WARNING: for those of you who are healthy, this will be really boring. Those of you with thyroid problems may find this interesting.
2012 was a year of changes.
I went from:
Climate
Teton Valley has an average annual precipitation at the 6,100 ft. level of 15.9 inches (2004). The average snowfall is 73.7 inches. In July, the highest average daily maximum temperature is 81.7°F. In January, the lowest average daily minimum temperature registers at 6.4°F.
To:
Climate:
Port Charlotte has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) bordering on a tropical wet and dry climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw).[10] The summers are long, hot and humid with frequent afternoon thunderstorms. The winters are mild to warm with a pronounced drop in precipitation. Year round, the diurnal temperature change averages around 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius).
It's been noted that there's a seasonal variation in thyroid hormones. I went from nearly perpetual winter (summer days Idaho were often colder than the coldest winter day here) to perpetual summer. Medically, my Free T3 and Free T4 went up when I moved here.
Here's the medical paralysis and fear part. My Free T4 was about 1.3 in Idaho during 2011. In January 2012, it went to 1.4, July of 2012 1.5 (with high FT3 both times). Because I was switching doctors and because I didn't think a rise in FT4 that small could actually make a difference in how I felt, I left my thyroid meds right where they were. I was actually hoping that I'd go a little hyper and lose some weight (didn't happen). I've gone hypothyroid when lowering my thyroid meds before. I become a mass of crying Jell-O. I hate that feeling and wanted to avoid it at all costs. I turned a blind eye to all of my negative symptoms (hair falling out in a disgusting amount, digestive difficulties, wanting to exercise a lot and then being really tired, I was greasy, sleeping like the dead, loss of period for the most part), but the worst was that I couldn't think straight. I was afraid to make a change because I thought I was going to get worse. I was wrong.
The hair loss became so frightening that I stopped washing my greasy hair because when I washed my hair, it would fall out in large amounts. Finally, I had to make a decision, I had to stop being a martyr. I lowered my thyroid meds. That was six weeks ago.
About a month ago, I began to come out of my fog. I was like, "Holy CRAP!!! This is it! Now, my life will really change."
Today, I'm happy I finally overcame my fear of change, lowered my thyroid meds, have hair and can think. Medical paralysis and fear have slowed down the last year of my life. I am feeling so much better. Watch out world!