Pre-diagnosis

Before I can put a date to it:
Now that I think back on things, I can remember symptoms that could have possibly been the beginnings of my thyroid being overactive. I can recall sweating cold sweat profusely when I was doing nothing more than sitting still. Cold sweat that would drench my shirts, the way that people who suffer from manic depression do. I couldn't understand why it was happening, but when I told my mother, we mentioned it the following visit at the doctor's. He didn't seem to fussed about it, and so he perscribed me a roll-on liquid medication to "shrink" my sweat glans under my arms. It seemed to take care of the problem, but I had a terrible feeling that he was only treating the symptom and not the problem itself.

I can remember having dizzy spells for most of my teenage years. I was often told I wasn't drinking enough fluids or that I was faking my spells just to get out of having to do things.

Summer of 1996:
I was starting to get dizzy spells nearly every month, if not a few times a month. No one could guess what the problem was though. I seemed perfectly healthy. I was directed to go seek a cardiologist, and like before, told to keep myself hydrated by keeping a water bottle with me at all times.

Autumn of 1996:
The first doctor thought I might have had mitral-valve prolapse (MVP), where the valve between a ventricle and an atrium doesn't close properly. I was scheduled to have an echocardiogram (EKG) and stress test done. The results concluded that my heart had no clicking or murmurs, and so doctor #1 became puzzled and sent me on to doctor #2--also a cardiologist.

Winter of 1996:
Doctor #2 decided to give me the tilt-table test (aka: theme park in the hospital). The tilt-table test requires for the patient to lie down on a table that has a footrest at the very end, like Dr. Frankenstien's table on which he creates his monster. The patient is then strapped onto the table, and vital signs and resting rates are measured. After a period of time, usually 45 minutes, the table is then lifted so that it rests at a 90° angle, as if the person was standing up straight again; rates are then measured, and the test results are analysed.

I had a machine taking my blood pressure every minute continuously throughout the test (I was ready to introduce the contraption to a crow bar within the first 10 minutes). They strapped me down onto the table and measured my resting rates. Then doctor #2 came in and flipped the table up on a 90° angle. I stood there on the foot ledge and looked at the nurse who was watching me for about 5 minutes and then passed out completely. I was consequently diagnosed with vaso-vagal syncope. (I still think that this test is bizarre today.) I was told to watch myself and keep hydrated, yet again; I didn't think this was the solution to my problem, but I decided to give Doctor #2 the benefit of the doubt.

• losing lots of weight inexplicably


• general feeling of "not feeling 100%"


• sweating/perspiration


• diffuse hair thinning


• fine hand trembling


• angry mood swings, and


• insomnia

My mother had suspected it was my thyroid gland, but my general physician and Doctor #2 kept ignoring our queries. Eventually they gave in when I had bloodwork done for my university entry physical--and a lot of questions were answered.