Anonymous
    Post count: 93172

    Karen,
    Thanks for the info. My friend is moving to Florida to reduce the stress
    in her life. She feels that escaping the winter here and spending more time
    in the sun and swimming in the ocean will help her health. She is also
    very diet aware and is taking vitamins and herbs that are supposed to help
    the immune system.
    She is not following the doctor’s advice to take the radioactive iodine
    because she feels that the root problem may be something else, something that
    first showed up as lymph node swelling and became grave’s disease later on.
    This root problem is what she is seeking diagnosis/treatment for, but her
    doctors can’t seem to figure out any connection and have no answers to her
    lymph node questions.
    She also does not have all the symptoms, such as swelling eyes. She does
    suffer from a protruding neck somewhat, due to the swelling of the thyroid.
    She also has had periods of racing heartbeats and large appetite with no
    weight gain. These 2 symptoms seem to have subsided somewhat.
    She is looking for information about any connection between graves, lymph
    problems, and cortisone treatments. She had long periods of cortisone
    treatments for skin problems in the past, and is wondering if these treatments
    my be part of the root problem.
    I am wondering about the long term prognosis of a person with this type of
    thyroid problem that does not undergo thyroid surgery or radioactive iodine
    treatment. Has anyone recovered from this without becoming hypothyroid and
    needing thyroid supplements for the rest of their lives? Any information
    will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
    -Rob