My name is Liv Stang-Lund. A psychic suggested, I should write a blog. That was not something I had ever considered, or dreamt about. But the idea took hold. I have learned a lot about thyroid disease. And I have learned how to live with it and be happy. I have made a lot of mistakes, AND a lot of smart things. So maybe all this could be of benefit to someone else?
This won’t be a blog about my whole life, but about my life with Hashimotos and fibromyalgia. I was born in Oslo, Norway, in 1957. The first 30 years of my life were quite difficult. But after age thirty, things lighted up. I studied psychology on Blindern university, and became Cand. Psychol. I had a lot of energy at this time. I worked in a psychiatric hospital on top of my studies, and even finished one term early. As I did my thesis alongside my studies. This is not to brag, at least not just to brag, ha ha. But to tell you, like all of us, I used to be different. But during the last two years of my studies, as I was in my late thirties, I started to feel not so good. I will go into details under “My story”, here. I was diagnosed with Hashimotos soon after I finished my studies. I managed to work as a psychologist for 7 years. But I got sicker as time went by, I probably converted Ft4 to Ft3 less and less. I got another myxodema. I had had one before I got diagnosed. It ended with me not being able to work anymore, and I got a disability pension.
In 2008 I moved to Denmark. It was a shock to meet the Danish health services. But please don’t misunderstand me, and think, Denmark is not a great country. It is, and I love it. But not when it comes to treating thyroid disease. Where Norway is one of the better countries when it comes to the treatment of thyroid disease, Denmark is one of the worst. At least in the West. I believe this has contributed to my great interest in the issue. I try to follow what happens in this area in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and other parts of the world. Us patients are in such a desperate situation, being treated with such lack of respect, empathy and competence. It costs society billions in lost income, pensions and the treatment of the diseases that follow,like diabetes and heart disease, And all this when the disease is relatively easy to treat, and it is not expencive either. I believe the mistreatment of thyroid disease will be regarded as a scandal in medical history. At least I hope so.
I hope this blog can be of comfort and inspiration, and that you can learn something of use to you. I will not make any money on the blog, it will only cost me. If I link to products, it is only to make things easier for the reader. I am interested in what goes on around the world, and so have decided to write both in Norwegian and English. I know I will make spelling mistakes, but as long as I make myself understood, I don’t care.
I am a spiritual person, and that will shine through from time to time. That also impacts how one feels about being sick. I will be writing about that as well.
