Years ago my mom, who was always a pretty heavy woman, lost a good deal of weight and it was discovered that she had a huge growth on her thyroid. At the time we didn't know that it was a goiter. It was only after she had surgery to remove it, that we received the good news that she did not have thyroid cancer, but a thyroid goiter. She took thyroid medications for the remainder of her life.
My grand daughter, Harley, (the one who lives with us) was only 5 years only when she developed a thyroid goiter. She, too, takes medication which she will continue for the rest of her life. Or at least until she reaches her full adult growth and then we may stop for a brief time and monitor her blood levels to see if she needs to continue to take the medication. I have read that there are as many as 2% of all school aged children with un-diagnosed thyroid disorders and that females dominate that percentage.
My middle brother takes thyroid medication and so did my husband Richard. About 10 years ago I had an episode of thyroiditis (which is a malfunction in the immune system.) Luckily I no longer take medication. I was very sensitive to the medication and it would either send my blood levels too high or I would remain too low. So I just stopped and the levels soon leveled off and return to normal. Who knows why.
For those who are not familiar with thyroid disease the thyroid gland is a small, butterfly-shaped gland that lies at the base of the neck. It influences the functions of many of the body's organs such as the heart,brain, liver, kidneys, and skin. It is estimated that 15 million Americans have un-diagnosed thyroid disease. It affects one in eight women between the ages of 35-65 and one in five over the age of 65. It is very easy to diagnose with a simple blood test. If you are interested in learning more about this disorder you can visit this site. Or just type thyroid disease into Google and you will learn more than you ever wanted to know.
Many, many years ago. My father was dying. We could not figure out what was wrong with him. He was down about 100 lbs. We did not know what to do. They found his heart was not beating while he slept and put in a pacemaker. They didn't know what else to do when out of the blue his primary doc decided to check his thyroid. It was overactive. They burned it out. He gained one pound a week until he was back to normal. He lived another 30 years. A very good and healthy life. I can't believe we almost lost him because of his thyroid. Bless you Paula for passing this message along.
ReplyDeleteI know! It is crazy that something as simple as that little gland can cause so many problems. And that people don't get it checked out. Lucky for your dad that he had a doctor way back them who checked his level!
DeleteWow, that's really interesting. I really didn't know much about it. I probably should have myself and my daughter checked. I know my brother in law had some real issues with his thyroid, he even had to take a nuclear medication at one point.
ReplyDeleteThat is what they suggested for me when I had my bout with thyroiditis. But I am one of those "nurses" who doesn't make the greatest patient and I refused. Glad I did since it all went away. Well, I guess it has. I haven't been to a doctor in 8 years. See what I mean??
DeleteUh, yeah...the same way. I don't go to the doctor. My doctor retired about 8 years ago, but I hadn't seen her a year prior to that.
DeleteA looooong time ago, my mother noticed, I'd developed what looked like an Adams' apple. Come to find out, I had a benign tumor growing on my thyroid - that also necessitated the removal of part of my thyroid ... and meds for the rest of my life. Later I read an article saying thyroid disease is the most MIS-diagnosed malady out there. Even knowing that, I was shocked to learn my hubby was diagnosed with hypo-throidism (is that a word?) a couple of years ago.... I thought that was female-exclusive!
ReplyDeleteNope, not just females...and it goes un-diagnosed often for years!
ReplyDelete