War of images

Have you ever felt like you were being pulled every which way and no matter what you did, you were not doing the right thing? That’s kind of how I’ve felt on this new adventure with Little Ring – image wise. Seriously, the journey towards him and the journey with him has been an honest to goodness war of images.

You see, all throughout my pregnancy I was given a hard time by doctors, nurses, acquaintances, and complete strangers for the amount of weight I was gaining (39 pounds in total and I delivered 3 weeks early. I’m not gonna lie, I looked like I had a giant yoga ball strapped to the front of me… but being called Tubs by a co-worker, not cool.) And then, shortly after Little Ring arrived, I started getting the complete opposite kind of comments on how great I looked for just having a baby; what was my secret; I must not be eating any sweet treats at all; my gawd, your baby is not even three months and you look like that… a little bitterness sprinkled throughout each of them. And at first I felt guilty, like I should still be huge, but then I thought, screw that, my metabolism rocks – that is most definitely something to celebrate!

Oh, but wait. Apparently it doesn’t rock quite as much as I thought it did…

Earlier this week I had my annual appointment with my diabetic doctor (who, by the way, I’ve had a major crush on since I was a teenager… he wears bow ties; it’s dorky cute ;)) and like clockwork he told me how great my Hga1C numbers were again, and how “off their rockers” the pregnancy doctors I dealt with were for persistently giving me a hard time about my weight gain. “How many other patients could they possibly have that were bringing back consistent 5.6, 5.9, 5.5 numbers?”

But, he said, that thyroid of yours is working overtime.

Apparently the dose for my under-active thyroid, which I’ve been battling for 17 years, has been a bit on the high side, which, he said, can cause rapid weight loss. Hmm…

Funny, when I was at my GPs office the other day I noticed a poster on the wall about how hypothyroidism (which is what I have) is a common post-pregnancy side effect that’s often mistaken for postnatal depression. And here I am going the complete opposite way! Did I actually get a good side effect of pregnancy? Did pregnancy cure my thyroid issues? Will I finally be able to rid myself of those dang pills I sometimes forget to take?

No. In addition to rapid weight loss, an overactive thyroid can also cause breast milk to dry up, which thankfully it hasn’t done for me, and night sweats, which, yes, I have disgustingly endured. And so now, because my dose is not the right dose, I will be starting down a new trial and error path of blood work and pills to find the perfect dose for me and my temporarily sporty thyroid gland.

Thyroid
The blue pill is no longer a good pill.

But really, who’s complaining here? With 3.5 pounds to go before hitting my pre-pregnancy weight, and with all my super fancy jeans and super cute skirts fitting me comfortably – certainly not me! Hehe 🙂

2 thoughts on “War of images”

  1. I’ve heard of “sporty” ties.
    I’ve heard of “sporty” shoes.
    But I have NEVER heard of a “sporty” thyroid gland.
    Am I missing something here?
    I hope I have a “sporty” thyroid gland too!!
    Whatever that means!! 🙂

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