Time for some medical stuff!
I’ve been…weird lately. I’ve been having some over-reactive crying jags to daily events, and some feelings of despondency. Many of you writers think, well, you’re trying to publish! What else is new?
Except, you might remember, I’m the OPTIMISTIC writer on your friends list. 😛 Because I’m proactive, I toodled off to the doctor to see why I was feeling trapped in my own emotions. AND we’ve decided one of two possible things are going on:
1. Thyroid issues.
2. Situational depression.
I’m putting the rest of this under a cut for those of you who don’t want to hear this stuff.
Neither of these things are what I want the hypothesis to be, but my initial forays into research suggests that either is a strong candidate. If I have developed hypothyroidism, I will have to take medicine, change my diet, and monitor my needs all my life. Once I start, though, I am supposed to get peppy and happy again, so even though this one requires more maintenance, I am more than likely to be “cured” through the wonders of modern science.
Situational depression could well be triggered by familial events, several winter traumas in a row, and just plain bad weather. If this is the issue, we’ll know by checking my seratonin levels, and if they are low, I’ll probably take an SSI for a bit. Of course, the issue with depression meds is that they can help, but they are fairly unpredictable and experimental, finding what works. On the other hand, situational depression is more finite than hypothyroidism, provided the treatments don’t mess me up. The medical folks tell me there is little chance of it, but I remain skeptical from years of cultural conditioning.
There it is. For the moment, I’m going to switch my priorities to get things done off, and work on what I feel like when I feel like it. Luckily, I’m under no deadlines for anything. No doubt I’ll write and sew, because that’s what I do for fun, and I’m feeling the need to have fun (another sign that there is a problem is both of those activities haven’t been fun recently…). I’m sure that we’ll get this under control, and one way or the other, I will be back to a reasonable approximation of myself in no time.
Thanks for listening.
Catherine
I’m glad you’re staying on top of this, and I hope you get it under control soon.
Oh, me too. I can’t stand doing moody! Just can’t stand it!
Catherine
So sorry you’re going through this, Catherine, but glad that you’re following up to get to the bottom of it. Good luck!
Peg
I love to kibbitz on medical stuff. Your symptoms are so vague that I would tend to think there are a lot more possibilities than just two. I have known a number of people with hypothyroidism including many in my family, and I’ve never heard of needing to change diet and lifestyle. The thyroid supplement is completely curative, as long as you keep taking it. I wouldn’t worry at all about thyroid problems since they are so easy to treat. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had enough misfortune recently to possibly trigger situational depression. I hope you feel better soon!
You’re right about the hypothyroidism. Most of my mother’s side of the family (including my mother and sister) have thyroid problems that they deal with pretty effectively with meds. Good luck in figuring out what it is, as well as with whatever treatment you’ll need.
(((Hugs)))
Well done for tackling it sensibly. Feel better soon.
It’s the vicious circle of crab. Or at least that’s what I call it, when you’re feeling all crummy and you KNOW you don’t usually feel so cranky and you just get even crankier at yourself for feeling so uncharacteristically cranky!
*phew* Either way I hope you feel much better soon, good luck and I hope you find some fun.