scorpiogirl76's Journal

I plan to make a website soon to blog my journey.  In the meantime, I will blog it here.  I just realized this today and with a little research, hard thinking, and talking to family and friends.... I think I just figured something out.  I may jump around here a little but will do my best to keep on track.  To begin, just recently I was diagnosed with severe Graves disease after being hospitalized for a thyroid storm.  I did research, talk to others, went thru my medical history, my parents medical history, and asked a lot of questions to my doctors trying to put together how this happened.... and how it went undiagnosed.  Here's my take on it.  All my life I always had issues trying to gain weight.... my metabolism was always high.  In high school, I would drink weight gainer shakes just to MAINTAIN my weight.... after graduating high school, I would work out religiously in the gym.  During that time, I still was not able to gain weight and in addition to weight gainer shakes, I was also drinking different protein shakes to try to gain weight.  Finally, at 23, I got pregnant with my first daughter.  I gained a whopping 70 pounds and was so happy to have all the weight.  Crazy, huh? After my daughter was born, I went thru what I believed and was told "postpartum depression" and ended up getting a divorce.  My hormones were all over the place.  I lost 40 pounds within the first 6 months of my birth. and then struggled for 2 more years to lose the rest of the weight.  I believe now that I had "postpartum thyroiditis".  Typical case, I probably went hyper for a couple months during which time I lost the 40 pounds and then went hypo, during which I couldn't lose the weight.  Going on..... 8 years later..... I got pregnant again with my youngest daughter.  During this pregnancy, I only gained 30 pounds.  I was a high risk pregnancy.  During this pregnancy I had a cat scan with an iodine contrast for something unrelated to my thyroid.  I was told that I was okay after this.  After the birth of my youngest daughter (10 months ago), I thought I had breezed past the postpartum depression and since I was older, I was more mature.  OR so I thought.  Here's what I think really happen.... In looking back at pictures taken of me, I noticed that the goiter I have has been around since about 2 or 3 months after I had my youngest daughter (so about January).  No one ever noticed.... not myself, not my older daughter, my parents, friends, or anyone. I think it was because I had the weight on from my pregnancy and so it wasn't as noticeable.  As the months went by, I lost the weight and looking at my pictures, it became more and more noticeable. However, no one still noticed.  I blamed my mood swings, anxiety, hot flashes, and everything else you can think of on postpartum blues..... however, all the while, my thyroid was hyper.   Go figure.  It's normal or typical for someone to have postpartum thyroiditis and have it go undiagnosed and then 1 to 8 years later, develop a goiter... That's me!!! Now, no one noticed my goiter until one day I was at work talking about my awful experience the night before.  I was at dinner with family and friends and choked on a piece of steak.  One of my coworkers was looking at my neck and asked what was wrong with my neck.... upon touching it, I realized I had a lump in my neck.   I immediately thought the worse.  That night, I went to the ER thinking my throat was damaged from choking.  They missed the goiter and said my throat was just inflammed.  So, for the next two weeks, I ate a liquid diet (soups, milkshakes, ensure, all foods full of iodine).  In those two weeks before the Thyroid storm, I lost 15 pounds and just attributed it to not eating normal solid foods.  The day before the storm, I choked AGAIN.  This time it wasn't as traumatizing but I went to the ER to be sure it had passed. Upon examing me, the ER doctor was concerned about his lump in my throat so he ordered an ultrasound and bloodwork.  Immediately following my ultrasound, he ordered a cat scan with an iodine contrast.  Upon my discharge from the ER that night, he told me I had several nodules on my thyroid and to follow up with my doctor for a biopsy.  He said to return if I ran a fever.  and Off I went to my home.  The next day, I felt a little sick..... out of it.... but that was always normal for me after getting an iodine contrast.  Ever since I was in my twenties, every time I had any testing with an iodine contrast, it would take me a day or two to recover from it.  (It makes sense now).  Well, that night.... August 23..... I was abrupty woken out of my sleep by a choking sensation and couldn't breathe.  Once I could breathe, I was able to call someone to take me to the ER.  My anxiety was thru the roof but I was calm as I was scared.  In the ER, my vitals were good upon check in.  Two minutes later, this choking sensation and not being able to breathe came over me again.  From there, I was taken into the ER, pumped with drugs, and the rest was a blur.  The next day, I was in ICU and told I had a thyroid storm.....

I believe that the cat scan with the iodine contrast caused me to have the thyroid storm..... and so my journey has begun.

I am now on PTU and a betablocker and have been diagnosed with a severe case of Graves.