A WIRRAL woman has revealed how she nearly died after a medical condition made her weight rocket by eight stone.

Ali Jagger saw her weight soar from 10st 4lb to 18 stone in just six months. The life-threatening condition puzzled doctors, who thought she was eating too much and told her to go on a diet.

The 44-year-old's weight gain was a mystery as she wasn't eating any more than usual. Until then she had led a busy, active life, but had never previously been overweight.

Blood tests revealed she had hypothyroidism. Her thyroid gland, a tiny gland in the neck, wasn't making enough thyroid hormones and this was gradually slowing down her body's metabolism and other functions.

Symptoms include tiredness, weight gain, thinning hair, feeling cold, skin changes, memory and concentration problems, depression, heavy and irregular periods and fertility problems in women.

After months of treatment, she gradually returned to her original weight.

Ali, who lives in Heswall and runs life-coaching classes told the Globe: "I'm glad to be alive. At one point there was talk of a hysterectomy to end the bleeding I was suffering. I nearly died.

"I'd never been fat before, so couldn’t understand what was going on. I couldn't concentrate for long periods of time and simple tasks, like walking up stairs, were difficult because I got tired quickly. I just had to stay at home and rest all the time."

The peak age for diagnosis in women is in their late 40s and 50s, but it can start at any age, including after pregnancy.

Ali is sure that if blood tests had been carried sooner, the symtoms could have been avoided.

The most common cause of an underactive thyroid is an autoimmune disorder where antibodies attack the thyroid gland.

Other causes include side-effects of some prescription drugs.

As part of her treatment, Ali was prescribed daily levothyroxine tablets by her GP starting at 25 micrograms a day, gradually rising to 150mcg.

It didn't solve all her problems overnight.

For months she felt tired and unable to work. The weight she piled on proved hard to lose.

Because the weight gain consists of water rather than fat the historic name for hypothyroidism was myxoedema or fluid retention.

Ali's now retrained as a life coach, specialising in helping people lose weight.

And she warns: "If you have any combination of the symptoms I suffered, ask for a thyroid test. It could save a lot of heartache."

More information on Ali's condition can be found on the British Thyroid Foundation www.btf-thyroid.org, ring 01423 709707.

For more on Ali's life-coaching classes, visit www.elitelifecoaching.org.