Читать книгу The Healthy Thyroid: What you can do to prevent and alleviate thyroid imbalance - Patsy Westcott - Страница 48

Christine, whose underactive thyroid went undiagnosed for years, urges women not to be fobbed off with a diagnosis of depression if the symptoms don’t improve with antidepressant treatment. She was one of the few who developed myxoedema coma, a potentially life-threatening condition in which body temperature drops severely, brought on by untreated hypothyroidism. It can also cause low blood sugar and seizures, and lead to death. The coma can be triggered by cold, illness, infection or injury, and drugs that suppress the central nervous system. Although rare, it can still happen, as Christine recalls:

After years of to-ing and fro-ing to the doctor, I was referred to a psychiatric unit and diagnosed as chronically depressed. I was prescribed lithium [a drug used to treat manic-depression]. Within six months, I was comatose – my body grinding to a halt and my kidneys failing. I heard the doctors talking outside my room saying it should never have happened.

Although such an occurrence is extremely rare, it does underline the importance of persistence and of getting a proper diagnosis.