The worst symptom

Dear Thyroid post statuses on their facebook page asking things. Once they asked what the worst symptom was. I, and many others replied with the deadly F word:

FATIGUE!

My top 3 worst symptoms would be:

1. fatigue
2. weight gain
3. dry skin/dandruff

There are many other symptoms I experience along with these, but most of them are under control. The biggest one two years ago would have been brain fog. During lessons/lectures I could not concentrate for more than 5 mins, no exaggeration. I would dose off and day-dream, or be looking at the teacher, but zoned out for a while. And when I would return, nothing would make sense. But that has got much better, and at uni,  I have learnt the key is to make notes when the lecturer speaks and aim to write down almost everything he/she says. It works!

Anyway, let me talk to you about fatigue and why it's the worst. It's important for me , at uni, to be constantly alert and to keep going for as long as I can, especially during revision and busy assignment periods (the latter of which is ALWAYS!). At times I will sleep for 8 hours and still be tired during the day aroung 5/6pm. Then I'll need a nap, then I'll be like it's too late to take a nap. The next thing I know, I had a nap and it's now 10 pm. I do work,  I go to bed late the next day, and then obviously; I'm tired. Obviously living the student life, my sleep pattern isn't what it used to be, but in comparison to others, I feel like I have no stamina. I'll be sat in front of the laptop at 9pm, having slept 8 hours the previous night, zoning out and not being able to concentrate.

Little things tire me out also. Running errands, going shopping, cooking. Anything and everything. I have the inability to keep going. If I sleep for a few hours more, it doesn't really help. I always am feeling constantly tired and drained. At uni I try to disguise this because people will think im boring if im sat there tired and not talking. So I seem to go into over-drive at uni, and I am quite hyper and talkative, just to make up for it. And then as soon as I get back to my flat, I'm knackered.

This has taught me, and I'm still learning, that the key is, as cliched as it sounds:

to pace yourself out

Don't have short bursts of energy at uni or shopping, just take it slow/easy all the time. That way, you will conserve your energy. I am hopefully going to be working on this in the coming weeks and I'll let you know how it goes.

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