[Dee October 2, 2018 at 7:33 pm Post count: 1]

#1060930

Good afternoon everyone, greetings from Brisbane, Australia. I so wish I had found this forum sooner in my Graves journey. Alas.
My disease is being managed with Carbamazole (which would be the Aussie equivalent of the methasomething referred to in the posts). Levels are improving, near or within normal, but still on 10mg per day. I managed to drop down to 5mg, but due to stressors and a surgery, progress did not hold.
I am still struggling with panic and anxiety. I was offered SSRIs in the beginning of the journey, but opted to not pursue at the time. I don’t know if that was the right choice. I am a counsellor, so thought I could perhaps use my toolkit, I added trauma counselling sessions, I added yoga, I changed jobs (remove stress), I removed toxic people (for lack of a better description) and am now trying the AutoImmune Diet (anyone with feedback on this?). But after 20 months, I am exhausted with the constant managing of the anxiety and the panic that seeps through despite my best efforts, knowledge and skill.
Finally the questions: 1) anyone still have anxiety-related debilitating symptoms even when levels are recovering/ recovered? 2) Anyone opt for SSRIs this late in the game with good results? I would appreciate any advice – my GP is wonderful, but because I look and speak well, I think I appear better than I feel. My endo is wonderful but again, with things improving, I don’t make a compelling case.

[Liz1967 October 3, 2018 at 2:31 pm Post count: 305]

#1185473

I admit I am totally biased in favor of total thyroidectomy. I was miserable the six months I was on methimazole, not the least of which was the anxiety caused by the frequent blood tests and never knowing if and when the diseased thyroid was suddenly going to chug out more hormone or less hormone. That all changed within a couple of weeks of thyroidectomy. It has been five years and I have felt normal from the beginning. I do not even think about what my TSH may be doing! Labs are on average every nine months or so, whenever I get labs for other things, like cholesterol mainly. Other people seem to cope well with antithyroid medication, but for me, I was glad to put the whole thyroid regulation drama behind me. You are doing the right things, but in my case at least, nothing worked except removing the diseased organ.

[barbra October 4, 2018 at 8:53 am Post count: 160]

#1185474

Hi Dee,

I just wanted to say that I agree with Liz. I was diagnosed in 2013, had RA and struggled to find the right dose of Synthroid. In the meantime I developed 2 fairly large nodules, which started to interfere with breathing and sleeping. In August of last year I finally had a total thyroidectomy and I am happy.
It’s only my personal story. Everyone is different and what is right for one may not be right for someone else.
I wish you the very best, hope that you can feel better soon.
Don’t give up, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Hugs.
Barbra.

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator October 4, 2018 at 5:15 pm Post count: 4288]

#1185475

Hello – This video from our 2012 conference in San Diego might be of interest. Sometimes symptoms of anxiety will disappear as levels stabilize, but in other cases, there is an additional underlying condition that could benefit from treatment.

[emmtee October 5, 2018 at 6:57 pm Post count: 148]

#1185476

I was diagnosed about seven years ago and was on methimazole for four years. It took me about a year to find the right dose, but after that I did quite well on it, other than the fact that my TSH remained suppressed even when my T4 and T3 were normal. I was considered euthyroid. My biggest complaint was that I had fatigue that never went away.

After four years, we discovered that I’d developed a rather large nodule and I required a thyroidectomy. I was fortunate to have an excellent surgeon and the procedure went well with no complications (and most importantly, no cancer!) Afterward, it took some doing to find my dose of levothyroxine. In the beginning, I was hyper in all the tests, but we lowered my dose and then it was just my TSH that was suppressed again. This time, my endo said that, without my thyroid, I was considered hyper. We kept lowering my dose, and it was 2 1/2 years before I finally got a normal TSH. During this entire journey, I continued having the same fatigue that I’d had on the methimazole.

I have other health issues as well, including chronic migraines, and about this time last year I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt good. I wasn’t looking forward to the holidays (dreading them, actually). My mom was planning on taking me on a trip to Europe with her this year and I didn’t even want to go. So I talked to my endo and she had me make an appointment with my GP. He prescribed lexapro for me because I had used it successfully in the past.

When I first started taking it, there were a few days when I was so tired I could barely get out of bed, but after that I worked great. I feel so much better now. I’ve had some challenges this year, and I don’t know how I would have gotten through them without the help of my lexapro. I just got home from my vacation a month ago and had an amazing time.

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