Growing Up (Outwards!)...

In 1971, I married, aged 20.  My husband and I talked of having four children but by the time I was 22, it just wasn't happening.  I went into hospital for a D&C but they found nothing amiss.  One month later I had another D&C (!) and a laproscopy and once again they found nothing wrong.  (As a little 'extra', this time, when I came around from the anaesthetic I had total double vision for a while.)

After further tests, on both of us, we were sent away and told they could find nothing wrong "and it's probably that you're just low fertility."

About four years later, in 1977, I did get pregnant but this ended in a miscarriage after a few weeks.

As it looked like we could not have children, in 1979, we applied to adopt a child, but were thwarted in this too: during our first official interview (having already completed all the forms, checks etc. to their satisfaction) we were told that there was a waiting list and that by the time we would reach the top of the list we would be too old and hence they would not accept us - too old, at 31! 

In 1980, my husband and I went to university, for three years, as undergraduates.  By then, I was desperate for medical help, for a whole range of symptoms - which I now know are ones of hypothyroidism.  Of particular concern and annoyance was my very puffy eyes and face - looking straight ahead I could actually see my cheeks and my eyes were barely open.  As I said to the doctor, I wasn't there for cosmetic reasons: the worse my eyes were, the worse I felt; the two were definitely linked: a statement I was to re-iterate to an endocrinologist some thirty-one years later, and with just as little effect.

The doctor barely looked at me and gave me a diuretic, something, I now know was the worst he thing he could have given me.  I did use it on and off for a few years when I was really desperate, but it never really helped and as I still silently hoped I'd get pregnant, I didn't want to take it long-term.

My health problems and waistline continued to grow, regardless of how little I ate or how much exercise I managed to do. (I was and am one of the many people who don't eat junk food, cakes, crisps, chocolate etc. and yet have to put up with seeing/hearing about people who lose so much weight by giving up such things; galling and very unfair 

For years, life often seemed to be me hiding things - like pretending I wasn't out of breath on a walk (by shallow breathing) or that hours spent in the bathroom wasn't because I was chronically constipated.  Despite my husband's support and him always saying about my weight that 'there must be more to it', ie. he knew I was eating little and exercising, and that he didn't think I was unfit, I always felt fat and lazy - oh, and spotty! 

Occasionally, over the 25 years I'd been under the same doctor's surgery, I'd go for help: "I'm SO constipated and horrendously bloated..." - "eat more fibre" - "I can't eat any more if I tried and I think that it actually makes it worse..."  - "eat more fibre" ; "I've got bronchitis again?" - "yes, you need antibiotics" - "I've got bronchitis again?" - "yes, you need antibiotics, but don't bother coming to see me just phone up when you need them" ; "I've been permanently nauseous for the past two months and I seem to be reacting to more and more foods" - "well, avoid them then" ; "I'm not getting any sleep because of the pains" - "it's your age" [first said when I was ~35!] - and so on and so on. 

In 1989, desperate, in pain, reacting very badly to the onion family I went to see a Homeopath.  He listened; he prescribed; I took; I no longer reacted to onions; I became pregnant...and in 1990, 18 years after first trying for a family we had a beautiful daughter (who is now 21 - where does the time go?!).

All female problems including infertility, miscarriage, fibrocystic breast disease, ovarian fibroids, cystic ovaries, endometriosis, PMS and menopausal symptoms are usually caused or aggravated by hypothyroidism coupled with estrogen dominance (estrogen unopposed by progesterone).  This can occur even with a normal estrogen level if progesterone is low or with normal progesterone if the estrogen is high.  What is the thyroid-estrogen connection?  Estrogen inhibits thyroid secretion.  Progesterone stimulates it... 

Taken from:  Hypothyroidism Lita Lee