Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Riedel Thyroiditis

I just wanted to do a short post about a very important condition.  A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with Riedel Thyroiditis and it has been extremely difficult for her to find others.  Riedel Thyroiditis is very rare. The basic problem of this condition involves a mass (dense fibrosis) that I assume attaches itself to the thyroid, grows and then invades other structures of the neck.  It is a very serious condition because it has the ability to crush the trachea, which is deadly.  I just wanted to put this post out in the universe with the hope that if someone may happen to search one day for this condition and find my page that they will know that they are not alone.  There is a support group on Facebook (link provided) and even if you don't have the condition, it would be nice to show these guys some support.  Surgery is not an option for the people who have this condition and most of the time either steroids or medication that destroys the chance of having further children is given to control the growth of the mass.  There are also times that medication simply doesn't work and people have to learn to live with the difficulty of eating and the worry of dying.

The thyroid community has been so good to me.  This condition is so rare that my friend has only found one other person like herself.  I know there are others out there who think they are going through this alone.  I know that I felt alone with all my thyroid problems and one of my saving graces has been the online thyroid community, so please give them a shout out of support if you can.

Breathe and Listen

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