I Feel All Warm & Tingly!

I don't know if you had picked up on that, but the unknown does make me anxious.

Today, after so single-mindedly choosing to wait to talk to the Cool Acupuncture Guy on Monday, I suddenly felt bad enough that I thought I might take one Thyroxal pill just to see if it made me feel better. I was really tired again, full of arthritis, irritable (just ask my family), and depressed. I had trouble focusing. (Don't worry, right now I feel fine...) All of these things are symptoms of hypothyroidism, so I started freaking out and wondering if I should just take something already!

The problem is that once I take it, I don't want to just stop taking it again because then I'd just be perpetuating the roller coaster ride I'm on.

Because it's the weekend and I can't talk to ANYONE, I decided to do a little research on what Chinese medicine says about hypothyroidism. Frankly, it boggles my mind that I haven't done this before. CAG hasn't let me in on what herbal concoction he plans on giving me, he just wanted me to have a stable diet and maybe take Thryoxal. He's a 'don't-worry-about-the-big-picture" sort of guy. I have had other doctors tell me that and I realize now that knowing what the steps are in the process is comforting to me.

I found a very informative book at the library and supplemented with online sources.

If you've read the Background Story, you know that I did got to one other acupuncturist. Reading things online brought back something she recommended--eat warm foods. In Chinese medicine your body is divided into Yin and Yang. If my understanding is correct, hypothyroidism is a Yang Deficiency, and to restore balance (I guess to bring back the Yang?!), you eat warm things, like physically warm food, but also 'warm' herbs like ginger and cinnamon.

What I have read also says that Hypothyroidism is split into different categories in Chinese medicine:

1. Spleen-Kidney Deficiency
2. Heart-Kidney Deficiency

This page lists the symptoms of Spleen-Kidney Deficiency:

"...lassitude; sleepiness; poor memory; dizziness; ringing in the ears (tinnitus); weakness of the lower back and knees; aversion to cold; dry skin; dry hair; constipation; edema; impotence (men); irregular periods (women); pale, puffy tongue body with tooth marks along the edge; white, sticky tongue coating; and a pulse that is deep and thin or deep and slow."

(Lassitude is "A state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy." I definitely had to look that one up.)

Another site  says that "Spleen Qi Deficiency is marked with fatigue, weakness of the muscles, sweating without exertion, dampness, coldness, poor appetite, loose stools, bloating, nausea, indigestion, and pale complexion."

In any case, I have had or have most of those symptoms. I asked several M.D.s why, if I had hypothyroidism (associated with-sorry-constipation) I had the big D? No one gave me a sufficient answer. Mostly they were confused.


But this stuff makes sense to me so far because I'm living it. Yesterday I had a lot of raw veggies (cold foods), guacamole (still cold...), and cold juices....and I felt like crap the whole day.

I'm only just starting to understand this 'Eastern' medicine business, because it's completely weird compared to Western medicine. I'm hoping that if I stick to the little bits I've read online, I'll feel well enough to not break down and take something until I talk to the Cool Acupuncture Guy on Monday. Patience is not my strong suit.