An estimated 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease — yet up to 60% of those aren’t even aware of it. That’s because its wide-ranging symptoms are prone to be masked amongst other conditions or seen as part of “life”. When left untreated, thyroid problems can cause extensive damage throughout the body, and even be fatal — which is tragic considering that the disorder can usually be diagnosed with a simple blood test.

Thyroid issues don’t affect just one age group or population. The very quiet baby, the overly-nervous 8-year-old girl who has trouble sleeping, the 17-year-old boy who sweats heavily and is reed-thin despite a voracious appetite, the low-energy infertile woman, the irritable 60-year-old woman with a hand tremor, the 75-year-old man with dry itchy skin who has difficulty swallowing….all of these are among the varying faces of thyroid disorder.

Hyperthyroidism: A Thyroid Run Amok

“Looking back, the very first sign that something was wrong was when I was on vacation in Israel three years ago,” says Aryeh, a 39-year-old father of four. “I was hiking near the Dead Sea and as I climbed a particularly steep incline, I became woozy, saw red, and almost passed out. The incident passed quickly, and it passed from my mind as well.

“The second sign came a few months later when my wife surprised me with a birthday present of a few sessions with a personal trainer. The guy was a former college football linebacker, and his workouts were brutal. In middle of one session, I suddenly felt woozy and blacked out. I woke up to him slapping my face, his eyes wide in fright — he thought he killed me. I chalked it up to not eating enough before the workout.

“A few months later, my eagle-eyed mother — a retired ophthalmologist — was visiting. Staring at my right eye, she said, ‘Your eye is slightly bulging, which can indicate a thyroid disorder.’ She told me to get it checked out ASAP. ‘Sure, Ma,’ I humored her. But it was no joke: my bloodwork indicated a hugely hyperactive, out-of-control thyroid. I was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes hyperthyroidism.

“The treatment we chose was radioactive iodine therapy,” Aryeh says. “The way it works is brilliant. The thyroid gland normally absorbs iodine from the bloodstream, which it uses to produce thyroid hormones. In this treatment, iodine is made radioactive, and swallowed by the patient in pill form. The radioactive iodine is absorbed by the thyroid, and the radioactivity proceeds to destroy the over-producing thyroid cells.

“I needed to be on a low-salt diet for a week beforehand, so that my iodine-depleted thyroid would soak up as much of the radioactive iodine as possible. This treatment is difficult to calibrate, and for most people the effect is like a bunker-buster bomb on the thyroid, completely destroying it. The result of this is hypothyroidism. After the treatment, I had to hide out in my basement for a few days, away from my kids, since I was emitting radiation.

“A few weeks later found me in a twilight zone of sheer misery,” Aryeh relates. “I was freezing, no matter how many layers I put on. My skin became chalky and dry. I was extremely lethargic, yet unable to fall asleep. My hair and nails began falling out. At the same time, I felt jittery, and my racing heart pounded in my ears. I gained about 20 pounds in a short period of time.

“A blood test showed that I had zero thyroid function — most of what I was experiencing was from serious hypothyroidism. The jitteriness, racing heart, and insomnia, though, were due to the prednisone I was on for my eye condition. To counter the side effects of the prednisone, I took Beta blockers. I also started taking Synthroid [a synthetic thyroid hormone] for my hypothyroidism, which helped me to slowly regain my equilibrium. It’s been a tough ride, but today my thyroid condition is a non-issue.”