[MCAPOCCI]

#1018059

IamMike.I have had Graves disease since mid 1998. I am now 52 and was 39 at the time of diagnosis. This has been a heck of an experiance. My short story.

I was losing weight losing sleep and due to lack of personal performance losing a girlfriend. A few weeks of this, a bad job review which puzzled me since I was an ace engineer for somany years, and an interesting chat with my barber got me to go to a doctor.The barber noticed a huge weird shape bald spot. I knew my hair had been thiniing fast but this was horrid. I lost nearly all the thick curly hair froman inch behind my right ear to the middle of the back of my head from my neck to the thin spot on the top of my head.

This was not male patterned baldness.

The doc took my vitals. Man I was sick! . Resting heart rate over 110, blood pressure through the roof and serious hot flashes. I completely understand when my partner say she has these. I lost 40 lbs in 60 days. Well I took the tests and in three days I got the news. From then on i did as much research as I could. I read a boat load of journal articles and such. During this panicked scientist mode, i was put on methacarbazole (i think) and went throught the emotional rollercoaster of flucuating thyroid levels for two years. I got prettty sick of that and waslosing another good woman.ARGH!!!!!!!!!

So I bit the bullet and went for RAI.t took two trys. And a long time to get my levels stable. SOmewhere along the line i found this spot f the net, thought it looked very differant then, more campy I like it either way. The information i recieved from all of you ..i mean all of those going throught this hell back then and maybe still around now helped me through this. You see as I said I am a man. Not a lot of those with this odd disease are men about 1 in say 11. ANd the support groups in the area were all women and as a guy I found my presences was not well recieved, so I worked it out manily with this group.

What was it?? Well the side effects of the disease and treatment. I have no leg hair. I know the ladies may like that but. not only do i have no leg hair. I have no chest hair and no back hair (well I am not complaining about that). Is this important?? for health reasons no, for my ego then yes…now it is a source of fun for my now 23 year old son.

Waht else. ..of course felling lousy for 5 yearswas Not fun but then again not being dead was a good trade in my book and for the most part still could do what I wanted to.

In these years. I learned to fly a plane (I have amblyophia from child hood, so this is a feat). A fixed up a few homes, put 2.5 kids through college. Married one off (as a single parent all this time). Moved up the ranks wih my employer. Had a lot of fun on motorcycles, climbed a few mountains, spent 8 years as a scoutmaster. Sold girl scout cookies. Worked on the pta. Took vacations. vsited my kids in school or in camp…..rasied them in my ome as a sinllge dad for most of this time. Buried a few loved ones, including my son in law..boy that hurt….. NOTHING really important…nothing life …..defining….made no fortune…wrote no book.

Basically I lived a life. A good one. And i have a lot of people I can never really thank for all the unsung help I recieved. The help I got from being able to hear what others were going through. Tellingmy fears and being comforted and comforting thise. All of this was through this grpoup and it predicessor link which I no longer can recall…daine something.

Well to all of you here now. Please acccept my thanks now in stead of those who were hear then. You help was the best thing I ever got. I will try to be here now and then for any and all of you. It is probabaly not right toleave an email adress but that is okay you can respond to this or not. Again all I want to say is this.

The road is tough but walkable. But as my son in law said . each day is a new day, you get through it all one day at a time.
Thank you all …In memoryofMichael Anthiny White B April 4 1978..returned to the angles Jan 3 2011. I willmisshim.

[Bobbi]

#1062463

It’s really good to hear that things are going well for you now. And newcomers to the disease REALLY need this message.

Take good care,

[Author]

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