it was when i was pregnant with Nathan that my doctor called me about my thyroid levels being low. he rattled off the symptoms: hair loss, exhaustion, being cold all the time, muscle aches, etc. then he asked me if I was experiencing any of those.
"well, yeah," I said. "but I thought it was because I was pregnant with my fifth kid."
since my levels were only a tiny bit low, my doctor figured it was because of the pregnancy ("this happens the older women are when they're pregnant, and also the more pregnancies you've had," he not-so-gently informed me) and told me my levels would probably rise after I'd delivered the baby.
I had the baby, I assumed my levels had risen, I stopped the medication. it was a year later that I had my blood tested again, found my levels to be the same that they were during my pregnancy, and was put back on medication (it's just a tiny dosage). my PA looked at my numbers and said, "did you notice the exhaustion, the hair falling out, the body aches?"
"well, yeah," I said, "but I think it was because I just had a fifth baby."
when Nathan was about a year and a half my hives started. first, just on my thighs, and only for a couple hours. then, my thighs and maybe down my calves, too, and they'd stay a little longer. then all day, but clearing up at night. then all night. then my thighs, my calves, my abdomen, my arms. sometimes even the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet. sometimes my neck. I tried everything. I tried Flonase and Allegra and Zantac and Prilosec. I tried ice packs and coconut oil and every cream in the store. you guys, one time Ryan went to a park and played volleyball with people we'd never met and talked to someone about what was going on and this someone gave him these white pills that helped her so much...and we didn't know what those pills were. and I took them. desperate times call for desperate measures? and then the swelling started. I'd wake up and my lip was enormous. I'd be chatting with someone and could feel my eye swelling out of nowhere. we camped and my feet started to swell so much I couldn't get my shoes on.
I figured this was all due to stress. Off and on the last several years had been very stressful, and the year Nathan was born was just about the most stressful one I'd ever lived.
I got my feet zoned, which actually seemed to help. and I got allergy tested.
the results: I was allergic to just about every tree and grass and natural-occurring mold and animal out there. I was also allergic to carrots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, corn, wheat, dairy, tobacco, grapes, olives...I was devastated. the doctor sent me home with orders to eat a really simple, really clean diet and to get on top of my stress.
it took a week for the clean diet to clear up my symptoms. no more hives! no more swelling! it was incredible. the pain and irritation that I had been living with for months now was gone and my peace of mind was suddenly much more intact. (perfect, because I started my first semester of college that fall)
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