39 year old lady had oedema over her entire body and particularly it was marked as excessive puffiness over her eyelids. This puffiness was more especially in the mornings.

This is a case of Mrs. D. C. K. (Patient identification number: L6448), a 39 year old lady who was suffering with Hypothyroidism since the year 2000. She came to the clinic for her treatment in the year 2005. She was taking Tablet Eltroxin 100 mcg, 1 tablet a day from 2000-2004. Since the year 2005 she was put on a daily dose of 50 mcg by her endocrinologist.

When she reported to the clinic, she complained of marked weakness. She had oedema over her entire body and particularly it was marked as excessive puffiness over her eyelids. This puffiness was more especially in the mornings when she just woke up from the bed. She also complained of having tingling numbness in her extremities. Associated with all these symptoms, she had breathlessness which was worse after physical exertion of any kind, and when she used to climb stairs. The breathing difficulty was so worse at times that she was even hardly able to talk.

She also experienced hair loss for the past 4 years. She used to loose around 50- 100 strands of hair a day.

Personal details:
She was an average eater, not very fussy about food. She used to perspire profusely all over her body. She could not take hot weather at all. Her periods were regular, always early by 5 days or so. She used to have very scanty bleeding, lasting for 2-3 days.

Her constitution:
Physically she was a very obese lady with dark complexion.

Family set up:
Her family consisted of her Husband (who was working in a grain market), an 18 year old daughter (who was in the final year of her graduation), a 16 year old daughter (who was in her first year of graduation), and a 13 year old daughter who used to study in school. Her 75 year old mother-in-law also used to live with them.

Her emotional aspect:
She was very calm by nature. She used to lose her temper only when things exceeded her level of tolerance. She was a workaholic by nature, used to use do the entire household work independently. She was also very sensitive and was sympathetic towards the sufferings of others.

There was lot of stress in her life. She had many financial problems in the family since husband was the only source of income and she had to raise her 3 daughters and even take care of her mother –in-law. Her mother-in-law never used to co-operate with her; instead use to blame her for many things which she was not responsible at all. Inspite of facing problems on the financial front, she used to take good care of her mother-in-law and manage with all her medical expenses as well.

Apart from these stresses she always used to be worried about her children's education and their careers.

Past illness:
She has had no major illnesses in the past and had not undergone any surgical intervention so far.

Family history:
Her father used to suffer with duodenal ulcer for many years and he passed away at the age of 51, due to the perforation of this ulcer. Her maternal grandmother had diabetes and osteoarthritis as well. Her maternal uncle was a diabetic as well as did suffer with hypertension.

Examination findings:
Her weight was 86 kilograms. Her blood pressure reading was 160/ 110 mm of Hg.

Treatment details:
Based on the totality of her case, she was given suitable homoeopathic remedies from time to time. She was advised to report to the clinic after every 4-6 weeks time. She was advised to get her thyroid levels checked. Here are the readings done from time to time:

During the course of her treatment, she also developed cellulites in her left lower limb. There was a history of hospitalization for cellulites as well deep vein thrombosis. Her cellulitis was also managed effectively with the homoeopathic drugs.

Follow up details:
As appreciated in the thyroid level readings the TSH Values as well as the levels of the other thyroid hormones are maintained within the normal limits. Symptomatically also the patient has been doing extremely well. Her weight has also reduced by 3 kilograms during the course of her treatment.

Her complaints, though not have gone away completely, are drastically reduced as compared to what it was when she had started the treatment. Her dosage of Tablet Eltroxin has also been maintained over these years.

After almost one and a half year's treatment, we have still advised her to continue the treatment as we expect to see further positive changes in her health.

Remarks:
In cases of hypothyroidism, although an external hormonal supplement becomes essential, the internal correction of the hormonal disturbance with the aid of homeopathic medicines acts as a positive tool.