Camilla Luddington, best known for her portrayal of Dr. Jo Wilson on “Grey’s Anatomy,” confirmed this week that she has Hashimoto’s disease.
The actor discussed her diagnosis on Wednesday’s episode of the iHeart podcast “Call It What It Is,” which she hosts with her “Grey’s” co-star Jessica Capshaw.
“You’ve known that I joke about being slothy, just a little slower,” Luddington said. “Slower, tired, wanna be in bed, love a nap. It never occurred to me that there could be a medical reason for that, and that’s where we’ve landed.”
She went on to note that routine blood work she’d been putting off helped lead to her diagnosis.
“My doctor was like, ‘Everything looks great, except this one little thing,‘” she recalled. “And I remember hearing the words ‘autoimmune disease’ and thinking, ‘What the fuck?’ And then being told that I had something called Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and that it was very common.”
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Hashimoto’s disease ― also known as Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism ― is a condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland, leading to inflammation and, eventually, an underactive thyroid.
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Symptoms of the condition may include fatigue, joint pain, weight gain and constipation. It’s also most common among women between the ages of 30 and 60, and may begin during pregnancy.
Luddington, whose credits also include “Californication” and “True Blood,” said she came to view her diagnosis as a bit of a relief, given that she “knew something was up” prior to her doctor’s visit.
“I felt like I had the answer for something that I’ve been knowing is going on,” she explained. “And I have health anxiety, so there was a part of me that was like, ‘Am I gaslighting myself?’”
These days, Luddington said, she’s “on the road to recovery,” though she was quick to acknowledge that it’s “going to be a journey.” Her fans, however, can expect to be kept updated as often as possible.
“We set out to share all the things in the hopes that sharing our stories might resonate with somebody else, or make somebody feel a little less alone in their experience,” she said.
Listen to the Aug. 6 episode of “Call It What It Is” here. Luddington’s comments on her health begin around the 3:57 mark.