[Anonymous]

#1020865

Just went back to the doctor who informed me that my blood sugar levels were elevated. Has any one else experienced this? They are running blood tests related to liver function.

[Anonymous]

#1078647

Hi Owen

My endo check my blood sugar level back in Feb because of some of the symp. I was describing to him. My levels were high and he diagnosis me with Type II Diabetes. Type II Diabetes is not an autoimmune disease so it has nothing to do with Graves Disease. I know that mine was caused by another problem that I had in the past and is no way connected with Graves Disease or anything related to it, meds, treatment, etc. Type I or Juvenile Diabetes is an autoimmune disease.

I don’t understand why your doctor is checking your liver because of your blood sugars. I can understand why he would be checking your liver but not if it is connected to your blood sugars.

Diane B On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1078648

Thanks for the answer. My brother has Type I diabetes — since the age of 3 or 4. Is it possible to have Type I later in life? I’m 50. The doctor reported that my cholesterol levels were high — 298 overall with LDL of 226. He wants to prescribe Lipitor. Are there any indications that that particular med doesn’t work well in conjunction with Graves? What would the results of liver function tests indicate?

[Anonymous]

#1078649

Hi Owen,

I do not believe that you can develope Type I later in life but double check with your doctor, or if you are going to attend a diabetes class ask there. High chosl and Type II diabetes goes hand in hand. Also they are finding many Graves Disease patients with High chosl. Lipitor, it I remember right is a little hard on your liver. He probably wants to make sure of your condition of your liver before staring you on this medicine. You may fine him monitoring your liver vaulues as you remain on the Lipitor. Most of our medicine if fitler through our liver, some can be very hard on it. These are questions you should be asking your doctor also since I’m not expect. Your pharmasist also would know.

I do understand what you are going through and how you are feeling. To have 2 life long diseases now can be hard to cope with. The diagnosis of Diabetes is a shock. Like Graves Disease you must take baby steps. I do have to say that compared to Graves Disease Diabetes is a piece of cake.

Has your doctor put you on any diabetes medicine as of yet? My medicine and just a very small change in my diet brought my blood sugars down to a normal level. I was very surprised at how different I felt. Here for many months I was blaming it Graves.

Diane B On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1078650

My latest blood test shows normal blood sugar levels so diabetes has been ruled out. Apparently the first test was good as it was not a “fasting” test. Since I am a veteran, I have been able to get assistance from the VA — free medical care because I have no income. Since diagnosed with Graves, I have not been able to work sufficient to provide income. Even now I find that if I spend a day or two working at what I used to do (home improvements), it takes me two or three days of bed rest to recover. I am SO TIRED. The VA doctor dropped my synthroid to 112 mcg and took another blood test this week to see what the levels are. My wife says I look and act hypo — the doctor thinks I’m hyper. IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE BOTH? All of this is so discouraging as it has now been over a year since diagnosis and first treatment with many months prior to diagnosis of horrible symptons. Trying to find medical help is difficult, especially with no insurance, and although I am grateful for the VA doctors, I wonder how familiar they are with my condition. Will this ever end or do some people never get back to normal? Should I be looking to file for disability?

[Anonymous]

#1078651

Hi Owen

That is great news that they decided to rule out Diabetes, you don’t need to have 2 chronic illiness. Did they do the A1C blood test on you? That will average your blood sugares for six months. That was the test they did on me to determine that I had Diabetes.

Your doctors are basing that fact that you are hyper on your blood work. Your wife is looking at you as to how you are acting and feeling. It is sometimes possible to have symptoms of both hyper and hypo. If you have books at home or some available to you, you should go down the list of symptoms of both. Check off what you are feeling and see which ones you have the most of. It is very possible when you are slightly hyper in your blood work, to still feel very miserable. The doctors are going by lab report normals, which don’t always follow along with on we are feeling. Especially, when the levels are at the low end.

As to working again, most people with Graves Disease are able to work and live a full life. Unfortunaly, they do not come to the web site and post to tell us that. As a result, by looking at our post the future can see very dim. Jake lives a very full live with all that he does, I do also with going to school and working part time. Bobbie and Ski do also, they are very busy people. We do still have our “days” though that we need a break, and we have learn to take it. For some of us this came very quickly after treatment. For others it took longer. I know I did work during the time of not feeling well. It wasn’t easy though.

There are some who have taken Disability because they are unable to work. I know it can take some time to go through the motions of getting accepted. If you feel that you need to do this then go ahead and peruse it.

You are very fortunate to have the VA working with you. I know they help out veterns very much. They did that for my Aunt who lost her eyesight and is a vetern. Their doctors can be just as capable as the others. What would help is if you educate yourself on your disease so you know to ask the correct questions, and be aggressive with your doctors and not allow them to brush you off. Make sure they understand what you are saying to them, and make sure you understand what they are saying to you. Do not just let them walk out the door until you are finished seeing them.

Diane On-Line Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1078652

No, Owen, it is not possible to be both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid at the same time. But it is possible for us to have symptoms that get “interpretted” as one or the other — or both. Keep in mind that symptoms are often subjective. And, unfortunately, with thyroid disease, some of those that are not (like fatigue) appear on both sides of the issue. When the body is racing with too much thyroid hormone all the time, there is a pervasive sense of fatigue. It is (or was, to me) different from the fatigue I felt while hypothyroid. When hypo, I got tired, but a sensible bit of exercise made me feel better. (Too much exercise, though, wiped me out, just like with hyper.) The only definitive way to determine if you are euthroid (normal levels of thyroid hormone) is with a blood test.

Once you get to normal, do not expect to “feel normal” right away, either. Abnormal levels of thyroid hormone, especially the abnormally high ones (hyperthyroid) are damaging to the body, and it takes time at stabilized levels of hormone for that damage to heal. Even minorly too high levels of thyroid hormone wipe us out, over time. What you should be seeing is “progress towards” feeling normal. The situation gets better, little by little.

Problems often occur when we expect too much of our bodies, too soon after treatment. We can be weak as kittens, and if we try to do everything and we do not pace ourselves, we can get terribly tired, and (of course) terribly discouraged. For example, one thing that hyperthyroidism does is cause us to lose muscle mass, especially in the large muscles of the arms and legs and chest. When we get back to normal levels of hormone for a while, that muscle starts to come back, little by little. But we have to restrengthen it to regain strength and stamina. When I regained normal levels of hormone and started to exercise again, I was evaluated by an exercise physiologist at a the hospital’s health club. He determined that my strength was approximately 8% of that of a normal woman my age. Eight percent!!! So, you can imagine how I would have felt if I had a job like yours, and was trying to work a full day. That may be the situation in which you find yourself. Obviously, you need to work. But it may help just knowing that your strength and stamina issues are probably to be expected right now, rather than aberrant.

I know this is a hard time. Just try to keep focussed on “improvement” if you can. Try to remember the horrid days of being hyperthyroid with no diagnosis. If you can bring that period back into memory, you should feel a bit encouraged right now. At least I hope you will.

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1078653

It’s been a few days — Happy Holidays! My wife says that I am acting very much as I did when I was hyper — short tempered, aggressive, irrational — beginning to eat more and more — fatigued — and she says my face doesn’t look right. I had another blood test taken 12/7/05, but I don’t have the results. The VA has an endo available about an hour away — should I make an appointment? Would it be unreasonable to “start from scratch?” I desperately need to get to the bottom of this. Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

#1078654

You should have the results from that blood test — it’s been way too long for them to be floating out there without you knowing what’s what. Nag, if you must, to get someone to talk to you about them..

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1078655

Hi,
I’ve been off PTU now for a couple of months. A while ago, when I started to go hypo, my level was 0.4. My endo says they don’t test for the other levels unless theres something wrong with that first one. Now I’m on 0.45 and he says I’m fine, but it doesn’t seem much of a big step up from before. Does that seem strange? I’m feeling a bit funny so I’m going to see how I go for the next few days and if I’m still feeling like this get myself a blood test. I don’t think I can get a second opinion as its through the NHS and it took me ages to get this doctor.

Danianni

[Anonymous]

#1078656

One time when I was confused about my blood test results, it was because I had inadvertantly transposed a decimal point when I looked at the results. 0.4 and 0.045, or something similar, looked almost the same to me. Could you have done this, too?

We cannot interpret your lab results here — we don’t have the expertise. So, if you are concerned, you do need to talk with your doctor again — or another doctor.

Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

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