Hyperthyroidism

Its now official, I have hyperthyroidism. For more than a year now, I have been subject to blood tests every 3 months to check my TSH, T3 and T4 levels. In the simplest terms, thyroid tests. Before I left the Philippines, my endocrinologist was very worried about my very low TSH, I could not explain very much in scientific terms, but what I do understand is that my thyroid glands is producing too much hormones ( thus hyperthyroidism) which causes my TSH level to drop. My thyroid glands is not working properly(obviously) because at some point it has to stop producing the hormones when it has detected that I already have enough in my system. In my case, it doesnt seem to stop. The effect is too much adrenaline on my body, I easily get tired (the irony of the adrenaline), sweat a lot ( including sweaty palms), heart palpitations, chest pains, bulgy eyes and losing weight.
You might wonder, how did it occur to me to check with an endocrinologist? Actually, I first checked with a cardiologist. It was April 2011 when I had my yearly annual physical exam from my previous employer. The nurse who took my vital signs told me " you're heartbeat is so fast, are you nervous ma'am?" that time, I was catching my breath because I had to run to get to the clinic ( you cannot miss your appointment or else they might schedule your new appointment at an inconvenient time for you). So I just said, " oh maybe it was because I came here running" and we both laughed. Then after a few days after, I suddenly experienced a very painful chest pain. It was very new to me since I have no heart condition. So I went to the office clinic and the nurse told me that I have normal blood pressure but very fast heartbeat. Since she does not have medication for palpitations, she advised me to just stay calm and relax. I know!!!! How can you relax if you have chest pain and has difficulty breathing. That weekend, I went to a cardiologist, she ordered ecg, and 2D echo. Before she could see my results, she said," do you have goiter or had it before?" To some who may not be familiar, goiter is the bulging in the neck area caused by a problem in the thyroid glands too. So I said, "no", quite offended because i grew up in an environment that if you had it, people stay away from you. She checked the results and what caught her attention was the note " palpitations" so she immediately told me that I have to refer you to an endocrinologist."

My endocrinologist told me that I might have been suffering from the symptoms way, way before but was not very noticeable. I remember in highschool I was sweaty. I am a girl so you could imagine how embrassing that is for me. People always assume it as poor hygiene. I was lucky my high school friends are very nice and did not bully me over it, but of course i inevitably hear occasional whispers how I have pit stains.
In college, I remembered my accounting teacher ( who also is a friend) told me one time, "cold hands,means warm heart". So to this day, I feel better when I say it to myself when I can feel my palms getting sweaty for no reason.

At almost the same time, I was losing weight despite me eating a lot. We have a little store back then and I am attending to it most of the time, so you could imagine how I pass the time. And then, one of nephew ( with a cousin) got primary complex ( as what they say child tuberculosis). His pediatrician could not point from whom he got it so she asked the mother to check the people who spends time with her son. That nephews usually stays with us while her mother goes to work. I was very thin then so I became a very good suspect. My (foster) mother cried when my nephew's nanny revealed that they were told not to come near me or let his son use the same utensils I used.We had to go the an expensive lung specialist to prove that I did not have any communicable lung disease.

What am I getting to with this? Sometimes the worn out saying " don't judge a book by its cover" still holds true. So the next time you meet someone or simply get across someone with a physical appearance not within standards, I advise you to hold your judgment first until you got a chance to know him/her better.