[Harpy]

#1175507

Regarding doctors appointments, prepare your self with all your records and approach the process professionally, try to place yourself in the mindset of a project management team, your health is the project and you are the project manager and your doctor is a team member, so you will be looking to establish milestones and a set of actions to achieve your goals.
If possible avoid taking children to appointments as you will need to focus all your attention in the meeting.
In addition to that if you can get someone else to come to appointments with you, preferably someone that may have some knowledge of your background as it can be difficult to absorb all the info that transpires. There is also strategy here, having a 2IC in the meeting will help shift the power balance in your favour, with a one on one situation the medical practitioner will automatically assume authority, but if you have two on one, the power balance will shift more in your favour, this will minimise the tendancy to be bullied into rash decisions.

Just to reitterate there are four tests required for GD thyroid management
Free T3
Free T4
TSH
TSH receptor antibodies

The first two are required by any doctor to make an informed decision regarding ATD dosing, T4 alone is not enough. It is likely that TSH will be supressed for a while but the test should be done regularly to see when it returns and so that dosing and testing protocols can be adjusted accordingly.
TSH receptor antibodies should also be tested routinely, to track any patterns that may emerge, in some cases they will rise and fall, in others there will be a continous falling direction, this information will help determine what direction should be taken when approaching remission.

Regarding the Euthyroid question and symptoms of GD, this is an issue of disease definition, medicine generally doesn’t like to recognise the body as a whole but instead as distinctly seperate systems, so therefore if your thyroid numbers are in range then any other symptoms must be unrelated to GD.
The real world is not that simple, IMO GD is a disease of the body and the thyroid is just one of the organs impacted, just because thyroid levels are corrected does not mean the rest of the body is healed at that point.
One thing to remember with medical testing is we only see the results of what we test for, there are still things going on in our body that we are unaware of, new hormones and metabolic processes are being discovered constantly. So we need to allow for the possibility that there may be other associated factors at play with lingering symptoms that we may not be aware of yet.

As for other testing, it would also be worth checking blood glucose levels as there is a strong corrolation between high blood sugar and autoimmune thyroid disease. There is more and more studies that are suggesting that dysfunction of Glucose metabolism is at the base of a variety of chronic diseases, not just diabetes.

[karenz516]

#1175508

mvk, since being Diagnosed with Graves Disease and hyperthyroidism in December 2013 and having RAI, I too have changed my eating habits (drastically) trying not to put the 30 lbs I lost back on. Salads, fruit, chicken, trying to eat as healthy as possible, no fast food, always check salt, and I plan to sign up and try yoga for the first time, which at 57 will be no easy task but I am willing to try to de-stress.

[ChristinaDe]

#1175509

Harpy ~ I really like your approach to MD visits. I wish I would have taken that route at the very beginning! Think you have some great ideas & insights there!!

[Naisly]

#1175510

I Think this should be bumped up. For all those who have missed it.

Thank you Harpy for adding to this thread, it’s very helpful when others can join in to help others.

[Naisly]

#1175511

I think this will be good for those who need some help currently.

I do hope it is helping at least some people.

[Boomer]

#1175512

Solid informative post Naisly. Thanks!

Lots of good practical information is terms that even penetrate my thick skull. Good stuff!

Peace and health to all,

Boomer

[Ann1960graves]

#1175513

Thank you for all of these posts. I guess I need to look into a new diet. Lately I have been eating anything that will go down because I have no appetite. I need to soldier up and look into an iodine free-as-can-be diet.

Thank you again.

[Author]

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