Born Without a Thyroid Gland

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Born Without A Thyroid Gland

Before I met my husband I knew very little about the thyroid gland. I knew that too little or too much thyroid hormone affected the body in a negative way but my knowledge was very limited. When we started dating John told me his story of being born without a Thyroid. It was the early 1970’s and very little was known about the condition at that time. John was born overseas in a British Military Hospital. Three days he became seriously ill and the Nurse worked out what was wrong which pretty much saved his life.

Growing up without a Thyroid whatsoever has not been easy for my husband. Often times, his replacement medication has changed and a family member told me that John’s parents were always very worried about him as a child.

Some of the major symptoms of Hypothyroidism are,

Fatigue,

Poor Concentration and feeling mentally foggy.

Dry Skin

Constipation

Feeling Cold

Muscle and joint aches

Fluid retention

Despite taking medication his whole life, my husband has always suffered from the above symptoms, in particular, the dry skin and Chronic Fatigue. Over the past year, John’s health has declined and he’s honestly been almost as tired as me. My husband sleeps an awful lot. He cares for me when I’m unwell and does the school run but he actually feels burnt out all the time and struggles to do more than the basics. We are a match made in heaven!

Unlike myself,  John has never known life any different. He doesn’t really know what it’s like to feel normal or healthy and energetic. Despite this, he has achieved a lot. He worked for two years as a missionary, learnt a trade, went to University to got a Business Degree. Even with serious fatigue, John has held down numerous full-time jobs.

Over the past year, I’ve seen a drastic decline in my husband’s health, his tiredness has become much worse. He has done his best to support me and keep on top of his responsibilities but he really is not one hundred percent well. Everyday folk wouldn’t have a clue because hypothyroidism is another Invisible Illness.

John wants to see an Endocrinologist. Despite repeated tests, his results keep coming back abnormal and so John’s Doctor has finally agreed to refer him to the Hospital if the problem continues for another 2 months. (Roll Eyes) Thyroid problems are generally managed by the GP and so they have been reluctant to send him to a specialist which is what my husband really needs.

It’s not just his Thyroid though, John is also having problems with his liver and is awaiting a liver scan and other tests with a different hospital team.

I have written before how I get frustrated with people who assume my husband is chilling at home and avoiding work. It’s not the case. He actually does all he can to parent, help me and help keep on top of the home, but his illness limits him and he does often end up sleeping a lot more then he would or I would like.

In a way having Chronic Fatigue together as a husband and wife helps John and I to understand one another. We have to balance our time wisely and not overdo things. We also have to take in turns with parenting and help each other with our goal to run successful blogs. John has his own blog called Mr Geek and Gadgets and also does photography and computer tech work when he can.

If we have any hope of succeeding in life and having better finances, it will be via both of us blogging, reviewing and John doing his photography part-time. This allows us to meet our own needs, our daughter’s needs and work from home with breaks when we have to rest. Neither of us, with our health, could hold down a full-time job. It’s just not possible, but together we can both work from home with the goal to build an income.

In a way, I see major health problems as one of our biggest trials. apart from the illness and chronic fatigue, we both suffer, we are a happy family and life is wonderful. We are blessed beyond measure and doing our best to live good honest lives. As a Mother, my one hope is for my daughter to remain healthy and have the chance to live a healthy normal life. That is my dream.

So while we wait for both our health to improve we will keep doing what we can to be the best we can in our circumstances. Having an illness can affect your lives and place limitations on your life, however, if you search for ways to manage and get by it is possible and it can be done with a smile on your face.

I guess sharing this will help others to understand a little more why we are the way we are and why my husband is not Lazy but more so someone who works as hard as he can amidst serious and chronic fatigue.

thyroid


About Angela Milnes

Angela Milnes is a Qualified Early Years Teacher who has specialised in Preschool and Kindergarten teaching. She has a wealth of experience teaching young children and is passionate about kids crafts and having fun as a family. Angela has also taught cooking skills and loves to share both family recipes and easy instant pot recipes here on The Inspiration Edit. Follow her on Pinterest!

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16 Comments

  1. Your positivity is really inspiring Angela, I am sure having a great attitude must help keep you both going when you are struggling with your illnesses. I really hope John can get to see a specialist soon, and get some better medication. Becky x x #kcacols

  2. Wow, that sounds so difficult. I hate when people accuse people with chronic illnesses of laziness – I’m currently jobhunting, and trying to find a job that will take into account that sometimes I’m laid up for a week or so at a time waiting for a joint to heal is a nightmare! People assume you’re just finding excuses not to work, which is so untrue. Best wishes to you and your husband xx #KCACOLS

  3. Oh *hugs* Angela I really do take my hat off to you and John, I think you guys are truly amazing! Not a lot of people would be able to cope as well as you both do. I really do hope that John gets to see the specialist soon and that things will start to improve. Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday. xx #KCACOLS

  4. I didn’t know your husband was born without a thyroid gland. I was born without one too. I was born in 1988, but it took two weeks for them to figure out what was wrong. they originally told my mom I would be stillborn (I was two weeks late with a HB of 9 beats a minute.) I was a c-section that they planned to be a morbid one the next day after they induced her to no avail. They sent me home with my parents and thought I would die soon after. I was diagnosed by the Oregon Health Sciences hospital and they immediately got me on meds, but I grew up military and was thrown around from doctor to doctor. It wasn’t until I was a teenager someone finally said I could see and Endo. They save your life. Mine did when I was 19 and found my adrenal insufficiency because he knew what to look for. I am sorry you both have these, but you work together to get through life and that’s what counts. Many hugs to you both! I am seemingly the mix of you two into one!

  5. I can’t imagine how difficult life must be for you both at times. I have had cancer and I found the fatigue during chemo bad enough. But I was lucky as that was for a limited time! You are very inspiring! I hope you and John get the help you need to improve your quality of life. I also hope your wish for your lovely Sylvia to remain healthy is granted as that is what we want for our children as parents. #KCACOLS

  6. I love this post Angela. I didn’t know about John’s illness. It is nice to know more about you and your family. It is really amazing to see how you both help each other You can really tell that you two are a match. I’m so glad that after so much pain that you lived in the past you finally found a great person to share with you all the great and the bad moments. I haven’t heard about this condition before so thank you for the explanation. This makes easy to understand your situation. I really hope both of you get all the help you need regarding your health. Good luck with that and also with both blogs. I’m sure you guys will do great. All the best for 2016!! Thanks so much for sharing this at #KCACOLS. I’m so happy to have you for the first time. I hope that you like it!! I would love to see you again on Sunday! 🙂 x

  7. I was born without a thyroid too, I was born in the Shetlands in 1981 and was originally diagnosed as having Down syndrome. They got that wrong. It’s strange, the way I feel physically is normal to me, it’s all Iv ever known but it’s not how it should be. Thankfully all my 3 daughters have a thyroid:)

    Thanks for sharing:)

  8. Hi Angela
    I too was born with No thyroid and I can fully identify with John’s constant tiredness sometimes it’s debilertating I have lived 66 years with the very same problem as John, everything I do feels like a huge effort .I was born in South Africa and . being born in the late 50’s my condition was rare, I was kept in hospital as an inpatient, for the first 18 months of my life.. reading about John felt like a comfort in that there is someone out there like me ..Thank you for sharing this 😊🌹

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