[ibminlou2]

#1060136

As a new poster, I thought I would share my interesting roller coaster I call my last year as Hyperthyroidism took over my life. Last June, I suffered from multiple sore throats. I thought nothing of it, as I working in a medical facility and am exposed to all kinds of ailments. Soon after,my normal kickboxing workouts would leave my muscles sore for 3-4 days. This too, was not terribly alarming. It finally hit me when the person I was seeing at the time had said he never had seen a person lose as much hair as I was at the time. Yes, I went home angry.
Cleaning my house, I realized that he was right. There was more of my hair on my floors than my dog. Yes, I have a huge dog (German Sheperd) that sheds like crazy. I went to my GP and demanded the typical thyroid tests (TSH, Free T4, Free T3). She ordered those, and a few others. Of course, they came back quite Hyperthyroid. I got an ultrasound and uptake and scan of the thyroid, and went to an endocrinologist. Immediately, I was given Methimazole (10mg/daily) and directions to alter my dosage after 3 weeks. I also was sent for biopsies of the 3 most significant nodules on my thyroid. Lucky me, my thyroid is covered in nodules.

At the time of the biopsies, my thyroid was EXTREMELY inflamed. During the procedure, the physician also drained a cyst on my thyroid. I am usually an excellent patient, but I faltered that time, and would never wish this upon an enemy. With no cancerous cell indications, I continued on with my Methimazole routine. My symptoms of hair loss, extremely fatigue, racing pulse, anxiety, shaking hands, and awful headaches continued, and continue to this day. That endo pretty much left me taking the pill and checked on me once. I had zero relief of symptoms when we spoke, and my labs were “normal” the one time he saw me. Fortunately, I decided that I needed a second opinion. I found another endocrinologist, and armed with all my information, we spoke at length. He agreed with me,that in my year of Methimazole, we never truly gained control of that thyroid. After the first endo left me to fend for myself, I became a student and realized that it really wasn’t safe to stay as an uncontrolled Hyper. Also, the Methimazole had some nasty, but rare side effects I wanted no part off.

Long story short, I spoke to a surgeon and am 9 days from my TT. I never received a Graves diagnosis, so I have no idea if my journey sounds similar to any one else’s. My decision to opt for the TT came from the fact that I was not a suitable candidate for RAI (hot and cold areas covering the gland), and that I did not want to be biopsied every year.

My goal is to be back to work 1 week, post TT, though from the posts I have read from the rest of the community, that may be quite ambitious and unrealistic. I don’t know what to expect from this procedure or what the road will look like post TT.

I would appreciate any feedback you all can offer.

Thanks for reading!

[Kimberly]

#1180677

Hello and welcome! I do think that the one-week time frame to return to work is *very* ambitious. I haven’t had a TT (still on Methimazole), but I think that if you have any way to build some extra slack into your schedule, I really think this will be helpful for you. I’m sure others who have been the TT route (we have a LOT of them lately!) will jump in with their experience as well. Take care!

[ibminlou2]

#1180678

Thank you Kimberly!!! I am always painfully optimistic. As the TT date approaches, my already present anxiety is amping up.

I will write about the adventure post TT for the rest of our forum, so we can compare our journeys.

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