Living With The Weight Of Chronic Illness Sucks. My Thyroid Is Underperforming For Fun, But At Least I Will Rock The BiPAP Life Soon!
I’ve been feeling a lot of things lately.
- I am super frustrated about not knowing why my thyroid is underactive. Just that it has a lowered function, a growth, and it is enlarged.
- I want to know why I must have intense PMS because of the thyroid issue. Seriously, isn’t it troublesome enough alone?!
The unstable hypothyroidism life is really frustrating.
Let me add that I am also sick of all my test results having a side note advising me to weight loss.
Like, hello! Thank you. I never looked in a mirror before. I had no clue that I am a morbidly obese woman with an underactive thyroid and lipedema in obvious lumps on my body.
I am a big ol’ b*tch. Thank you for being doctor #5268 to remind me that weight loss would be awesome.
This Brings Me To The BiPAP Life…
This is where life is going in my favor. My sleep study was ordered, completed, and read in less than a week. In the past, this process had taken months. It has actually been a year in some cases.
This entire time, my oxygen saturation was dropping significantly during sleep.
After two bad in-lab studies, I finally got a home test that shows that I am falling to 76% saturation in my sleep. I have severe desaturation without, and this gets interesting, a BiPAP.
Last week, they started me on a CPAP, and my desaturation was still moderately poor. It bottomed at 82%. When I switched to a BiPAP? It left the danger zone completely!
So, I was titrated with a prescribed setting and a BiPAP recommendation. 🎉
Thank goodness they finally made this work out the way it needed to. These past two years have been very nasty for my sleep health.
I have no clue when I will have a machine to start using. For what it is worth, something is being done, and that makes me happy.
Don’t worry, they did note that weight loss is the cure. Everything is because of your weight, you know.
Chronic Illness Doesn’t Care…
Weight doesn’t help when it comes to illnesses. It can be a major player in this game.
It doesn’t define you, though.
Believe it or not, you can find yourself with a chronic illness at any size or shape. You can have pretty legs and a chronic illness. You can have a thin waist and a chronic illness. It doesn’t judge based on your size, even if it can add to the potential for occurrence.
If fat alone determined the likelihood of you getting any illness, all of us big b*tches would have the same chronic illnesses at the same time. Guess what, we don’t!
There is enough shame in the world. Making healthier choices when eating and drinking is always good. However, you don’t need to shame yourself. Leave it to the professionals to spread that hate instead.
You’re Not Alone.
At “Angela J. Shupe: Probably Overthinking This…”, I share my lived experience with invisible and chronic illness to remind fellow wellness warriors they’re not alone. My goal is to turn struggle into strength, offering self-care tips, mental health reflections, and wellness insights that encourage balance and resilience. Every post is part of my journey to heal out loud and help others find comfort in community.
If you find value here, please like, share, and spread the word—together we can make self-care and understanding more visible.
Angela J Shupe: I'm Probably Overthinking This... 
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