At 35, I was leading an exciting life, a woman with an executive role, overseas travel, building a home, a great future.

Except I didn’t feel that well. Nothing in particular, tired, headachy, pain in my ovaries, gaining a bit of weight, just not my old “full of beans” self. I will always remember going to a female doctor at that time, thinking she may have some empathy for me, who advised me that some of us women just have to put up with these things in life – totally useless and irresponsible. I was asked if my eyes had always been so large, though nothing was explained (I am regularly asked this question by doctors, though none ever explain why or do anything about it).

So I just continue being tired, headachy, getting fatter …

Fast forward a few years, a new lady doctor, who advises me that I am going through the menopause at 40. Shock only mildly describes my reaction, and leaves me feeling as if my life is over. I am put onto Premarin and things improve, though I am now starting to gain more and more weight – a constant battle.

I continue in my exciting, hectic life, every minute filled to the brim. I begin part-time study at postgraduate level. At 49, I graduate in Business Administration and decide to complete a Masters’ degree. I love study, and it is important to my career in management in the future. Through an incredible effort at the gym and a very low cal diet I have lost 30 kilos and look the best I have for years.

But, I am becoming increasingly forgetful, unable to concentrate in meetings, slowly getting fatter and fatter, cold, catching every cold and flu around, headachy and I don’t want to see people. On weekends I stay in bed the entire time, sleeping. And then one day my hair starts to fall out and becomes like a straw broom. What a great 50th birthday present.

I am finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis!

Well, I start to read and read, researching everything I can about the thyroid, because my doctor explains zilch - just take the pill and you will be OK - then goes into a panic when I am on 100 mcg with a TSH of 3.5 and T4 of 15 and still feeling lousy.

I join Thyroid Australia, who help me with articles on optimising my T4 levels and I continue to slowly increase my dosages (always having regular blood tests). I change doctors and my new doctor is wonderful, willing to talk to me about my condition, co-manage my thyroxine dosages with me, understanding that “how I feel” is as important as the blood tests. I am so glad I am researching, attending many wonderful talks by knowledgeable doctors (why isn’t this knowledge getting through to GPs, I ponder), all the while learning more and more. Is this the end of the story? – NO.

My thyroid blood tests are perfect, but I can’t lose weight. I have put on all of the 30 kilos. I am becoming fatigued, tired, often ill, can’t be bothered with anything any more, my memory isn’t too crash hot. I am made redundant. Somehow I finish my Masters and have to get a job.

“Not happy, Jan”, as the ad goes.

So back to the research. I read up on hormones, Syndrome X, thyroid, other autoimmune conditions. I explain to my doctor that my thyroid levels are OK (I was tempted to increase my thyroxine, but didn’t), but I just am feeling unwell and finally ask to have ALL my hormone levels tested. She refers me to a wonderful endocrinologist who doesn’t blame me for being overweight and suggest I watch my diet, but does test me for and diagnoses me as Insulin Resistant. Basically I have “Syndrome X” – no wonder I felt so ill and tired all the time, especially after meals. The likelihood also is that my early menopause was caused by another autoimmune condition – oophoritis.

Syndrome X isn’t particularly surprising in a person with Hashimoto’s, considering we rarely ever lose the weight we gain, with most of it gained around the middle.

With appropriate medication and following a Low Glyceamic eating pattern, I am starting to feel really well and energised for the first time in years, and losing weight – what a relief. Hopefully I will not develop Type 2 Diabetes.

My advice to you is “KNOWLEDGE IS POWER”. Read and read, keep asking and learn everything you can. Find a doctor who will work with you, who is prepared to listen to how you feel, and also learn along with you. In the end I was lucky, I have a wonderful doctor who treats the person first, not just the test results.

And I finally graduated with a Masters’ degree.

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