“That’s how I knew he was ill. I just thought he was tired. Panto is exhausting for even a 20-year-old. Paul had an under-active thyroid, I thought the medication needed tweaking.”
Four years ago [from 2009] my thyroid stopped working and it took them a hell of a long time to find out what was the matter with me. I honestly believed I was going insane; I was losing control and felt weak.
I finished up unconscious on a cruise ship in New York harbour. The other passengers thought I was dead. I was taken to a hospital and in the light of recent chat about the NHS, trust me, never be ill in America. I was in hospital for three days - lying in a bed and ignored.
When I got back to the UK ten days later, a nurse at the private hospital I went to said to the doctor: 'What about his thyroid?' They found it had closed down and all my organs were slowly packing up.
It took another nine months to find the right balance of drugs and I'll have to take the pills for life. But I feel great now.
My goodness - how drastic to reach that point - but at least for a while he was 'fixed' but who knows what the long term damage did? Thank you, very interesting indeed.
They probably didn't test his thyroid anti-bodies to reveal Hashimotos. Hence it took so long to diagnose his UAT as his TFT's - or even just the TSH was in range. Nor it seems did they test his B12 as a matter of course when the UAT was known about. All rather sad. Both PA and Hashimotos being auto-immune conditions possibly didn't cross the minds of his Docs either.
So with all the money in the world it seems the very basics are still being missed. For sure we are better off on this forum - learning for ourselves - sharing bits and pieces of experiences and knowledge and travelling our own routes to wellness.
Thanks for posting and reminding us to be vigilant
It is sad when people get so unwell before they are properly diagnosed and treated. Makes me angry too. How many people don't have the luxury to go to a private hospital? Who knows what would have happened if he wasn't able to.
Reading the interview with him though on your daily mail link I got annoyed. He said that alternative therapy is for people who are idle, self indulgent and attention seeking. I'm not completely sure about it, but if it helps as an extra treatment alongside orthodox, and people feel happier, then why not?
Even in the private hospital it sounds as if a rather more than averagely aware nurse was the key figure. Not the doctors who were, we can assume, in charge of his case.
That awareness could just as well have come into play in any other hospital or clinic/surgery.
Of course it could, I think nurses generally have more time and compassion for patient's than doctors. Either way, he was lucky to be at that hospital at that time. .
Sally Pacholok was one of those nurses in the US. She kept seeing low B12 but could not get the Docs to take her seriously. They have now made a film of her story which will be screened in Loughborough at the time of the B12 Conference in June.
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