Trying not to suffocate
It’s now been 9 years since I’ve first heard about hypothyroidism. At first I didn’t know what it was, nor did I care. I was 14 and happy, even though I started gaining weight. I started with 5 kilos, then 12, 18, and finished at 23. In about 3 months. Our school doctor noticed this but she said it probably was a stressful period surrounded by snacking and too much ice cream.
The nurse showed her an area on my neck and asked her if that was some kind of goiter. She nodded and said to me smiling: “It’s harmless but you have to get an echo (ultrasound echography)”. She gave me a paper for my mom. Of course, I forgot.
I started to regret this a few years later. I woke up one night suffocating. The air in the room wasn’t enough anymore. I went outside on the balcony but I felt cold, so I went back to bed. I fell asleep and woke up sweating and experiencing tachycardia. It went from an isolated episode in a random night to having these symptoms every 2 or 3 days, sometimes even twice a day.
I decided it was time to go to the doctor for an echo, as the lady told me 3 years ago. I made an appointment at a private clinic in Cluj. I remember the doctor saying it’s not a big deal but that I have to take some pills for a couple of months and then pause for a month. After the break, I had to do some blood tests and a new echo.
Two weeks after I started taking the pills I discovered I was no longer able to fit in the same jeans. They were too small. I’ve gained weight again and got another problem: hyperhidrosis. I wasn’t feeling better so I decided to get a second opinion. I scheduled an appointment at the best doctor in the city, Ms. Ghervan Cristina. The one and only free spot was in 3 weeks, on a Friday evening.
I’ll never forget the doctor’s face, which changed instantly when she saw my thyroid at the echo. She said it was necessary to do a Doppler exam and a thyroid elastography. She looked pissed while looking at my other results and told me: “You are very lucky. Hopefully you won’t need surgery. It would be a pity to live without your thyroid being under 18. My colleague gave you the treatment for hyperthyroidism and this treatment made your illness worse. It’s good you came to me.”
I was shocked. The only thing I got out of it was that it wasn’t good. I started the new treatment and scheduled regular visits every four months.
After I started a new job in an IT company I got my premium medical card at one of Romania’s top clinics and I scheduled an appointment there (everything was free now and I thought I would be treated even better than before). I got my regular echo and blood tests and the lady said I am quite fine and I don’t need to take ‘those pills’ anymore, and she changed my treatment.
One month later I was back at Ms. Ghervan, ashamed and suffocating again.
I am back on my “good” treatment, and I will NEVER change my doctor again. It’s baffling that in the 21st century we have caregivers that give you a wrong treatment. In my case it wasn’t particularly life-threatening, but in many cases lives are lost due to misdiagnosing.
We are humans and, intentionally or not, we make mistakes. But at least our caregivers should have the same skills and level of knowledge and aim to treat us in the best way possible, not make us more sick or even worse, kill us.
This is one of the things we want to fix with Neveli. The knowledge of millions of doctors and the experience of thousands of years of practice will make sure that patients are taken care of in the best possible way.
You might say technology cannot replace humans. I agree with you. But what technology can do is help us mitigate the risk of getting the wrong diagnosis or treatment. The kind of technology that aids doctors in taking better care of their patients. The kind that makes your life better. Join us in making this a reality.
