Ok, my reflections on the conference: What a wonderful experience! I would highly recommend that anyone having the chance to go next year…don’t hesitate, just do it! It was an opportunity to learn, share, laugh, and cry with others experiencing different stages of this bizarre little disease called Graves’! I must confess though, that I didn’t take as good notes as I should have. Shame on me for that! I guess I was too wrapped up in what the speakers were saying (and I knew there wasn’t going to be a test at the end! LOL)
A couple of things stand out in my mind:
*once you have experienced atrial fibrillation, you are at a higher risk for it happening again
*everyone has a different “optimal” TSH and T4 number combination–what “feels best” for you might not be quite right for someone else
*calcium is the fuel for the heart
*the difference between a good day and a bad day is attitude
*20% may develop eye disease before onset of “hyper phase”
40% may develop eye disease simultaneously with “hyper phase”
20% may develop eye disease after onset of “hyper phase”
While the “technical stuff” was informative, the most important part for me was the ability to interact with the others in attendance. Hearing the common threads of everyone’s stories really makes you realize you are not alone in this disease! Hopefully, this next sentence will be taken in the positive manner in which I intend it to be: The people at this conference were the healthiest group of sick people I have ever met! Everyone there seemed genuinely interested in learning more about the disease: what it is, how it affects us (and those around us), and how we can become better, more informed patients.
Oh yes, my regret. I regret leaving the bananas on the kitchen counter instead of taking them with me as I had intended! Ewwwwwwww.
Cindy
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