Grave's Disease

Ever since Hudson was a couple of months old I have felt very overwhelmed and it kept getting worse when I thought it should have been getting better. I blamed it on lack of sleep since Hudson wasn't sleeping all night yet and I was only getting about 4 to 6 hours of sleep (not even solid sleep) a night. I couldn't get those last few pounds off even though the rest of my pregnancy weight came off really easily. I was hungry all the time and I blamed it on breastfeeding. I was exhuasted all of the time. I eventually had to give up exercising because I just didn't have the energy. It finally got to a point in January that I was just so exhausted it was all I could do to basically take care of the boys. I didn't have energy to play with Austin and it seemed like it took everything out of me just to get Hudson's diaper changed at times. I was burning up hot a lot of the times too which is very unusual for me. I am always cold. I kept wondering what was wrong with me!

So I went to the dr in January and it turns out that I have Graves Disease. That sounds terrible doesn't it? It's really not as terrible as it sounds! It means that I have an overactive thyroid. When you have an overactive thyroid your body is in overdrive. You feel anxious, and jittery and doing the smallest things is sometimes really hard because your body is so revved up even when you aren't doing anything and it is totally exhausting. Most people lose weight. I however have gained. Probably because I am not able to be as active as I usually am and my appetite is crazy! I am not allowed to exercise because my heart rate is so high. It is usually around 100 or more just sitting down.

The treatment used most often for Grave's is a radioactive iodine treatment. I did this on Tuesday this week. I had to swallow a pill that will eventually kill off part of my thyroid and make it function either normal or below normal. What my dr wants really is for it to become below normal because it requires less monitoring and is easy to fix. It will take about 6 months for my treatment to fully do it's job but I should start feeling better in 1 to 2 months. Thank goodness it isn't something more serious! So if anyone has thought I have seemed a little "off" lately, that is why! And hopefully I will be back to enjoying things again soon!