Living with Congenital Hypothyroidism

Hi everyone I know I haven't blogged in a while, it's been a hectic time. Last week was one of those long and never ending weeks. I had 2 class tests and a semester test in 1 week. It doesn't sound so bad, but the semester test was on the Saturday so I had to plan ahead. Starting studying for Saturday on Monday and then also in between had to study for those class tests and try to finalise 4 projects of which 3 are group projects. Saturday straight after my test in the morning I went to the computer rooms on campus to work on the one project for which I needed special computer software. I was on campus till 17:30 and Sunday I had to finalise another group project so I had no rest before this week started. I'm somewhere in between zombie and autopilot at this moment. Yesterday I went to the doctor to get my test results of my blood draw. Turns out I'm "overactive" which is weird since I don't have a thyroid gland. Doctor said it's not too bad...

Hi everyone Today my skin is itchy which is also one of the symptoms. My skin is one of the things I struggle the most with, being tired is one thing I can go to bed, but if you don’t know what to do with your skins anymore what do you do? When I was very younger soap use to burn me a bit, but it doesn’t anymore. I just prefer to use soap that makes my skin feel better without burning me and without unnecessary fragrances. My skin is just very dry. It isn’t dry all over and still feels soft and so on but I can feel it’s dry. I’ve tried lots of different soaps and lotions over the years. I’ve tried everything from Ingram’s, Aqua Cream to Pure Cream. Cheap to expensive. I’ve come to the conclusion that what I use now might only work for me for a few months and then it won’t anymore, honestly no idea how that works but that seems to be the pattern. Generally, my skin is dry on my face, arms and mostly my legs. The cream I’m using right now is Nivea Body Cream Rich Nourishing. ...

Hi everyone I know I talked about not feeling normal yesterday, which sounds crazy but I know people with the same condition know exactly what I'm talking about. But you know what this is my "normal" and it doesn't define who I am and what I can accomplish in life. It influences me every day, but I'm not going to let it hold me back from what I want in life. Coping with feeling tired all the time. I feel tired all the time, but of course I know the different levels. It's like the tiredness is always somewhere in the background, but I'm coping in my own unique way. Obviously, 8 hours of sleep or more would be amazing but it's not very realistic. Life get's in the way, so to speak, and there are things that must be done. I'm currently a student at Stellenbosch University studying Bcom Investment Management. I'm final year now and we don't have a lot of class, mostly 3 hours of class a day and not 3 hours directly after one ano...

Hi everyone Today I'm feeling lekker tired, which is my own fault because I watched a movie until the early hours of this morning and woke up at abut 8:30. This made me think about some of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. A quick Google search will give you a list of things, but as we all know you can't always believe Google. Instead I want to share some symptoms that I experience: Fatigue Dry and sensitive skin Thin hair Cold body temperature (I'm always colder than the average person) Dry, brittle and flaky nails Struggle to concentrate Terrible handwriting Less stamina or energy than others Very emotional Depressed at times Being born with this condition does give me an advantage compared to people who have felt "normal" before. Normal as in their thyroid was in perfect condition before being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism or after their thyroid had to be removed. They know how they use to feel where I've been ...

Hi everyone I literally just decided to start this blog. In the next few blogs I will tell you more about my journey to where I am today, but this first blog I'll start with the day I was born. I was born in the small town Ceres in the middle of freezing winter, if you've ever been there you will know it's very cold. After I was born the doctor who did all the necessary tests on me believed to take a blood test on new born babies for their thyroid levels, apparently this was before it was an official test to do. He found out that my thyroid levels weren't normal. My parents were sent to a hospital somewhere in Cape Town where they were told I was born without an thyroid gland. I was put on Eltroxin for the rest of my life. Since I was so young I have no knowledge about any side effects or any cool stories. I can only remember a few things. What I do know is that if that doctor didn't do that test I wouldn't be the same person as I am today since the horm...