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Myxedema Coma
Hi my name is Pam Dufresen,
Back in Aug,2008 I was hospitalized for Myxedema Coma. I was under a doctors care but when tested I showed nothing, everything was normal. Then I started swelling alot. I swelled to the point that I could barely move. I was putting on bengay before I got dressed and waiting an hour just to get my cloths on. It was awful, at its worse I started having trouble breathing (alot). I went to the hospita on several times and they said everything look fine it was all in my head and they sent me home with pain killers to kill the pain. No one knew why this was happening and it got to the point where i was put on water pills to get my water gain off. I went from 135 to 185 in less then 4 or 5 months. Well to make a long story short. I call my doctor on Aug 7,(I was still working through out this whole thing) I had just return from an outing with my clients(which I might add that my clients helped me in and out of the van and helped me walk around)I called and told my doctor I couldn't do this any more I could even get around with out some help and I could barely breath. My doctor thought I was having congestive heart failure. She told me to get to the hospital. NOW! So I did I drove myself to the hopital(it was the talk of the hospital). At first the doctor said again he didn't think he could help that I needed to go to my doctor. I told him I did and she said to get here and what she thought was going on.
Well to make another story short, he did the test and when they came back he said i was not going anywhere that I was very sick. I was also very dehydrated which was puzzeling to me because I drink alot of water. Any way he ended up telling me he was very sorry that he had thought it was all in my head. Another doctor took over at that point and had them pump 100 mg or something like that of flued into me and told me that my thyroid was in a coma and that if I hadn't some in when I did that I could have died in a few days. He also told me that my thyroid was at 187 and all other test where off the charts. He put in icu and did aggressive treatment of styroid and thyroid medicine in my IV and they monitored my heart because they said the treatment could cause my heart problems.
Well it worked and I came home after 5 days. I had to wait about 5 weeks before I went back to work but it has been very hard my mussels hurt all the time and I continue to blow up all the time. I see a specialist tomorrow. I hope she can help me.
Why Im writing because I want to let people know that if you are having problems don't let doctors say its in your head and keep pushing if I had not I would have died.
Also another thing that happened was I talked like I was drunk and I became as hard as a rock, the doctor told me my mussels had atrophed (I think I spelled it right) any way alot of problems have continued since I left the hopital and Im not sure why and my doctor doesn't know because she had never seen anyones thyroid go that high the highest she had seen was 40.
Well I hope I have helped some who are getting depressed.DON'T GIVE UP. I have wanted to but I have grand babies and I want to see them grow up.
If you or anyone has some helpful information for me, please let me know.
Thanks for listening. I love this site because if this weren't here I'd be all alone.
Thanks again
Pam Dufresne
This discussion is related to Hyperparathyroidism and HypoT.
Back in Aug,2008 I was hospitalized for Myxedema Coma. I was under a doctors care but when tested I showed nothing, everything was normal. Then I started swelling alot. I swelled to the point that I could barely move. I was putting on bengay before I got dressed and waiting an hour just to get my cloths on. It was awful, at its worse I started having trouble breathing (alot). I went to the hospita on several times and they said everything look fine it was all in my head and they sent me home with pain killers to kill the pain. No one knew why this was happening and it got to the point where i was put on water pills to get my water gain off. I went from 135 to 185 in less then 4 or 5 months. Well to make a long story short. I call my doctor on Aug 7,(I was still working through out this whole thing) I had just return from an outing with my clients(which I might add that my clients helped me in and out of the van and helped me walk around)I called and told my doctor I couldn't do this any more I could even get around with out some help and I could barely breath. My doctor thought I was having congestive heart failure. She told me to get to the hospital. NOW! So I did I drove myself to the hopital(it was the talk of the hospital). At first the doctor said again he didn't think he could help that I needed to go to my doctor. I told him I did and she said to get here and what she thought was going on.
Well to make another story short, he did the test and when they came back he said i was not going anywhere that I was very sick. I was also very dehydrated which was puzzeling to me because I drink alot of water. Any way he ended up telling me he was very sorry that he had thought it was all in my head. Another doctor took over at that point and had them pump 100 mg or something like that of flued into me and told me that my thyroid was in a coma and that if I hadn't some in when I did that I could have died in a few days. He also told me that my thyroid was at 187 and all other test where off the charts. He put in icu and did aggressive treatment of styroid and thyroid medicine in my IV and they monitored my heart because they said the treatment could cause my heart problems.
Well it worked and I came home after 5 days. I had to wait about 5 weeks before I went back to work but it has been very hard my mussels hurt all the time and I continue to blow up all the time. I see a specialist tomorrow. I hope she can help me.
Why Im writing because I want to let people know that if you are having problems don't let doctors say its in your head and keep pushing if I had not I would have died.
Also another thing that happened was I talked like I was drunk and I became as hard as a rock, the doctor told me my mussels had atrophed (I think I spelled it right) any way alot of problems have continued since I left the hopital and Im not sure why and my doctor doesn't know because she had never seen anyones thyroid go that high the highest she had seen was 40.
Well I hope I have helped some who are getting depressed.DON'T GIVE UP. I have wanted to but I have grand babies and I want to see them grow up.
If you or anyone has some helpful information for me, please let me know.
Thanks for listening. I love this site because if this weren't here I'd be all alone.
Thanks again
Pam Dufresne
This discussion is related to Hyperparathyroidism and HypoT.
Pam, thank you for sharing that experience - it might help keep someone else from having to go through that someday. I don't understand why the doctors does not listen more and try to understand what we are going through.
Keep us posted
Terri
Keep us posted
Terri
Wow. Glad you're here to tell the tale. Thanks for joining and sharing! I'm sure you thread has/will help someone out there.
Take care.
Take care.
COMMUNITY LEADER
Thank you for sharing that experience - it might help keep someone else from having to go through that someday.
As you read the posts, you will find that there are a lot of us whose doctors don't take us seriously or tell us it's all in our heads. Fortunately most of us don't get the point you were at.
My PCP recently told me that there was nothing wrong with me, that my symptoms are all caused by stress!! I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism back in June of this year and just last week, found out I have Hashimoto's, multiple nodules, etc but "there's nothing wrong with me".
As you read the posts, you will find that there are a lot of us whose doctors don't take us seriously or tell us it's all in our heads. Fortunately most of us don't get the point you were at.
My PCP recently told me that there was nothing wrong with me, that my symptoms are all caused by stress!! I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism back in June of this year and just last week, found out I have Hashimoto's, multiple nodules, etc but "there's nothing wrong with me".
Thanks for sharing Pam.
Sorry to hear you were in such bad shape before someone helped you.
Some of us have had the same story ( not to the point of coma) but how we aren't taken serious and that pain killers will fix it all.
Good Luck on your road to getting better.
Sorry to hear you were in such bad shape before someone helped you.
Some of us have had the same story ( not to the point of coma) but how we aren't taken serious and that pain killers will fix it all.
Good Luck on your road to getting better.
Hi Pam! All I can say is holy cow and thank God you didn't give up!!! Wow....I bet that ER doctor was feeling pretty bad. So glad they figured it out. I hope this new dr of yours will help you in the thyroid recovery journey....as well as everyone here will be there to support you as well. Have a wonderful holiday and give thanks for your life!
Laura
Laura
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