Devers resurrected life with diagnosis

Gail Devers set two American college records in the 100-meter hurdles in 1988, and was looking forward to competing at the Olympics.

But it was not to be.

During Olympic tryouts, she barely made the U.S. team. Then at Seoul, South Korea, in August, the bottom fell out, and she failed to medal.

Her weight dropped to 89 pounds. Tremors, hair loss, dry skin and an elevated heart rate were originally misdiagnosed as being brought on by the pressures of Olympic competition.

Then by chance another doctor examined the Olympian in 1989 and determined that she had Graves disease, triggered by a hyperactive thyroid.

"The hardest part is not having a thyroid disorder -- it's not knowing you do," Devers said Wednesday at a free thyroid screening clinic at the Boulevard Mall. She has joined the American Medical Women's Association in touring nationally to bring attention to thyroid disorders.

Las Vegas was the sixth stop in the "Your Thyroid: Gland Central" whistlestop tour that began in October in New York City.

According to statistics from the AMWA, an estimated 13 million Americans don't realize they have a thyroid disorder. Most of these people are women, who tend to develop disorders five to eight times more than men.

Thyroid disorders are classified into two categories: hypothyroidism, in which the gland fails to produce enough hormone, and hyperthyroidism, in which the thyroid produces too much hormone.

Symptoms for hypothyroidism include fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, forgetfulness, goiter around the neck, dry skin, heavy menstrual periods and difficulty swallowing.

Hyperthyroidism is characterized by nervousness, muscle weakness, weight loss, sleep disorders, thin hair and irregular light menstrual periods.

Once she was diagnosed as having hyperthyroidism, Devers turned her competitive spirit to defeating her disease. She took radioactive iodine that targeted the infected cells in her thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland below the Adam's apple.

Unfortunately, her Graves disease had spread so much that the iodine killed the gland. She became hypothyroid, and must take a thyroid pill daily to restore hormone levels.

Today, Devers is back to competing at Olympic levels. She won a gold medal in 1992 and two in 1996 at Atlanta.

As a spokeswoman for AMWA, Devers advocates that men and women have a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood test done annually.

"Thyroid disease could have cost me my dreams, if I had let it go undetected," Devers said. "Looking back, I was exhausted all the time, and my body felt like it was out of control. But now with treatment, I feel perfectly fine."

The problem, according to Las Vegas gynecologist Stacie Rivers, is that older women tend to think they are going through menopause when they experience thyroid disorders. Younger women attribute symptoms to being rundown from taking care of children, the summer heat or job stress.

Rivers recommends people consult their family physicians and ask for a TSH test.

* FOR THYROID NEWS try AMWA at: www.amwa-doc.org or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Gland Central, Radio City Station, P.O. Box 1845, New York, N.Y. 10101-1854.

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