Hepsi, What a great question and a really important issue with thyroid disease in my opinion!
As a male, I struggled in this area as well as being very frustrated at physical limitations because I was always able to work physically hard without the after effects I experience now.
It's so true that with this disease, you can look well on the outside but feel very limited on the inside. Family members have a difficult time understanding what we go through and can't relate because they can't step into our shoes literally and feel what we go through.
There's also the problem with medical opinion that says if you're a treated thyroid patient all limitations and symptoms resolve and you're 100% back to your pre-disease self. This may be the experience of some patients but many of us still experience the limitations and symptom flares, even well-treated.
In my case, over time I found I adjusted to this change and i also learned to be honest with family if I didn't feel up to participating in a family outing or event. I mostly found understanding from most of them and if I didn't find it with someone at some point, I just went forward with what I had to do and didn't let it bother me. We have to take care of ourselves because our families need us, so accepting our limitations is part of it whether we get understanding from everyone or not.
Our lives and health are to important to compromise them to always please others. Of course we want to contribute every way we can to pleasing family but have to find that balance that keeps us well and functioning relatively normal at the same time.
I wrote an article that's related to this subject,
Click here>>BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!
Last edited by JimLow - Thyroid Health; 11/22/08 06:13 PM.
