Hey there fj122876
Just had a read of your other posts to get a handle on where you are.
Short answer – Yes it is likely you will experience symptom flare up’s as the GD ebbs & flows in your system, but over a longer term of treatment you will see overall improvements and a lessening of the flare ups as your body heals. There is another GD person that I have been conversing with who actually had the Stomach/Nausea issues from the start and has got rid of that now only to have it replaced by ravenous hunger.
Long answer – GD is not a disease of the thyroid, the thyroid hyperactivity is just another one of the symptoms along with the Thyroid eye disease, and the shin thing (can’t remember the name), and a whole host of other primary, secondary & tertiary symptoms.
The actual disease/condition/trigger lies one or two levels below the antibodies, my current understanding is there is a trigger, possibly stress (short or long term), poor diet or environmental toxins, which cause a shedding of a protective chemical layer on specific "silent genes", once this layer has been stripped the gene becomes active and starts producing conditions which then encourage the antibodies to proliferate, this is the inappropriate autoimmune reaction, and is believed to be the cause of a variety of autoimmune diseases including GD, some diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, MS and also some cancers. How the diseases manifest and which organs are attacked is dependant on where the weak points of our bodies are.
With GD it is the thyroid which is one of the main targets of the antibodies and it is very important to get the hormone levels under control as the hyperactivity that comes about causes further nutrient depletion, which then causes the cascading symptoms which form like a nasty feedback loop, the worse the symptoms get, the more the antibodies rise, causing further agravation of the symptoms etc. etc.
So you need to think of the ATD treatment (MMi dose) kind of like first aid, it stops the symptoms getting any worse and then it is about taking actions to heal the body and repair the underlying damage, reduce stress, eat healthy with a good balanced diet high in fibre, fruit, veg, wholegrain carbs, and healthy meats. Your innitiative in yoga is good as it helps relax both body and mind, walking is also good, just not power walking, not too strenuous.
It sounds like your GD may have been building over a couple of years as with most cases, this usually means it will take a proportionate time to heal your body, kind of like credit card debt, you can go for a long time with minimal pain while the debt grows, but then it hits and you have to be very diligant for a long time to clear that debt, it’s so difficult because the interest (antibodies) just keep adding to your problem, but with due diligence you will clear it and you will get over the GD with a new found knowledge and respect for your body.
Irrespective of what your long term decisions are ATD’s, RAI or Surgery, remember they only deal with the thyroid symptoms and do not cure GD, there is some research going on currently on more specific chemicals re the gene theory, but most of these are focussed on the cancer side of things, but there will likely be flow on effects re GD in coming years. Whichever way you go you will still need to put yourself into the healthiest state possible to assist the healing process.
It appears we all have these antibody flare ups quite regularly and our bodies repair the damage and we are none the wiser, sometimes the flare up is enough to overcome our bodies and conditions like GD are the result.
There is some evidence that ATD’s also have a suppressive effect on the antibodies as well as the thyroid hormone levels as well as other possible effects, thats why the relationship between hormone levels/symptoms and ATD dose is not necesarily conform to a direct one and sometimes it may need to be adjusted up or down throughout the course of treatment depending where you are. The other underlying symptoms of GD may also explain why so many people, after RAI or Surgery have such a hard time some taking years to get their hormone replacement levels right.
I do not think GD is treated seriously enough by the medical profession, as it is a very complex and debilitating condition, no matter how you flip the coin there is no easy fix and patient participation is of paramount importance in the healing process.
Personally in my opinion, not withstanding any overriding life threatening situations, the first course of treatment should be ATD’s for 6 to 12 months to allow people to achieve some semblance of normality and get their knowledge base on all of the current three main treatment protocols up to speed so that when it comes time for them to make a choice on long term treatment for themselves they can be sure they have made an informed decision and are fully aware of pro’s & con’s of each option.
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