Living with Congenital Hypothyroidism

 Hi everyone I have some great news! In a little bit more than a week I'm moving to my new job. If you are new here, I'm a teacher and I graduated last year. The first term of the school year is already over, so I'm starting in the second term. I took this photo at my recent substituting job at a school close to home. I currently live with my parents in Somerset West and my new job is in Villiersdorp. It's a small town about a hour from my parents' house and about a hour from where my boyfriend studies. I'm moving into the hostile, where I will be doing some duties in exchange for my rent and food. That means no cooking, cleaning and lots of bonding with students inside and outside of school. These last few weeks I've been buying all the things I need, preparing what I want to pack and making lists. I am very exciting and I really can't wait to have my own classroom and move out of my parents' house.  Young adult moving from b...

Hi everyone Last week my two weeks of substituting at a school near my house ended. I learned a lot during this time and it also reminded me of the feeling we all know too well. The feeling you get when you have so much to do, but physically you are to tired to do so. If you're reading my blog for the first time or maybe you forgot, I'm a teacher. I graduated last year.  I substituted for a teacher who's main subject isn't my main subjects, but my Bcomm degree gave me the ability to do so. First of all, substituting sucks. The students don't know you, their discipline decreases and you don't necessarily have access to all the school communication. Teaching in a classroom like that is difficult and I had to make adjustments accordingly, but I absolutely loved it. I knew exactly what work I had to cover during these two weeks. Planning was mostly done for me, except for Maths where I had to do everything myself. I really enjoyed planning the Maths,...

Hi everyone Happy new year to all of you. I wish you all the best for this year. Biggest thing that happened and changed my life is my boyfriend. We met in June last year and have been together officially for six months now. He is very understanding and supportive of everything I do and feel. He is very supportive towards my condition as well. I've always felt that this is very important as Hypothyroidism effects how I feel, how tired I am and I have to take my medication half an hour before eating in the morning. He has been very sweet and woke me up, during the holiday, in the mornings to make sure I have half a hour before breakfast as we would all have breakfast together in the mornings. I couldn't be more happy and in love. I feel so much love and appreciation daily. I got my blood drawn and went to the doctor after my exams and before going away on holiday. I was feeling very tired although I was already well rested after my exams. First my doctor said...

I made these scrunchies myself. Photo credit: @erikswart7 Hey everyone We see many articles and YouTube videos about self care, but I believe we should make self care our habits. We should do things that enable us to take care of ourselves and make time for some special self care. Here is a list of things that should be habits: Take your medication before breakfast Wash your face with suitable face wash daily Use moisturiser/lotion/body butter that works for you Wear spf daily Exfoliate daily Try to drink enough water Exercise (walking and climbing stairs count) Know your limits and don't feel bad when you can't do something Be honest with yourself about the things you can and cannot physically do. Your body knows best Get at least 7.5 hours of sleep Set goals about what you need/want to do today Plan your day & week My point is that everyone shouldn't tell us how to take care of yourself, tips are informative and I give them to you too, bu...

Hi everyone As some of you might know, I'm busy doing my Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). Part of this course, is doing practical teaching at a school. It's 6 weeks out of 9 weeks at the moment. I am coping. I'm not too tired, I can still deal. I get all my work done, because of good planning and enough sleep. I'm not going to lie, I am tired but not too tired that I can't function properly every day. Apart from what I have to do as a student, I have also been substituting for a teacher for the last 3 weeks. The school doesn't have enough teachers to teach this teacher's classes and I'm the only student teacher qualified enough to to the job. In other words, I've been a full time teacher these last three weeks while also doing all my student work. It has been a very good experienced filled with all the good and bad times of teaching, but I have been given the opportunity to learn so much more than the average student. I've...

Hi everyone I took these photos on Monday, it will be my last day on campus for a while. We just finished with our exams and I think it went well, still waiting for marks. I am currently busy with my postgrad in education, so this exam was the post relaxed of all my exams so far. I wrote exams and my other had 6 assignments to do, one of which was an IsiXhosa oral. I put myself into a routine waking up at 7:30 every day and 5:30 on the days I wrote. I also had minimum stress as I've worked hard, given my best and I only have year modules. It is the end of the semester now and I have a month long holiday till I start with my practical at a school for three months. We went for a school visit on Tuesday and the school is great! I felt welcome immediately. It is exciting and scary at the same time, I am in that period in my life where student life is ending very fast and I am approaching adult life. I have lots of adulting to do this holiday. Jobs to apply and forms to fi...

Hi everyone About a week ago I went to an endocrinologist for the first time. Endocrinologists specialize in the endocrine system which controls hormones. I went for the first time now, because I only found out about these kind of doctors a few months ago and no doctor or person ever told me that I should. If you've read my previous blog posts you'll know that I'm really struggling with my super itchy skin. Not just that but I found out that there's a new formula for Eltroxin. I was on Eltroxin for most of my life and changed about 2 or 3 years ago when the medical aid decided they will only pay for Euthyrox, which is the generic version of Eltroxin. I Googled it a bit...from what I can understand,the main ingredient of Eltroxin and Euthyrox is levothyroxine. The only difference being the ingredients used to put the pill together. I have a history of being allergic for medication and as far as I can remember I've always had dry skin, but never as bad as wh...

Hi everyone I hope you are having an amazing day so far. Today I want to share with you the medication I'm taking and how I'm making sure that I'm the best version of myself. I'm currently taking 100mg of Euthyrox every morning before breakfast. The pamphlet inside says you should take it 30 minutes before breakfast, but I honestly don't do that. I asked my doctor about it and she says it doesn't make a difference, just take it before eating. Please consult your own doctor about this. I took Eltroxin since I was born and switched to Euthyrox about two years ago. The medical aid stopped paying the full amount for Eltroxin but pay the full about for Euthyrox. I switched from the one to the other without feeling any different and taking the same amount. The packaging and the taste differ. I use to chew the Eltroxin, but now take the Euthyrox with water. Don't worry, I asked the doctor if it was ok to chew the Eltroxin. Currently I take 100mg, i...

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 ...