Hyperthyroid

January 19th 2013 my life was altered forever. It was the season opener of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the lockout had ended and hubs and I were both so excited to finally sit down and watch some hockey. We ordered pizza for the game and as I sat there and ate I realized my heart was racing and I thought I could just take an asprin and be fine. You have to realize I had gone to ER'S over the years with a racing heart only to be sent home with no explanation because I didn't have medical insurance. This to me wasn't out of the oridnary, but then it got worse. I downloaded an app to test your heart rate (imagine that! an APP to monitor your heart rate. crazy but amazing!) it revealed my heart rate was rather high 120 and I was having pain in my chest and difficulty taking deep breaths. I was full on panicked which only made things worse. This time I decided to go to a hospital I had never been to hoping this time would be the time someone cared and wouldn't just send me on my way because I didn't have insurance.


They took me back right away. My heart rate was upper 120's by the time I got there. I was hooked up to an IV almost as soon as I arrived in the back, an ekg for my heart was ordered, and my vitals were being monitored. I remember clear as day looking at my husband and his eyes were big. He was staring at the heart rate on the monitor it was 138. I almost wish I wouldn't have looked because I'll never forget that feeling. All those times I ended up at the ER it was NEVER that high. The doctor came in ordered blood work. He asked alot of questions and was feeling around my throat. That was new, no doctor had ever focused so much on my throat and my eyes. He kept checking my eyes. I had an xray done now I can't recall why they did the xray but they did. After several tests the doctor comes in and tells me I have hyperthyroidism. Im like huh?

It took a moment to sink it but then I was like.. Wait I was concered about thyroid problems because it runs in my family.. I had another doctor at a clinic test me for thyroid and was told I was FINE. I WAS NOT FINE. You have to understand I went YEARS upon YEARS not feeling well, not understanding why I didn't feel like myself. I became severly depressed, I had a bout of bone pain so bad I couldn't get out of my bed to go down my stairs. I went to an ER only to be asked why I was there.. WHAT was my emergency. I could barely walk, I was in so much pain I couldn't lift a carton of milk, couldn't open a can, I couldn't get down my stairs and they made me feel like I wasn't sick enough to be there. I'll never forget that. I walked out bawling. Yes she did say they would still see me but I felt like I wasn't wanted or good enough to be seen after she sat there and looked me in the eye after watching me struggle to walk in and asked me WHAT MY EMERGENCY WAS. That moment in my life I was so low.. Years I felt so tired all the time I could never hold a job. I'd make it 6 months at the most because I became so exhausted from work and taking care of my home I literally just burned out. I tried so hard to be normal to hold on, to not complain, to keep going. I knew I didn't have the energy of a regular person, It made me feel like I was lazy. I couldn't understand how everyone else could do it but I couldn't so I'd push myself through being tired until I couldn't push anymore. My husband had always told me I didn't have to work that I did enough work around our home already but I wanted to help money wise and felt bad. My husband made enough to take care of us. Maybe we didn't have it all but we had what we needed and a little of what we wanted. Im a old soul. I love vintage items, thrift stores, and antiques. I don't spend very much on what I buy. My husband is happy about this lol I'm not a coach buying, label wearing kind of girl. I was raised very old fashion so we could afford for me to stay home take care of him, our home, and our dogs. I've worked off and on our entire relationship until 2012 when I really started to feel awful. I'd work until I couldn't and then eventually go back.. wash repeat kind of thing.


So here after all these years of not feeling like myself, feeling so tired and so run down, being depressed, feeling like a failure because I didn't have the energy to be a go getter I finally had an explanation. I'm NOT a failure I realized, I'm a sick person who had suffered for so long because I didn't have health insurance, had I had insurance all those ER doctors would have done more to figure it out. But this one doctor cared. He did test after test until he figured it out. This is where God comes in. If you don't believe in God that's fine I respect your beliefs but I do and this is my belief.


My husband got into a company that has amazing health insurance, way better pay, more room to grow, retirement and all these amazing benefits. We couldn't afford insurance through his old job and I couldn't work full time to get benefits anywhere. No one would have accepted me through a bought plan either because of my pre existing conditions. I also have asthma and scoliosis. This job was a blessing from God. At this moment in my life where I've just been diagnosed with an incurable disease this Job comes along and I have insurance to get the treatment I need. That's not a coincedence.. I was diagnosed JAN 19TH he got the call from the job JAN 11TH. AMAZING! I'm so very grateful for this amazing blessing. Our lives changed overnight. He's going to make more than we ever imagined. I mean we aren't going to be wealthy not even close but we'll be comfortable with the amount he'll be making. As I mentioned him and I don't need much to be happy so we'll end up saving which we haven't been able to do. We're so excited for the future now (: No more worrying about how we'll be able to afford doctor visits for me. That's like a huge weight lifted off of our shoulders.

So for now I'm done but in my next post I'll talk about my journey since being diagnosed. What my everyday life has been like since starting meds.