January - Thyroid Awareness Month

Hypothyroidism results from an underactive thyroid gland producing too little thyroid hormone. The body's metabolism slows, consumes less oxygen and produces less body heat. Symptoms can include weight gain, hair loss, irritability, muscle cramps, memory loss, and old temperature intolerance. Treatment: thyroid hormone replacement medications. - www.aace.com

The story is real, although the name has been changed for evident reasons. I’ll call the woman Ann. She could be your sister, mom, daughter, neighbor, grandmother, coworker, wife, or just a woman passing you by, the one who does not respond to your smile.

Ann did look good for her middle age, yet she wished that she was petite and slim. "No such luck all her life", she said. Fasting diets helped her to temporarily shed some pounds, yet things were back to  “big-boned normal” once the “will power” was no longer there. Coworkers were complimenting her on her healthy looking skin, overall good looks, and did not suspect at all that she felt like “dying, rotting inside”. Ann could hardly function during the day. Yet waking up in the morning was even worse. In her words, it was a torture to feel so totally fatigued after 6, 7, or even 8 hours of sleep. The mysterious fatigue was  a frightening constant  companion. However, doctors did not find anything peculiar and abnormal. On the outside, Ann looked like a healthy normal person.

Once, reading some health related articles, Ann came across a story that bore close resemblance to her own ordeal. Hypothyroidism was the condition that was discussed in the piece. That was a trail for Ann to follow in her search for solutions to her own scary health problem that lead to depression, loneliness, and hopelessness. 

Three times doctors refused Ann to conduct a blood test, and three times Ann did not give up. The last doctor looked at her from a shooting distance again and sad: “No, you do not have Thyroid problems, your neck looks normal.” Risking to appear too persistent and insistent, the patient asked the doctor one more time to prescribe the blood test if just to discount the probability that malfunctioning Thyroid is the cause of the indescribable debilitating fatigue.

A few days after the test wich took just minutes, Ann's phone rang, and the doctor at the other end mumbled: “Yes, it appears that you have low functioning Thyroid gland. I'll have to prescribe you medicines.”

What if Ann would have not been looking for answers? Here is just one of many possible grim outcome for people who go through life with undiagnosed Hypothyroidism. I am quoting a thorough resource book Nutrition Almanac, by Nutrition Search, Inc.:

“A heart that is weakened or damaged by diseases such as rheumatic fever, heart attack, hypothyroidism, arteriosclerosis, or beriberi is unable to properly pump the blood through the body. This inefficient circulation which leads to congestion of many organs with blood and other tissue fluids is congestive heart failure.

Early symptoms of congestive heart failure are abnormal fatigue and shortness of breath following work or exercise. Swelling, particularly in the ankles and feet, is further symptom. Congestion of the abdominal organs causes nausea, lack of appetite, and gas. Fluid in the lungs impairs breathing and in some causes a persistent cough.

(…)

The diet should be divided into frequent small meals of easily digested foods. Calories, fats, gas-forming foods, and sodium (salt) are restricted. The diet should be adequate in potassium and thiamine. Nutrients that may be beneficial in treatment of congestive heart failure are Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin E, Potassium, Low fat, Low sodium.”  

Shaklee Vita-Lea has all of these and more.

Perhaps Ann could have discovered earlier what was wrong with her health, if she would have learned about proper personal health care while in high school (how about three Rs and an H?). Adequate and timely science information is important to people like Ann. It should take precedence over being force-fed information about the healthy foods later in  life.  Young people would benefit greatly from being taught how to take responsibility for the health of their own body, like Ann did. Then, perhaps,  healthier nutrition choices would come more naturally even later in one's life. Really, who needs a congestive heart failure!

Final note: The Thyroid condition test is not overly expensive, and Americans without insurance might expect a hefty discount for the test, if they are down on their luck and are out of work.

•  "According to the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE), and estimated 27 million Americans are experiencing a thyroid disorder, with more than half of those undiagnosed." - David Wight, The Costco Connection, January 11 (article based on the information in www.aace.com).