Life Doesn’t Really Pause for Healing...

 

Hello everyone!

For a long time, I thought once I finally found out what was wrong with my health, everything would slowly become normal again. But life doesn’t really pause for healing. I quietly disappeared for months. Not because I wanted to, but because life became busy in so many different ways.

Between cooking every day, managing home life, trying to achieve good things in life, moving to a new place instead of living in a partition room, trying to find a job again, facing disappointments, and even trying to start an online business, my mind was constantly full.

Life became busy, but at the same time, I was also trying to understand myself again — my health, my emotions, my future, and honestly, who I was becoming through all of this.

Some days felt peaceful. Some days felt really heavy. And some days, I just wanted to sit down and continue writing this story so badly, but by the end of the day, I felt mentally exhausted. Somewhere between responsibilities, overthinking, and trying to figure out life again, I stopped writing too.

But I always knew I wanted to continue this story because this journey became a part of my life in ways I never expected.

So maybe this is where it continues, and by the end of this blog, I hope to finally complete the story of how I discovered my Hashimoto’s while still continuing to learn how to control my life with it.

So, guys, after I received the test results, I found out that I have a nodule on the right side of my thyroid gland. The doctor informed me to do another ultrasound scan after around 3 months, but if there is any growth in the nodule, I will have to proceed with a Fine Needle Aspiration Test (FNA Test) to check if it is cancerous. I will highlight the test results below so you can get an idea as well.

• TSH – 0.9 μIU/ml (Refence Range 0.27–4.2)
• Free T4 – 15.24 pmol/L (Refence Range 10–21)
• Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibody (A-TG) – 175.54 IU/ml (Refence Range <4.11)
• Anti-Microsomal Antibody – 1860.35 IU/ml (Refence Range 0–5.61)
• Neck Ultrasound – Heterogeneous texture of thyroid gland concerning thyroiditis.

            Small 5mm TI-RADS-3 nodule in the right thyroid lobe.

 

Here comes the part where I found out that my hypothyroidism was actually Hashimoto’s. When I visited the ENT doctor with my test results, she mentioned that I should follow up with an endocrinologist because I have Hashimoto’s and my antibody levels were very high. She also mentioned that my headaches could be related to this since there were no issues externally or in my head MRI report.

So, when I came home, I started searching more about my results and why the doctor confirmed that my hypothyroidism was Hashimoto’s. Then I opened my old reports and realized that it was actually mentioned in my very first ultrasound report that it was suspicious of Hashimoto’s and that I would have to do further testing to confirm it.

And guys… this report was taken six years ago. But my family doctor simply assumed I had hypothyroidism because I mentioned that my aunt also had hypothyroidism when the doctor first asked if anyone in my family had thyroid issues. So, the assumption was that my thyroid issue was genetic. That’s where everything stopped.

The doctor simply told me I would have to continue taking levothyroxine and regularly check my thyroid levels to optimize the dosage, and that I would have to continue these medications for the rest of my life.

I fell apart thinking… why does it have to be me? Why do I have to take a pill every morning when taking medicine is one of the things I hate the most in life? Even for a small fever or cough, I hate taking Panadol.

Then life continued with levothyroxine, and eventually, I stopped researching because the doctor already gave me a confirmation. However, after my second and third TSH and T4 results, if the doctor had prescribed antibody testing as well, I would have found out much earlier that my hypothyroidism was actually Hashimoto’s.

Because even after six years of taking levothyroxine, I still had most of the symptoms.

I will give you a simple idea about the difference between Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s.

Hypothyroidism is a condition where the thyroid gland is not producing enough thyroid hormones, while Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland.

Think of it like this, Hashimoto’s is the cause, and hypothyroidism is the result. Not everyone with hypothyroidism has Hashimoto’s, but Hashimoto’s is one of the most common causes of hypothyroidism.

Hypothyroidism is mainly checked through TSH and Free T4 levels, while Hashimoto’s is usually checked through TPO antibodies and Thyroglobulin antibodies. High antibody levels suggest that the immune system is attacking the thyroid gland.

Anti-Thyroglobulin Antibody (A-TG / TgAb) attacks thyroglobulin, which is a protein inside the thyroid gland used to produce thyroid hormones. This antibody can be positive in Hashimoto’s, sometimes Graves’ disease, and other types of thyroid inflammation, but it is usually considered less sensitive for Hashimoto’s compared to Anti-Microsomal/TPO antibodies.

Anti-Microsomal Antibody is the older name for TPO antibodies (Anti-TPO), which attack thyroid peroxidase (TPO), an enzyme the thyroid needs to produce hormones. This is the main and most common antibody elevated in Hashimoto’s, and doctors often rely more on this test because it is more strongly associated with Hashimoto’s and more people with Hashimoto’s test positive for it.

So, as you can see in my test results, my Anti-Microsomal Antibody level was extremely high, which means my immune system is still attacking my thyroid gland.

I wish that six years ago my doctor had prescribed these tests too. Maybe I could have done things differently sooner. Maybe I could have learned how to heal myself earlier.

Due to our lack of knowledge and curiosity, anyone can end up where I am today.

That’s why I’m telling all of you — if you have a thyroid issue or any kind of medical condition, do not just sit and take whatever the doctor gives you. Try to learn more. Ask yourself questions. Why is this happening? Research more and try to understand your own body.

I’m not saying we should trust everything on the internet or that there are no good and kind doctors. But in this generation, sometimes it feels like kindness and genuine care are becoming harder to find.

But I still hope there will be a day when this world can heal again.

Until next time, let’s spread kindness and love...💕

Thank you for hearing my story, and don’t forget to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

 

Written by: Samadara Abeysinghe
© 2026 Life with Sama. All rights reserved.
This post is based on my personal experience and is intended for informational and emotional support purposes only.