A Common Disease

The incidence of Thyroid disease is very high in the Caribbean. The Endocrine Clinic at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Hospital, Trinidad, is operational every Thursday and each time I attended this Clinic, I always saw new faces along with the old ones. The ages of patients range from teenagers to the elderly.

Thyroid Disease, Hereditary and Stress

In most cases thyroid disease is brought on by stress. However, it can be hereditary as well. In my case, my grandmother on my father's side had an enlarged thyroid and had to have it cut. It is my belief that my father had an overactive thyroid but was never diagnosed. I seemed to have inherited it as a child, but it worsened due to stress, when I became an adult and I had to seek medical attention in 1999.

Taking Radio-Active Iodine

It had no color. It had no taste. It looked like water. Only a little (a few tablespoons) was required to burn out my thyroid gland. But it was costly. I drank it in my quest to be cured and became radioactive for the next seven days.

Doctor Visits

I visit the Doctor with my blood test results once a year. However when i was pregnant i had to go every 6 weeks and my medication was adjusted accordingly. It is very important to get this done so that my baby would be normal and healthy.

My Medication

I take 1 Thyroxine sodium (Eltroxin 100mcg) tablet every day. I have to take this tablet for the rest of my life. However, when I was pregnant my dosage was increased for the duration of the pregnancy.

Living with Hypothyroidism

I have been hypothyroidism for 5 years now. However, I was hyperthyroid for 5 years previous to the time that I was hypothyroid. So i am very familiar with thyroid disease. When I was hyperthyroid, I tried anti-thyroid medication to control my thyroid for 5 years and when it did not work my Doctor suggested radioactive iodine. So I tried it and it burnt out my thyroid and I became hypothyroid. 1 year later i became pregnant and had a healthy baby girl.