I pull out that old poem as a reminder that I didn't choose writing; writing chose me, and it's hard. And what happens just when I feel like I'm starting to get in the groove?
                       
                                  Fibromyalgia comes along and threatens everything.

Have you ever had your dream threatened? That's when we need to run in the opposite direction - we need to run toward the dream.

For me, that meant attending a writer's conference in Florida. It meant that I needed to embrace the tension and not allow myself to sink into a pit of discouragement. Even though I had to wake up at 3:30 AM, carry heavy luggage and spend seven hours in the orlando airport...

my dreams are worth it.
                                                        And so are yours.

Living with pain can make us feel alone, but it doesn't have to rob us of our dreams.

So what do you dream about?

                                                       How can I pray for you?