[linzyyyy]

#1059639

Hi everybody! First I want to say how thankful I am for this forum, it has helped me learn SO MUCH about this disease. There is so much GD negativity out there, and I feel like there are a lot of positive people on here! You guys give me hope.

Anyway, here’s my story. I had my second baby 7 months ago. 4 months after she was born I started having terrible anxiety and would get really tired all the time for no reason. My doc (an internal medicine doctor) put me on some antidepressants (assumed postpartum depression/anxiety) which made me feel TERRIBLE. I stopped after 2 weeks then asked to have my thyroid checked. (hypo runs in my family.) I thought I was having postpartum thyroiditis or something. TSH was .025 (0.45-4.50)… He said lets test again in 4 weeks. 4 weeks later it was:
TSH .009 (0.45-4.50)
FT4 was 1.96 (0.82-1.77)

I had an uptake test and some imaging done and they diagnosed graves.
3 days later on Nov. 30th I had RAI (15 mCi)

The week after RAI I literally felt like I was dying… I guess I was having a thyroid “dump” or something. I couldn’t even complete a thought. I had to go to the ER and was put on beta blockers (I now take 40mg propranolol 2x a day) Since then it’s been up and down up and down. 3 weeks after RAI my labs had improved, which gave me hope. I remember feeling OK that day.
TSH .013 (0.45-4.50)
FT4 2.91 (0.82-1.77)

I’m now 6 weeks post RAI. I had labs on Wednesday because, despite having felt not-to-bad for a while, I was feeling TERRIBLE. Like the walking dead. I wonder why!
TSH .005 (0.45-4.50)
FT4 5.66 (0.82-1.77)
So discouraging

I’ve been feeling better since then. The doctor said he would put me on ATDs if I want to, but would rather not. Like, it would mess my numbers all up and stuff. He said if I’m feeling really bad consistently he’s happy to start me on them, bur that I should be feeling better SOON and my numbers should start turning around over the next few months. I’ve been feeling OK for the most part, so I don’t know what to do. What do you guys think? Is it pointless to start when I’m “so close” to things changing to hypo?

Also: my eyes have been bugging me (dryness and sensitivity to light and stuff) since RAI. I went to an opthalmologist (who doesn’t “specialize” in graves, but seemed to know plenty about it and confident) just to have an exam to start keeping an eye on things (hehe…) He didnt’ see any signs of any graves problems and gave me eye drops, told me to wear my glasses more (I had been wearing the same contacts for… MONTHS) and to come back in a few weeks. By taking ATDs and leveling things out help with any eye-related issues?

This sucks! Taking care of a 7 month old and a 3 year old with all this going on has been CRAZY.

Thanks for any insight, help, or info!

Lindsay

[Kimberly]

#1176369

Hello and welcome! I’m so sorry you are dealing with all of this, especially with two little ones at home to take care of!

Keep in mind that RAI generally takes anywhere from 6-18 weeks to do its work, so please don’t get discouraged yet. We have a couple of members here who have been posting on their post-RAI progress for the last few weeks/months…it’s definitely a journey, rather than a quick fix!

It’s not all that unusual for patients to go back on Anti-thyroid drugs post-RAI until levels stabilize. This is a choice that you and your doctor will want to make, weighing the risks and the benefits. Hopefully, others who have had RAI will chime in here as well.

Take care!

[linzyyyy]

#1176370

Oh yeah, and I guess another thing I could have mentioned is that I’ve never taken antithyroid medication before.

Lindsay

[Kimberly]

#1176371

Hello – If you go to the “Treatment Options” thread at the top of this forum, there is a short article that does a nice job of explaining anti-thyroid drugs.

Basically, ATDs interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to use iodine to manufacture new thyroid hormone. They start working right away to block the production of *new* hormone, although it can take some time until your body burns off its existing stores until you really start to see some symptom relief.

Like all of our treatment options, anti-thyroid drugs have risks and benefits, so you definitely want to do a little research and make an informed choice!

[Khadijah]

#1176372

How are you feeling? The ATD can help pretty quick not like beta blockers but after a few days it’s possible to notice an improvement but since it’s just to get over the RAI dump I would normally try to wait it out but with too little ones I would most likely go for it! Please make sure you don’t deviate from the dosage your doctor gives you and let him know when you are feeling good as well as bad. Good luck!

[Bobbi]

#1176373

Certainly many folks have been put on the atds after RAI to help keep their levels normal while they’re waiting for the treatment to have its full effect. I do understand, though, why you think that would put another new wrinkle into your numbers, etc. I honestly don’t know what I would do in a situation like yours, with a baby, etc., but that doesn’t matter. What matters is what you think is best for you at this point. If you can find some quiet place in your mind, where you go over the pros and cons as you see them, you might be able to find your way to a decision.

I do hope you start feeling the full effects of the RAI soon. The waiting-for-hypo limbo is the pits, I know.

Hugs,

[linzyyyy]

#1176375

Thanks for the input everybody I decided to go ahead and suck it up and just push through the bad without ATDs. It seems like my last labs must have been one final big thyroid dump. Since then, I’ve started feeling exponentially better. I have normal energy levels, my strength is starting to come back and my heart rate is in the low 70s from the upper 90s/100s a few weeks ago and palpitations have been almost nonexistent… even after lowering my dosage of my propanolol about a week ago. I don’t want to jinx anything, but this is exciting! It feels good to be alive!

I have a doctors appt on Friday and I’m going to try to get labs done pretty often so I don’t end up going too hypo. Hopefully that whole “finding the sweet spot” of replacement hormone won’t be too much of a roller coaster.

Lindsay

[Bobbi]

#1176374

I’m very glad to hear that you are feeling better, linzyyyy.

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