Thyroid Support

Today I decided to resurrect Thyroid Support because I know many people who are fighting with their thyroid. And yesterday a lady dropped in to the office and we started talking about her daughter who has a thyroid problem. The doctor she visited appears to have no compassion to someone who is scared about the treatment that she needs. In fact his attitude really astounded me because he was supposed to be a specialist.

I see a fantastic specialist who has helped me for several years now and listens to me and understands that not every person who has a thyroid problem will be a text book case. For many doctors and specialists if you have a level that ‘should be normal’ for different sufferers it might not be in their range at all. In fact their range could be totally off the show that those results are read wrong. But don’t try and tell that to a doctor who believes who really believes he is helping you.

When I opened up my email just before I began writing this I found my first thyroid newsletter email from about.com. And I found an item where NBC’s Today Show Tackles Thyroid Awareness and Controversies over TSH Testing.

(You can view the segment from NBC’s Today Show online now.)

It’s incredible that there are many people out there like me. They have experienced ‘the fog’ and the depression and being told that all the problems that are experienced is because of obesity, menopausal and being female. I was surprised that there are still doctors and specialists out there that don’t realise that every person is different. We are not all text book cases and they don’t want to admit that they have misdiagnosed someone with a thyroid problem.

January is Thyroid Awareness month and a press release dated the 2nd January 2008 from the American Associiation of Clinical Endocrinologists is advising expectant and pregnant mothers to get their necks checked.

I remember falling pregnant with my first child and I thought that everything was fine but shortly after I slowly began putting on weight and I felt my body was on ‘a go slow’. When I fell pregnant with my second child, my weight ballooned. That was back in 1982.

I went through many tests and was even called a hypochondriac, because my doctor couldn’t find anything wrong. I had diabetes tests and every test imaginable except for one. A simple thyroid blood test.

In 1998 a locum (a doctor who was covering for my regular doctor) found me in her rooms suffering from heart flutters. She did an ECG but at that time, it stopped. Out of the blue she asked me if I had ever had my thryoid tested.

She sent me for the test and immediately gave me a prescription for Thyroxine. The blood tests were completely surprising and it was a relief to find that there was actually a name to all my medical problems finally.

Please don’t go through years of not knowing. If you are unsure, have your neck checked. Have the blood test and eliminate it before it turns your world upside down.

Take some time and read the press release – Expectant and Pregnant Mothers: Get Your Neck Checked.

Toni Livesey

I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid in 1998. I have Hashimoto’s Disease and one would think after 8.5 years that I would have been able to control this and be living a normal life.

I really just can’t get my thyroid to play ball because of varying reasons all which apparently boil down to me and the way ‘I don’t look after myself’ I have to admit that over the many years I suppose I haven’t in a way because I’ve let doctors control what I do and don’t do.

I did have my thyroid levels almost to normal because I’d maintained a lifestyle where there was no added extras and things were going along nicely, until I hit a plateau and I couldn’t lose any more. That was when the lapband came into action and since then my thyroid levels have been up and down and although my weight has been up and down too it has been hard to maintain.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been waiting to have my thyroid levels tested only to find out that my doctor wants me to wait another 2 months before he does that. I was quite surprised considering the way it has been lately. So it will be 4 months since it will have been tested even though my specialist recommended the tests should be done every 3 months.

To make matter worse, I complained of being tired, and my hair was falling out and he put that down to stress and feeling depressed – two symptoms of an underactive thyroid. But then what would I know.

He suggested that I needed to go on a diet – something I have been on for quite some time now and trying so hard to lose the weight naturally instead of becoming another statistic for mal-nourishment due to the lapband. The reason I went to see him was because my other doctor failed to pick up issues when I mentioned them and left me to my own resources until I finally was able to see the specialist in Brisbane.

So it now it makes me wonder where I go from here; my doctors on my case about losing weight, I’m trying and yet he doesn’t see that; so I will keep trying and it’s time to visit my endocrinologist who will listen and do the appropriate tests and not push me into using replacement meals… and I can continue eating fresh fruit and vegetables and maintain my diet that way while trying to get my thyroid levels stable.

Toni

Goiter, or bronchocele, is a swelling of the neck, caused by an enlarged thyroid gland. It is not dangerous or harmful, and can be treated quickly in the majority of cases.

Goiter is usually caused by an iodine deficincy, but can also be caused by Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, Grave’s Disease, and acute thyroiditis. When there is a lack of iodine in the body, the thyroid cannot perform its job of creating hormones sufficently.

When the hormones, triiodothyronine and thyroxine, fail to be produced in necessary quantities, the body releases a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH or thyrotropin) which causes the thyroid gland to swell.

Read through the NHS Direct Online Health Encyclopedia for more information.

Several symptoms of goiter include difficulty in breathing, and difficulty in swallowing. These are both caused by the swelling pressing up against the windpipe and oespophagus. The major problem is the appearance. Many people find having a swelling of their neck to be unsightly.

Goiters can be diagnosed by ultrasound scanning to find the swelling. A Doctor can usually tell if a goiter is present simply by touch, but other methods can still be used for comfirmation. Radioactive iodine intake tests can be used to track how much iodine is taken into the thyroid.

Higher than normal levels indicate hyperthyroidism, and lower than normal levels indicate hypothyroidism. Once it has been established which other illness is the cause of the goiter, then it can be treated to ensure that no more occur.

Like all thyroid disorders, Goiter is more common in females, but can be removed if it was not caused by a disease. Certain types of goiter need to remove the entire thyroid gland as well, which causes the individual to get hypothyroidism. This is known as a subtotal thyroidectomy. None of the thyroid hormones are produced, which leads to many problems.

In many cases, the goiter will go away by itself if the iodine levels in an individual’s body are corrected. To see more information, click here to read through this medical encyclopedia. The best way of trying to remove the cause of the goiter, is to address the thyroid hormone levels, which can lead to a number of other problems that can all be rectified.

Fortunately, goiter has almost been eliminated in Western nations because table salts have been supplemented with iodine. This swelling is still prevelant in under developed nations however.

Historically, goiters are common in geographical areas that have low iodine levels, such as inland plains.

Goiter is not associated with cancerous growths or inflammation.

In most cases, goiter is not dangerous, but can be a sign of more harmful diseases. For most people, the swelling will simply die down on its own, but surgery can also be used if this fails to happen.

By Russ Egan