As I wrote in "Teaching Heightens the Risk for Autoimmunity," the 2024-2025 school year broke me. I had an unusually high workload which caused high stress. Additionally, I got Covid for the second time in December 2024. I have not been the same since that time.
I believe that I have long Covid and that the main manifestation is that it greatly worsened my dry eyes. Another unpleasant impact is that I now frequently smell menthol. The menthol odor is a phantom smell. It's like I have Vicks or a similar product inside my nostrils. When I smell the phantom methol odor, my eyes burn as if methol is in them. It's quite annoying.
I have seen an ophthalmologist for my eyes since February 2025. The measures taken so far have not helped. I have now been referred to a dry eye specialist.
The current school year has been just as intensely stressful as the previous school year, except for a different reason. What happened early in the year was honestly the most stressed I have ever been in all of the years I have been teaching. I was not in good shape when the school year began, and the intense stress just continued to pile on.
People who are autoimmune are told to manage their stress levels. I do what I can, but I can't control the demands that my job places on me. I can't control how other people behave. If I could retire right now, then I would. I must work three more years before I will receive full benefits.
Two consecutive school years of intense stress along with a Covid infection have worsened my autoimmune condition. I feel like I've been on a steep decline.
I wish I could say what happened at the start of the year. I will say that I finally got permission to do something in a certain way that resulted in some of the pressure being reduced. It didn't save me from what was still a massive amount of work. The workload has quite honestly been extreme this year. During the fall, I frequently stayed at the school working until 6 to 7 PM each day and left with my work unfinished. That took quite a toll on my body. By December, I reached a point where I was able to leave before 6 PM most days, but the work load was still quite high.
In October, I tried Evoxac, which had a negative impact on my thyroid levels (see post). My dry eye worsened again due to Evoxac. I quit Evoxac at the end of October. My eyes slowly began to improve. My tiredness improved somewhat.
I then caught a bad virus, which I had from November 29 to about December 18. The virus was so bad that I tested myself for Covid three different times, and each time I tested negative. I caught another virus which cleared by December 22. The left lobe of my thyroid became quite swollen.
I decided to begin taking selenium to see if that would reduce the swelling in my thyroid. I found a selenium supplement on Amazon that had 100mcg instead of 200mcg. I wanted to be cautious and not risk overdoing it, even though 200mcg selenium is recommended for improvement in thyroid function. I have taken 100mcg selenium daily since December 27.
I had a thyroid appointment scheduled for December 30. I got my labs done.
TSH = 4.99959 (range 0.35-4.94). In June 2025, it was 2.1297.
T3 Free = 2.18 (range 1.71-3.71). In June 2025, it was 2.53.
T4 Free = 0.94 (range 0.7-1.48). In June 2025, it was 0.97.
It was clear that the Evoxac followed by two viruses had unseated my thyroid levels. My appointment for December 30 was cancelled by the clinic and rescheduled for April 15. I was not pleased at the long delay, but I also knew that my dose would not be adjusted immediately after an illness. I did not contact my provider with any details, since I knew that I had to wait it out.
I had hyperthyroid symptoms briefly around January 4 to 20. This is typical after a viral infection. The thyroid becomes swollen due to inflammation, causing it to release its store of thyroid hormone. The secretion of extra hormone causes hyperthyroid symptoms.
During this time period, my swallowing problems worsened. I'd had more trouble swallowing since the summer of 2024, and it greatly worsened during this time. I will go into detail about the swallowing problem in a separate post.
By January 23, the swelling in my thyroid had decreased to what is typical for me. I began to have hypothyroid symptoms. Around February 3, I began to have more pronounced hypothyroid symptoms, which worsened into the middle of February.
I decided to get my labs done again on February 12.
TSH = 3.8043 (range 0.35 to 4.94)
T3 Free = 2.27 (range 1.71 to 3.71)
T4 Free = 0.95 (range 0.7 to 1.48)
The test results didn't match how I felt at that time. I realized years ago that how I feel at any given time is tied to what my levels were approximately 14 days before. This delay is caused by the pituitary-thyroid feedback loop.
My TSH and T3 Free had improved. What struck me was that my T4 Free had only gone up slightly. It was also not that great back in June 2025. I had a suspicion that I might need a dose increase. My provider told me that I needed to wait longer. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but I knew that April 15 wasn't that far in the future.
My condition began to improve. I could tell that I stabilized at around March 20, but I didn't feel that great. I tested again right before my April 15 appointment.
TSH 3.5777 (range 0.35 to 4.94),
T3 Free = 2.22 (range 1.71 to 3.71)
T4 Free = 0.96 (range 0.7 to 1.48)
Selenium supplementation is supposed to improve thyroid function, and there are multiple studies showing that it does. I wondered what, if anything, the selenium had done.
I pulled up my lab history and looked at the graphs. I chose July 2023 to the present, for three reasons. My thyroid medication was adjusted to 81.5mcg in July 2023, and I have been on that dosage ever since. The graphs show the fluctuation of my thyroid levels while on a consistent dose. My second Covid infection was in December 2024, and I have been in worse overall health since that time. Finally, I felt really good when my labs were done in late December 2024, and I wanted to compare that data point to the entire time I've been on 81.5mcg of Tirosint.
In late December 2024, I did not believe that my recent Covid infection had any impact on my thyroid levels. I now realize that it must have. I suspect that my thyroid was slightly more swollen at the time that my December 2024 labs were done. My thyroid had probably released a small amount of extra hormone, which caused me to feel optimal. As time passed, my levels have very slowly fallen off. That's what I see in all three of these graphs.
For TSH, lower is better so long as it's not near the bottom of the range. I believe I'm optimal with a TSH of around 2. My TSH was slightly less than 2 in late December 2024, which is the lowest value in the below graph.
Click or tap on the graphs in order to see them at a higher resolution.
Notice in this next graph that my highest T3 Free level of the last three years was in late December 2024.
This corroborates my belief that I was optimal in late December 2024. I remember telling my provider that I felt like I was at my best at that time. How I felt during that time caused me not to think that the Covid infection impacted my thyroid.
I am now convinced that my December 2024 Covid infection impacted both my thyroid and my eyes. The worsening of my dry eyes may be in part due to thyroid hormone levels that have not been optimal.
At my April 15 appointment, I requested that my Tirosint be increased from 81.5mcg to 88mcg. My request was granted. I asked about my selenium supplementation of 100mcg daily. It was suggested to continue with 100mcg daily for at least four to six weeks after beginning the higher dose of Tirosint. After that time has passed, I can raise the selenium to 200mcg daily if I feel I need a further boost in thyroid levels. That is my current plan.
I am hopeful that taking a higher dose of Tirosint will result in my dry eyes improving slightly in the next couple months. Even if my eyes don't improve, I should feel better and have fewer symptoms.
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