Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty
Jenny Mollen’sthyroid issues are slowly improving, but “it’s such a roller coaster.”
The actress and author, 39,has Graves’ disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects the thyroid, causing hormonal issues like weight loss, fatigue and period issues.
Mollen says she’s hoping toavoid thyroid surgeryto completely remove the gland.
Mollen is nervous that removing her thyroid willlead to other hormonal issues.
“I have a girlfriend who had thyroid cancer, and she said, ‘I’ve got to be honest, I’m always a little depressed now, just because hormonally I’m off.’ She’s like, ‘I’m not my old self.’ And that scares the s— out of me,” Mollen says.
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“I just wanted to hear if it would ever get better,” she explains.
Mollen found that sharing her experience on social media — despite the trolls — was helpful.
“My mom kind of said to me, don’t talk about it on Instagram, and at first I was so scared, I was like, I got this diagnosis and I felt like I was dying,” she says. “[But] I feel like I’m just on Instagram so much and watch other people push the envelope so much with things, and I’m like, okay if they’re talking about this I guess I can just double down and tell everyone.”
“I did need to find somebody else who’s living a normal life,” she adds.
And Mollen fully admits that she messes around with her medication a bit — to the chagrin of her doctor.
“She said I could go down to 5 milligrams from 20, because it pushed me to hypothyroidism, and she was like, ‘Are you still taking that? Because your blood work looks a little suspicious.’ And I was like, ‘Actually, I took myself down to 2.5 every other day.’ She’s like, well, don’t. It’s all about figuring out the right dosage,” Mollen says.
source: people.com
