Grey’s Anatomy star Camilla Luddington is opening up about her recent Hashimoto’s disease diagnosis.
Luddington, 41, shared the news of her recent health scare during the Wednesday, August 6, episode of her “Call It What It Is” podcast, which she cohosts with Grey’s alum Jessica Capshaw.
The British-born actress detailed how she had been “feeling slothy” for some time before having her blood work done around two and a half months ago. “My doctor was like, ‘Everything looks great except this one little thing.’ I remember hearing the words ‘autoimmune disease’ and thinking, ‘What the f***?’” Luddington recalled.
Luddington said that her doctor told her she had a condition called Hashimoto’s hyperthyroidism and assured her it was very common. “Truly, when they said ‘autoimmune disease,’ I was a really freaked out, and then when they said it’s really common, I was like, ‘That sucks but OK,’” she said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that leads to the thyroid not producing enough “hormones that help regulate many functions in the body.” Symptoms include sluggishness, increased desire to sleep, dry skin and increased sensitivity to cold.
Luddington said she experienced some of these symptoms before she was diagnosed. “I knew something was up. Even when I was having my blood drawn, the doctor said to me, ‘Is there any particular thing you’re concerned about?’ and I said, ‘Look, I’m really f***ing tired all the time. I’m wondering if I’m in perimenopause,’” she shared.
“It makes you feel tired and cold. It can make you foggy, depressed, you can have dry skin, your hair can thin. Basically, you’re feeling gorgeous with Hashimoto’s,” the actress added sarcastically.
Luddington said that her symptoms got so bad that, “It got to the point where, by 11 a.m., it felt like I had chugged some Benadryl and I needed to nap, and it didn’t matter how much sleep I’d gotten the night before. There was no pushing through the day.”
She also said she awoke one day to find her “face and hands were really swollen.”
“It was getting to the point where I was like, ‘Wow, this is hard to live this way.’ I didn’t realize how exhausted my body was,” she continued.
After being diagnosed, Luddington said she “felt more calm about it and the relief was really huge.”
The Grey’s star — who has played Dr. Jo Wilson on the hit ABC medical drama since 2012 — is now on the road to recovery, she said, after being prescribed a medication called Levothyroxine, which is used to treat thyroid hormone deficiency.
“I’m still not normal,” Luddington said, but, “I do feel a lot better. My energy’s a lot better. I’m not as puffy anymore.”