healthy people REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL CHOICES MY SMART CHOICES: Meet Britta
Being diagnosed with a treatable, but incurable, disease is a good thing? Well, it can be. Just ask Britta.
BRITTA JOHANSON, AGE 27 Graduate student, University of Texas, Austin One day, you’re spending way too much time in the design studio, missing sleep and meals. But hey, you’re young, there will be plenty of time in the future to take care of your health, right? And the next day, you find out that the time to take care of your health is now.
There were signs something was wrong. Last fall, I had joint pains. By Christmas, my wrist hurt so much I was wearing a wrist brace. My neck hurt too. I was feeling depressed. Also, I was gaining weight and I was tired all the time. But who isn’t tired in graduate school? I just kept telling myself that it was my crazy schedule and the stress of school.
I decided it was time to see a doctor. A full round of blood tests and an ultrasound of my thyroid revealed I had a low level of thyroid hormone and tumors on my thyroid. It happened so fast. I went from not thinking anything was going on to being sent to an endocrinologist for more tests.
The good news and the bad news. The good news was the tumors were benign; they weren’t cancerous. The bad news was I had a thyroid disease that could be treated, but not cured. I would have to take medicine every day for the rest of my life. And I’d have to get blood tests every few months to make sure the medicine stayed at the right level. I didn’t want to deal with that. I didn’t want to take medicine every day.
I realized I had to buckle down. But I knew that if I kept putting it off, the situation was only going to get worse; so I started taking the medicine. The results were immediate. I had a lot more energy. My weight stabilized. I was less tired. And my mood balanced out. It was worth it.
My doctor makes a difference. I was never one to trust doctors. This is the first doctor I’ve seen on a regular basis. I trust her a lot. She knows what she’s doing, and she has the ability to help me get better. When she did the blood tests for my thyroid, she found out that I had a vitamin D deficiency too; so she told me to start taking vitamin D and calcium. I am actually thankful. If this situation hadn’t come up, I wouldn’t have known about my vitamin deficiency, and I might have developed weak bones. Plus, I didn’t realize how important it is to take calcium in your 20s and 30s. I can’t believe no one ever told me that … maybe they did and I wasn’t listening.
I tell this to my friends. If you can have a relationship with your doctor and see him or her on a regular basis, that’s good. Your doctor can help you pick up on subtle signs so you catch problems before they’re big. Also, if you feel like something is going wrong with you, have it checked out. And, take your calcium!
Great truths I’ve learned. This was a wake-up call for me. I need to be proactive about my health. What I do today is going to affect the rest of my life. I now know that I can take care of myself, and if I do that, I’ll feel good. Making good choices for my health is worth it.
62 HEALTHYADVICE.COM PHOTOGRAPH BY SARAH WILSON
HAIR & MAKEUP: RACINE CHRISTENSEN
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