[Anonymous]

#1077586

Diane
What is Armour Thyroid.
I know I ask questions, but along with lots of reading I am trying to understand this disease. If I see that others are healing it gives me hope that I will feel better in time. I know others are worse off that me. I can’t imagine.

[Anonymous]

#1020548

Rebecca,

Your email was a bit confusing, sorry. I didn’t realize that you already had RAI. And having RAI your thyroid is removed. Just done with radation not surgery. And yes you have to take thryoid meds for the rest of your life, we all do, but you still always have GD. It’s been over 2 yrs for me having RAI and I’m still almost in the normal ranges. This disease takes a long time for some of us to start and feel better so lots of patience is needed, or so I’ve found out. Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

#1077587

You have to forgive me for taking so long to post. My computer is broke at home and will be up and running again on Friday. Now I just am able to access a computer at school plus work, which is at school after my classes are done.

Armour Thyroid is another type of thryoid replacement drug. This one has T3 in it. This addition seems to help me feel better.

Diane B On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1077588

Hi, My name is Sheryl and I was treated for a thyroid problem in June 2007. I had every sympton almost. My heart rate was 135 and my T3 and T4 were maxed when I walked in to my first endo visit. The lady doc did some tests and said I did not have Graves, so I went on atanol and tapazole. The doc told me she did’nt need to see me until my numbers were better. I went in and took 2 more tests, one in July and one in August. Everytime she got the results she said my numbers were not good and to take a few months til my next blood test. Well needless to say I changed endo’s in February. When I first saw the new doc she said that we would see what the new blood work said and go from there. On my second visit the new endo said I had Graves. I was so surpriced. All along my antibodies said I did, but the other doc was a choke. My antibodies were 207. I guess anything over 135 is Graves. So now my numbers are still not to good. I am on 2 pill three times a day and I think my body just fights harder to keep the havac going. You would think that my numbers would get better. I think that after the new doc put me on double the meds my symptons have gotten worse. It is really wierd. Now the doc wants to do RAI, but I think I would rather have surgery. I have a huge goyter and I know it is vain, but I want it gone.
I am 44 years old and have 3 kids. My son is 20, two daughters one 18 and the other 14 and of course my husband of 24 years. Everyone does a pretty good job of helping. I use to be so anal about my house, but I just dont care.
Any advice would be great. I guess it is really nice to just vent. I dont think I have ever wrote all this stuff down, it feels good.
I am pretty busy with my kid’s sports and my husbands sports and I work 1 hour from home. Its a crazy. Any help would be great.
Sheryl

[Anonymous]

#1077589

Coaches wife:

Graves is a very frustrating disease (at least to me) b/c of the complete lack of control that one feels as a result of it. As I believe that many folks who have Graves are, I am a “type A” personality who likes to be in control and ALWAYS doing something. Somewhere along the way, the Graves can turn this person into “a crazy man/woman” who goes 500 miles a minute until the body is just absolutely exhausted and starts to physically fail. If you haven’t read, Graves Disease In Our Own Words, then I really suggest that you get a copy and read it. It will help you to understand what is going on with you body (mentally, physically and emotionally).

It is very important to know that Graves Disease does not have to control you—you can still be in control of your life. But, you need to take the time to find a coping mechanism that works for you. I sent out a long post a few weeks ago regarding my own “journey” with Graves and finding a way to not only cope, but also to make myself a stronger person because of it. I encourage you to look back and read that post. I believe that I titled it “Coping with Graves Disease”. Maybe you will find something in that post that “speaks” to you.

As far as RAI vs Surgery, if you opt for RAI, the goiter that you have will most likely shrink. My goiter/gland was more than twice as big as it should have been and I can tell that it is now shrinking (I had RAI in early February of this year). It is not yet back to a “normal” size, but it is getting smaller and I certainly get from my doctors that it will shrink down to basically nothing by the time that it all dies off. I think that it is very important to research both options before you make a decision. There are pros and cons to both procedures, and you will need to decide which one is the right one for you. You can research them both on this website as well.

The one thing that I would tell you is that you need to be educated on both your disease and your options, because it is vital that the patient is her/his own “advocate” during treatment. Endocrinologists tend to be very “busy” people and it is important to make the most of your time during your visits with good questions and comments. It is also important to recognize your symptoms so that you can accurately communicate them to your doctor, and also so that you can identify them yourself to be able to find a way to cope with them.

I was diagnosed with Graves in early 2006 (and probably had it for close to a year before I was diagnosed). It is hard to admit that there is something wrong when you just want to “keep working through it”. But, hyperthyroid is not something that is going to go away on its own. You need treatment so that you can regain your health. Unfortunately, the healing process is not a short one. But, identifing the disease, chosing a treatment, and finding your own coping mechanisms are vital for you to move on with your life. Graves changes us forever, but it does not have to define us or rule our lives. I am a much stronger person today (mentally and emotionally) than I was prior to my diagnosis. I have learned to cope and to improve my own character so that I can continue to enjoy life. I am a better person, a better wife, and a better mother as a result of it. It is a long road and some days it seems that the hurdles are insurmountable; but if you dig deep you will find that you have the strength to make good decisions and keep in control of your life.

Good luck to you.

Anne

[Anonymous]

#1077590

You will get a lot of good advice here. I have not gone through RAI but I did have a mild case during my 1st bout with Graves and the very first dr. said do RAI. We researched it and refused but i didn’t have a goiter. My 2nd dr. said take PTU(not the tapazole) and see what happens. I did hear that it can take many months to get normal on PTU or Tapazole so maybe give it more time. I was very very lucky and had it stabilized within 3months. But again I didn’t have a goiter and it was mild. My 2nd bout was worse but again i took PTU and was fine.

The only reason I didn’t do RAI was because that meant being Hypo(not the hyper) permanently and I wasn’t going for that. Dr’s now go straight for getting you hypo to make sure your thyroid is completely destroyed and I wont except that. Well at least the dr’s here where I live. I shouldn’t say all dr’s. It worked out great for me. I still do research and come in here to check out what I find to make sure.

Everyone is so very different. All I can say is I know it’s hard to deal with this when you are in pain and in a fuzzy/crazy state of mind. (we call it the crazies in my house lol). I haven’t had a goiter but yeah i’d want it gone as well and i’m not vain either, just don’t do anything drastic thinking it will be a quick fix and find out later that it will still take a long time for the goiter to go away. Remember slow and steady wins the race. Research and talk here and babysteps when it comes to housework. The kids are all old enough to help you out. Write down your lists so you dont forget them it helps a lot when you have graves.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

#1077591

I cant believe I already have a couple replys. You guys are great. I am so glad that I stubbled on this site.
The problem with the goyter is that I have almost choked to dealth twice. It is 4 times bigger than it is suppose to be. I have to really watch what I eat and how big my bites are and how much I dont chew. I have had a neck strain, and it just would’nt go away. Just to much weight on my neck. I am always hurting. It is weird that no one in my family has this. I know it probably had been going on for some time. I was riding bikes with friends and I was always out of breath and my heart would race. Then I had to have knee surgery to replace my ACL and after the surgery I just could’nt get going. I actually went to the urgent care and thought I had something wrong with my lungs from the surgery. The doctor there looked at me and said, “have you noticed your neck”? I just thought my neck had gotten fat. Go figure.
So any advice that you can give me would be great. I do like my new doctor. She seems to be on top of it. I just need to find out what will be best for me. I really just want the surgery. If I am going to be Hypo anyway I want to get rid of the goyter and I dont want to bobble around for months seeing if the Radiation worked. I know it seems like a quick fix. Anyway, let me know if anyone has some advice.

Sheryl

[Anonymous]

#1077592

Dear Sheryl,

I am so happy to see that you have found this site in your hour of need. I too had a very large goiter and had it surgically removed. The reason I chose surgery over RAI is the fact that I have a bad case of TED (Thyroid Eye Disease) and the RAI would have made them worse. I understand very well about choking on things. The only thing I can say is it does get better. I know now it seems like the pain and discomfort feels as if it will never end. Just keep telling yourself that someday you will feel much better. All I can say is good luck and let us all know how you are doing. Take care of yourself.

Diane

[Anonymous]

#1077593

Hi, and welcome to our group.

I just read your first post, and want to add a suggestion for you to consider. You will hear us say, all the time, that there are alternative treatments that you need to understand. And this suggests that any one of us could, theoretically, do any one of the treatment options. But that is not necessarily the case. Each one of us has a different set of circumstances. People with tricky hearts might be advised to continue the antithyroid meds. People with severe eye disease are often recommended surgery, or RAI with a concurrent course of prednisone. People with sickened livers, typically cannot tolerate the antithyroid meds. Etc. So, while it is possible that some of us do have a choice of safe treatment options, it is also true that some of us are significantly more limited by our individual medical situation.

So, please discuss very carefully with your doctor, whatever treatment option is being proposed, to make sure that you understand why your doctor suggests one over another (if that is what is happening.

Good luck,
Bobbi – NGDF Online Facilitator

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