[KNEENAH]

#1058845

I am lost in my own emotions cuz I am desperate to feel Better, its to the point where i am starting to believe my symptoms arent related to my thyroids. I was diagnosed with graves 4yrs ago i stopped talking tapozole on my own because i was young and immature. I work for a doctors office to thankfully at least i checked my tsh once in a while and were normal. Until resently i started to feel a little not like myself. I started to get weird body aches i went to a GP and she said ur getting older we all have aches and pains. Mind u i am only 29. Then i started to take vitamin D pills cuz my last blood work showed low Vit D then little by little things started to happen i would hold something for too long and my shoulders would hurt as if i was lifting weights for 3 hours. then my left eye felt werid. I ended up going to a Endo which i came to found out specializes more in Diabetics then thyroids. She did some blood work and dismissed me with hasi bcuz my tsh was normal my t3 and t4 were normal but my tpo were high 234 normal below 30 . My questions and symptoms went ignored. i went to see another endo which seems more concerned BUT he is also a GP and does specialize in thyroids either thats who i am seeing now until feb 23rd when i can see my original endo that diagnosed me the first time in 2007. This endo did some labs at a different lab and my tsh is normal t3 is normal but tpo is abnormal, total t4 elevated and t4 index elevated.. I complained about my muscle pain he said it could be fibromyalgia, i freaked out then he sort of took back what he said and said WeLLLLL you dont really have the classic trigger points like fibro. I dont get why he would mention that anyway then. So he looked at my uptake and was pleased with the results and said well everything looks good. i was a bit disappointed because i didnt want graves but then i wanted it because at least i knew why i was feeling to disconnected and i knew graves can be treatable as long as u have a good team of drs. He then continued with saying girl u dont want to have graves its horrible it can harm ur heart ur eye blah blah blah but in my head i am thinking so what is it that i have.. So before i left i said so what do u think it is. He said well u do have graves and put me on PTU which i have been on for 12days and i feel maybe 5% better then i did in dec when i first started to feel yucky.

My question is what are the real levels to look for. I took my blood 1wk after taking the meds and my tsh went from 0.78 to 1.34 so at least thats helping and my tpo went from 234 to 178 which is also a big improvement in only a few days.

I dont know what else to think. this muscle pain sucks i am always getting muscle spams. (i am going to try taking a banana and orange aday to see if that helps) I am so hypochondriac its taking over my life. I had people over for the super bowl and i had a panic attack that i locked myself in my bedroom for a few hrs then came out to join them. I was a little shaky at first but then i calm down and enjoyed the night. My sister sick a few months ago and i had reallllllllyyyy bad anxiety so my Gp gave me a few Xanax Pills i feel those really relax me and let me sleep well but i also know they are addicting and i dont want that i just want answers. I hate isolating myself.

I went to see a Eye doctor about my weird feeling in my left eye but all he said was it was dry it i put drops but no improvement. Any test i should suggest him to dry?

another i have already lost 12 pounds i think from stress :0(

Thanks you guys soooo happy i found this site..

Nina

[snelsen]

#1170370

I am not a doctor, not prescribing! BUT , historically quinine was used very successfully for muscle cramps. It is another of those meds, which was a malaria med, and the side effect of helping muscle cramps was noted.
However, this is discouraged in today’s world.
My solution? I buy tonic water (which has quinine in it) the same tonic that goes in a gin and tonic. It really helps me from occassional muscle cramps.

Re eyes? Try to get an appt with a neuro opthalmologist for a good baseline work up for your eyes. They are the best. I have found the best eye drops (for me) are Soothe by Bauche and Lomb. Kinda hard for your regular eye doc to help you with weird feeling in your left eye. But it is wise to have a baseline good eye exam, which is helpful in the future if you have further eye changes. MANY people with Graves’ have a few eye changes, then they go away.
Stay on your antithyroid drug. For sure. It is intended to move you from a hyperthyroid state to a euthyroid (normal) state with your thyroid hormone. Your doc will probably want labs pretty regularly during this time.

You are correct, Xanax is very easily addictive. Use it judiciously. I imagine when you are less hyper, all things about your world will seem calmer, and will be easier for you to take a look at what your options are. Graves’ i snot something we want, but it is something we have. it is manageable, treatable, and you will get there, too. You have probably lost 12 lbs, cause you are hyperthyroid. Stress is stress, and some people gain weight with stress, others lose it. But you have the underlying aspect of untreated (until very recently) graves’.

the labs that matter the most, are TSH T3 and T4, along with how you feel.
the antibodies generally do not determine treatment, they confirm that you have an autoimmune disease.

Might be helpful for you to read about Graves’, the active, or hot phase, then the inactive or cold phase.
Shirley

[KNEENAH]

#1170372

Thanks Snelen, I didnt know a nuero otho existed. I am excited to see one now cuz i am really looking for answers. I will definitely try that tonic water anything to help with my muscle cramps i would also try.

I lost my dad Nov 14th 2011 to untreated thyroids lord knows how bad i want to get this under control. He was a typical man old school man, didnt want to know anything about the doctors he was fairly a healthy person. Until he fell into a deep depression and eventually dementia. He lasted 8yrs in nursing home something i would regret for a long time but we all have mad bad choices in life :0( being untreated for so long eventually gave him Alzheimer’s. I am unclear wether he had hyper or hypo bcuz when he got sick i kind of disappeared because his dementia was already really bad and i couldnt handle it (shelfish i know) but my fear is to end up like that 8 years in a bed over something that could have been avoided. I get my thyroids from his him. All my aunts and uncles on his side of the family all over the disease. thyroids is a horrible diseace wether hypo or hyper esp of not treated i say it first hand. Sorry i went off the topic of my original post i kind of got caught up.

I will not stop my meds this time around. I am older and wiser and also eventually want to have a little mini me so my body has to be healthy and strong for that as well. Ill look into that tonic water to see if it also works wonders on me :0)

nina

[snelsen]

#1170373

Hi, I know you realize I suggested a neuro opthalmologist (not neuro ortho, which is bone stuff.
I am sorry for the loss of your dad. I suggest you consider that his illness and dementia were unrelated to a thyroid disorder. If you do believe they are related, I suggest you have this conversation with a well informed health professional with whom you have a relationship. Certainly losing a parent is very stressful.

Having Graves’ is not that uncommon. A lot of folks have it. It is like a lot of other stuff. When you have a runny nose, you blow your nose. when you break a bone, you have a cast and it gets better. When you have Graves’, you treat it, and take the steps to be well again. It is easy to be impatient about it, for when we are hyPER we are impatient about everything!

Graves’ is treatable, even if it a lifetime thing we have, and you have to take it step by step. You have the right idea to move forward, have a good endo **take your meds, be a good reporter to your doctor. As you have your
meds, you will feel better, and life will look much brighter to you.

I am glad you have a future appt. with the orginal endo. Start out again, get treated, be well and stick with this forum. It is reliable, not sensational, and lots of good folks are here to walk through each step with you. We are fellow patients, not doctors, but there is a place for both in our lives!
Shirley

[KNEENAH]

#1170374

My dad health story does sound weird. I never really asked alot of questions because of my own hypocondriac dont want to start putting more things on my plate. I did some labs yesterday let me share them with you..

THYROXINE (T4) 13.0 HI normal (4.5-12.0) lab 1/6/12 12.0

UPTAKE (T3) 34.4 normal (24.3-39.0) 1/6/12 30.4

FREE(T4) 1.74HI normal (0.83-1.62) 1/6/12 1.44

INDEX(T4) 4.5HI normal (1.5-3. 1/6/12 3.6

TOTAL (T3) 129 normal (80-200) 1/6 115

FREE(T3) 3.7 normal (2.5-4.3) 1/6 3.1

TPO 236 HI normal (<35)_ 1/6 193 HI

12/30 not on meds

1/6 10th day on meds

As u can see my body was slowly creeping out of remission. thank god this dr caught it in time. I cant wait to see my original Endo cuz he can really explain what happen there.. I think i should have a TSI cked. Is TSI the anitbody test for graves>?

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