Getting it Right

In order to try to boost my chances at getting my thyroid levels as well as my A1C optimized (and below diabetic levels), I'm trying something new. I've been unsuccessful at changing my eating habits in the past because in part that I'm lazy and don't want to have to keep track of every little thing but also because it's hard to keep yourself on track. I also freely admit, I don't like to exercise. I'm a couch potato.

I've tried several different things this year including doing Weight Watchers on my own and doing the Eat to Live program. I believe both of these programs can work wonderfully for people and before I had thyroid issues Weight Watchers worked great for me.  What it comes down to, really, is that when you have hypothyroid your metabolism is working at a fraction of the speed it should be at optimally.

Because the thyroid isn't working optimally, it's harder to keep the motivation to continue plugging away at eating on these plans. At first, of course, I lose weight but that doesn't last past the first week. Then it's up and down like a yoyo. It gets frustrating and makes me want to give up. The only problem is, now I have a goal that I want to reach. It may not happen by December 19th when I get the results of the bloodwork for the first 3 months on thyroid meds, and I realize that's okay.

The important thing is that it happens at all. As long as I give it my best effort, it will work eventually. My goal is to get that IVF scholarship from INCIID and be healthy enough to be accepted by a fertility specialist to do it. I'll focus on having the money to pay for the PGD and doing the fundraising after that. It doesn't matter if it takes a year or more to get my levels right, though I pray that it doesn't take that long, what matters is that I get them optimized and get healthy.

I was very upset after researching what the side effects of hypothyroidism are on a fetus because every side effect was something that our baby, Nora, had. Granted, I don't know how much of her condition was caused by hypothyroidism and how much was caused by DH's chromosome defect, but the fact remains that if I had been diagnosed then, she might be alive today.

I realize that my condition did start in pregnancy. I started having a racing heart beat early in pregnancy, I was always tired (the kind of tired where I'd take a nap at work then go home and take a nap plus sleep eight hours or more a night), and I put on weight fast despite eating well the first few months.

This makes me realize just how important getting it right is because if I don't, we might never have children of our own. We have always said we'd like to adopt children as well as having our own, but when that's the only possibility a little part of your heart dies. I'm not saying we wouldn't love that child any less because that would still be our baby, but not getting to be there at birth and not getting to carry it, that would be heartbreaking.