Need help getting meds to prevent myxedema coma

Hi. My name is Kim Taylor, and I have had a rough go of this thing we call life since a severe car accident on December 1, 2019. During that car accident, I endured multiple injuries, to include a traumatic brain injury, and those injuries changed my life forever. I was never able to return to work and have never really had a “good day” since then…I just want to get back to the person you see in the photo above. My thyroid has other ideas, however…

On November 9, 2020, I woke up telling my husband that I had not slept well, which typically would trigger exacerbation of my TBI symptoms that are so troubling for us as a family. I ended up telling my husband “Don’t poke the crayon.” He thought I just needed more sleep. Several hours later, my family knew SOMETHING was wrong, but they didn’t know what. I was able to follow commands, but not speaking coherently. They called 911 thinking I might be having a stroke, but when the paramedics arrived I went into a grandmal seizure. I had several more grandmal seizures at the hospital and became completely unresponsive. They moved me to the trauma side of the ER, where they planned to intubate. At some point, I became more responsive, but I woke up in kidney failure and heart failure. From what? My thyroid has always been hypoactive, but it was so very underproductive that it cause something called a myxedema coma. To give you an idea, “dangerously high” TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels are above 5…mine was OVER 200! At the teaching hospital I was at, they had NEVER seen levels that high! My husband has confided in me that he honestly thought I wasn’t ever coming back home when they took me that day. That’s so hard to hear your loved one say.

Fast forward again to December 2021, and I had another “seizure episode” where my TSH levels were OVER 700! This time they did an absorption test and found that my body is not absorbing my medication. At least we have a reason now.

My primary care gave me samples of a more “pure” thyroid med called Tirosint, and we have been checking my levels, which were coming down a little. My doctor also tried to get a prior authorization for a liquid thyroid medication that is absorbed immediately under the tongue, but my insurance denied it. On May 4, 2022, I was brought back to the ER with seizures again and my TSH level was OVER 400 still.

I am on my third consecutive hospitalization since May 4, 2022, with 24 hours at most at home since then due to a hospital acquired UTI that has required strong IV antibiotics. Since May 4, 2022, they changed me to a levothyroxine INJECTION, and my TSH level is NORMAL for the first time! No fear of seizures! But the insurance will not cover it, and I have to go until August before I am seen in the endocrinology clinic. At that time, they will help me with getting a prior authorization. I desperately NEED to raise this money to pay for the injections to keep me safe until then. My thyroid seems determined to try to take me out, but I will not let it!

This money will be used to cover levothyroxine injections required 2x per week until my appointment with endocrinology in August. Insurance will NOT help. We have exhausted every avenue except fundraising. I am DETERMINED to not give up or to let my thyroid win this battle! Please note: Don’t ever think “it’s just my thyroid.” Look up myxedema coma and thyroid storm. Both severely under or over productive thyroids can take your life. Take your health seriously, even when it’s “just your thyroid.”