Spring of 2005
Going to graduate school, working full time and being tired is normal right??? Well, I thought it was until I went to my doctor due to a cold. Lucky me, I go to my doctor but she is out, so I get to see the quack doctor that is filling in for her. I say quack doctor because she reminded me of a gypsy from her manerisims to her clothing. So this is where my story begins:
The doctor feels around my neck and says "You have nodules and a goiter" you need to go to an endocrinologist and get your thyroid checked. My response "Huh, what's a thyroid and what's a goiter and what nodules??? This lady is a quack I am going to someone else. So off I go to another doctor who happens to be a family friend ( he has to know what he is talking about because he is a family friend). He feels my neck and says, "Yes you do have a goiter/enlarged thyroid" I am not sure about the nodules because I can't feel them but it's possible., I am going to have you get some blood work done to test your TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) and an ultrasound. So off I go, and sure enough my blood work comes back okay but the ultrasound shows an enlarged thyroid and nodules. Thanks to my strange results, the doctor sends me to an Endocrinologist. He does further test and I am told.......
You have hypothyroidism, actually you have Hashimotos. You also have nodules and we need to check for cancer. SAY WHAT!!!!!!! Cancer??? Hashimotos what in the world is that??? Hashimotos is an autoimmune disorder, for some unknown reason you body decides to attack your thyroid cells. So off I go to have a biopsy of the nodules. Results come back as non-cancerous, but I still have to deal with this Hashimotos thing that sounds like some sort of Sushi. So I am given the infamous levothyroxine at a low dose, along with a trip back to the endocrinologist and ultrasound to re-check and the adventure begins