Health Journey

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About the Owner

The Symptoms

Like most dedicated teachers, I was excited about the new school year. August of 2019 started like any other year; but by early September, I just didn't feel right - sharp headaches and the feeling of being "run-down" and tired, only 6 weeks into the school year. However, the symptoms that really concerned me were the heart palpitations and hand tremors.

The Role of the Thyroid on Your Body

15 Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

Understanding Autoimmune Thyroid Disease

Duration: 20 minutes

The Diagnosis

My symptoms made it difficult to adequately perform my teaching duties. I decided I needed to take a leave-of-absence to address these health issues. I left my teaching job in October 2019, and my health journey began.

Due to my symptoms, my endocrinologist thought I might have an overactive thyroid. After a few blood tests, it was confirmed - I had hyperthyroidism and was diagnosed with Graves' Disease.

The treatment was to take a radioactive iodine pill to shrink the thyroid - I was "glowing" by Thanksgiving!

Duration: 5 minutes

Duration: 3 minutes

Duration: 4 minutes

The person in the video below had a very similar experience as I did.

She also experienced hand tremors and heart palpitations,

was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism & Graves' Disease,

and also took radioactive iodine for treatment.

(NOTE: She has NO connection with me or this site.)

Duration: 10 minutes

The Treatment

The purpose of the radioactive iodine is to shrink the thyroid and reduce (or stop) the production of thyroid hormone. This process turns hyperthyroidism to hypothyroidism; and the change can take a few months - for me, I started feeling the effects of hypothyroidism by February 2020.

I started taking the thyroid medicine - Synthroid - in March 2020 to replace the thyroid hormone, since my body can no longer produce it on its own. Thyroid medication often needs to be adjusted over time until the right (best) dosage is determined - which could take up to a year or longer to reach.

In addition to taking thyroid medication, dry eye & vision problems can also occur as a result of the radioactive iodine.

Muscle fatigue & dry eye have been the biggest challenges so far during my thyroid journey.

My suggestion to anyone diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, is to consider changing your diet habits first before you take the radioactive iodine. For some people, high thyroid levels could be a result of a poor diet.