[skichick732]

#1019808

Hi All – I have not posted in a few months but at that time I thought I was having a nervous breakdown. Since then, my endo adjusted my meds and I am feeling much better. At that time, my hair was coming out by the fistfull and all I could think was that I was getting fatter and balder every day. It was so hard to even want to shower b/c I knew that the drain would be clogged with hair after I was finished. Anyway, I took some advise of someone on this board and got my hair cut. I went to my hairdresser and just said please help me and she gave me a really cute cut. Everyone is telling me never go back to the long hair. It is amazing how much better my self esteem is just from that. Since then, my hair is still coming out but not like before. I think it is stabilizing. As for the weight…I am accepting it for now and not letting that be one more thing to stress me out. My husband bought me a Wii fit for Christmas so I have started some light exercise. I didn’t realize how really weak I have gotten over the past year. If I lose a couple of pounds great but I just want to feel healthier so that is my goal. I have already bought enough "fat clothes" to hold me over so that is that. Now we are trying to see about having a baby – that is the next hurdle. I am looking for a fertility doc that specializes in endocrinology and think I have found someone at U of Penn. Thanks again for this board…I know we all say this but it really helps to know that I am not alone even if I don’t knwo any of you. Thanks Again. Jill

[npatterson]

#1074214

Dear Jill,

Thank you so much for reporting back to us. It is so nice to know that we helped. It sounds like things are turning around for you in a good way. Take good care,

[pizzicatto]

#1074215

Aren’t you supposed to inform your endocrinologist about this severe falling here you are experiecing right now as a side effect with your treatment? If you have a strong reaction to your medication, am sure your doctor do change your prescription and make sure you are all right. Good luck.

[Ski]

#1074216

The hair loss is usually just from the fluctuating thyroid hormone as our levels come back into the normal range and finally find OUR normal point, so it’s not something the doctor can fix, or anything the medication itself has done, except that the medication is creating the change. Your levels are moving in a healthy direction, but they’re still moving, and the body interprets that as an emergency state because it shouldn’t happen naturally.

[pizzicatto]

#1074217

I was just diagnosed last month with GD and GED. It was my hair that gave me first the alarm that something must be wrong with me. My hair started to become very, very dry and brittle. I had falling hair, too. Likewise, I had split ends prior to having a hair trim last month. Then, I noticed the size changed in reference to my eyes.

I just started my medication of METHIMAZOLE this week. 10 mg Twice a day. My endo said that my hyperthyroidism is mild. I live an active life and workout 6x a week and do weights-20 minutes, cardio-30 minutes, and stretching-20 minutes. I have just taken the pills for four days now, and luckily, I am not observing any side effects yet. One thing I noted though is that the itchiness of my eyes has diminished right after I began the medication. However, they still are puffy, in fact more than the way it was before I had the treatment began. QUESTION: Is it really effective to put a cold or warm compress to help minimize the swelling of the eyes for people with GED? How do i know which one would work for me?

I wasn’t given any medication for my GED except for he eyedrops to help lubricate my eyes. My eye doctor said that my GED is just starting and mild. There are days when they are very swollen and itchy as if I have conjunctivitis.So far, the eyedrops help lubricate them.

Thank you.

[Ski]

#1074218

First, we refer to it as TED, Thyroid Eye Disease, because it’s happened in patients with other thyroid diseases ~ so if you want to do a search for posts on this subject, you should use TED. We have LOTS of information here.

The swelling caused by TED is in the tissues behind the eyes, so the swelling is usually not reduced with a warm or cold compress. If you find comfort in using cold compresses, that’s fine, but it won’t bring down the bulging. It’s true that the treatment is usually "wait and see" for a period of time, especially if your symptoms are mild. If you find the symptoms increasing rapidly, you should definitely call your ophthalmologist to let them know. There are some treatments you can take advantage of if there is severe bulging or if the optic nerve is threatened, but otherwise they carry risks of their own (various forms of steroids can be used, and radiation to the eye orbits), so they are reserved for the most severe symptoms.

If you do feel as if a cold compress helps, then you might want to just use a bag of frozen peas or corn ~ they conform to the odd contours around the eye much more effectively than any typical compresses. Just don’t use them for food after they’ve been thawed/frozen a number of times. We recommend having you put them in a ziploc bag so you’ll easily recognize the ones NOT to eat.

[Buttamama28]

#1074219

So that is where all my hair is going. Thanks for the insight. I thought I just didn’t have a good conditioner. I have dreadlocs and they are snapping off like twigs! I have been thinking about cutting them off and starting over when my GD is under control.
I also suffer from TED, compress ain’t gonna do a thing. Your best friend will be that nighttime eye gel, and artificial tears eye drops. I learned the hard way, but if you smoke STOP now! It makes it bad, really bad, much faster.

[Author]

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