Your mother or father has been fairly healthy your entire life. However, they have shared with you that they are experiencing:
- Butterflies fluttering in their chest (no pain)
- Constipation
- Exhaustion (even when they wake up in the morning)
- Sudden weakness in the legs
- Sudden weight loss
- Sudden hearing loss
- DEPRESSION
As a concerned adult child, you are prepared for a diagnosis and accepting elderly care at home as a new reality. You may start second guessing your parent’s symptoms before seeking medical advice.
Your mother or father may have thyroid disease. There are two forms of this disease, hypothyroid and hyperthyroid. Both need to be diagnosed and treated differently. Depending on your parent, their personality and the progression of the disease, elderly care at home may be a necessity whether it be full or part-time. What is important at this stage is identifying the treatment needed and maintaining wellness.
Hyperthyroidism
If your parent is experiencing this form of thyroid disease, elderly care at home may be a benefit while adjusting to medications and treatment. This form of the disease may cause butterflies in their chest or difficulty walking up steps without assistance. Due to the age of your parent, their cardiac health will be monitored when determining the treatment that may include daily medication, radioactive iodine or in rare cases, surgery.
Hypothyroidism
This form of thyroid disease is very common in the senior citizen population. The symptoms for this are not as distinct as with hyperthyroidism, and tend to increase as your parent ages. Elderly care at home may be beneficial, and over time may go from part-time or less essential needs to full-time or more demanding needs. The crucial ingredient is treatment and following the instructions of your parent’s medical team.
If you would like to find out more about how home care can help your loved one with thyroid disease, please contact our office in Fort Myers, FL.
