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Diary Of A New Mum -
Week 32

My Lazy Thyroid

I might have mentioned that I haven’t been feeling on top form for a while now. It seems to be taking ages for my body to return to ‘normal’ after giving birth to Jessica-Ann. For the first six months or so, I just accepted it. People tell you: It takes time. But she is seven-and-a-half months old now. How much time should you wait before you consider that something might be seriously wrong with you?

My symptoms are hard to define – and are probably no different from a million other over-worked, over-tired moms out there. Feeling constantly exhausted, no matter how much sleep I get. No energy to exercise, do basic chores, go out and about. My joints aching and swollen. Even playing with Jess is hard work some days. And worst of all – even though I’m eating well and walking with Jess twice a day, I’m still not losing any weight! In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have been putting it on…

My doctor has been doing lots of tests over the past few months, but I got the impression she was humoring me, all the time thinking: What this mom really needs is to eat a bit less chocolate. Things were different, however, when I went back this week for my test results. It seems I have what’s called an underactive thyroid. The symptoms of an underactive thyroid are – you guessed it – lethargy, weight gain, aching joints, feeling ‘viral’, and low moods…

I felt vindicated, but also a little sad. I knew all about thyroids, as my own mom also suffers from an underactive one. In case you don’t know, this little gland in your neck controls absolutely everything in your body. From your metabolism to your moods, if your thyroid isn’t producing a hormone called thyroxine in enough quantities, you are in trouble.

Happily, it is easy to treat with a synthetic form of thyroxine taken every day in a tablet. I should be able to see the results in a month or so. Still, it made me sad to think of my poor thyroid struggling to keep me going while I looked after Jessica-Ann, tried to look after Paul, and did a fairly bad job of looking after myself. Other people told me to be patient, get a bit more exercise (like I had the energy!), eat more healthily, take vitamins… the list was endless. Meanwhile, I just knew that something was wrong with me. Don’t ask me how – I just did.

The moral of the story is, if you feel that you aren’t recovering from the birth of your own baby the way you should be, don’t be afraid to push for some help. I know I’ve missed out on some fun times with Jess and Paul because I always felt so tired and poorly. Thankfully, I won’t miss out on any more. Don’t listen to what other people tell you. Just listen to yourself.

Diary of a New Mum Week 33
A Baby Cage
In which I purchase a play-pen and wait to see how Jessica-Ann will react...

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