-
Diane – You raise good points. As one with osteoporosis and vitamin D deficiency (now being treated) that predated my Graves – I follow some of the new research on vitamin D. Some of it suggests that vitamin D may play a role in preventing cancer – and as an adjunct cancer treatment. I believe I read that when we are hyper, we have a lowering of vit D by 40% (I don’t remember which book but that # stuck out for me).
There are some studies that point to vit D as preventative against cancer – though at this point we do not know this for sure. It will be interesting to follow and see what we learn. As you stated so well, it takes many well designed studies replicated over time and different populations to really get a handle on what impacts what.
I would only add that RAI is very specific for Thyroid tissue and is not absorbed much (if at all) by other tissues. (My mom died of stomach cancer 2 years post RAI – but it was 50 years of smoking and over-use of alcohol for many years that we (the researchers) believe is the set-up for that gene to manifest. I would guess mom had pre-cancer going before she ever had the thyroid issues – I don’t know if RAI would impact a precancer but I guess it might be possible. To think one dose of something that has less iodine than a glass of milk would cause the same harm as years of alcohol and tobacco abuse seems far fetched. Now if we took RAI everyday for 20 years, my guess is the outcomes would not be so good
” title=”Smile” /> Cathy"sabinaa":1u8fzpsw wrote:Ski, Dianne – thank you for your responses – I do follow them with great interest. They are however, no different from what I have already heard over and over again from the many "western" doctors that I have seen. You add nothing new to the science of Grave’s. So please allow me to respectfully disagree with both of you on a few things.For one, Grave’s to this day is not fully understood, and I think we can all agree on that. So, how do you suppose doctors can successfully treat a Grave’s patient if the cause is unknown? Again, the treatment that doctors in the old days came up with only focused on treating the symptoms – not the disease. And those treatments are apparently still a preferable option for many doctors in the US today. Despite the fact that there are many cases out there where people have gotten Grave’s under control without destroying their thyroid. I am not a unique case! One lady even "sells" her cure online, even though it is founded on the same principles that I promote here for free. My principles are not based on diet and alternative treatments alone. They are founded on the idea that you can work on being in tune with your body, and restore your immune system by riding out the disease without destroying your thyroid.
As German native, I have extensively researched treatment approaches in Europe and found that the use of RAI is a last resort only for patients with extreme cases of Grave’s. The most common treatment in Germany is in fact medication alone. And there are many cases where Germans chose to only take beta blockers and simple let the disease take its course until it goes into remission on its own – which seems to happen frequently for those people who learn to adjust to a healthier living.
As to the eye problems, they may never go away, even if you do the RAI or surgery! The eye problems are a result of your auto immune disorder – not your thyroid! That is a fact. If the eye problems disappear after some years, it only shows that the disease took its course and now goes into remission. It means you didn’t have to destroy your thyroid to get there! In most cases, your immune system will eventually start to balance itself, if you provide your body with some loving caring attention. Be good to your self! So instead of running to destroy your thyroid, give yourself some time, use whatever minimal meds get you by, and work on healing yourself!
You seem to somewhat believe that I promote an unproven alternative treatment plan that is statistically speaking ineffective. My cure of Grave’s isn’t due to a specific diet! What I am saying is that you should avoid destroying your thryroid at all costs possible! The more invasive your treatment, the more long term your imbalance of your immune system! That is what I am saying. And my current "western" physician will only attest to that. At last, I found a doctor who recognizes the importance of the mind going hand in hand with your body.
I overcame Grave’s because of a combination of factors. For one, I never believed in taking meds for every little illness and bug to begin with. I have always been in tune with what goes on inside of me. I let my body fight the bugs and my body becomes stronger because of it. Unless I am faced with a real life threatening condition, I will not put myself through unnecessary treatments that will only weaken my body in the long run. And the many HIV infected people out there who live with the disease without an outbreak for many years will attest to the fact that your own body will be your biggest protector – if you treat it right!
So, my cure in essence begins with an inner belief that I have to give my body the rest, sanctity, nutrients and time it needs. When I was diagnosed with Grave’s, I was horrified because I never thought I would have to face anything like that. But once I started to learn, research and come to terms with it all, I became determined to heal myself.
True, herbal and natural remedies will not stop an overactive thyroid. And I did have to take beta blockers, or else I would have probably died. I took a minimal dose though, of 20 mg may be once or twice a day. Eventually, I decided to take some small amount of PTU because I started to literally waste away. Since I am sensitive, since I never took meds in my life, I wanted to get a "feel" for these pills first, so I started with one daily – even though I was supposed to take six!
My point here is not what I specially did or didn’t do to cure myself, but rather that everyone has the ability to get a "feel" for their body and that will help you boost yourself back to normal. This will be different for everyone. Do whatever you have to do to minimally go though Grave’s, and I believe that over time (2-5 years), the disease will remiss, your eyes will normalize, and you can then start to rebuild a strong immune system by getting the medication toxins out of your body and begin a life style that will soothe you.
As a woman in her 40s, I was diagnosed with Grave’s in 2004. Several docs told me I would have to deal with this for the rest of my life. But today, I enjoy a life without meds, and with a thryroid that is intakt. And that is a fact! I have nothing to gain from sharing my experience, and I don’t care whether people out here believe me or not. But the fact is that I am healed, my eyes are pretty much back to normal, and my doctor is absolutely certain that thyroid problems will not be part of my future. But what is even more important is that I myself feel and know that my thyroid will be fine. Why? Because I addressed my auto immune dysfunction. And not a single day goes by that I don’t do something nice now for my body. I avoid stress, I relax more, I eat right and I keep toxins out of my life as much as I can, all while appreciating every single day of my life.
” title=”Wink” />[/quote:1u8fzpsw]
You rock Sabina. Im planning to do the same thing Im taking PTU now, my Endo prescribe me RAI but I insisted on PTU b/c I was allrgc to methimazole. So far my Endo prescribe me PTU 4 pills, Im only taking 2 pills. I feel alright. I was diagnosed GD last Sept 08 but I really dont feel bad except for my 120 heart beat/min. Which subside in a long run, by taking it easy. I cant take BB b/c it aggrevate my asthma attack.
Im very thankful for this FORUM. It enlightens me!!!NOTE: I would like to say that what I say here is for the original poster and I am not getting into any conversations regarding "natural methods". I have been in remission for a long time and I only needed low doses of PTU. Anyone that only needs low doses and can stay in remission while on the PTU or off of it is a very lucky person and we do not know what anyone else is going through beyond what we have gone through. It is not up to us to say Western Medicine is better than "natural" unless we have an M.D. at the ending of our name we should not take the responsibility of someone else’s life in our hands. I am a firm believer that just because it worked for one person or even a dozen people that it doesn’t mean the next person will be that lucky. If someone is on medication please do not take it upon yourself to change your dose without your dr knowing it. Thyroid Storm is very real and can cause death so if you take yourself off of your medicine due to anyone saying oh this worked for me you should try it, you are putting your life and your recovery in jeopardy. I am not a moderator here nor am I an online facilitator and I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night
” title=”Very Happy” /> ” title=”Very Happy” /> I am only saying this because I was one of the lucky ones and I took my medicine and became healthier with what I ate. But had I not taken medicine to bring my levels to where they should be my heart rate would have gotten faster and blood pressure higher and I would have wound up being a mother that left her babies behind because I felt that it would go away on it’s own.Graves’ Disease IS AN Autoimmune Disease, it runs in families and the genes can be passed from one generation to the next and even several people in one generation (My Maternal Uncle, his daughter and myself all have Graves’ disease). There is NO cure for Graves’ disease so saying someone is cured is a wrong statement in my opinion. Being in remission the rest of your life is a better statement because being cured means that you will never get it again which is untrue with Graves’ disease. Just like many other things Graves’ is incurable unless we have found a way to go into our genetic make up and take the genes out that cause it. Please note that with both women and men that have this disease even if you say you are cured that your children or other family members like grand children can get it. So call it what you wish but remember when someone asks you if you ever had a disease please tell them and don’t be like my family and say no no one ever has had it and then find out that many of them do. You can be in remission the rest of your life which would be awesome but know that you can come out of it at any time and be prepared to do what you have to to kick it’s butt all over again.
This is not a note to say that anyone is wrong or right, this is coming from a woman that had it lucky and I am still in remission, I have dosed myself with out an Endocrinologist’s knowledge due to a poor Dr. that thought I would be bullied by him, but my general dr. knew what I was doing and she was ok with it. Dr’s aren’t perfect and we are still learning about things, what we knew 20 years ago is different now because we learned from all the things in the last 20 years. Kids didn’t wear helmets and some got hurt and some were killed from wearing them and some walked away laughing because "it’s just a bicycle and I fell". We know now that helmets do help and people say well I survived riding a bike when I was a kid. But we have to think to ourselves we weren’t the ones that died so how could we know. Antibiotics we learned a lot about, we learned that taking them for a virus does nothing. It doesn’t mean we were dr’s were wrong and they are stupid. It means we learned something about how a virus works and how antibiotics work and the end result is something other than what we thought.
It’s ok to believe in what we want to believe in, having an open mind is great but I see that others are following that they will get off of their meds as well or lower their dose as well is just a problem waiting to happen. TELL Your Dr. what you are doing Please, your life and recovery depends on it.
Just to say that I was asked to have RAI as well and chose not to but again I was lucky and had mild graves at the time, the medicine worked for me and I would gladly take it again when ever I go out of remission.[b:3ccl9nih]The whole purpose of the original posters post was that she was getting sick a lot and wanted to know other ways.
What I would have suggested had I seen it sooner and will suggest now is that cleanliness is best.Here is what I did to help my family overcome the cold bugs that were running rampid in my house for 6 months a couple of years ago and I stick with it and it helps.
EVERYONE that enters the house must wash their hands. YES I said everyone and I mean everyone. Guests are included in this and children especially. Put a bar or liquid soap in the bathroom and make sure they wash. Tell them why you are doing it, they will be more willing to do it if they understand that you have been sick and have a disease that you have to watch your immune system.
I told kids to wash their hands to the tune of the alphebet two times.
I made people take off their shoes and place them by the door before entering into the rest of the house.(this helped keep dirt/dust and animal feces out of the house as well)
Anyone who had a cold or has one was not aloud into the home and if someone in the house had a cold that meant no guests over. NO exceptions.
I opened the windows one day and just cleaned the house from top to bottom, wood floors with vinegar and water and the rest of the house with soapy water and a bleach solution (a little less than disinfectant strength due to everyone was already coughing and didn’t want to upset the esophagus more).
Top to bottom also meant cleaning the toilet handles,rims,floor, bathroom sink handles and soap dispenser as well.
All doorknobs and light switches even the ones you think little ones can’t reach.
The doors themselves because not everyone uses the doorknob and all those germs are on it.
TV remote, and all accessories like DVD and playstation/Xbox and also the actual switch to turn the TV off without using the remote, someone that had a cold could have actually used it and those germs are on there. We don’t think of a lot of places like that that things could be lingering but they do. icky!!
Washing your hands every time you come home from the grocery store or anywhere will help a lot. and having everyone in the family do the same will too.
Taking all toothbrushes and putting them into mouth wash for 30 minutes helps disinfect them as well and saves you money on buying new ones. Do it now and then after the cold is gone as well. Keeps the brushes from getting moldy and from getting bacteria/listeria on them.
I have a lot of bathrooms and a lot of kids so in each bathroom i have soap dispenser and towels, toothbrushes and paste and mouth wash. I keep Lysol wipes in the bathrooms as well high up on a shelf(10 ft high due to toddlers) hidden so I can quickly swipe a bathroom clean when I go up there. Vinegar or ammonia in the toilets daily during a cold will help as well.
And make sure when you use the toilet to flush with the lid down so germs don’t swish up from the flushing of the toilet and end up on the floor.
Take your vitamins as long as the dr says that is ok and keep up on drinking water and stretching(per dr’s ok).
Keep your fingers out of your mouth and don’t wipe your mouth on your sleeve as germs can linger. not saying anyone is a slob but hey we all have done it and we might still do it so being aware that we do it might help to stop it so during a cold we dont put those germs everywhere” title=”Wink” />
Being sick is never fun and after I had a house full of sick kids and being sick myself for 6months I figured that enough was enough and started making sure that I figured out ways of keeping the illness away or at least to a minimum.
We can’t help it when someone we know comes up to us knowing they have a cold and shakes our hand, I wash my hands a lot and use liquid gel sanitizer when out with people because my trigger for Graves coming out of remission is getting sick so I am extra careful. Although I have gotten sick in the last two years my immune system is strong enough that I have not come out of remission.[/b:3ccl9nih]Good luck with your treatment and remember baby steps and if something is working for you keep it up.
Cathy — thanks so much. I’m making a trip to the drugstore tonight, so I’ll do my research before then and see what I can come up with. This is a helpful place to start.
” title=”Smile” />
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.