I really need to vent this ... and maybe someone will find my story helpful along the way.

The term "hypothyroidism" was first mentioned to me in 1994 when I weighed about 170 or so. My husband and I were trying to have a baby with no luck for years so we went to a doctor ... I was told that I was "borderline hypothyroid" but I shouldn't worry about taking anything for that ... then he proceeded to try and sell me on taking fertility drugs that would cost $600 a month that my insurance wouldn't cover. We couldn't afford that so we walked away... good thing because I got pregnant a year later without them.

Anyway ... over the years whenever I went to a new doctor I faithfully mentioned the previous doctor saying "hypothyroid" They would test me ... and tell me that it wasn't serious or that I was withing normal range. All the while I got fatter, I got more fatigued, and endured more pain. This was mostly ignored or written off as me just getting older and caused by the weight. I would try dieting leaving myself hungry until I quit, exercise attempts that would leave me exhausted and not even giving me much in the way of results.

So just a few months ago I land in front of a new doctor again ... and recite all the same old things this time adding in my interest in having WLS (which I was dead serious about). Once again I have a blood test and again my numbers are only slightly lower than normal ... but this time I get a phone call saying that the doctor wants me to take something for my thyroid ... they called in a prescription for me. Off to the pharmacy I go where my pills are already waiting for me.

I go home and take the first because I hadn't eaten yet and was willing to wait a few hours before I had my lunch. So I sit and waste some time on the internet. About 2 hours later I started to feel like I was more awake.... like maybe I drank some coffee. Over the following week I have noticed that I have more energy, am in less pain and have a reduced appetite.

While I am very relived to be feeling better I am trying hard not to be angry about all the years I lost while I wasn't being treated. Another part of me is worried that this will just be temporary ... that the pill will lose this effect.

So there i my story at the moment.

A small dose isn't going to make much difference except psychologically. You still have to exercise and eat right and do all the work of weight loss.

I know what effect is going on because it is my body ... and I don't need you to tell me what I need to do to lose weight.

I disagree about the small dose. You know how your body feels and hopefully it will last. The "small dose" thinking probably contributed to all those doctors not treating you over the years.

Good for you for finally getting some answers. Enjoy feeling better!

Exactly. The idea that everything that doctors can't explain is automatically psychosomatic is an insult ... and frankly deadly.

Doctors still pat woman on the head when they talk about their medical problems ... The mindset of "oh woman don't have heart disease problems so don't worry your pretty little head about it." has literally killed us because we allowed that kind of thinking.

I won't stand for it and and neither should anyone else.

You're awfully aggressive when people disagree with you.

Um, I don't think she is. I think the first poster was rather rude and told her it was all in her head that a small dose of meds could help her. I think that's unnecessarily judgemental and we're supposed to be here to support each other.

And then there was an honest reaction to my post where the OP expressed her feelings about the medical community.

I don't find either post "aggressive." But maybe I'm aggressive too. Which I would have to take as a compliment in this situation.

My post was not my opinion to be agreed or disagreed with ... it is a piece of my life.

Let me ask you this... if you tell a story of a low dose of aspirin relieving the pain of a headache and someone implies that its just a placebo effect how would you feel? What if you dealt with that headache for 20 years and the implication was made that it was just imaginary pain .. how would you feel?

Personally I don't like it when a complete stranger thinks they can pass judgment ... not only dismissing my pain relief as being all in my head ... but also insinuating that I am lazy with a snide comment on "doing the work"

If standing up against that makes me "aggressive" so be it.

And thank you Emy.

If you don't want opinions, perhaps you shouldn't post publicly online or get defensive when someone posts one. It is a blessing to find a doctor to listen to you and trust you when you say that something isn't right, and I'm glad you feel better. Many people, men AND women, are forced to deal with healthcare personnel that just blows them off. You'll notice if you read through the posts that no one here ever said your symptoms weren't real or called you lazy, that you were the one saying those things. She just pointed out that treating hypothyroidism still requires the same hard work (that I'm sure you're incredibly familiar with, the same as the rest of us) that weight loss always takes.

You should research the effects and timelines of medications before comparing them as an argument.

Yeah, why the heck should I expect support from a support group website? And heck, why should anyone think that a medication prescribed by a doctor would have an actual effect? What's the point of even taking it right? Let's see if anyone else taking Levothyroxine would be willing to cut their dosage by 50 ... I mean if it isn't going to do anything.

I should just sit here and take whatever abuse anyone decides to dish out because its my fault for sharing right? And regardless of your opinion ... that IS what she is doing. And now you don't like it because I won't tolerate it. If I'm not going to take it from her I certainly won't take it from you either.