De-coding and healing my hyperactive thyroid

The conflict which was a solution

The starting point for one of the most important changes in my life began on a sunny day in March. I was dressed in t-shirt & shorts, despite the bitter wind, that was typical for the time of year. Internally, my body was mimicking the sticky warmth of a hot summer’s day.

I was in my mid-twenties and on placement as a trainee pharmacist. After years of studying, I was finally able to put theory into practice, interacting with real people in a pharmacy. It was a phase of high activity and seething energy.

The turning point

Unbeknown to me, a customer had observed my slight hand tremors and informed my manager. She/He, in turn, arranged a consultation, at short notice with a renowned chief physician . I was instructed to attend the doctor’s appointment the next morning.

The diagnosis was crystal clear: Graves’ disease (also called Basedow syndrome) – a common form of hyperthyroidism. My whole thyroid was enlarged due to hyperplasia. My thyroid hormone levels – T3 and T4 – were abnormally high and my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) level was abnormally low. My pulse rate was as high as 120 / min in calm situations. The doctor wanted to admit me into hospital there and then. I refused because hospitals make me feel sick. So I was given a prescription for antithyroid agents and beta-blockers as my primary therapy, as well as the attestation that I was unfit for work. My boss – the very person who’d sent me to see the doctor – wasn’t amused and sacked me on the spot, a few days before my training period was due to end.

As I left the pharmacy for the last time, I felt an overwhelming sense of freedom.

Admittedly, life had thrown me a curveball, but it was also an opportunity to start afresh. I put the hyperactivity caused by my thyroid disorder, to good use. On the same day I’d refused a hospital admission and was sacked from my job, I’d visited both the city hall, to apply for housing benefit, and the employment office for sickness benefits. By evening time, I was satisfied that my financial needs were taken care of, at least in the short-term. Now I could focus my energies on taking care of myself.

Researching the cause

Over the next few days, I visited my university’s library to learn more about overactive thyroid disease. Here’s what I found:

• Graves’ disease is a collection of diffuse symptoms and is generally considered to be an autoimmune disease.
• The disorder results from an antibody (called Thyroid Stimulating Immunoglobulin or TSI) that has a similar effect to the regular Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) – a hormone made in the pituitary gland.
• The TSI antibodies cause the thyroid gland to produce excess thyroid hormone.
• The result is a negative feedback to the pituitary gland, lowering the production of TSH.

The process itself is quite easy to describe, but the causes are mostly unknown. A combination of genetic predisposition to the disease and environmental factors are believed to lie at the root of the disorder.
Accordingly, current treatment options are generic:

• Surgery
• therapy with radioactive iodine and, or
• antithyroid medication.

Both surgery and radioiodine therapy usually result in too low thyroid activity (hypothyroidism) – with negative impact to quality of life.

Antithyroid medication can effectuate a state of euthyreosis, but the mechanisms of action are not completely understood.

I left the library feeling deeply dissatisfied and took the next ferry to wander along the beach. When back home my personal approach was clear:

Don’t fight with the rebels inside, try to communicate with them!

The power of being attentive

As my daily duties were minimized I started to live as I liked and to observe my body’s feedback. Soon the cause for my disorder became obvious: The first employment relationship of my practical training period as pharmacist had lasted only one month because of a hierarchical conflict. The second pharmacy had been literally my last choice. And for the second half of the practice I would have been obliged to work “underground” in the dispensary – mass producing unguents for the University Medical Center of Dermatology. I would never have been fast enough to fulfill a job like this.

When understanding this, I felt gratitude for the rebels inside me, giving me such an amazing exit strategy!

Back to personal balance

I no longer worked in fast-paced environments, so the need to produce lots of energy was redundant.

From a scientific point of view the medication with antithyroids was the only acceptable therapy, but the challenge was finding the euthyreotic state. I started searching for a complementary approach to balance the process. I’d previously had good experiences with classical homeopathy, so upon studying the constitutional remedies, I discovered that Iodum D30 was the best match for my situation.

As my blood levels were controlled every other week, I saw no risk to take over the helm – to steer my recovery myself. In the second month I began to reduce the dosage of the antithyroids. By the third month I was down to zero. Balancing my thyroid with Iodum combined with attentiveness to feedback from my body’s own intelligence was a really successful approach. The levels of T3, T4 and TSH in my blood were normal again, and stable!

Learning more about myself

Meanwhile my inner learning process continued. I found that studying pharmacy had not been the best way for me. In fact, pharmacy had only been a compromise solution for economic reasons. But I understood that completing my practical training period would give me a much higher value: freedom!

In the summer I found another pharmacy to continue my practice. Luckily, it was the pharmacy that always had been my favorite. And the boss was a fan of homeopathy.

Still I found that I disliked the drabness of 9 to 5 jobs. After my official approbation as pharmacist I decided to start studying oceanography beside freelancing in public pharmacies.

To be honest, my overactive thyroid had a nice side effect: I was certified unfit for military service. Having an intense aversion to hierarchy, I was pleased not to have the sword of Damocles hanging over me..

I do it my way

Nearly three decades have gone since this important life change. My tendency to react with the thyroid will probably stay with me for the rest of my life. But I don’t need to take any medication. Meanwhile I realize that it’s a fantastic early warning system – helping me to find my way and my rhythm.

If you were to ask me as a person affected by thyroidism, for some advice, here’s what I’d share:

• You are a unique person. Accept yourself as you are.
• See your limits. Limits are no faults.
• Relax in order to observe the situation. Are there any solutions you didn’t see before?
• Enjoy your life! It’s the only one you’ve got.

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Study the methodology of healing!

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Image sources:

[1] User MBq via Wikimedia Commons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Basedow-vor-nach-RIT.jpg
[2] https://pixabay.com/de/hamsterrad-laufrad-job-kreis-1014047/
[3] Kora Klapp