Mariëtte Chippindall - The Hidden Epidemic: My Journey to Thyroid Health

Maritte Chippindall with Marie Opperman

Published by Zebra Press
an imprint of Random House Struik (Pty) Ltd
Reg. No. 1966/003153/07
80 McKenzie Street, Cape Town, 8001
PO Box 1144, Cape Town, 8000 South Africa

www.zebrapress.co.za

First published 2008

Publication Zebra Press 2008
Text Maritte Chippindall 2008

Cover photograph Ritmarie du Plessis/YOU/Huisgenoot

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners.

PUBLISHING MANAGER: Marlene Fryer
MANAGING EDITOR: Ronel Richter-Herbert
EDITOR: Irma van Wyk
PROOFREADER: Shelly Delbridge
COVER DESIGNER: Natascha Adendorff-Olivier

ISBN 978 1 77007 571 9 (print)
ISBN 978 1 77022 237 3 (ePub)
ISBN 978 1 77022 238 0 (PDF)

DISCLAIMER

The information and material contained in this book is not intended to be and should not be viewed or used as medical advice or the recommended substitution of any existing medical treatment, diagnosis or prescribed medication. Accordingly, the author and publisher accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from the reliance upon or implementation of any such information or material. In all cases trained and qualified medical personnel should be consulted for advice.

To my husband Giles, thank you for your understanding
and for always encouraging me never to stop helping others.

My daughter Tamlyn: I did it for you. Live your life with passion.
To all the thyroid patients, thank you for never giving up hope.
This book is for you.

Foreword Esmar Weideman

Foreword Jacqui Moskovitz

Acknowledgements

PART I My Journey to Health

Preface

1 Angels wings

2 A crown and Mrs Thyroid

3 Muv answers the phone

4 The people speak

5 My perseverance pays off

6 Consternation

7 A Russian adventure

8 Mrs Commonwealth

9 My biggest challenge

PART II Doctors and Experts

Preface

10 Dr Sindeep Bhana

11 Dr Craige Golding

12 David Arthur

13 Brent Murphy

14 Dr Kevin Alexander

List of symptoms

Contact details

Afterword

SELDOM HAS A YOU-magazine article drawn so much reaction: a beautiful Mrs South Africa finalist tells of her long battle to find out what had robbed her of her vitality and health. Several doctors misdiagnosed her condition, citing ailments from depression to stress. Then Maritte Chippindall consulted an endocrinologist and finally discovered what was wrong with her: the culprit was an underactive thyroid.

After YOU published her story, Maritte was besieged by readers who realised that they, too, shared this medical condition. It seems thyroid problems are a silent epidemic, often undiagnosed, that affect mainly women, leaving them depressed, listless and at their wits end. GPs often dismiss sufferers as hypochondriacs, which leaves them feeling even more powerless and frustrated.

Sparkling Maritte was crowned Mrs South Africa and later also Mrs Commonwealth. She never misses an opportunity to inform people about the illness that undermined her health for so long. And after thousands of YOU readers had phoned her, written to her and approached her wherever she went, she began giving talks on thyroid problems, thereby providing them with the knowledge to overcome this epidemic. Her talks became so popular that she revealed, in another YOU article in 2005, that she was planning on writing a book about her battle with her thyroid.

Needless to say, what Maritte decides to do, she does. A team of thyroid experts worked closely with her to produce this book. She now travels the world, presenting seminars on the subject. This bubbly woman, who was once so tired and drained, has become a true inspiration not only to sufferers who, through her efforts, have finally been diagnosed correctly and been given back their vitality, but to everyone who admires the woman who refused to give up hope and used her platform as a beauty queen to really make a difference.

Maritte Chippindall has changed and enriched so many lives. With the help of this book, she carries her message to an ever-wider audience and takes a giant step forward in her mission to do away with the ignorance surrounding thyroid problems.

Esmar Weideman Editor, YOU magazine

CONGRATULATIONS, MARITTE! YOU have finally achieved what you have dreamt of for so many years: getting out the correct information about thyroid disorders and how to effectively treat these conditions to other women who are still desperately searching for this information in their ongoing battle.

The title you won as Mrs Commonwealth in 2006 has given you a new platform from which to gather the media and get your life-changing message across to others who struggle with the same health issues you did. Not wanting to become another statistic, you persevered until you found the elusive light at the end of the tunnel real and useful information that you are carrying like an Olympic athlete to all who need it.

The journey to health that has taken you seven years to achieve is now going to be made easier for others who read your book. Your quest for knowledge was not unlike mine obviously our paths were destined to cross and you were to take over the baton from me. I am very proud that I was able to play a small part in your quest by introducing you to the incredible team of pharmacists and doctors that I am privileged to know, and who have once again helped you, this time with writing your book.

You have put the pieces of the thyroid puzzle together by inviting so many knowledgeable and very special professionals to contribute to your book. Its about time this knowledge became available and was brought out of the locked vaults of academia, into the hands of people who need it most.

You are not only a beauty queen with a crown, but an angel with a halo.

Jacqui Moskovitz Founder and director of Solal Technologies, Anti-Aging/Preventative Medicine Specialists

When you discover your purpose,
simply begin your journey.
MARY OLIVER

THESE WORDS APPEAR in an article I tore from a magazine years ago. Although they were written by journalist Mary Oliver, they express my own feelings perfectly. I have learnt that ones purpose and ones journey are the same, that neither can reach its full potential without the other.