Hyperthyroidism Recovery, as told by Carol Blake- Hodge

I am a single mother of 4. Three young princes  and one  princess.  I am 60 years old today, 29 September 2009.  Presently, I reside in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands as a  Cultural Heritage Arts professional .

I became aware of my glandular problem back in 1986. My doctor diagnosed my ear and throat and said I needed to get it  checked. I did not accept his diagnosis, so I did nothing about  it. Three months after giving birth to my last child (October 26, 1988), my then physician was concerned and sent me to have a test done at CrawfordLongHospital in Atlanta, Georgia. In the space of two days from the first test on my thyroid, the gland had grown to the size of a small grapefruit.  I was told that I needed to have surgery. I was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism. But is there a hyperthyroidism recovery?

I was attending medical school at that time and had the opportunity to do research on the Thyroid gland. I was told by my doctor that I had to have an operation. I agreed that something had to be done, so I signed into the hospital thereafter to have the procedure done. Needless to say, the operation went well but left me feeling cheated and puzzled over the 2 hours of my life while being operated on and the recovery period. I could not remember anything. This plagued me for quite sometime. I was placed on Synthroid- 0.5mg., which I was told to take daily to increase my chances of survival. Some years later, in 1991, I moved back to the Virgin Islands and continued using the Synthroid.

From the year 2000 to 2006, I began experiencing severe headaches, palpitation of the heart, memory laps, stress, TMJ and off-balanced menstrual cycle. I felt like I was loosing myself into nothingness.

Finally, one day at work I decided to surf the net in hopes that I could retrieve information on Hyperthyroidism and cures.   Surprisingly, I came across Svetla Bankova’s story on Graves Disease and Hyperthyroidism. I read her story and decided to get a downloaded copy of her book.  Along with her book I received weekly motivations, insight and encouragement from her through my email. This was really good for me, and I looked forward to each email with great anticipation of all that she would have to share with me.

I began to look at my life differently…What I wanted and expected, where I wanted to go and to be; most importantly, what is truly best for me and how can I get there. While working on all this through prayer and hearing the penetrating and inspiring words of God—To bring about change: You have to do something that you have never done and Svetla ”It’s a lifestyle!  I gave it my all. Then my doctor retired and I had a new one.

This physician sent me to have lab work done, and the thyroid results turned out to be unbelievable. The dosage of Synthroid was too high causing the medical problems I mentioned earlier. The dosage was changed to 0.08 mgs. After taking the first pill, my menstrual cycle came back and I called to let the doctor in on it. I never had the opportunity to speak to him. The nurse decided on her own diagnosis and prescription. All this was based on what her girlfriend experienced. To say the least, I was really ticked-off and that was my last visit to that doctor’s office.  I became very skeptical of synthetic drugs after this and came to a drastic decision…I’m going cold turkey; and I did.

I was visiting a Naturopathic Physician at the time who specializes in other areas of health, including Pain Management.  She experienced my frustration and asked what the problem was. When I told her she began to laugh, but concluded by showing me in a health and healing book that what I was told concerning the pills and my life was a lie. Somehow that day it was all I needed to hear and I told her of Svetla and the lifestyle changes that Svetla had told me I had to make if I wanted to begin enjoying life for me and my family.

It’s been 3 years since I have not taken Synthroid, I’m headache free. Healthy and meaningful conversations are at it’s highest, and my hobby has turned into a profitable business. And so is my lifestyle and what goes into my mouth.

Yes, there are times that I indulge in something that I should not eat, but with God’s help and time and my willingness to be true to myself and God’s word (My body is a temple for the Lord), I will prevail.

I truly feel blessed, because I have two Naturopathic Health Care Consultants that has my best interest at heart here in St. Croix, USVirgin Islands, and I receive much care and guidance from both, together with Svetla’s motivational emails that I continue to receive to date.

It’s my prayer that God’s covering protection be over each of them and their families and practice to include the lives of those the Creator has and continues to send along their path.

God Bless!

Carol Blake-Hodge

To find more successful stories of other people battling Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism, check out here:

Life Stories of Graves’ Disease

 What Does Your Thyroid Do?

The thyroid gland is related to the endocrine secretion and is situated at the base on the neck on the anterior side, in the area called “the Adam Apple” for men, same place for women, and close to the larynx and trachea. It has two lobes, which are connected and form a shape that looks very much like a small butterfly. This is the reason this gland to be often drawn as a butterfly on pictures and posters.  Its name “thyroid” comes from the Greek word “thureoeidés”, meaning “shape like a shield”.

What is its structure and role of thyroid gland in the body system? What does your thyroid do?

Thyroid gland is specialized in hormone secretion, particularly two hormones: thyroxin and triiodothyronine (respectively T4 and T3).  The only difference between these two hormones is the number of iodine molecules that they contain (respectively 3 molecules and 4 molecules of iodine). The production of these two hormones is practically managed by the production of TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) produced in the pituitary gland and  the Thyrotropin-releasing Hormone (TRH), which is released by the hypothalamus. Both organs (hypothalamus and pituitary gland) serve as check points to detect  whether or not the organism is getting enough thyroid hormone. 

The quantity of T3, T4 and TSH are measured in blood tests to ensure the proper functioning of the thyroid gland and are indicator of the presence or absence of thyroid disorder. Once these hormones are released in the blood they further help the conversion of oxygen and calories into energy. Patients with too much thyroid hormones in the blood system (elevated T3 and T4 in blood tests) will experience higher conversion of calories into energy. Accordingly, they may eat large quantities of food, but because of the increased energy conversion they will lose weight. Quite the opposite, low levels of T3 may indicate low conversion of calories into energy and these people will feel fatigue and gain weight, regardless how little they eat.

The thyroid gland is estimated to secret about 80% of the thyroxin (T4) and 20% of the triiodothyronine (T3). However, the larger quantity of T4 (thyroxin) doesn’t mean that it is the more important hormone. In fact, the active hormone is T3 and some of the thyroxin (T4), through complex chemical processes, is converted to T3. The T3 and T4 thyroid hormones are manufactured from iodine (that comes from our food) and tyrosine through a complicated process of synthesis. They are responsible for the proper growth of the body and the different organs, and they also regulate many other body systems. The conversion of T4 into T3 actually does not happen in the thyroid gland, but in other organs and is connected with the hypothalamus. Thus, when discussing thyroid hormones and their optimal level it should be noted that hypothalamus and pituitary gland play an equal and sometimes even more important role in the whole endocrine process. 

Respectively, when the thyroid produces too much thyroid hormone the condition is referred to as hyperthyroidism. When the thyroid gland produces not enough hormones, regardless of the reason, the condition is called hypothyroidism. In cases when the thyroid gland produces the optimal amount of thyroid hormones, the condition is referred to as “euthyroidism”, i.e. normal thyroid function. 

What does your thyroid do during pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the level of T3 and T4 hormones increases significantly in order to cover the hormonal needs of the fetus, which is very important for its normal development.  If pregnant women lack iodine in their diet that may influence the normal growth of the fetus, thus leading to improper development of its organs and even brain functions. Most of the newborn children are regularly screened upon birth for their levels of thyroid hormones. If insufficient amount of these hormones is detected, they could be treated for hypothyroidism to insure proper development.