What thyroid?

Here's the thing they don't really spend much time or emphasis on when they are about to obliterate your thyroid with radiation: being hypothyroid sucks.  I don't think there was really enough talk dedicated to that- it was all about getting better and getting my body to please stop attacking my thyroid.

I only say that to drive the point home- believe you me, it is not a fun feeling.  And I have to say, I actually *do* feel better this week then I did last week (but then, I had the flu or something last week).  I would have to guess the thyroid hormone replacement is thus far putting a dent in things.  I'm sure I'm not where I need to be yet, but hopefully getting there.

But I want to tell you how this feels.  Imagine you're walking through mud.  Really, really thick mud.  My leg muscles get so overtired that they barely want to walk upstairs.  You're hair? It comes out in clumps in the shower.  Not necessarily a bad thing for me since I have quite a lot of thick hair, but still a tad troubling to watch it happen.  You feel tired.  Very, very tired.  Like you could pass out dead asleep at any given moment.   And then there's the chill.  The deep chill that is only fixed with super, hot water (the kind that turns your skin red) in the shower (the part that sucks about that is actually getting out of the shower).  I have to admit, the cold thing hasn't been too bad for me- it's mostly the legs and the tiredness.  Oh, and if you even look at a cookie--or ride in the same car as a piping, hot, ooey gooey pizza--and you've gained 2 pounds.  For realz.  This is the very reason I was eating my barley with black bean burger concoction while the boys ate pepperoni pizza.  Who needs to deal with that kind of thing?

But here's the other thing.  If you power through; if you have a kid who doesn't stop and therefore you can't stop.  If you're in the middle of potty training, which quite honestly REALLY takes it out of you.  If you have a beautiful house that needs to be cleaned, dishes to put away, laundry to do. Well then.  There really isn't much choice, is there?  If you power through, it doesn't really phase you too much.  Really it's when you sit down that you realize how exhausted you are.  The best part (best medicine?) really is the working out.  Yeah, I never thought I of all people would say that either.  It is true though.  Tonight I was tired to the core and the last thing on my mind was going to spin class.  But I love Thursday night spin class (not to be confused with Tuesday morning spin class- which I LOVE love love).  In fact, I despise going to the gym in the evening, but for spin class I will do it.  So I drag my slowly moving legs into the gym, wrestle my kid into the daycare, walk the 2 flights of stairs up to cycle class, and get set up on my bike.  All the while thinking how much I'd rather be sitting on a couch instead of a bike.  Then the music gets going.  My legs start pedaling, the sweat starts pouring, and really before I know it, the hour is up.  Re-energized.  It's magical I tell you.  And tomorrow morning? I'll be dragging, but I'll still bring the kid to the gym and I'll still go to barbell class, and you know what? I'll be sore, especially those dang legs- but I will feel energized.  There's something to be said of pushing yourself to do something, even when you really, really don't want to.   There's something to be said of not making excuses.  There is something to be said of sometimes the best medicine? It's not actually a medicine at all. 

Yes.  I am aware the whole walk-through-mud-jelly-leg feeling may have more to do with spin class then the whole thyroid thing, but clearly I'm not fully convinced. :-)

P.S.  For those following more interesting things than my thyroid, like, say, my kid...potty training is still going.  He does pretty well at home.  That's not to say he didn't drop a huge turd by the front door yesterday, because that, he definitely did.  He has however, put the majority of his output into the potty.  Going out in public is another thing though.  We left the house in undies yesterday (in lieu of pull-up) and you've never seen me move so fast through Walmart.  I was so afraid of an accident happening in the middle of the store I had a true pep in my step. 

We made it home dry, by the way.