Well, here we are, some four months later, and, in a way, things are looking better.
I suspect I've been hypothyroid for years, having researched the symptoms a bit. There is a lot to learn and I'm only just beginning to get to grips with it. Whether my ill-functioning thyroid is down to my food addiction or vice versa, it's difficult to properly ascertain - as I won't deny my love of food or psychological problems with it either.... Any way you look at it, the symptoms have been increasing over the last 15 years and is a massive relief, in the sense that all the fatigue, constant colds and allergies, aches and pains and an encyclopedia of other symptoms are now attributable to it, and not to me being a drama queen, hypochrondriac, emotional wreck, or developing some other sinister condition. Not that the acknowledgement of it in itself has solved these problems, I am struggling to find the right medication at the moment (and I do suspect it could be Hashimoto's), but there is huge relief nonetheless. I have found great support in actress Gena Lee Nolin's charity, Thyroid Sexy, as well (via Facebook); they are a wealth of knowledge and in getting awareness out there, so if you suspect you might have thyroid problems (and you might not, I wasn't), then check them out.
I think I have a good GP, and she's on the ball with my diabetes too. I was a bit dubious about having my meds doubled a few weeks ago, but it's all going well, and I do believe that at least one of my meds has knocked my appetite out of its usual unsatiability (I'm sure that's not a word!) as well. I have to remind myself to eat most of the time. Although I'm experiencing a LOT of fatigue at the moment (due to the thyroid probably), I don't feel the need to get energy fixes with refined sugar. I feel that my appetite is normal now. I joined Weight Watchers around the time of my last post, with the help of the NHS referral scheme, and have lost 25lb pretty effortlessly. I've been watching portion control and finding that despite the weirdly small-looking portions (compared to what I've been eating the last million years), the amount is enough, and if I'm hungry, I know I can bulk it out with veg. I've rediscovered fruit, and love the fresh taste of apples, satsumas and melons. I've learned that, yes, okay, I do have a sweet tooth, but I'm able to indulge myself a little bit every day, and I'm more forgiving during times of PMS. Refined sugars aren't ideal, of course, but one thing at a time....!
In the last couple of years, well, up to about a year ago, I started frequenting an all-you-can-eat Chinese place. Every time we'd go, we'd fill up on really cheap, good food - and when I say "fill up", I mean to the point of bursting, and not being able to breathe properly and needing to lie down. Eventually it dawned on me, I don't like feeling like this - what is the point of stuffing yourself beyond being satisfied? To get my money's worth? Surely being full is getting my money's worth! We stopped going (moving about 15 miles away helped!), but on the odd occasion when we do go to an all-you-can-eat, I remind myself that I don't want to walk home with an uncomfortably full stomach. I hate that feeling. I still struggle a little, I mean, I do like my food, but I'm getting there, and that's good enough for now.
I suspect I've been hypothyroid for years, having researched the symptoms a bit. There is a lot to learn and I'm only just beginning to get to grips with it. Whether my ill-functioning thyroid is down to my food addiction or vice versa, it's difficult to properly ascertain - as I won't deny my love of food or psychological problems with it either.... Any way you look at it, the symptoms have been increasing over the last 15 years and is a massive relief, in the sense that all the fatigue, constant colds and allergies, aches and pains and an encyclopedia of other symptoms are now attributable to it, and not to me being a drama queen, hypochrondriac, emotional wreck, or developing some other sinister condition. Not that the acknowledgement of it in itself has solved these problems, I am struggling to find the right medication at the moment (and I do suspect it could be Hashimoto's), but there is huge relief nonetheless. I have found great support in actress Gena Lee Nolin's charity, Thyroid Sexy, as well (via Facebook); they are a wealth of knowledge and in getting awareness out there, so if you suspect you might have thyroid problems (and you might not, I wasn't), then check them out.
I think I have a good GP, and she's on the ball with my diabetes too. I was a bit dubious about having my meds doubled a few weeks ago, but it's all going well, and I do believe that at least one of my meds has knocked my appetite out of its usual unsatiability (I'm sure that's not a word!) as well. I have to remind myself to eat most of the time. Although I'm experiencing a LOT of fatigue at the moment (due to the thyroid probably), I don't feel the need to get energy fixes with refined sugar. I feel that my appetite is normal now. I joined Weight Watchers around the time of my last post, with the help of the NHS referral scheme, and have lost 25lb pretty effortlessly. I've been watching portion control and finding that despite the weirdly small-looking portions (compared to what I've been eating the last million years), the amount is enough, and if I'm hungry, I know I can bulk it out with veg. I've rediscovered fruit, and love the fresh taste of apples, satsumas and melons. I've learned that, yes, okay, I do have a sweet tooth, but I'm able to indulge myself a little bit every day, and I'm more forgiving during times of PMS. Refined sugars aren't ideal, of course, but one thing at a time....!
In the last couple of years, well, up to about a year ago, I started frequenting an all-you-can-eat Chinese place. Every time we'd go, we'd fill up on really cheap, good food - and when I say "fill up", I mean to the point of bursting, and not being able to breathe properly and needing to lie down. Eventually it dawned on me, I don't like feeling like this - what is the point of stuffing yourself beyond being satisfied? To get my money's worth? Surely being full is getting my money's worth! We stopped going (moving about 15 miles away helped!), but on the odd occasion when we do go to an all-you-can-eat, I remind myself that I don't want to walk home with an uncomfortably full stomach. I hate that feeling. I still struggle a little, I mean, I do like my food, but I'm getting there, and that's good enough for now.
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