Yikes! My sympathies. If you would can you share your story about the dental x-rays? I have always been suspicious about the frequency and exposure rates of them.
I am about your age and my thyroid tests are dead in the middle of the range(thankfully). Still I have to keep walking and continue to be very active to keep the pounds off.
Hat tip to you and your efforts.
My parents were from the greatest generation and had poor dental care. They swore to take care of their children’s teeth. I also wore braces for a long period of time in my adolescence. Every damn dentist and orthodontist in the 60’s and 70’s had to have their own X-ray machine, especially the full facial kind. Led vests back then did not go all the way up to your chin. I received at least 6 to 8 x-rays per year for a decade and then my career had me exposed to background radiation for decades. In my late forties I became very lethargic and exhausted and gained a lot of weight.
Effing Doctors told me to “Step away from the spoon”. Pissed me off. 90 percent of thyroid problems are in women so they assumed I did not have thyroid problems. I diagnosed myself and insisted on the blood work and low and behold - hypothyroidism. The medicine helped a lot for at least a decade but with time the problems got worse. I’ve had a very hard time controlling my metabolism, energy levels and weight as my thyroid function deteriorated.
I have to force my self to exercise when my body is screaming that It’s exhausted. It sucks. I’m getting my blood checked today and then hitting the pool to swim a mile. I swam a half mile yesterday and another mile two days before that. Not exercising is even more painful and not an alternative.
When my weight is below 240 I can swim a mile in a 25 meter pool in 30 - 32 minutes, 28 if I push it. Above 260 it takes about 40 minutes.
I pass men half my age and weight in the pool regularly. The ask how can you swim for 30+ minutes straight without stopping! (LOL) I have to be below 280 to do flip turns to reduce my time. Above 280 I get a snoot full of water and stand at the end of the pool coughing. (LOL) A couple more weeks and I’ll be below 280 for the third time in 10 years.
I retired so I should be able to be more consistent with my exercising. I worked 8 to 10 hours per day and had a commute that ranged form 1.5 to 3 hours a day depending upon traffic.
This week my weight has fluctuated up and down 5 pounds. I can gain weight by breathing!
I no longer judge people based upon appearances and I no longer beleive that Doctors have an effing clue. I’m a computer scientist and have read more books and journals in one year to keep up with my profession than most doctors read in their entire career. I’m waiting of IBM’s watson to open an office! I trust it more than most doctors!