Reflections Of A Phat Chick, Part 2:

*Helpful Hint* Scroll down & Read Part 1 First...
According to WebMD, Hypothyroidism means your thyroid is not making enough thyroid hormone. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. It makes hormones that control the way your body uses energy.
Having a low level of thyroid hormone affects your whole body. It can make you feel tired and weak. If hypothyroidism is not treated, it can raise your cholesterol levels and make you more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. During pregnancy, untreated hypothyroidism can harm your baby. Luckily, hypothyroidism is easy to treat.
People of any age can get hypothyroidism, but older adults are more likely to get it. Women age 60 and older have the highest risk. You are more likely to get the disease if it runs in your family.
Hypothyroidism can cause many different symptoms, such as:
Feeling tired, weak, or depressed.
Dry skin and brittle nails.
Not being able to stand the cold.
Constipation.
Memory problems or having trouble thinking clearly.
Heavy or irregular menstrual periods.
Symptoms occur slowly over time. At first you might not notice them, or you might mistake them for normal aging. See your doctor if you have symptoms like these that get worse or won't go away.  How is hypothyroidism diagnosed?  Your doctor will ask questions about your symptoms. You will also have a physical exam. If your doctor thinks you have hypothyroidism, a simple blood test can show if your thyroid hormone level is too low. How is it treated? Doctors usually prescribe thyroid hormone pills to treat hypothyroidism. Most people start to feel better within a week or two. Your symptoms will probably go away within a few months. But you will likely need to keep taking the pills for the rest of your life.   Double Crap!  It's important to take your medicine just the way your doctor tells you to. You will also need to see your doctor for follow-up visits to make sure you have the right dose. Getting too much or too little thyroid hormone can cause problems.

WELL....imagine my dismay!  With Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, and Diabetes already part of my family histore, now I get to add Hypothyroidism and Vitiligo....awesome.  So...what do I do now?  How do I put Humpty Dumpty Dee back together again?  Well...first thing I did was QUIT SMOKING!   You may also gain weight because nicotine is a stimulant that artificially increases your metabolism. Sometimes people gain weight because they feel hungrier after they quit smoking. so. If you are concerned about weight gain, keep this fact in mind. The health damage of a pack of cigarettes a day is about the same as carrying 60 or more extra pounds. The more you smoke, the more weight you'd have to put on to negate the health benefits of quitting smoking.  This was terribly difficult for me to remain a non smoker.  At the time I chose to quit, my parents were on the verge of a very ugly divorce and my stress levels were at an all time high!  Paired with my wonderful thyroid condition, I gained almost thirty pounds!  EEK!  :'O(  It was super hard to lose the whole victim motif I had going on for myself..., "I'm a big, fat, depressed, loser with a Michael Jackson skin condition ... but hey, I no longer smell like an ashtray!  WooHoo, yay me!"  I was stuck in that mode for a really long time!  I even quit singing for a while...I had become a prisoner inside my new "voluptuous" self.  Something happens to your psyche...you seem to accept your fate, like you deserve to be miserable because you were dumb enough to allow yourself to get this way. 
Let's get something straight, kids...my body is obese.  And I didn't one day wake up to this magically.  My condition is a symptom of the true problem...which 50% is my body not being able to regulate itself and 50% me abusing and neglecting it.  Being fat is only a symptom.  The good news is...I don't have to settle or be a victim of it anymore and if you are anything like me or having the same type of issues...you don't have to either!  In order to have peace and contentment with your body...you have to learn to like yourself and set small goals.  Forgive yourself.  Make a new commitment that you are worth the effort.  That you deserve better!  And you have to be all about true behavioral change and making a new commitment to food.  It's not there to comfort you, to love you, to provide friendship or stress relief for you....it is there to act as a mere fuel to propel your body into motion.  Don't mistake it's purpose.  If you have always had an unhealthy relationship with food in the past, then my guess would be your weight isn't the only toxic thing going on in your life.  One issue at a time!  And hey...one fat chick to another....this is all just MY OPINION....take it or leave it.  But the purpose I posted this on here was to hopefully bring some information to the surface...even if it's only to reaffirm myself.  But, for the record, I hope this helps you too, wherever you are in your journey. 
And if you are fit and healthy and never had to deal with anything like this...well, good for you.  Just remember not to judge someone else for having to deal with this stuff.  You don't have any idea why they are the way they are.

In Grace and Peace~
D

Reflections Of A Phat Chick! Part 1:

After 37 wonderful years, one sits back and reflects...don't they?   I am.  Looking at where I've been, where I've ended up, and where I'd like to go.  My weight has always been an issue.  I grew up learning to lean on food for emotional comfort...silly as it may seem.  Pretty unhealthy way to view a sustaining life force.  I don't think it was really ever an evident, self-defined problem until after I had my son.  I was 26 years old and always managed to maintain my weight at about 135 pounds without trying.  My five foot three inch frame wore that weight comfortably, but by no means was I a "skinny mini".  I was happy there.  When I was in my early to mid twenties, I started to notice that my skin was losing it's pigment on my hands.  How odd...no clue as to why.  Never went to the dr. about it, just thought it was something wierd, some vitamin deficiency.  No one else in my family had it, my parents, my sister...hmm...no big deal right?  I later found out I was pregnant with my first child.  What a blessing!  But a year later, that baby weight was terribly difficult to get rid of.  During my pregnancy, I gained about forty pounds with my son and during the last trimester of my pregnancy, I had developed an undiagnosed case of gestational diabetes.  Ever since, I have done nothing but battle my weight.  I would lose ten or fifteen pounds just to gain twenty or twenty five.  Keep in mind, at this time, I was also a smoker.  *sigh*  My poor endocrine system was being run through the wringer and I didn't even know it!  I didn't even know what a thyroid was, much less how it worked and what it did in my body....or more importantly, what it WASN'T doing in my body.  Just in the last five years, I have done enough research and found that my skin condition is called Vitiligo and is an autoimmune disorder.  According to the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, this disease affects an estimated 1% of the world's population. It affects individuals of all ethnic origins and both sexes, but is much more easily noticed on darker skin as areas that fail to tan. It is hereditary in one third of those affected. Vitiligo often starts on the hands, feet or face, and frequently pigment loss is progressive. Half the patients first notice vitiligo before 20 years of age. It often appears in an area of minor injury or sunburn.
It is believed that vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder (autoimmune means the bodies own immune system turns on itself). Certain white blood cells direct the destruction of melanocytes. People with vitiligo are also somewhat more prone to other autoimmune diseases, such as alopecia areata, autoimmune thyroid disorders, Addison's disease, pernicious anemia, and diabetes mellitus.   Well....that answers a question or two, now doesn't it?  Crap!  To find out that maybe this wierd skin pigment thing I had developed was also paired up with something that was hindering my weight control problem!  Both of my parents had been diagnosed with hypothyroid disease. 

brier-roisin

brier-roisin


This is my best friend's deviant art site, go check out the rest of her photos.  There are some really awesome shots that she has harnessed.  Pretty cool!  Just wanted to share with the rest of the world...
Grace and Peace,
D

Just 'cause I thought they were funny...