I just found out some symptoms of Hypothyroidism in children: Eczema, leg pain, foot pain, dandruff, stomach aches, dry and coarse hair, slow growing hair, feeling cold, feeling tired, insomnia and chronic illnesses and ear infections are some other things to look for in addition to low body temperature. I had all those plus constipation; I was more than just tired - I was quite fatigued. Why don't parents realize that the above symptoms are NOT normal for ANY child and find a good doctor! I hope so much that anyone reading this will consider family history (of course, unless you are adopted, like myself, and you are a second class citizen with no access to family history) and take a good hard look at a child that seems to be too tired to play, can't sleep well, has tons of allergies; please save your child a lifetime of misery like mine and insist on getting tests for them - not just TSH, but FreeT3, FreeT4, the TWO antibody tests, plus get their iron checked, a full panel, including their storage iron, ferritan. Don't just give them a multi vitamin from the grocery store, read the labels and make that the ingredients are bio-available. Please give your child a fighting chance at a normal life! Don't assume, like my parents did, that your childs problems are unique to your child. Chances are that they are NOT.

As I continue on my journey towards wellness, I am finding new things, such as candida, that complicate my recovery. My doctor ordered tests for candida antibodies, but I haven't had the energy to go in and get them done. I am also looking into gluten intolerance, as opposed to Celiac, which I don't believe I have. I do know that I feel better and have less brain fog when wheat is not in my system. Also, at long last, the weight is just starting to budge. I have tried WW 3 times, with limited success, Atkins, again, with limited success, plus others I won't even name here. Over the years I have had little succes in losing weight, while no matter what I did the pounds piled on. I am now finding my own way to avoid the cravings, which turn out to be adrenally related. I am eating vastly different than what I grew up with. I am now eating sprouts we grow ourselves, much more raw foods than I would have dreamed several years ago. I am reading about enzymes - see the following website, which has given me a lot of info: http://thedoctorwithin.com/index_fr.php?page=articles/enzymes_longevity.php - after reading this I am determined to become a healthy person by getting the enzymes I need from my foods, which means more fresh foods. I still eat meat; I like it and don't want to live without it. That may change as times goes on. I am making changes a little at a time, so that I know what is working and what is not. If I change too many things at once I have no idea what is wrong if things are not working, so I take changes slowly. It took more than 50 years to get the way I am; things are not going to change overnight.

As I continue this journey, I continue to become more and more disillusioned with doctors and our medical system. I self treated until I could find a doctor I could work with and who would work with me. Self treating takes a lot courage and you must educate yourself even more than most physicians on the thyroid and the treatments available. I wouldn't trust an endocrinologist as far as I could throw him/her! I no longer trust most M.D.'s. I got tired of being told my symptoms had nothing to do with my thyroid, when a look at any medical textbook made that a lie! I have come to the conclusion, sadly, that most doctors are nothing but dressed up and legal drug pushers, at the beck and call of the pharmaceutical industry. I have left the medical system. The FDA is a joke, as is the AMA. They are supposed to be watchdogs for patients and citizens, and they are nothing but watchdogs for Big Pharma. It makes me both sad and angry. I write letters; I protest what is happening. Both political parties pander to Big Pharma and none of them can be trusted to look out for us anymore. We have to look out for ourselves and be proactive for our own health. Today's medical system can and will kill you. Look at actual statistics and you will find out that is true. Educate yourselves; your health depends on it!

To continue, I am still taking iodine daily; I even give Lugols to my dog, whom I suspect is also hypo. I put it in her food; and she is getting a raw kibble with brown rice and veggies mixed in and I am making her chews out of sweet potatoes, which she loves! I take 5.5 grains of Armour and 17.5 mgs. of hydrocortisone. I am feeling better than I have in years, but am still contending somewhat with insomnia. The oils have helped, as has a mental exercise I am doing. Speaking of essential oils, they are amazing! Our dog tore her ACL and the vet said she needed expensive surgery. We had another vet look at it, and while she agreed about the injury, she recommended hydrotherapy and other things. We were introduced to someone who used essential oils on animals and went to a session to find out. We started using them on Onyx's knee and now, months later, she is walking normally and the look of pain and confusion is gone from her eyes. She is a happy dog again. We had been talking about putting her down; no more. We are happy campers. The oils work miracles as far as I am concerned.

As I said earlier, my journey begins with my birth to a woman who was in a hopeless situation, abandoned by the father of her child. I believe now that her situation affected me even before birth. She reluctantly relinquished me to adoption. As a child I was lethargic, fatigued, puffy, had food cravings, bowel disturbances such as constipation and occasional loose stools. I had insomnia even as a very young child; my mother told me that I never napped as a toddler; I just lay there. I had a very active imagination, which I employed during these times, and reading in bed with a flashlight helped night after night as I lay awake, unable to go to sleep. Why did no one test me or at least wonder why I had these problems; why I would rather read a book than go out to play, why I had suicidal thoughts as a teenager, brain fog, memory problems, weight gain; the list goes on and on! My adrenal problems started young and just got worse. I have fought weight gain my entire life; my husband once commented that I ate less than most other people he knew, yet I still continued to gain weight. It wan't until my 40's that I was finally diagnosed, then put on synthroid, which did nothing for me. No symptom alleviation at all. I felt just as bad, but back then I just accepted that I would have a life that was low key; no energy, constant fatigue and sleeplessness, trying to fight food cravings, puffiness that has been with me life long. I grew more and more discouraged, but the only thing that was offered to me was anti depressants, which messed with me even as they somewhat helped, but more just masked my main problem: hypothyroidism that became Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. I was ill and no longer had any energy. I saw doctors, but they didn't help. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia also. I had kidney stones (horrible pain) and was diagnosed with Medullary Sponge Kidney. I am asthmatic also. I was at one of the lowest points in my life; I didn't have a life - I was too tired.

The most recent part of my journey starts one year ago, when, in desperation, I did a search on Yahoo for groups related to hypothyroidism and found a gold mine. I also found http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com, which would open a whole new world to me! I started a new protocol including iodine in the form of iodoral, 50 mgs. per day, but first I started myself on Isocort, a mild adrenal supplement. Then I added in Armour thyroid, which most docs had told me was junk, unreliable, not regulated, etc., all false. It is so much better for me than synthroid, which just kept me sick and unable to function as a normal person. I no longer take a doctors word about anything. I do my own research and come to my own conclusions and talk to my doctor about what else I might need and ask for his suggestions and input. I am also using essential oils from http://youngliving.com/, which my husband researched and found to be the best company out there for essential oils. My journey has come a long way in a year and I am finding light at the end of my very long tunnel.

This is my journy to wellness from hypo hell. I hope that whoever reads this will learn from my story, my history, my mistakes. It has been a long journey, encompassing my whole life; 53 years. It started before my birth, and I am, in the last year, coming out of my lifelong hypo hell. "Modern" medicine was no help. They tell you that you are "normal" and send you on your way unsatisfied, or they tell you that it is all in your head (will slug next doc who says THAT) and that you need an AD, or they might say your thyroid output is low, so now you need synthroid - Synthcrap is a better name for it. Doctors also don't acknowledge adrenal problems unless you have Addison's or Cushings. Personally, I would rather see doctors acknowledge and treat BEFORE you get to the point of Addisons or Cushings. Their approach lacks common sense. Anyway, I now have a good doctor who is working with me, rather than dictating to me, and I am on my way to wellness. As I have more info I will post more on my personal journey in hopes that it will save someone out there from the lost years I have.