[Anonymous]

#1020080

Kim,

Hang in there. I have found that after 2 years that the best thing you can do is trust your own instincts about how you are feeling. Don’t let the doctor’s treat you with less respect just because you are a woman that is getting older. My GP dismissed me stating that my problems were from getting to the change of life age – I am 48 years old. I was diagnosed with Graves and A-fib 2 years ago (the doctor had missed my heart problem and treated me as if I was just a pre-menopausal woman suffering from hypochondria). Since being treated for Graves with RAI and having a total hysterectomy, the doctor dismissed my next set of symptoms (I have developed Rheumatoid Arthritis and now they think Lupus – which are also autoimmune diseases). My pain, swelling, and lethargy were not in my head.

Make sure you keep the doctor looking for the answer to WHY you are not feeling well. They tend to focus on test results and not on the person. Test results are not always conclusive. You may never feel as well as you did before, but you should feel much better than when you were hypo.

It takes time, but I am again enjoying playing with my grandchildren and working around my home.

I will keep you in my prayers.

[Anonymous]

#1075947

Thanks Bobby, Dianne, Claire and Mammaw for encouraging words. Haven’t been on since I posted (too tired to remember I even posted ). Claire, I think I will go to my family physician (he was the only doctor in 10 years to figure out what was wrong with me and diagnosed me with Graves’). He actually listens to me when I complain and takes his time in my appointment. I honestly thought I had to do everything through my endocrinologist now that I’m on Synthroid and diagnosed Graves’. But it seems I can go back to him and hopefully he will find what is causing it (or just my lack of patience) as he is very persistent and wouldn’t rest until he found out what was wrong with me. Being diagnosed “depressed” and put on anti depression meds for over 10 years when I wasn’t even depressed messes with a person anyways. This doctor immediately took me off the meds, talked to me about my symptoms and researched! and even called me over the weekend to say I was hyper, not depressed and my heart palpitations were caused by that, not anxiety. Mammaw, I’m glad you are starting to feel better. I have read a lot of your postings (well, actually all of them).

Dianne and Bobby, you both are wonderful as staff here. Your posts do give me encouragement and actually give me the strength to fight for my rights as a patient and to get the blood work I need instead of just agreeing with my doctors with their preference on how they do things. I do need to start taking more baby steps. Heck, I am just not used to that as I was a single mom with 3 kids and running my daughter to cheerleading and games, one of my boys to hockey practices and games and my other to boy scouts and other activities. No one around me knew how I did it. I’m not sure I know how I did it. But that is no longer the case and I have to accept it that I just can’t do it all every single day of the week any longer. I have cut activities to 3 nights a week and leave the weekend to recoup from working and running around to activities. I will start slow with the exercise and I’ve tried going head on into that and really did myself in. Just miss who I was pre Graves’ and wanted to hurry it up. I feel like I have changed forever and am trying to find some inner peace.

Oh and Jan, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Sorry it’s late.

Hugs
Kim

[Anonymous]

#1075948

I have just been catching up on the postings and really felt your pain. I too want to feel the way I did pre-Graves and it is a long process. I was taken off the meds and my internist said my TSH was normal so I was fine but I continued to have unexplained weight gain (11 pounds in 7 months which is not normal for me), cyclical illness every month, and a lot of fatigue. I finally insisted on seeing an endocrinologist. then he told me that since my BMI is still within normal limits I should not be having a thyroid problem but I insisted on blood work because I know something is off with my body. I cannot stand the fatigue and it is sooo difficult to keep up with children and activities when you are so very tired and ache all over. I’m still waiting for the results to see if perhaps I am now going slightly hypo. Keep up the faith, it will get better. I know my posting doesn’t sound like I am saying that but when I was on the meds I felt much better. Maybe not 100% pre Grave but pretty darn close.

[Author]

Posts