Sick of My Sickness

Hyperthyroidism, according to my doctor, is caused by stress mainly. Looking back now, it makes sense that I had it when my father was battling with cancer and, subsequently, lost it.

There was a time when I stayed with my ailing father for a few days at the hospital and I came home feeling ill myself. I couldn’t get out of bed for more than a week. I had the flu (yes, for the first time in my life), had a splitting headache that didn’t leave me until the ninth day and generally felt weak all over. I was no hypochondriac. But I was convinced there was something terribly wrong with my body.

And so I was off to a neighborhood clinic to get my blood pressure checked. It was normal. Then there was this eye doctor who made me do this costly periphery test and made me wear a pair of new eyeglasses. Nothing there. Then I consulted an EENT specialist as there was a constant buzzing in my right ear. I had a hearing exam and a few more tests. Again, nothing. It was the same doctor who, upon inspecting my throat on my next visit and finding it bigger than usual, recommended that I get a test for thyroid problems. With results in hand, I went straight to an endocrinologist who finally confirmed that I was sick with hyperthyroidism.

Before my bout with hyperthyroidism at 125 lbs., May 2006

Sick with hyperthyroidism at 105 lbs., September 2006

So without having to undergo these needless tests and without unnecessarily parting with quite a hefty sum, how do you know if you’re afflicted with this particular disease?

1. For me, the first indicator was weight loss which should have been a good thing except that it wasn’t since it was brought about by some form of illness.
2. My hands, suddenly, had a life of their own and I couldn’t stop them from trembling. This was especially evident in my handwriting.
3. I was always feeling weak and tired which was weird for a hyperactive person like me.
4. I couldn’t do anything without panting like a dog in the end. Plus, I would have palpitations that would sometimes make my chest hurt a little.
5. My skin was so dry “you could actually write the word dry right on your hand”. (Vaseline or Jergens?)
6. My hair was falling at an unbelievable rate it made me panic. There was lots on my pillow, on the floor, in the bathroom. Everywhere.
7. I had to make frequent trips to the bathroom which I guess partly accounted for the weight loss.
8. My mood swings were becoming more frequent. And no symptom could be worse as far as my poor husband was concerned.

So how did I get cured?

1. I took an anti-thyroid agent, the dose of which was gradually decreased as I got better.
2. I took steroids for about three months for my thickening throat.
3. I abstained from sugar for a month so that my limbs won’t go numb. But this was more preventive than therapeutic. And this, I must say, was the hardest part.

Is it a serious condition, you may ask.

1. Not so much. But if left untreated, hyperthyroidism could lead to heart failure or, worse, thyroid storm that may cause coma or death.
2. Yes. If you do not want an unsightly scar on your neck.
3. Absolutely. If you have enough vanity in your make-up not to want to look like you came straight from Halloween, bone-thin with eyes that would make anyone think they were about to fall off their sockets.

Now, my thyroid problem is back — for reasons I have yet to know — though not as bad as before since I have become quite an expert at detection. But still, I hate having to stay away from sweets. I hate queuing at the drugstore for my medicines. And having to come back again and again to my doctor who has over 30 patients waiting in line each time — God, that's what I hate the most.