Sample Letter
Dear Friend/Family Member:
Someone you care about hasthyroid disease.
The thyroid is our master gland of metabolism and energy.
That means we need the proper balance of thyroid hormone to get to feel and live well.
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In some ways, you could think about thyroid hormone as the gasoline that makes the car go.
No gas, and there’s no way to move forward.
Typically, athyroid problemcomes in one of several forms.
They may be hungry and thirsty all the time, suffering from diarrhea, and losing weight.
If Your Loved One Is Hypothyroid
If your loved one ishypothyroid,they are facing different challenges.
Hypothyroidism means the thyroid is underactive, and not producing enough of the energy and oxygen-delivering thyroid hormone.
With hypothyroidism, anything and everything can be slow, even digestion, which can cause constipation.
For women, periods can be worse, and come more often than before.
Menopause can be worse, and come earlier than for other women.
And after pregnancy, hypothyroidism can worsen postpartum fatigue and depression, and make breastfeeding difficult or impossible.
And then there’s that issue of weight gain.
He or she might even be gaining weight on that program.
Someone with thyroid cancer initially may have few, if any, symptoms.
In some cases, however, they may have hypothyroid, hyperthyroid, or mixed thyroid symptoms.
These are just a few of the conditions that can affect thyroid patients.
There are autoimmune diseases such asGraves' diseaseandHashimoto’sthyroiditisthat can be at the root of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
Sometimes people develop a goiter, an enlarged thyroid, or benign nodules that cause symptoms.
Sometimes a temporary infection causes thyroiditis.
Worse yet are the truly unsympathetic physicians that patients all too frequently encounter in thyroid care.
She’s just lazy!"
Or, “Why can’t he just get over it and get back to normal?”
Or “Why can’t my wife look like Sofia Vergara?”
Husbands criticize their wives for gaining weight.
Teenagers whisper behind a friend’s back about anorexia.
Coworkers complain that their colleague is “lazy.”
Once diagnosed, treatment is not an easy fix for many thyroid patients.
The conventional medical world believes that treatment for thyroid problems is one-size-fits-all.
So, let’s get the point.
Can you be the person who opens mind and heart to the thyroid patients in your life?
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid).
Dayan CM, Panicker V.Hypothyroidism and depression.Eur Thyroid J. American Cancer Society.Surgery for thyroid cancer.
American Cancer Society.Radioactive iodine (radioiodine) therapy for thyroid cancer.
