Mary J. Shomon - Living Well with Graves Disease and Hyperthyroidism: What Your Doctor Doesnt Tell You...That You Need to Know

Ive been a thyroid patient advocate for nearly 10 years, and Ive received many e-mails from patients throughout this time. Sometimes the notes are despondent. Sometimes they are adamant. But almost always they tell a story like Audreys:

I was very tired. As time passed, I got more and more tired, where I couldnt keep my eyes open. First, the muscles in my legs and then the muscles in my arms became very painful. I couldnt raise my legs 2 inches off the floor or raise my arms straight up! My eyes bulged; I lost hair; I lost weight; I had jaundice; I had tremors. Finally, a lump appeared on my throat. Writing this out for you, I have tears in my eyes. Through all this, not one doctor picked up on the problem. I was told I was a hypochondriac. Finally, after seeing the lump, my doctor sent me for an ultrasound test and then nuclear testing. Finally, I was diagnosed with Graves disease. Imagine the shock on my doctors face and his embarrassment.

Lorries experience is also quite common:

I felt kind of off. Nothing so serious that I was suffering terribly, but just not feeling myself. I started a job and soon was plagued by anxiety, stomach problems, heart palpitations, mood swings, and hot flashes. The doctorsI was sent to a gastroenterologist, a psychologist, a general practitioner, a gynecologist, and an allergistdid not have a clue what was wrong with me. They wrote it off to stress and having a sensitive stomach. I continued enduring the symptoms and hoping that they would go away.

I tried to change things about my life in hopes that it would help. But five years after making dietary changes, lifestyle changes, changing my career, and moving cross-country, things were worse. I had even worse heart palpitations, achy joints, breathing problems, and I could not keep weight on. I ate enormous amounts of food that barely allowed me to maintain my weight. So I started the doctor circuit again. The allergist claimed I had asthma and gave me an inhaler. That inhaler nearly killed me one day while exercising because it sent my already skyrocketing heart rate into the stratosphere. Finally, all my symptoms and the fact that my hands were shaking violently clicked with my general practitioner and she gave me a thyroid blood test. I was suffering with severe hyperthyroidism that had gone undetected for years.

Unfortunately, Audrey and Lorrie are not alone. Millions of people in the United States, the majority of whom are women, are suffering from Graves disease and hyperthyroidismconditions that seriously disrupt quality of life and can be fatal if left untreated over time.

I wrote this book to help you determine if you have the symptoms of Graves disease and hyperthyroidism. Then youll find information to help you get the proper diagnosis, and perhaps most importantly, how to navigate the confusion of treatment options that range from antithyroid drugs to permanent, irreversible treatment such as radioactive iodine to the thyroid or surgery. Finally, the end result for most people treated for Graves disease and hyperthyroidism is the opposite condition, hypothyroidism, which means living with an underactive thyroid. Youll learn how to manage that part of the disease as well, along with common and persistent symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, depression, and hair loss. Youll also learn how to have a healthy pregnancy.

This book is for you if

• You strongly suspect you have Graves disease and/or hyperthyroidism but are having difficulty getting a diagnosis by conventional means.
• You arent sure if your various symptoms point to hyperthyroidism and you need to find out.
• Youve been diagnosed with Graves disease and/or hypothyroidism and have been told that you need to have a particular treatment right away. You want more information before you commit to decisions that may affect your health for the rest of your life.
• You have in the past or are currently being treated for Graves disease or hyperthyroidism and are still struggling to feel well.
• You are receiving what your doctor feels is sufficient treatment, yet you still dont feel well.
• Youre an open-minded health practitioner looking for innovative ways to understand and help your patients with Graves disease and hyperthyroidism.
• You want to learn about living well with Graves disease and hyperthyroidism from the perspective of empowered patients and caring practitioners.

Before I go any further, I think it might be useful to explain my own background. Im not a doctor. Im not a health professional. I have a degree in international studies from Georgetown University. In 1997, my battle with my own health led me to start and manage a popular patient-oriented Web site on thyroid disease as well as launch the only monthly report on conventional and alternative thyroid-related health news and treatments. Ultimately, this has turned into my mission as a patient advocate and health writer for books, Web sites, newsletters, and magazines.

As a Hashimotos thyroiditis patient myself, Ive had periods of Hashitoxicosis, or Hashimotos-induced hyperthyroidism. Truly, I thought I was going mad. I felt agitated; my skin felt hot; my eyes were spasming, jumpy, and twitching. My eyes got so dry that everything was blurry and I couldnt drive at night. I could barely concentrate or focus on anything. I was exhausted, but I was restless and anxious when I tried to sleep. Everything I ate went right through me. And I consider myself fortunate because these miserable periods of hyperthyroidismamong the worst times in my life healthwisewere temporary flares in a disease that otherwise has caused me to have an underactive, underfunctioning thyroid.

I have written this book for the millions for whom Graves disease and hyperthyroidism is not a temporary flareits a permanent, debilitating condition that can force you to live in a chronic state of poor health if untreated. If you have yet to be diagnosed, you may be mistakenly told that you have panic disorder or bipolar disease. Your friends and family may even accuse you of being anorexic. And you may be going from doctor to doctor looking for answers. I hope youll find the answers you need here.

Ive also written this book for those who have been diagnosed and are looking for ways to understand the various treatments. Its not enough that radioactive iodine is the standard of care in the United States. You want to know whether there are options that are less drastic and less permanent, or even natural/alternative medicine options. Again, I hope youll find the answers and support you need here. Finally, by bringing you the stories of the gracious patients who have shared their own experiences, as well as the innovative and compassionate doctors who have taken the time to provide input on their treatment approaches, I want you to have hopehope in the realization that you are not alone and hope in a future of living well with Graves disease and hyperthyroidism.