Looking for a "healer" to bend her tongue to cure her lisp, female patient unexpectedly discovers it's due to hypothyroidism

Stuttering detects hypothyroidism

After 1 week of being diagnosed with hypothyroidism by Dr. Vo Tran Nguyen Duy, Department of Endocrinology - Diabetes, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and treated with thyroid hormone replacement, Ms. NTM (56 years old, Ben Tre) has returned to a more stable condition.

Doctor Vo Tran Nguyen Duy, Department of Endocrinology - Diabetes, is examining Ms. M. (Photo by BVCC).

Accordingly, 1 year ago, Ms. M. had hyperthyroidism and was treated stably but did not return for a check-up. In the past 6 months, it took her more than 1 minute to walk a straight distance of 10 meters. Although she tried to push her leg muscles, she could not walk at the same speed as before. About 2 weeks later, she had slurred speech, dry, dark, scaly skin, hair loss and baldness, and increasingly weak legs and arms that could not sweep the house.

Mrs. M. said: “I went to a traditional healer to treat my lisp, my tongue twitching and cracking, which was very painful. The lisp got better a little bit, but it came back. Because my skin was dry, I bought a lot of cosmetics to apply, but it didn’t help.” Not only that, Mrs. M. took more than 10 minutes to tell a short story. Many people wondered why she spoke more slowly than before, and why her voice had changed. With her son’s advice, she went to Tam Anh General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for a check-up.

Mrs. M's hands are dry and have white scaly patches. (Photo by BVCC).

Dr. Duy explained that hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland secretes less hormones than the body needs, causing slow metabolism, weight gain, increased cholesterol and blood fat, and atherosclerosis of blood vessels, especially in important locations near the heart, brain, etc. Patients are at high risk of stroke if hypothyroidism is not treated.

Do not stop hypothyroidism treatment on your own.

Dr. Duy said that many patients who are treated for hypothyroidism stop treatment when their health is stable. Patients only go to the hospital when they have dangerous complications such as: arrhythmia, enlarged heart, heart failure, muscle weakness, goiter, etc. And even patients who stop treating hypothyroidism when they have complications still do not think it is caused by hypothyroidism.

Dr. Duy emphasized that hypothyroidism requires regular medical examination and monitoring and lifelong medication. Forgetting to take medication can also make the condition worse. What makes many patients complacent when giving up treatment is that hypothyroidism does not cause immediate dangerous complications, but in the long term it will be life-threatening.

Not only that, the symptoms of hypothyroidism are also difficult to recognize until there are cardiovascular complications, ... Even when there are symptoms, people often confuse them with other diseases such as: cardiovascular, blood fat, dermatology, ... It is more dangerous when the patient does not go to the hospital for examination but tries to treat it at home. For example, Mrs. M. found a folk healer to pull and break her tongue, which can damage the tongue or cause infection.

Dr. Duy said that people who have or are suffering from thyroid diseases such as thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, goiter, etc. need to have regular check-ups as prescribed by their doctor to monitor thyroid function. People should have a health check-up at least once a year to screen for thyroid diseases.

Le Trang

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/tim-thay-lang-be-luoi-de-tri-noi-ngong-nu-benh-nhan-bat-ngo-phat-hien-do-suy-giap-post275205.html