[Julie3588]

#1018300

Hi all,

Just needed to vent about the complete absence of my short term memory. I got an exam back today that I did completely horrible on and just started to lose it. It’s been a frustrating day…just when I begin to think that I’m starting to get better something has to remind me that I still battle graves everyday. I finally just got stabilized but have noticed that any class I take that requires any memorization at all is a complete disaster for me. I try to avoid them as much as possible but ended up in one anyways. I get completely overwhelmed trying to memorize material when I can barely remember where I parked my car or to pay my rent I used to have such a sharp memory. Sometimes I just get so frustrated at myself. It doesn’t help that my endo thinks that now that I found a stable dose, all my symptoms should just melt away.

The good news in all of this is that physically I feel worlds better than I did a few months ago. It’s nice not to feel like total crap everyday ” title=”Very Happy” />

I guess my question is, will my memory ever improve? I’ve heard that sometimes the memory loss and brain fog are permanent. I’m going to the conference next month and am super excited. Will they be addressing memory issues at all?

-Julie

[Ellen_B]

#1063842

Hi Julie,
Did you have the radioiodine treatment? How long ago? If so are you presently being regulated on synthetic thyroxine? Have you seen your test results? If not could you get a copy of them and sit down and discuss them with your doctor? When does your doctor want to see you again? You probably know that a change in your dose takes four to six weeks to get into your system.
There are a number of variables involved in getting regulated. One possible variable is different types of thyroid hormone replacement medicines. We just have to figure which variable(s) have not been attended to and deal with them.
I realize I have asked more questions than given you answers. If you find it easier to talk send an email to the GDF (Gravesdiseasefd@gmail.com) with your phone number. I will be glad to give you a call.

Ellen Brightly
Administrative Assistant
Graves’ Disease Foundation
400 International Drive
Williamsville NY 14221
Toll-free — (877) 643-3123
Email: Gravesdiseasefd@gmail.com
Website: http://www.NGDF.org

[Bobbi]

#1063843

Hi, Julie:

Do call Ellen. She can be a huge help. But the part of your post that caught my eye is your statement that you "just" got stablized. That’s an important event, but it does not mean that you are currently "normal," in the sense that the out-of-whack stuff caused by being hyperthyroid is completely gone. At one of the conferences, an endo recommended that we think of hyperthyroid being like a hurricane. When it is present in the body, it is doing damage. When it finally leaves (i.e. when we get our levels stabilized), there is damage left behind, just like there is after a hurricane. Getting the winds gone is the first step, and an important one. But communities have to rebuild after a hurricane hits. And our bodies have to rebuild after we get our hormone levels stabilized. Almost — or maybe every — body system was disrupted by the bad levels of thyroid hormone. It takes time for the damaged parts to heal.

[Julie3588]

#1063844

Ellen,

I originally went the ATD route, went into a short remission, relapsed and had RAI a little over a year ago. I went hypo, and have been on Synthroid for a year. I was kind of all over the place dose-wise for awhile and two months ago finally found a dose that made me start to feel like myself again and didn’t send me either hyper or hypo. It’s probably been about 4.5 years since I’ve been healthy. My endo was trying to keep me on a dose that made me slightly hyper but I felt like a complete disaster on it and switched to a lower dose. Since then my TSH has been between .3-1 and my t4 and t3 are right in the middle of range. I see my doctor again in January and will get tested right before.

Bobbi,

Thanks for the reference to the hurricane. It helps to look at it that way. Sometimes its hard to realize that just because my levels are now "normal" it’s going to take awhile for all the symptoms to go away. Everyone around me just seems to assume that since I’m not technically "sick" anymore I should just bounce right back to normal, no matter how hard I try to explain it to them.

[Kimberly]

#1063845

Hello – Being hypER can affect our memory and concentration, and sometimes the symptoms persist even after our levels are brought under control. Most of us have picked up little “memory tricks” here and there that help us get through our daily routines – writing things down in a daytimer, using alarm bells on a watch or cell phone, etc..

I can definitely see where a “closed book” exam would be a challenge. Have you spoken to a school administrator about your Graves’? The Individuals With Disabilities Act of 1997 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation act of 1973 can provide some relief by allowing accommodations through an individually designed plan. (For example, a little extra time for tests or homework assignments).

[Author]

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