Hypothyroidism Questions
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hello, my name is Jennifer, I have hypothyroidism and was diagonosed in my 7th grade, I am in 10th grade right now and I have been wanting to join a branch in the army, I felt that National Guard would be a great idea, I would be close to home and get my college done all at the same time but I would have to be off of my medication to join in the force. Does anyone know of it being okay to be off of meds for a long period of time? PLEASE HELP ME!!! My dream is of being in the army and serving time, would love to hear responses from anyone who knows...
0 likes, 9 replies
anne91595 jennifer.c7
Posted
Hey Jennifer!
Are you positive you have to be off your medications? How underactive was your thyroid originally (TSH)? I went off of my medications for about a year or two in high school and it was pretty rough... I think it depends on how underactice your thyroid is. You should definitely talk to your doctor when you can
jennifer.c7 anne91595
Posted
Hello Anne, Yes my recruiter told me that I had to, I do not remember, I don't think they ever told me. My medication is 50 and I'm taking levothyroxine or something like that. Did anything bad happen to you?? I have to be off for a minimum of 10 weeks
Thank you so much tho!
anne91595 jennifer.c7
Posted
Nothing "bad" happened, I was just really lethargic and tired all the time and struggled in school and with athletics. I would just talk to your doctor. Your doctor may let you stop taking your meds now and then just monitor your levels with blood tests every few weeks or so.
jennifer.c7 anne91595
Posted
darlene88027 jennifer.c7
Posted
I am on meds and have been told I need to be on them for the rest of my life. I don't think it is an optional treatment. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I would suggest you ask you parents to take you to your dr.
jennifer.c7 darlene88027
Posted
MtViewCatherine jennifer.c7
Posted
Hi Jennifer, If you are on meds now, it will take a while to get off them. The only way to really know how you'll do without the meds is to try. You can't just go off them, you'll have to lower them slowly over time. Also, you'll need to try some natural supplements, and other treatments as well. You might want to consider a good naturopath. Ok, that's the best case. Also, you're on only 50mg, a relatively low dose. So that's promising. If you can get off the meds in advance and try some heavy duty outdoor exercises to see how you tolerate stress, you'll be able to make a more educated decision.
Thyroid disease, whether Hashimoto's or grave's is autoimmune disease. Diet becomes extremely important to maintain a healthy immune system. You'll learn about the immune system in biology class, if you haven't already.
The bad news is the reality that if you don't keep your body very strong and eat well, you are likely to have problems. Unfortunately, the military stresses the body in ways that we normally don't encounter. Consider, are you willing to try for your dream, knowing that you may fail, or may need to give up to preserve your health? You won't know until you try going off the meds. But PLEASE! Work with a doctor and get regular blood tests to make sure you monitor as you go off. You might find in trying, that you can't.
Good luck to you!
jennifer.c7 MtViewCatherine
Posted
Thank you so much! I have been thinking that as well but I've always wanted so other peoples thoughts and inputs in it. I was on 25mg before for a long time but I recently got tests done and currently am off medication for about a week and have been feeling perfectly fine, but I agree, thank you again!
ihavenonickname jennifer.c7
Posted
I would love for you to be in the National Guard...but if your thyroid was not functioning how would you be able to do this job if you are hypothyroidic?
I think you should hold onto this dream, and speak with your ohysicians. Be up front, very frank...the doc just might know how to help you make this dream come true....ny neighbor was a civilian assistant to a naval admiral, does this also sound interesting?
Is this to support yourself through college..private message me...I have some ideas, I want you to go to school...what are you thinking of for a major?
hugs