Just diagnosed and need some awareness

[missrebecca84]

Hey Everyone,
 
I can say that I'm kind of relieved to know that I'm not the only one out there with this.  Here is a candid overview of my medical history.  (P.S. I'm now 24 and I was diagnosed around May 1st)
 
2002-Senior Year of High School--I was diagnosed "Major Depression Mild" and "Social Anxiety" and I began treatment with Zoloft.
 
Fall 2002-Spring 2005--I started taking birth control my first quarter at school.  I was able to manager to go to school at UCSB and somewhat manage my anxiety and depression
 
Summer 2005--my entire world is flipped upside down because my friends had graduated ahead of me and my roommate moved away from school.  I move from Santa Barbara to Santa Ynez, which is the country compared to the city and 45 minutes away from school.  I became majorly depressed and was perscribed to take Abilify in addition to my Zoloft.  I began smoking pot as a result of exposure to it and lack of things to do in the valley.
 
Fall 2005--moved home to LA to live with my mom and be around my friends.  I had a good job, but I was driving 1.5 hours for 20 miles to and from work.  My use of marijuana increased and I was really depressed.  It is around this time that I was switched from Zoloft to Effexor XR.  My family practice doctor sent me to get my thyroid scanned, but I didn't think anything of it and I never received notice from the practice of anything.
 
Spring 2006--moved from LA to Phonix to live with my dad and get away from my friend's pot usage.  I ended up getting deeper into the weed and did not work or anything for 3 months and I had a lot of depression.
 
Over the next year I was disagnosed as Bipolar mixed episoes and placed onto Effexor XR, serroquil, trazadone, ambien cr.
 
Spring 2007--I moved from weed to coke and almost killed two motor cycle cops while driving high.  At this point, I decided to go to rehab and moved into my mom's house (she moved to Phoenix in Oct 2006).  During and after outpatient therapy, I gained approximately 30 pounts in 2-3 months.
 
 
Fast forward to April 2008--I was now 60 pounds over the weight that I was when I entered rehab in April 2007.  I was getting significant adema in my legs, face, and arms (still do).  I am off serroquil and ambien cr and I am now on Lamictal and effexor xr and trazadone.  I went to a famiy practice to determine why I had gained this obscene amount of weight.  The doctor checked lipis cbc and thyroid.  The antibodies came up.  I had a repeat blood test on just the thyroid stuff.  Then I was sent to an ultrasound and there is a node discovered.  At the reuptake test they determined that it is non-cancerous (THANK GOD).  At this point, I have learned that both my Dad's mom and brother have Hashimoto's.
 
May 2008 to present--I am on Synthroid 0.75 mcg.  The weight isn't coming off despite exercising.
 
My coworker mentioned that there is an herbal way to treat the disease.  I am wondering what questions should I be asking the herbalist when I do to him/her?

[Mo]

Hello and welcome to the forum, (please forgive the formatting issues - I had to copy and paste and some of my words got linked together in the process)

As a long time sufferer I think I can recommend some advice here. Firstof all, you have had a series of traumas in your life. The first thingI would do would be to make peace with them. I used to think there wasno way to do that. I hope you will consider exploring this area becauseI believe there are root causes to many of the health problems you areexperiences and they may branch from emotional suffering. You did thebest you could with the situations you were experiences. I believethere is gentle and permanent help available.

I just found this year a way to release some of the pent-up emotionsthat could be causing many (if not most) of the symptoms I have beenexperiencing and may have jumpstarted my Hashimoto's disease.

Please check out the website and simple help found there below:

www.emofree.com

At first glance you will think, "this is weird" but believe me, itworks and it has freed me from many years of torment. I am still usingthis technique as stress comes to see the connection in my life to theresponses I normally have in my body.

This alone will safe you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars overtime. I know, I've tried so many ways to address the physical symptoms,only to find a brick wall at my emotions. I needed to start there andnow I am able to find relief in many of the physical issues.

There is an herbal preparation for Hashimoto's on my website home page which may prove to give relief:

http://myhashimotosthyroiditis.com/

I would recommend you check your prescription drugs for side effectsthat might be the culprits to some of your symptoms. You cantroubleshoot them on the net usually. That alone could give you someimportant information on how to proceed with the Hashimoto's symptomsas they may not be fully associated with Hashi's and might be druginduced side effects. Using EFT (first website I gave you), canpossibly get you off of some of the drugs which could be causing sideeffects.

On the other hand, I would recommend you consider checking for a NAETdoctor in your area who can easily and effectively check you forallergic foods and drugs and eliminate them. I am finishing mytreatments right now and it has been the best thing I ever did.

Hope some of this helps. Don't be overwhelmed. Take one step at a time and you will get better.

Take care,
Mo

[grnmtnmama]

I am so sorry to hear of all you have been through!
 
It is very common for those with depression to turn to vices to give them a "pick-me-up"...and there are all sorts of vices! Don't beat yourself up about it! It sounds like you are moving on and working hard to find answers and to heal yourself. Many people go years and years struggling with depression and illness before discovering the underlying cause. You now have a diagnosis of Hashimoto's so now you are headed in the right direction!
 
Do you have copies of all your test results? If not, you should call your doctor's office and ask them to mail you copies. Do you know what your thryroid test results were and would you share them with us?
 
You said you are on Synthroid...are you feeling any better (other than weight issues)? Are you still taking other medications?
 
Sorry for all the questions, but based on my experiences it is helpful to have this information to give you some suggestions on possible treatments to look into--as well as possible root causes that, if resolved, may help you feel better without pharacological help.
 
Hope to hear from you! All the best to you!
Janet