There are two types of Thyroid Disease Hyperthyroidism, (which means too much of the thyroid hormone), and Hypothyroidism, (this means a person has too little thyroid hormone). A simple blood test can determine if you have Thyroid Disease.
The thyroid gland is the biggest gland in the neck. My Doctor showed me a picture of it and it looked like a pink bow tie in almost the same place a Man would wear a bow tie. The function of the thyroid gland is to help with our body’s metabolism.
It is a dangerous disease to have as you can develop cancer of the Thyroid or Graves Disease.
I read in the National Post, (a Canadian Newspaper, ’Thyroid
Disease is also a’cousin’ to Sugar Diabetes and is as dangerous.’
Today blood tests are taken when a patient is depressed and short tempered, (for Hyperthyroidism), or if a patient is edgy and has too much energy, (for Hyperthyroidism). Sadly this was not always the case.
EXAMPLES:
1) My Mother was forty when she developed a goiter. That is when her Doctor gave her the blood test. She had to have her neck cut open to have the goiter removed. Two years later it returned and she had a second operation. My Mother had Hypothyroid Disease.
2) My Mother-in-law was thirty-eight when her Husband passed away. She had to go to work and continued to work until she was 70. She worked in a Ladies Dress Shop and only quit because her legs could not take so much standing. Until she was 90 she insisted on having all the Traditional Jewish Meals in her home. One day she had heart failure. In the Emergency Ward they did a number of tests and that is when we found out she had Hyperthyroid Disease.
3) I was forty when I became depressed and snapped at everyone. My Doctor had returned so I went to see my Cousin who is a Doctor. He took one look at me and ordered a blood test. It came back and like my Mother I had Hyperthyroid Disease.
THE TREATMENT:
1) If you have Hyperthyroid Disease they treat you over a few weeks with’radio active cocktails’. This’burns out’ the thyroid and puts the patient into a Hyperthyroid State and then they are treat in the same way as someone with Hypothyroid.
2) Hypothyroid Disease is treat with pill called Synthroid. We all go twice a year to have our blood tests. In my case every two years I have had the amount or Synthroid increased to a point I am on the highest dose made.
IF IT THIS DISEASE IS AS DANGEROUS AS SUGAR DIABETES WHY AREN’T PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A CURE?
Synthroid! People believe if you are taking Synthroid you are’cured’. This of course is not true because Sythroid only helps control our disease not cure it.
DID YOU KNOW THAT CANADA HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF THYROID DISEASE THAN ANY PLACE ELSE ON EARTH?
I’m sure you didn’t because I didn’t know this until I read about it in the National Post.
To paraphrase them, ’Canada was the last Country to put Iodine in their Salt, (Iodine helps people from developing Thyroid Disease). When my Country finally decided to add Iodine to our salt the decided if the amount being used in the other Countries was helping a bit and if they added more it would help more. Too much Iodine, (if you shake salt
on your food, ) harms the Thyroid Gland and the Thyroid is hurt’.
SOME THOUGHTS:
Most people do not take this disease serious, (for example that’s why this topic is the only serious disease not listed on MouthShut)!
I know that there are not going to be large fund raising campaigns to fund the research to find a cure for Thyroid Disease, (similar to the way that money is raised to find a cure for Diabetes).
I think this is sad. I’m not cured and neither are the millions of people that suffer from this dangerous disease.
©LL2002