A 57 year old thin,attractive and agitated lady came in this afternoon complaining of restlessness for a number of months especially in hot weather. According to her, occasionally her heart seemed to beat faster. She had been told that these could be normal menopausal symptoms.....Hmmm, a rather prolonged one considering that she had stopped menstruating nine years back!
I decided to ask about her appetite and weight. Her appetite,according to her, had been good but she noticed that she had been losing weight. Ahah.... I looked at her neck there was no visible enlargement of her thyroid, there were, however, small palpable nodules in her thyroid gland. Asked to stretch her hands, I could discern a fine tremor which was amplified when I put a piece of paper on them. Feeling for her pulse, I counted it to be 116/minute and the ECG confirmed the rapid heart rate.
I ordered for a thyroid function test (TFT) and it was later confirmed that this lady, with the so-called prolonged menopausal symptoms, actually was suffering from the effects of a hyperactive thyroid!
I am doing a specific hormone studies to exclude any lesion in her brain. In the meantime she is given medications to control her heart rate and her thyroid hormone production and these will eliminate her annoying symptoms.
I decided to ask about her appetite and weight. Her appetite,according to her, had been good but she noticed that she had been losing weight. Ahah.... I looked at her neck there was no visible enlargement of her thyroid, there were, however, small palpable nodules in her thyroid gland. Asked to stretch her hands, I could discern a fine tremor which was amplified when I put a piece of paper on them. Feeling for her pulse, I counted it to be 116/minute and the ECG confirmed the rapid heart rate.
I ordered for a thyroid function test (TFT) and it was later confirmed that this lady, with the so-called prolonged menopausal symptoms, actually was suffering from the effects of a hyperactive thyroid!
I am doing a specific hormone studies to exclude any lesion in her brain. In the meantime she is given medications to control her heart rate and her thyroid hormone production and these will eliminate her annoying symptoms.
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