[ElectricBlue107]

#1073464

Hmm, not too sure on that one. I know with pretty much any illness, there are certain symptoms symptoms that are generally bound to be there and some are only in a select few. I know that goes with MI’s and chest pain, but I’m not sure how that fairs with Graves Disease. Seems like since it’s hormones affecting your body it would have some major side effects. I know I had massive weight loss, but I never had any problems with hair (maybe I just didn’t notice cause I’m a guy and I have short hair) But who knows. Sounds like maybe you’re just borderline or teetering on the edge or it or something. I don’t know the baseline thyroid levels so I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking at. But maybe there’s something else in your health history that’s causing some symptoms but not losing weight, not sure though. I know you just said you moved but look into an endocrinologist, I’m sure they’d have a much better answer than mine.

[DianneW]

#1073465

Your Free T4 levels are similar to mine at diagnosis, and you gained a similar amount of weight to what I had gained when I was diagnosed. My doctor said it’s not uncommon for patients to gain weight when the hyperthyroidism isn’t severe, because the appetite is stimulated but fatigue sets in, and the energy balance isn’t what one would expect.

The outcome for me, having untreated hyperthyroidism, was worsened ophthalmopathy. One of the most important things you can do to help your eyes is to normalize your thyroid levels as soon as possible. (I ended up having 9 surgeries on my eyes, so far.)

There’s no evidence that any alternative methods help control thyroid levels. For some people hyperthyroidism has a natural course of remissions and exacerbations, and for others it seems to worsen without remitting. Antithyroid drugs help bring about remission because they have an immunomodulatory effect and help reduce the antibody levels, and also bringing thyroid levels into normal levels helps the immune system, which has a spiraling beneficial effect on controling the antibodies that cause the problem. Since the eye disease is a related problem, this is potentially protective for the eyes, though it doesn’t guarantee there won’t be problems.

There’s no harm in seeing a doctor who wants to treat you as a whole person or who wants to use alternative methods. There might even be help in this, but you must always treat Graves’ Disease with one of the three treatments that works to control it, first. If any other method worked, we’d all be using it.

Hair loss is a symptom of thyroid hormone fluctuations. I lose hair whenever I change doses of replacement hormone, and have had hair loss when I had RAI, or any time there was an event that caused a change in levels.

[whymythyroid]

#1019694

Hey there, everyone! Great board … I looked through posts and did not see anything specific to what’s on my mind.

Here’s the short history so you know where I’m coming from:
sometime around 00 – asked docs to run thyroid tests on me because I felt something wasn’t right. "You’re fine" (no tests)
03 – 07 – hair loss … sometimes better, sometimes worse
Jan 08 – went to eye doc because I had this intense pain behind my eye. "Everything’s fine" he told me
May 08 – pain went away.
June 08 – eye bulged !! Back to eye doctor who freaked out because the last time he saw that, it was a brain tumor.
Eventually someone runs thyroid levels on me … actually I might have run them on myself, now that I think about it. Anyhow, 2 endos, Uptake scan (34% and 45% at 24 hr), TSH <.01, FT4 2.3, FT3 5.8, TSI 263, Ultrasound, and the needle biopsy (which hurt like heck) … I suppose I have graves disease. ” title=”Wink” />
My eye is actually better now … not perfect but certainly better than it was last June. My blood pressure runs around 110/70, pulse is anywhere between 60 and 80, if I imagine real hard I can pretend I have hand tremors … basically, other than the eye thing, no symptoms.

Where’s my rapid weight loss??? ” title=”Wink” /> Not that I really want that because, imo, it would be terrible for your body if it was acting that way … but I probably have actually GAINED 10 pounds over the last year. What’s up with that? Has anyone else experienced this?

I’m not taking any drugs at this point. I’ve read enough of the other posts to know that the consensus here is that I need to take the drugs. ” title=”Wink” /> I did take methimazole for 3 weeks back in November … I developed hives, so my endo yanked it. .. If hives and my period coming 2 weeks after the last one were the only side effects, I wonder why we didn’t try it and see if the hives would go away while continuing use? Just my dumb thought.

I understand the antithyroid drugs are to block thyroid hormone production and I certainly have an abundance of that. Certainly don’t need beta blockers, though. My plan is to go the alternative route for a while and see what happens. Since I don’t have symptoms and my levels have held steady over the last 8 months, I feel like I have time to try this route.
Has anyone else had the luxury of doing this?

I ran labs the other day to see where my levels were. I’ve recently moved and am feeling WAY less stressed due to the move. I was surprised to see that my TSH was actually .01 ! That’s the first time it’s ever been detected! woo hoo. ha ha.

Looking forward to thoughts and input.

Oh … and if anyone on this board knows of a good endo and a good wholistic doc in the Spokane area, I’d love the recommendation!

[whymythyroid]

#1073466

electricblue & Diane – you know … I’ve thought about the "it must be something else" that just *looks* like GD… but, I really have come to the conclusion that it’s just GD. I’m certain there are other things involved that are encouraging it (diet, not excercising, a TON of coffee, HIGH stress work, growing up somewhere that has a marked incidence of hyperthyroid in the now-adults) and that’s why I want to find a wholistic doc (preferrably who’s also an endo … but I don’t think they exist) so I can do more than treat the symptoms.
… but I guess that’s just part of treating an autoimmune disorder — you treat the symptoms and hope for the best, eh?

Happy day!

[hyperm]

#1073467

Where’s my rapid weight loss??? Not that I really want that because, imo, it would be terrible for your body if it was acting that way … but I probably have actually GAINED 10 pounds over the last year. What’s up with that? Has anyone else experienced this?

Hey,

I was put on blocking treatment (carbimazole and thyroxine) felt awful and was going to endo monthly ( I worked with him on the wards) anyway I was piling on the weight yet as a young mum walked everywhere the buggy , at baby classes and working so very little time to sit and as my husband noticed ate very little.reduced my carbo intake and never ate after 6pm. I joined 2 dieting clubs and was following them so strictly but was putting on weight .The Endo very rudely asked "are you sure its not what is going between the teeth?" well by then I had enough a ” title=”Sad” /> s he was saying my bloods were fine yet I felt awful all the time etc,,,, some days my mum and husband would say my face was so swollen and I had to go up a size in shoes etc… never mind the jeans.

I changed Endo’s as I was pregnant and the new one specialised in thyroidism in pregnancy. He was shocked I was on this treatment as it wasn’t for menstrating women seemingly and as my bloods had been stable for so long why not try to come off it. Within a week I Iost 9lbs!!!! It was mainly fluid.

My bloods were still great and not going overactive at all. He agreed the meds were wrong for me and I had been overdosed for over a year! I was so angry as I knew myself that I was never that weight (always slim built) my work uniforms were bursting etc… Also I knew that although my bloods were seemingly "normal" I felt awful. My new endo also explained that some meds don’t agree with some patients and its a trial and error.

I would question it as I over reacted to the carbimazole and had to be put on thyroxine, however now my new endo said he would never to that again but play about with the levels of PTU (now off carbim as WBC los).

I can’t wait to get a partial removal (petrified) but I want it out so I can feel well again.

Good luck

[Path]

#1073468

Oh that weight gain! I’ve packed on 25 pounds in the last year before being diagnosed. I’m on Tapazol for about three weeks now and have noticed a reduction in appetite but no weight loss yet. It’s winter here, cold, snowy etc and I know I need to increase my activity level – skied three days this week but still no weight loss. It does get discouraging but the posts I’ve read comparing this to a marathon rather than a sprint have really helped me keep some perspective. Thank you!

[Madame_X]

#1073469

It’s positively weird how Graves manifests and rears its head.

My endo told me there was a pt of his whose only symptom was massive diarrhea.

There was another guy who lost 80 pounds out of nowhere. That was how he was diagnosed.

And I myself really saw no symptoms. I guess about a month before it hit, I noticed tightness in my thighs or I’d be stiff getting out of a chair, kind of like the stiffness you get if you’re riding in a car for 2 or 3 hours with no rest stops. And a week before, I’d wake up kind of hot and sweaty. I thought it was hot in the room and thought nothing of it.

When it finally hit, I had chills, dizziness upon rising and lying down and a heart rate of over 100. My doc originally said "This is dehydration. Go home; drink lots of fluids."

I went home, drank fluids. For four days. Heart rate stayed the same and when it hit 120 I took myself to the ER. When I got to ER, my heart rate was way over 170.

They kept me there a couple days; it was either Graves or a prolapsed valve. Guess which one it was.

[Author]

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