Two sisters battling Hashimoto's Thyroiditis/Hypothyroidism making a difference by bringing together fellow warriors to show they're not alone.
"Damn The Butterfly" was founded by sisters Danielle Melanie Brown and Jennifer Michelle Brown, who were both diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis at very young ages, despite the fact that Hashimoto's usually is a disease that shows up in middle age women. Danielle was first diagnosed in 2006 at the age of 14 due to a very large goiter, rapid weight gain, extreme fatigue, and stunted growth. Whe
n originally tested, Danielle's thyroid levels seemed normal but the symptoms were just too severe to ignore so she was given the T3, T4, and TFree tests which then confirmed she had Hashimoto's. It was a long process to recovery for Danielle since her thyroid was very damaged and enlarged due to the disease destroying it. They also found nodules that were originally thought to be cancerous and then later turned out to be benign. They also talked of removing the thyroid but it would have been a very risky surgery due to her arteries being too close to the thyroid since it was so enflamed. Danielle was put on a very low dose of Synthroid and nothing changed for awhile until her dose was raised and tweaked a few months later. Just when Danielle's Thyroid levels started getting under control then Jennifer started showing the same symptoms of being overly tired but the doctors said it was very unlikely since she was extremely thin. They also said that sisters aren't usually both diagnosed with Hashimoto's or Under active thyroids and that it is more likely that one would be diagnosed with an under active thyroid and the other with an over active thyroid. Jennifer went undiagnosed for a little while longer until her mom insisted on her getting the same tests to see if she had Hashimoto's and sure enough she did and was diagnosed at 12 years old. Thankfully Jennifer's was caught earlier on so she did not develop the goiter or experience the rapid weight gain. She also was able to grow a few more inches after she was put on the medication before she was done developing and is now taller than Danielle. Both sister's are now regulated and have their medications fine tuned. They are also on a Gluten Free diet to relieve some of the symptoms of Hashimoto's. We want to share our story with as many people as possible in hopes of helping others get diagnosed sooner so that their symptoms do not become severe enough to be life threatening. Watch our official launch video here - http://youtu.be/gPZ_hKfvfII
