At the end of my rope

[Stacy]

I was diagnosed 10+ years ago as having Hashimoto disease. Since then my life has just been a struggle. I am tired all the time...yet some people view me as lazy. I have terrible mood swings and am sometimes depressed...Im viewed to be a witch or unapproachable. I have this constant feeling of just not feeling good which some see as a hypochondriac. I have lost control of my life with this disease, yet aside from the synthroid, I cannot seem to get any other help. I have seen endo specialists and basically am told that this is as good as it gets, well I just cannot accept that. I do have a goiter and since the beginning of July I have been experiencing nights where I feel as though I am having difficulty swallowing...Im afraid it will lead to difficulty breathing, and yet I am afraid to seek out medical attention. It only leads to a wide array of tests with little treatment as the result. anyone else feel this way?

[sunshine]

I want you to know that there is nothing to be afraid of in persuing medical help. It matters for you to make the doctors listen. It is important not to give up. I will tell you that I had surgery last month and he removed the middle section of the thyroid in hopes that it would relieve the pressure. It did not work. But I will not give up. There has to be a reason for the choking. Maybe you should ask about the radioactive iodine. I wish that I had an answer for you because I truly would not want anyone to suffer with the choking. I have found ways to cope with it. Usually when I would overdo myself I became exhausted and the tightening would happen worse. So I would make myself work, but not overwork. I don't know how bad your choking is but if you can still eat try eating smaller meals more through the day. A regular meal may be to much swallowing and cause the choking to tighten. Pace yourself. Also on the bad nights try sleeping on a couple of pillows and not lay flat, this helps take the pressure off. At one point the doctors thought that maybe acid reflux may be the cause. For me there was evidence of it, but not up high enough toward the throat, so they ruled it out. If there is trouble with your esophagus it can cause trouble with swallowing. Do you have trouble with heartburn or acid? The point is there may be another cause and so it is definitely worth persuing. I have been "choking" for four and a half months but fortunately it has not affected my breathing, though sometimes it feels like it could. I am so sorry that you are going through this. You are not alone and you are not crazy or a hypochondriac. Unfortunely if those around you aren't physically going through what you're going through , they can't possibly understand. I am not the same person that I was before this all started, and not everyone understands that. Each day I trust in God to help me through the day and He is faithful and what helps me through is knowing that He understands and that makes it okay that noone else around me does. Be totally happy for the good days and for the bad ones - well try your best to enjoy them too, even if it's only for a moment. As far as the wide array of tests go it is better to have a doctor that is thorough than to have one that isn't. If it wasn't for the tests I wouldn't have known that I have Hashimotos.
I have been through a few tests, but only for the thyroid and esophagus. And to tell you the truth before I had the tests and with all these symptoms going on, I didn't need anyone to tell me that I was crazy. I thought I was crazy and a hypochondriac, because I thought there was no way a person could be going through so much at one time. But once the tests were done and there was a disease present, as crazy as this sounds, I felt such a relief. Finally I could put a name to this nonsense. And when they put a scope down my throat, they did find erosion in my esophagus toward the bottom. This was a shock to me because I never even had heartburn. It's not up high enough to cause the choking. But because erosion is not good they put me on zantac to keep the acid down, to allow the esophagus to heal. I would have never thought that was going on. So having the tests are not completely a bad thing. And if a test does come out alright then whew, cool.
I hope this helps you to be encouraged not to give up and not to feel like your alone. Be strong at your next doctor's visit. You can do it.
Sunshine

[sunshine]

Hey, it's me again. I was going around this website and came across a reply by Biggs telling someone about another site. http://thyroid-disease.org.uk/
I just checked it out. I think you will find it interesting. When you get there look under symptoms. Unbelieveable. It does talk about the swallowing and choking problems. This could be a good check list for you to take to the doctor and literally show him what your going through. You can bet my next visit I will be doing the same! And just for fun - make an extra copy and put it on your frig and the next time someone misjudges you - just point them to the frig and say no more! Good Luck.