[indigo November 11, 2008 at 3:12 am Post count: 5]

#1019987

I guess I want to formally introduce myself. I am Tracey, wife and mother of 2 beautiful boys, one who was born with a congenital hypothyroidism. Weird thing actually, one in every 3,500 babies have it and it is more common in girls than in boys. He is essentially normal but of corse he is supplemented with synthroid and we have the lovely pleasure of taking a 3 yr. old every 6 weeks or so to get his blood drawn.
I have had swollen glands in my neck for about a year now that bug the heck out of me. Last December I had a CT done this fall an ultrasound done and then last week the thyroid uptake. I have some classic symptoms but some not so classic. I have heart palpatations, blurry/double vision, my anxiety (which I have always had) is through the roof right now, and I never sleep. My biggest symptom is that I constantly feel flu-ish and am really irritable. Like I posted before, my TSH has been normal but tomorrow I am being tested for my T3, T4, and my antibodies. I am super stressed out (on top of being a mom I am a student and I work part time). I read in another post that stress aggrivates Graves (by the way, I am not a very good speller). My life is busy and stressful. I am wondering if someone could shed some light about stress and Graves.
Also, I have been dealing with throat tightness, soreness, and difficulty swallowing. I have only been diagnosed on Saturday. Is this normal? I have no visible goiter, just the swollen gland that I have had for a year. Is this normal? It is making me even more anxious.
I read in a post about the Complete Thyroid book and hopefully will be picking it up soon. Not only for me but for my little one as well. I am to call the endo on Wed. to set up an appointment but I have so many question now. I feel kind of sad.
Thank you for listening,
Tracey

[Bobbi November 11, 2008 at 7:40 am Post count: 1324]

#1075466

Hi, Tracey:

I do not know the answer to all of your questions, but I can try to shine a bit of light on the one about stress. Stress is known to cause illness in everyone. It does not matter if it is good stress (like having a baby) or bad stress (losing a loved one) or job stress or whatever. Stress puts the body under siege and we often get ill — colds, flus etc. come much more easily to us in times of stress.

It has been suggested (as a working hypothesis) that "major life stress" can be a trigger for Graves. Many of us can point to a specific major stress issue in our lives right before we became symptomatic. For example, I first became aware of symptoms as we were rebuilding our house after Hurricane Andrew. But, not all of us. So, it’s not necessarily a "cause" (there probably has to be a genetic predisposition), but it may be a catalyst for the active phase of the disease.

Now a caution: When some people hear that stress is a contributing factor to the development of Graves (or other diseases), they start beating themselves up, thinking/saying things like "I should have handled the stress better….." or words to that effect. Don’t go there. You did not do this to yourself. Everybody goes through stressful situations — all the time. Fretting about not feeling stress when you are in a situation where it is perfectly normal to be stressed only puts you under MORE stress. It is, sometimes, possible to take better care of yourself during times of stressful times. For example, we’re heading into the holidays which is a good example of "good" stress for most of us. But, when you are ill to begin with, it pays to prioritize, conserve energy as much as possible, and work out ways (in advance) to ENJOY the holidays not wear yourself out. We can make sure to get some exercise (which relieves stresses), get more sleep, etc. But we cannot, ever, avoid stress altogether. And sometimes, as in the illness or death of a loved one, we simply have to go through the awful time rather full of stress.

So, take a deep breath, and try to not to fret too much about what you still do not know. If your doctor does confirm the Graves diagnosis, know that it can be a hugely positive thing. Graves is very treatable.

I do hope you are feeling better soon,
Bobbi – Online Facilitator

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