| Thyroid Success Stories |
First, Let me say thank you for such an extremely well written and
informative book about Hypothyroid Disease. Since recently being
diagnosed
earlier this month, my goal has been to read and learn as much as I
possibly
can before my next Dr. appointment.
I would especially like to share my story with you. I just reached what
I
hope is the climax of my story with the diagnosis of Hypothyroid
Disease.
Please bear with me if this gets to be a little long.
On Wed. December 6, 2000, at the urging of a friend, I decided to go to
the
Urgent Care because I was not feeling well and my glands (especially in
my
neck), were extremely swollen and physically hurt. I was also extremely
tired, sleeping all day, having difficulties physically moving my body
and
felt like "death warmed over." At the time, I believed and felt certain
that I had Mono.
The Urgent Care Doctor was wonderful and very interested in hearing about
my
symptoms. She wanted to know how I felt, then decided to go ahead with
the
blood test for Mono. After waiting for almost an hour, the Dr. returned
with the negative Mono results and discharged me from her care.
However,
unbeknownst to me, she decided to do additional blood work and ordered a
TSH
test. The next day while at the office, I received an urgent phone call
from the Dr. requesting that I call her regarding some disturbing test
results. Well, of course, my first thought was that they had misread
the
tests, that I had Mono and had infected the whole office! Thankfully,
that
was not the case! Instead, she had called to inform me that my TSH
levels
were extremely high and that I needed to see my Internal Medicine Dr.
immediately.
Now, before I go further, I have to state that I HATE going to the Dr.
I've
always had the same response "It's in your head" or "we can't find
anything
wrong with you." So I had pretty much decided to forget Drs. and just go
on
my merry way and die when the Lord decided to call me to heaven! I
would
only go to the Gynecologist once a year and to the urgent care when I
was
not feeling well... Oh, I'm also upset w/ my Gynecologist for not
seeing
symptoms that I consider obvious and should have put up a signal that
more
tests were required.
Lets see, where was I... Oh, yes! The internal medicine doctor. Well,
I
made an appointment w/ an Internist for the following Monday, Dec. 11,
2000.
I was very impressed with the Doctor. He is fairly young, probably
early
30's and close to my age. He took the time to listen to what I had to
say,
explain in layman terms what was happening to my body (I've since
realized
that he neglected to say anything about T3) and do an exam. In the
meantime, he did a reflex test and stated that "I was a perfect clinical
example of a Hypothyroid patient." I had extremely slow reflexes and he
could see physical symptoms of Hypothyroidism. He then proceeded to give
me
a sample of Levoxyl 112 mcg to get me through to my next appointment in
1
months time. He admitted that he was starting me on low dosage and that
we
would continue to monitor my progress until the right combination of
medicine was found. During the exam, we had a free flowing and open
conversation. Only time will tell regarding what type of Doctor he is
and
if he is interested in my opinion, thoughts and desire for the proper
treatment that works for me.
In the meantime, I have since found out that from age 11 through high
school, my Mother would have me tested annually for thyroid problems.
Each
time the results were returned reflecting that I was High Normal. I
look
back to when I was younger and realize now that my chronic dry skin
problems, unexplained rashes, muscle fatigue along with the need for 12+
hours of sleep and unexplained weight gain while actively exercising
clearly
pointed to an untreated thyroid problem.
I feel angry about the time that I've lost because of an abnormal
thyroid.
The depression and poor concentration throughout college! All of that
could
have been avoided if only I had known and my mother had been better
educated
to not believe everything the doctors told her. If it had not been for
the
urgent care Dr. I would have continued on in ignorant bliss.
I can say this much, I'm definitely going to be very involved in being
an
advocate for my own health as well as making other people aware of the
problem. I really want to do more and get the word out that Hypothyroid
Disease is a serious problem that goes untreated. More must be done!
Pam
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