Introduction

Abstract

A prominent professional golfer began to note problems with her game. She was becoming shaky and weak and fell in the standings. She thought it was stress related and sought medical help, but the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism was missed for months. Once the diagnosis was made, she received treatment and regained her position in women’s golf. The elder President Bush was diagnosed with Graves’ disease only after he developed a cardiac arrhythmia. A truck driver was found to have severe hypothyroidism after his eyelids became so swollen that he was a danger on the road. He had probably been hypothyroid for several years. A woman with Graves’ disease was so weak by the time she was diagnosed that she had trouble getting up from a chair. She had been ill for 2 yr before her doctor considered hyperthyroidism.