I shared a video online and viewers noticed something wrong… they caught my diagnosis before doctors

A woman who is battling a thyroid disorder has revealed how strangers on the internet caught it before doctors – despite her not having any symptoms.

Lauren Bockholt, 31, from Texas, posted a seemingly innocent video to TikTok in early May discussing the new welcome mat her husband had purchased for their home.

Little did she know the clip would go viral for a reason that had nothing to do with what the video was actually about – and would ultimately lead to her discovering she had a shocking health condition months later.

While chatting exclusively with the Daily Mail about it, Lauren explained that she felt ‘pretty healthy’ at the time that she recorded the video, other than being ‘sleep deprived beyond belief’ having just welcomed her second child three months earlier.

But after she posted the video – which showed her chatting to the camera with her baby against her chest – she started to receive hoards of worried messages and comments from strangers who noticed something was wrong with her appearance.

She explained that viewers pointed out that her neck looked very swollen, something she herself hadn’t even picked up on, and urged her to go get her thyroid checked.

‘I began getting comments and direct messages on TikTok. Most people were well meaning and direct, telling me I needed to get my thyroid checked,’ she explained. 

‘Some shared a personal story about themselves or their wives or sister or mother that had an unknown thyroid disease or thyroid cancer and had a lump or swelling in their neck that looked similar to mine.’

At first, Lauren said she was a ‘bit offended’ because she took it as people ‘insinuating she was overweight,’ so she ‘ignored it.’

But as time went by, the paranoia that the social media users were on to something was something she couldn’t ignore. 

‘I didn’t bring it up to anybody in person because I thought my family and friends would think I was crazy for listening to strangers on the internet about something like this,’ she added.

‘After a few months and the comments/DMs not stopping I began taking them seriously. 

‘I noticed it myself and realized I could feel the enlarged thyroid and began to get concerned.’

In August, she went to the doctor, who confirmed that the people on the web were ‘100 percent correct,’ she does in fact have an ‘enlarged thyroid’ along with ‘multiple nodules and cysts.’

‘I am still working on getting a proper diagnosis and ruling out cancer,’ she shared.

As she awaits more answers, Lauren said she’s extremely grateful for the TikTok comments.

‘I am so thankful for the strangers of the internet that notified me,’ she said.

‘I cannot imagine how much worse and how much larger my thyroid would have gotten for my family and friends to notice in person.’

In the end, she said she hopes that being opened about what happened to her will help others who may be dealing with something similar.

‘I just want to spread awareness that every woman and man needs to have their thyroid checked regularly and to not be afraid to speak up to a friend, family member, or even complete stranger if you notice something about them or their health, it could change or save their lives,’ she concluded.