[Anonymous]

#1149316

Hi Denise,
How about calling back your doctor’s office and asking them to have whoever is covering for your regular doctor to call you. There has got to be someone covering.
I say this from experience — I called my regular doc with a question one day becasue the endo’s office said the endo was “not in”. Well, my regular doctor helped
me out, then called the endo’s office and chewed them out for not letting me know another endo was covering for the one who was out. <Sigh> Why can’t specialist docs
be as warm and fuzzy as the GPs?
{Guess you could call your GP about the meds also…)
Good luck!
Casey

[Anonymous]

#1050452

Well I called another pharmacy for a second opinion
and they told me the exact opposite
of what the first pharmacist told me. I called my endo
and he is out of town. ( Can this wait type of thing?)
This one said to take them when I get home. The synthroid I am not so concerned with its
the heart meds. This is the first time I forgot the meds
in 5 years. The heart one is new for me. Well,
I would feel better to just take them when I get home
later. So I will do that..

[Anonymous]

#1149317

Has anyone who has had radiation treatment on their eyes had their thyroid go sky high about 6 weeks after the treatment?
I would be grateful if anyone could let me know if they have experienced the above as my levels have gone crazy and I have had to stop thyroxine.(I am on BRT for now).My carbimizole level is already high at 80mg/day, but I am unsure as to why this would happen.Any light/information on this would be most welcome.
Orbital decompression has been planned for the end of May but will they still operate if my levels are unstable?
Thank you in advance.
Cathy

[Anonymous]

#1149318

I was recently diagnosed with Graves Disease after a series of tests–blood tests, iodine uptake & scan. I have an appt to see a specialist. I don’t have symptoms for Graves-except for fatique. I have not lost any weight. As a matter of fact, my metabolism has greatly decreased. I exercise, eat healthy, diet constantly & still can’t lose weight. The Dr. has mentioned the radioactive iodine treatment & being put on medication for the rest of my life. I am scared!! I don’t possess signs of hyperthyroidism or Graves. Please help!

[Anonymous]

#1149319

Hi Ann

After you see a specialist, you’ll most likely find you have more symptoms than you thought. My endo even pointed to my finger nails and said the shrinking quick was a GD symptom. Something right in front of my face!

I too also experienced fatigue mainly. I’ve been skinny all my life, so I hadn’t seen any metabolic effects to speak of. It’s possible that because Graves takes over so slowly, we just don’t recognize the symptoms, and they become part of our lives, explained away or rationalized. Graves can result it the opposite of “normal” symptoms,too. Some people have weight gain & depression, while others feel they have boundless energy and are worth a million bucks.

I think if you get an endocrinologist to explaing Graves & the treatments to you, it will go a long way to alleviating your fears. It sure is a shock to have people all of the sudden telling you you’ve got something that won’t go away and will change your life! But the endocrinologist will be able to better explain the options. I’m a terrible pill taker, so the medication for the rest of my life was the scariest part. I have to set alarms all over the place to remind me to take my pills. I am grateful that Graves can at least be treated though.

It’s also not entirely unlikely that your first doctor has made the wrong diagnosis. Primary care physicians don’t always understand thyroid problems all that well. My primary care person said I was Hypo-active. Then she had another doctor look at me and my blood tests, and he said I was Hyper-active. Then after my first uptake & scan, test (the most definitive one) I was told everything was normal. It wasn’t until I saw an internist who said “Whoa! Normal… no way!” that I was sure of the diagnosis. Then going a step more specialized to an endocrinologist really settled it for me, and I’m much more comfortable with it now than I was the first time my doctors theorized a thyroid problem.

I find keeping a medical diary helpful, since things tend to form patterns over time that you might not otherwise notice. It also gives you a starting point for questions to your doctors.

Good luck!
Kirsten

[Anonymous]

#1149320

Not everyone loses weight when they are hyperthyroid, annb, . Just another sign that there is no justice in the world, right? Fatigue is, most definitely a symptom. It sounds counter-intuitive: we’ve got a revved up metabolism, so we should feel energized. No. Because our body is overly revved up, none of the body systems are working efficiently, all of them are working too hard. (To use layman’s terms.) And it makes us feel worn out.

If your blood tests show too much thyroid hormone and a suppressed TSH (from the pituitary gland), you are hyperthyroid. If the uptake and scan shows that the gland is over-active EVERYWHERE (and not just in a distinct area, like a nodule), then your most likely diagnosis is Graves, which is an autoimmune problem, and will never go away permanently.

Regardless of whatever it is called, you need treatment, now, to get your thyroid hormone levels under control. There are several treatment options, although not all of us are appropriate candidates for all three. It probably would help you to discuss things with your doctor if you would get a book like THE THYROID SOURCEBOOK by Sara Rosenthal, or YOUR THYROID: A Home Reference, by Drs. Cooper, Ridgway and Wood, and read the chapters that deal with hyperthyroidism/Graves’ and the treatments. These books should be in your local library, and they are in print and available through bookstores (including the online ones).

Wishing you good luck, and good health soon,
Bobbi — NGDF Asst. Online Facilitator

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