I have
hypothyroidism (an under active thyroid) which was left non diagnosed for a good while along with
sleep apnea which also causes fatigue and tiredness. Instead I was told my extreme fatigue was just depression and then I was then given unnecessary and extremely harmful antidepressants instead that basically finished me off, they were extremely detrimental to my life and in my opinion dangerous, in fact there's been many law suits in the USA. The real reason I had no energy, couldn't concentrate and was falling asleep every time I even sat down for more than a minute, despite sleeping for up to 12 hours a night wasn't discovered until after I lost my fight to keep my job due to health reasons since they stated that there was no sign that I would recover within a reasonable time.
Hypothyroidism is a lot rarer in men than women, but in my case it's likely to be genetic since my Mum and Aunt (my Mum's sister) has the same condition. My autism could also be genetic however since both my brother are also autistic, although they're on the lower functioning end of the spectrum and I also suspect this was caused due to lack of oxygen since my Mum has asthma and suffered throughout every pregnancy and all 3 of us needed oxygen at birth, in fact my brother Daniel who is the least able of all actually stopped breathing completely and had to be resuscitated. It's strange that the condition has been linked to autism, however my brothers and I was born many years before my mother had any symptoms of thyroid issues.
As many people probably know
hypothyroidism is usually treated by taking
Levothyroxine** tablets that simply replace the hormone that the thyroid isn't naturally releasing, you take them for the rest of your life. Every 6 months or sometimes sooner if particularly unstable, I have to have a blood test to determine if my dose is still correct as most people suffering from this condition have a partially working thyroid that tends to slowly get worse over time. I started on a 100mg
Levothyroxine tablet once a day and this has gradually increased to 200mg over the last 15 years, my Mum has however been stable on just 100mg for the last 20+ years since she was diagnosed. I still don't think the synthetic hormone replacement works as well as if your thyroid was working properly however because after my diagnosis I started uncontrollably putting on weight which I discovered is quite common with this condition and I have never got my full energy back. I was always a reasonable weight without any issues until 15 years ago when all this started. I don't even drink alcohol, I'm vegetarian and I don't eat as much as I used to and if anything I eat less than most people, so I know the condition has caused me to become very overweight which is complicating other health issues including
sleep apnea, it doesn't seem to matter what I do now, my weight remains an issue.
PS: I also have
lymphedema in both legs that causes symptoms very similar to pitting oedema (fluid build up / swelling) requiring constant compression to prevent serious wounds caused by my skin splitting (it's a chronic condition), I have breathing issues (suspected
COPD, having further tests) and I am now even having joint issues including an issue with my knee which is causing pain. I basically feel like my body is a complete wreck that is falling to bits at only 48 years old.
**PPS: Other brand names for
Levothyroxine include Thyrax, Euthyrox, Levaxin, L-thyroxine, Eltroxin (Europe), Thyrox (South Asia), Eutirox, Levoxyl, Synthroid (North America) and there maybe even more, but they're basically the same thing, a synthetic hormone that replaces what the thyroid gland isn't naturally producing.
Edit:
This article also talks about how the treatment can cause weight gain as it definitely has for myself:
How Levothyroxine can actually SLOW Down Metabolism and What to do About it
I have found this today and now I'm going to see my doctor as there is an alternative "T3" medication. The thing is I've repeatedly told my doctor the thyroid treatment is making me put on weight for years and have been ignored, I will not be ignored now, in fact I'm getting quite angry thinking about how they could have unnecessarily left me on the wrong treatment for 15 years and that's after ruining my life by saying it was depression and wrongfully putting me on dangerous antidepressants before they eventually diagnosed me correctly. If that's the case I'm tempted to look at possible legal action.