Frequently Asked Questions

The control of diabetes is based on the blood sugar levels. If it is mild-to-moderately elevated, then, there are oral medications available which will help you. If the blood sugars are very high, then, one might need to take insulin injections, at least until such time that the blood sugar levels are brought under control, after which one might be switched over to oral medications. In some cases, insulin might be required life-long, especially if one has type 1 diabetes, where our body fails to produce insulin, which is the hormone required to maintain our body’s glucose levels. Apart from all this, the most important aspect is lifestyle changes. One would have to reduce the intake of carbohydrates, like rice and sweets. Regular exercise is a must. It is very important to keep the blood sugar levels under control, in order to prevent damage to organs like the eyes, kidney and the heart. By following a strict lifestyle comprising of a proper diet, exercise and medications, one can lead a normal life. I would suggest that you meet a diabetologist, so that he/she could examine you and prescribe the medication that would suit your condition the best.

You will need to treat the asthma on a regular basis, especially if it increases in wet and cold climate. This can be done with the use of an inhaler which will deliver a combination of medicines to your lungs as and when you feel any problems with breathing. You can discuss this option with your doctor. You will need to increase intake of protein, vitamins A, B, and C, and iron in your diet to improve your immune system. If you are planning on conceiving soon, you will need to start taking folic acid supplements as well as increasing your calcium intake in diet. It may also be better to start taking a health drink so that at least half of the required daily vitamins and micronutrients are derived through it. Getting some amount of physical exercise on a regular basis will also boost your immune system.

Hypothyroidism contributes significantly to weight gain, so it is very likely that a lot of the weight that is making you obese will be shed away with the correction of the thyroid hormone levels. The pain in the knees and difficulty in climbing steps is also a symptom of hypothyroidism and will take about 6 weeks to resolve from the treatment with thyroxin is initiated. You can ask your doctor to prescribe some painkillers to help you with the pain in the meantime. It is important to understand that your focus needs to be on gradual weight loss, planning for 3–4 kg of weight loss in the initial few months while your body recovers from the deficiency of thyroid hormones. You can continue with the 1200-calorie diet, but ensure that your daily dietary intake does not fall below 1000 calories per day. Drink a minimum of 2 litres of fluids a day. Try to take most of your diet in the liquid form as this will be more filling and will prevent overeating. It would also be a good idea to decrease intake of refined flours, like maida and sugar. Exercise should be started gradually with brisk walking and you can start aerobic exercises once you find yourself able to tolerate it.

Gaps or irregular distances between teeth can be corrected by the application of braces. It is not true that you can lose the enamel of your teeth by undergoing treatment for correction of such a feature. Costs for the correction vary depending on the dentist and the type of braces that you would like to opt for. The dentist can assess your teeth and provide an estimate of the cost and duration of treatment. There are no side-effects as such, but you may face some mild discomfort during the adjustment period once the braces have been applied. Correction of nasal defects or cosmetic correction of the nose is best discussed with an ENT surgeon who can provide appropriate referral to a plastic surgeon in your region, if required. Cosmetic surgery can be undertaken after the concerned doctor has assessed your nose and general health.

Pain in the left side of the chest can be related to the heart, lungs or the stomach. As your mother is 55 years old, it is necessary to take her to a doctor for immediate assessment to rule out the possibility of a heart attack. This can be determined by having an ECG done as well as other tests based on the results of the ECG. A heart attack is usually associated with nausea and vomiting, sweating and weakness. The pain in the chest will also spread to the left arm or the jaw most of the time. Other causes of chest pain can include increased acidity, iron deficiency anemia, sudden stress or depression, lung infections, etc. It is also advisable to have your mother undergo a regular checkup once every year to rule out any underlying disorders of the important systems or to detect them at an early stage.

While we do not believe in one line of medicine being any superior to any of the others, we at IWH have restricted our specialty to evidence based allopathic medicine and are not in a position to comment on your chosen treatment mode. Within the realms of information available, it is not clear from your question as to what condition you presently have with relation to your thyroid gland. An allopathic doctor would have the appropriate hormone tests and investigations done or refer you to an endocrinologist, who is a doctor specializing in diseases related to hormonal variations and abnormalities. Some types of treatment can have side-effects that can result in liver enlargement, but there can be many other causes and these need to be ruled out by a medical doctor. As the liver is a very important organ in the body, and marked change in it being indicative of significant stress or disease in the body, I would advise you to consult a specialist doctor (endocrinologist) at the earliest.

I would like to know if you are taking any medications or you experience any of the symptoms like fatigue, headache, weight gain etc. Also provide me the lab result for T3 and T4 (Thyroid hormones) levels, if you have. I can understand from what you said that you are having a condition called hypothyrodism. Hypothyroidism is caused by under active production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. The normal ranges of TSH, T3 and T4 are given below: TSH: 0.5–5.1 mU/L T3: 0.7–2.0 ng/mL T4: 4.5–12 µg/dL Hypothyrodism can be treated successfully. However, a TSH of 150 is quite high and it is something that needs attention. We would suggest you to consult an endocrinologist and get the appropriate treatment based on your condition.