August 31 seems to be hurtling towards me at an alarming speed, that’s the day I’ll be doing the bungee jump in aid of Thyroid UK. So on that day, it will be me hurtling towards the ground at an alarming speed!
So who are Thyroid UK? What is the thyroid? What does it do? Or in my case (and many others case) what doesn’t it do?
I’m not a doctor or nurse, I do have an Anatomy and Physiology qualification, as needed for me to practice as a Colour Therapist but don’t worry this isn’t going to be a complicated medical description! It’s going to be explained as simply as possible!
What is the thyroid and what does it do?
The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland found in the neck, just below the Adam’s apple. It produces two hormones, T3 and T4, which are released into the blood to travel to every cell and organ in the body. Yep, every single call and organ, so these two hormones are highly important. They influence the metabolism of your whole body, not just weight as some think.
If the gland secretes too much hormone the cells and organs work faster, this can result in anxiety, heart palpitations, weight loss, diarrhoea, this is just to name a few. This is hyperthyroidism.
On the other hand, if not enough hormone is released the body slows down, so weight gain, fatigue, constipation, brain fog and always cold are a few symptoms. This is hypothyroidism. These symptoms are just the tip of the iceberg, there are plenty more!
For a more in-depth description, you can do a quick google search, as you can guess I could go on for ages.
Thyroid UK is a charity organisation founded in 1998, their mission statement is…
"Providing information and resources to promote effective diagnosis and appropriate treatment for people with thyroid disorders in the UK"
Over the years they have been fundamental in gathering information and making it available to thyroid warriors all over the UK, they offer a support network to patients and do fundraising so further research into thyroid conditions and treatment can be obtained.
Sadly, still today patients suffer, they are either miss diagnosed, under medicated and in quite a few cases not even believed “it’s all in your head”, “we all feel tired sometimes”, “you just need to lose weight” are just a few of the things said, and this comes from a lot of GPs! I class myself as one of the lucky ones, I had visible symptoms, people who have more internal symptoms take much longer to get the urgent treatment needed.
Untreated this can be life threatening! One lady I met through a Thyroid Facebook group wasn’t taken seriously until she was in a coma! Yes, really!
So the continues funding and vital work of Thyroid UK is needed. Not only for the research and fighting to get patients heard and treated, but for the network, and hope, they give us. It’s through them I discovered I’m not alone and that there is life after treatment, I can have a future.
