How TED Defined My Twenties (Part 1)

I have been reflecting a lot lately. I turned 30 in August. When I look back on this monumental decade of my life, my thyroid eye disease (TED) takes up a whole chapter, more than that. When I was diagnosed at 25, I never imagined the impact it would have. The ways I would change over something I could not control.

These last 10 years can be broken up into 4 slices.

Pre-thyroid issues: Life before TED (Age:20-22)

I spent the first part of my twenties being super creative. I fell in love with writing. I discovered a love of photography. I was creatively exploring life in a way I never imagined before. I was looking at things through a new lens. It was as though I had opened a box that has always been there but had never seen.

I was going to school and shifting friend groups. I took classes in English and got a certificate in web design. I did not know what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to harness my creativity into something that would inspire others. Everyone around me seemed to be moving so fast. I wanted to remind people, through my writing and poetry, the beauty of stopping to look at things around us.

Thyroid issues begin (Age:23-24)

At a routine physical, my thyroid numbers were off. My doctor told me she wanted to monitor my numbers and there’s a possibility I would have to go on thyroid medication. I hesitantly agree to have my labs done every few months. I hate needles. Always have.

Three months after my physical, I get my labs done again. Numbers are still off but it’s not enough to put me on medication. She said I should get my labs done again in 6 months. I never do. When I get the call to go and get my labs done, I ignore it. I was going through a moment of heavy anxiety and the last thing I wanted to do was get my labs done.

I had gained some weight over the summer. I thought it was just my freshman fifteen a few years late. Turned out, it was a sign of thyroid problems. But I wouldn’t know that until I got my labs done 6 months after I was supposed to.

I get another yearly physical. My labs showed my thyroid numbers are at a level my doctor has never seen. I get my labs done again to make sure it wasn’t an error. My second labs come back and my thyroid levels are even higher than before. I was put on Synthroid right away. The weight I had gained went away over the first few months I was on the medication.

Thoughts on this period

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. Grave’s disease and TED were not on my radar in the slightest. I was just trying to get used to taking my medication every morning. I was not thinking about what would happen next.

How do you feel looking back at your life before thyroid eye disease?