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I’ve been an anxious girl for many years. I only was able to call it what was it was, though, once I started therapy. In 2016, I learned how to acknowledge what I was feeling and put it into words. Anxiety impacted me mentally and physically, to a point where I’d get sick to my stomach on a regular basis. Later that year, during the summer of 2016, I was diagnosed with mono-hepatitis, meaning mono with an inflamed liver, and jaundice all at once. I was in South Africa when I received my diagnoses. A month or so after that, once I recovered from mono, I started experiencing a ton of symptoms – weight gain, constant sickness, extreme fatigue ALL the time – the list goes on and on. I’d fall asleep in the middle of the day. My friends would get mad at me for falling asleep during the opening credits of a movie we had just spent an hour deciding on. I thought I was just still getting over the mono, but everyone laughed at me for just being “the tired girl”. I got physically ill almost every day – I would leave work early so frequently from being sick that my coworkers just thought I was lazy. At this point, I thought I was crazy! I thought all of these symptoms were caused by the anxiety, but I needed to take measures into my own hands. In addition to therapy, I went to every doctor under the sun. I took an at-home sleep test, I went to the ear, nose and throat doctor, I had an endoscopy done to check out my stomach, I went to the gyno, I had every allergy test done – again, the list goes on. After months of every single doctor telling me I was fine and to go home, I was feeling defeated. Still sick every day, I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. Finally, the gastro doctor suggested a thyroid exam. That one did the trick. I was diagnosed with hashimoto’s, an auto-immune disease that causes an extreme underperforming thyroid. FYI, your thyroid controls so much function in your body. From digestive system to nail and hair growth to fatigue and more. And it also impacts your mental health, greatly. I was put on Synthroid, a daily medication that I’ll need to take for the rest of my life. I learned that my mono had actually flipped a dormant switch on for this auto-immune disease.
My mental health was greatly impacted in so many ways – not just from the actual, physical affects of my underperforming thyroid, but from the constant judgement and doubt that everyone around me was showing me. Everyone questioned my sickness, or even my mental health issues, given that I’m such an upbeat, happy-looking person. No one believed that it was anything other than tiredness. I believe that physical and mental health go hand-in-hand, and while my thyroid is now under control, my mental health is a daily battle. Being questioned by everyone around you, feeling dismissed for something that they can’t see, is very tough. Moral of the story – when someone is feeling symptoms, believe them!
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Hi Sarah! I actually went through a very similar situation with doctors and my frustration, and in the end it was Hashimotos too! I actually had thyroid cancer as well, so for me the best solution was to remove my thyroid, but being on Synthroid has totally changed my life in the best way. But I too went to tons of doctors and specifically asked them to run bloodwork to check my thyroid (I researched on my own and felt like a thyroid issue was the only explanation for EVERY issue I had) and for two years no one could find anything. I had been taking a hair, skin and nails supplement that was extremely high in biotin, which I later learned could screw thyroid bloodwork and basically mask the issues. SO, my bloodwork kept coming back normal. I randomly stopped taking the supplement and had another round of bloodwork done 2 or so weeks later and it was entirely different.
I completely understand the frustration with people constantly telling you you’re fine and to just stop stressing about something that’s not there. You ALWAYS know your body better than anyone and shouldn’t give up until you find someone that believes you. I’m glad you finally got the answers/support you needed. 🙂
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