Thyroid Message Boards - Graves, Hashi's, RAI, Thyroid Cancer, Hashitoxicosis, Hashimoto's Boards - Graves' Disease Message Boards

Anyone tried a Holistic Dr. for Graves ???

AndiB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:55:34 GMT

I am thinking about trying a Holistic/Natural Endo, but worry about thyroid storm, while going natural. I guess I wont know, unless I try if a Natural Endo works??? :confused0003:

RAI vs Surgery

AndiB — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:16:20 GMT

I was recently diagnose w/GD in April. Racing heart, tremors, hairloss, etc...I am currently on Propranolol and was taking methimazole. Methimazole didn't agree with me at ALL. Itchy hands and feet, and within a month of taking it, it has effected my liver. So...had to discontinue it.

Now...I am deciding is it RAI or surgery?? I feel like a crazy woman just trying to decide which treatment is best for me?? I am super senitive to meds, so it gears me towards having surgery. I am terrified of RAI, because of all the negativity, experiences from others. I am also worried of 2nd cancer. I am told even though I am having a low dosage of RAI (No cancer or goiters, just secreting a lot) it is still a low risk to obtain 2nd cancer down the road. But I am also worried about risk with surgery. Can't win with a decision. I just want to feel better.

Does anyone know when you are on Propranolol does it help prevent from getting heart failure?? I understand it is just a band-aid to control systems, but I can still obtain heart failure if I don't actually fix the problem. :sad0049:

Waiting a Diagnosis

bjm2363 — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 16:15:00 GMT

Hi, I am new and will post some background on the newbie thread too :-)

I have some current concerns I want to ask about. My recent issues have been tender neck on the left side and chronic sore throat (could be allergies) and although I am on a beta-blocker..I have periods of fatigue, feeling keyed up and can't stay asleep

I went for an uptake and scan Thursday and Friday. The radiologist took me to a small office to discuss the findings below:

Ultra-sensitive TSH: .10
Free T4: .87
Free T3: 2.4

4 hour : 4.2%
24 hours: 3.7%

He said I am a very interesting case because the results were inconsistent. My thyroid scan was showing that the entire gland appeared overactive, but the uptake values were low. There were no visible nodules and it wasn't really enlarged. He said he definitely does NOT think it is acute thyroiditis. So he thinks it is likely early Graves disease and that my Free T's are just not elevated yet He also said that it could be something wrong with my pituitary or that the T4 or T3 is not converting, which I don't understand either:confused0079: I asked what the treatment is for a conversion problem and he really didn't answer me.

Then I asked about Hashimoto's thyroiditis and he went on to explain that my TSH would be elevated and the thyroid scan would be more heterogeneous?? I reminded him about the hyper phase and he mentioned Hashimoto's toxicosis, but didn't seem suspicious of that. So, he said he will recommend to my Endo that he do further testing (antibodies) before treatment. Now I have to wait longer for treatment :-( I am relieved that the whole illness is NOT in my head, but I am scared of the prospect of having an autoimmune disease. He defintely is leaning towards autoimmune because I told him my Grandma had a goiter a few years ago, my father takes synthroid, and my sister is having similar problems and was told she is hyper. I was hoping the experts on this board can give me some insight into what is going on please
:confused0081:
Thanks in advance for any help you can give...I am a bit shaken.

PTU- scared

mommyjewel — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:58:37 GMT

I was on 20mg of Tapazole and then it was decreased to 15mg after being on it for about 3 weeks I had an allergic reaction to the medication. (which I am still trying to get over).

My endo switched me to PTU 50mg 2x a day.

My last dose of Tapazole was on Fri Sept 3. I took 10mg in the morning. I did have 15mg total the day before and that is when the allergy symptoms started. I took a dose the next day because I was not sure if it was the medication making me itch and it turned out it was.

I took a dose of the PTU on Friday night 50mg. the next morning I was itching like crazy. I was not sure if it was the Tapazole in my system or me being allergic to the PYU as well. So I have not taken the PTU since friday night.

I have been taking the benedryl every 6 hours to combat the itchiness and I don't think I am supposed to take the benedryl and the PTU at the same time. Another reason I am delaying taking the PTU.

I have been researching the PTU and holy crap that is a scary drug. I am afraid to take it.

I am not sure what to do because I don't think that I have another option besides surgery. I can't do the RAI because of my eyes.

New, lots of questions...

tiffdb — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:27:06 GMT

Hey everyone,
I have really enjoyed reading this board and learning a lot. I believe that I am having some serious thyroid problems and most likely graves or at least hyperthyroidism. Forgive me, this might be a little lenghty...

19 Months ago I had my second child...about 6 months after that I started to feel awful. Lots of aches and pains in my hips and legs. Really high levels of anxiety that I had never experienced in my life. Lots of loose bowels, going all the time. Constant sinus drainage and headache issues. I had my TSH checked and was told it was fine. I was told I had post partum depression and put on meds. After a few months things started to get better (but never completely gone), and now its starting to get worse again. The loose bowels are back, the leg pains, anxiety/panic. I have a racing heart and went to an ENT for some ear issues and he said that I had an arrythmia and needed to see a cardiologist. My muscles get sore and achey without doing anything abnormal.

I had my TSH, T3 and T4 test and was told it was all normal. I also had the following antibodies checked: thyroid peridoxase and thyroidglobulin. They were both under the range. Are there specific antibodies to test for graves other than these? My understanding is that those are tests for Hashis. But I could be wrong. Also, I had a CT scan on my neck (because of a swollen lymph node) that showed a nodule, and the doc said they were just going to check it again in a year.

So, I am very suspicious of an autoimmume attack on my thyroid because of the timing (my pregnancy) and a family history. But I've been told that my tests are nomal. Is there any chance that more tests can reveal something? Or maybe that this things don't show up on tests in the beginning phases?

I would really appreciate any advice from anyone. Its been a long year of going from doctor to doctor and only getting treatment for symptoms and no one wanting to find out the actual problem.

Thanks so much.

Graves disease TSH not getting back to normal on PTU

Joymommy — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:07:59 GMT

Hi there,

I've had hyperthyroidism for a while. It started postpartum almost 2 years ago. At first we thought it was postpartum thyroiditis but I went to a different doc and they decided it was most likely Graves. (My mom had Graves as well) It was unusual that my T4 without any treatment gradually improved. It started at 4.5 or so and got down to 2.5 at least without any medication. I was trying to wait it out and do some healthful things first. Then I got pregnant and miscarried and things seemed to be worse so I finally decided to go on PTU back in Jan. I've been on it since - 100 mg 3x/day. In July I was tested and my T4 was normal but not my T3 and still undetectable TSH. My doc at the time recommended I go off my meds and see if I've attained remission which didn't make sense to me since my TSH was undetectable. So I saw another doc in the clinic and he agreed with me and had me tested the end of Aug. and also had the T3 tested since he thought my T3 may have still been high. He just sent a letter and said the T3 & T4 are both in the normal range but the TSH is still undetectable and thinks I may never be able to attain remission. Does anyone have any experience with this? With what I've read is that the TSH is always the last thing to normalize and that it can take 6 weeks + to reflect the changes that the T4/T3 have made. I've only been on medication a little over 7 months so I think I could still keep taking the PTU a while longer to see if the TSH gets back to normal and still try for remission. Anyone have any experiences with their TSH taking a while to normalize but still attaining remission? Thanks.

Melanie

Itchy

mommyjewel — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:16:07 GMT

I am on Tapazole 15mg a day. Split up into dose of 10mg and 5mg. Last night I woke up and the palms of my hands and feet were itchy like fire.

I finally got back to sleep and now that I woke up the itchiness is still there but now my whole body feels itchy. Anyone have this symptom?

I am waiting for my endo office to open up so I can call.

feeling depressed after RAI

yan_res — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:48:01 GMT

Hey,

I'm a 29 y/o male. I;ve been diagnosed with graves' about 8 months ago. I've undergone RAI treatment about 4 months ago. Currently I'm being treated with thyroid replacements (elthroxyin).
I'm not yet balanced. my TSH is 44, but it's getting better.
My question is - I feel really depressed up to the point that I feel lack of emotions. Did anyone else felt this way? if so, what helped you get over it?
I'm really desperate. any help would be appreciated.

One year since being diagnosed

happysunshine — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:35:22 GMT

Well it's been 1 year now and what a roller coaster ride that was. I have to say I still have my ups and down days and thankfully I do feel better.

These last 12 months have been a journey and I have come to realise things like eating certain foods, before my thyroid problem, I drank heaps of alcohol, I guess I was an alcoholic, I didn't eat healthy, mainly lived on junk food, no fruits and vegies, I thought because of my age it was fine, boy was I wrong.

After being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and get RAI treatment done and now I am hypothyroid, I have learnt so much amount myself and I am going through a process of healing not just physically, but both mentally and spiritually aswell, my body has gone through so much that it needs it rest and I don't see anything wrong with saying hey I'm not doing this today. I used to try to be superwoman, trying to make everyone else happy and doing 5 things at once, doing things and not expecting anything in return but then getting angry more angry at myself because I never said No to people. I felt like I was being taken for granted but all I needed to do was say No. I am now starting to do that. I also find that with a having a thyroid disease, is not a burden anymore and I actually see the light with having this. It taught me to wake up and say hey you need to do something and do it now.
I find eating healthy organic foods, and mainly gluten free help alot. I eat dairy but only if it's organic, I don't have any cake biscuits etc because that just makes me feel irritable.
I say no to people who rely on me to much because it's alright to have some me time.

Anyway thanks for reading my story, I hope by reading it you can find some hope in your journey aswell.

Hyper thyroid w/ graves, feel hot but have LOW Body Temp

MrGraves — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:57:56 GMT

The title basicaly describes the question. My metabolism runs very high, I can eat 4-5 double cheese burgers from BK a day and not gain a pound.(I dont, but I can) I sweat a lot some days, have the gitters almost every day before I medicate , I feel hot, lot of nights I wake up covered in sweat
however,
my body temp is on average 96.2 degrees, it goes down to 95.7 lowest ive seen it at is 95.2 . when it gets low my hands get numb, this is kinda new, like in the last 4-5 months, ive been just ignoring the graves and living life, havving fun, working a lot, i WENT TO THE WATER PARK AND ACTUALY RODE ALL THE RIDES TWICE :hugs: I havnt lived life like this in years but the body temp thing w/ numb hands is scary... a little.. one major thing that has changed is, got my x-rays back on my back, my back has fixed itself and ive worked out the muscles 2 hours a day and they get SORE but, its ok, SO, I completely quit taking my back glow which did have a "slowing down " effect on my CNS , it didnt treat the graves, it just made me dopey , now that i am off it, I realize how dopey , so thats off the menu and now this new symptom of numb hands is here... my feet have hurt for a while, my left foot hurts real bad. so whats up with the low body temp? if im hyper, shouldnt it be high? I feel warm.. so how is it thats its 2.6 lower than everyone elses's and whats with the numb hands?
Thanks! Looks like we are all still writing this story.... have not been here in a while , sorry to see "newbie's" just in the sense that it means more people suffering from this strange disease.
Tim

tests for GD

kitemom — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 03:51:22 GMT

Good evening,
I am curious how one might be diagnosed with GD. Is there a particular test that is ran or is it your labs that show the disease? I'm wondering if my endo checked me for this or if it may have been overlooked. I have a mutinodular goiter and a dominant 3.6cm complex mass along with a hyperthyroidism diagnosis. Nothing has been said to me about GD, but I'm wondering it it could possibly be GD causing all these problems. Just reading up and trying to educate myself. My biggest fear is that it might be cancer. Any thoughts on this. Thank you all very much!!!

kitemom

Newly diagnosed

Kint111 — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:32:25 GMT

Hi everybody,

Well here I'm.....:(

I was diagnosed about a month ago with GD. I can't believe it myself, just a few months ago, I was fit/ eating healthy and all of a sudden I lost 10lbs in about a month.

Anyway, right now, I'm overwhelm with all the info I'm reading online about GD. :(

I better get to my questions. I really hate my Endo right now, she keep insisting on me getting an RAI.

My problem started 4 weeks ago, while I was on Methimazole ( I was fine the first three week) and all of a sudden I develop hives all over my body. I stop taking methimazole for a week, thinking I got allergy from seafood or something. After a week, my hives were gone and I started back Methimzaole.....and yesterday my hives are back.

Now, my Endo again told me to get a RAI (and surgery).......I told her many time that those two would be the last option.

I have to ask you all, what other option (ATD) should my next option be? PTU (would I be allergic to that)? Or Carbimazole?

Please help me with any info/ suggestion on this?

Thanks all,
Kin

Graves/memory problems

mommyjewel — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:28:30 GMT

Before my thyroid issues started I used to be able to remember a lot of things through out my day.

Now I have found that if I do not write things down then I quickly forget, and lately I can not even remember if I have taken my medications in the morning or not. Or when I do remember to take them I go to take them but get side tracked by other things and then I forget again.

The cycle continues for a while until I start talking to someone and they mention medications or something medical and then I remember about my pills and I have to stop them and go straight to my medication and take them.

Will this go away when my thyroid levels return to normal? I have 3 little kids and if I have to write things down all day then I will be in trouble. :(

tapazole-help..feel aweful

mommyjewel — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:18:23 GMT

I am not sure if this is side effects of the Tapazole or I may be coming down with the stomach bug but i feel aweful. Any advice or anything I can do to feel better?

Symptoms:

dizzyness

stomach cramps

dry heaves (not much in my stomach yet today)

nausea

shaky

legs feel like jello

I left a message with my doctor and I am waiting for a call back.

Thank you

Newly diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism...Symptom??

beba1432 — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 23:22:24 GMT

Hi all...My name is Tiffany and I have been recently diahnosed with Hyperthyroidism. I have most of the symptoms but one is troubling me and I am curious if this is a normal symptom or something else....I feel like I am in a dream..Most people know the feeling as derealization. Its overwhelming and I am freaking out. Its been going on for months. Is this part of Hyperthyroidism? And please say it will go away once my levels get normal lol....