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[TampaTravis]

im a 24 year old male living in tampa florida. i was diagnosed with graves when i was 15. the doctor gave me radioactive treatment that killed most of my thyroid. i have been on levothyroxine 0.100mg for the last 2 years. when i was 17 my hair started falling out in patches,i eventually dropped out of school because of my hair loss but after a couple years it grew back. i have also passed out a few times getting my hair cut twice an once in a shopping mall. i tried not to worry about it an went on with my life i had a pretty good job but after some hard days work i felt like i was going to pass out. i went from feeling like that once a month to almost everyday, i felt like i was going to have a heart attack an had a very hard time breathing. i eventually lost my home an now im living with my grandma. i cant seem to shake the anxiety an get back to working, i cant sleep for days sometimes an i worry about things that i shouldnt, i tried anxiety drugs like paxil but it made it worse than it was before an my endo doctor thinks i dont need any meds for anxiety. can anyone give me some advice on shaking off this anxiety because i want to have my old life back,ive lost most my friends an feel like ive let down my family because i cant provide for them anymore, any help would be appreciated.

[NastyHashi]

Hey, welcome to the Tampa Graves' club!

Sorry to hear about your problems. Sounds a lot to me like your Thyroid has grown back or was never totally irradiated.

When's the last time you were thoroughly tested?

I'm talking thyroid ultra sound, TSH, T4, Free T4, T3, TSI, TBG, etc?

If its been a while, I would certainly start with a good endo who knows thyroid (although that may be impossible around here).

If I had to guess (I am no doctor) I would put money on the fact that you were 15 when you had RAI and as a young, healthy teen, your body grew that sucker back just enough to give you Graves' again. It happens....not often but it does...some people have gotten RAI 2 or 3 times before they finally killed their gland for good.

[GD Women]

There are many different anxiety and antidepressants. I am sure there is one or two out there for you. I had to try several before finding the right one for me. Now I take them on an as need bases but I have to be very true and a tune to my feelings. I also took sleeping aids because I had sleep issues every night for 6 years, enough was enough. Doctor gave me Ambien which I took only 4 days out of 7 every week so as not to get addicted. Ambien works very quickly so I took it just before going to bed. Then after a few months of good sleep, I took it on an as need bases. If I woke up during the night and couldn't get back to sleep, I would take a tablet and it worked.

Not all meds. (antidepressants, anxiety, sleeping aids, etc.) works the same for everyone, so picking one that works for you is a trial and error situation until you find the one that does work for you. It is very much worth the effort and time.

How are your levels and how often do you get tested. Your levels might not be right for you to feel your best, maybe not a 100% best but close.
If you are on a dose of 100 mg, your thyroid still has some active thyroid cells left for the antibodies to attack, which could still play havoc with your health.


Once we have Graves' Disease, we will always have Graves' Disease, there is no cure for Graves', for there is no cure for the Graves' antibodies. RAI destroys thyroid cells so that the antibodies have nothing to attack, but the antibodies can still hang around. This of course depends on how much RAI was given for treatment. If low or med. RAI dose was give then there will still be some active thyroid cells left that the antibodies can still attack. When we reach med. dose of approx 250 to 300 will our thyroid be totally destroyed. Of course there are variants due to age, weight, etc. I am still adjusting my med. dose. Right now I am taking Levoxyl 4 days 100 mcg and 3 days 88mcg (.100 mg and .88 mg). I am still not quite there but getting close so my next adjustment will be 5 days 100 mcg and 2 days 88 mcg.

Another thing is that levothyroxine might not be the right meds. for you. I have read where people complain not feeling well on it. Sometimes the inactive ingredients does not fair with some. I have no issues with Levoxyl which has the less ingredients than all the T4 supplements. Just a thought.

Unless you have tried all the low med. does to where you have gotten off thyroid medication all together and your levels show hyper, TSH .01 or out of Labs hyper range, you would not need another RAI treatment. There has been test showing that up to 5 RAI treatments are safe, but why do it again unless you really have to.

A lot of us are still working through our thyroid issues. For me 11 years. This is a long process. You and your doctor have to know thyroid issues pretty good to get to where you want to go, your max. thyroid health, and then have lots of patience's.

Good Luck!

[tiggerg65]

hey tampatravis i live in plant city so i know what you what you are feeling but i have found a great dr. he is in mulberry just a family dr but he listens to you and is willing to do what it takes to get you feeling better if you ever just need to talk contact me on aol using this name hope you feel better soon