Thanks for your question. Dr. Ridha Arem, a world-renown thyroid expert, author of The Thyroid Solution: A Revolutionary Mind-Body Program That Will Help You and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Baylor College responded to your question. Here's his response:

"Hypothyroidism is most of the time caused by an auto-immune attack on the thyroid gland. In your particular case it sounds like you had Graves disease when you were younger and part of your gland probably got burned out as a consequence of a co-existent Hashimoto's thyroiditis which is the auto-immune condition that causes impairment of the functioning of the thyroid gland. This explains why quite often the deficit in thyroid hormone due to auto-immune thyroid disease may not be stable over time. The traditional way that doctors monitor thyroid patients receiving thyroid hormone medications for hypothyroidism has been to check thyroid levels only once a year. That is actually what the American Thyroid Association (ATA) recommends. However, I do not agree with these guidelines. Even if the patient seems to be stable on a particular dose of thyroid medication I recommend testing every 6 months instead of every year. This way your doctor can be proactive and may prevent you from becoming imbalanced for a significant period of time. Obviously if your gland is not as stable and you have symptoms, you may even need to be tested more often."

Evie, has your doctor recommended more frequent blood work?

Congrats on making some positive health changes! :-) How did you find the motivation or energy to make these changes? You mentioned that you lost weight and had been battling sleep, exercise and eating issues. What have you done differently, so that you are no longer battling these issues?

Regarding the sleep issue (you said you work at 1:30am). One of the most important "healthy sleep tips" is to go to bed AND get up at the same time every night and morning; even on non-work days (weekends included!). Since you work an early (or late?!) shift, are you able to sleep and rise at the same time every day? If so, you could make a huge impact on your quality of sleep (regardless of what time you are actually sleeping), which can then impact how you eat and exercise that following day.

Please tell us more!

I have a friend who is a Phyical Therapist and is very health concious. She has been my motivation for the past couple years. She has continued to encourage me along the way. I started going to her for PT back in 2005. We developed a great friendship and it is through the friendship that I became more interested in improving my overall health.

I had struggled with some minor depression and anxiety issues when we first met. I confided in her about some personal issues and she convinced me that if I could get into a regular excercise routine that it could only help with all my issues.

I still have very crazy sleeping habits. I usually only get about 3-4 hours of sleep @ night before I go into my full time job. However, I am religious about getting a few more hours of sleep after I get home in the morning from work. I also work a second part time gig several days a week. I am currently in my busy season so it definitely cuts into having a regular routine. I have just made a comittment to myself that I want to look better and feel better. So I try to set aside at least a few hours throughout the week that I can get to the Gym and workout. I still haven't worked out the best eating schedule eaither. But I have been better at eating small meals a few times a day. I am still not much into having a good breakfast. I prefer lunch and dinner meals over breakfast food. I have slowly cut back on sodas and have opted to drinking more water throught the day. I still love my ice cold beers in the evenings. I know that if I ever cut the hops and barley out of my life I would be as fit as a fiddle. But we all have a vice.

I am definitely not a role model for anyone to follow. My routine works for me and probably wouldn't work for most. I just happen to be at a real good place in my life right now. So, I am sure that is a contributing factor to my extra energy.

I appreciate the response and look forward to hearing more thoughts on the subject.

you seem to be doing a lot right now to help yourself out. And you are right - everyone has a vice (or two!)

Do you work nights?