[Kay_Rayofsunshine August 13, 2012 at 1:15 pm Post count: 1]

#1173070

Hiya,

Having read what you’ve written, as someone else has suggested I would recommend seing a Counsellor. As i am a Counsellor, therapy can be brilliant to get over phobias. What I suggest for the mean time is when thinking about or taking tablets, to tell yourself your going to be ok. Use positive affirmations as much as you can. This will help in the short term but for long term, seeing a Counsellor is the best option. Although therapy doesn’t work for everyone, i guess there’s no harm in trying.

Hope this helps

Kay

[Naisly August 13, 2012 at 9:36 pm Post count: 143]

#1173071

Thank you all for your replies.

I took all the advice and got an appointment with an endo Aug. 24th. My mind is made up and I am going to take the pills – now that is done, I guess the next step is physicaly taking the pills.

I am and have been seeing a Physiatrist, he told me he can’t help me unless I take pills for the stress. I won’t take any mind altering drugs ever, and that is a bit deeper than the phobia. Nor will I take any pain medication. I do however take tylenol#1 but that is the one and only pill I’ll take – no advil, no asprin, no vitamins etc. I’m so confused and lost because there are more issues aside from the phobia. I have however writen a graves story for my dr and was thinking about sharing it here but I’m unsure if I should since it is sort of long.

I do have a question though – How come some people take 20+ pills with graves?

Be well,

~Naisly

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator August 14, 2012 at 11:24 am Post count: 4294]

#1173072

Hello – Do you have the opportunity to seek a second opinion from a psychiatrist? If you have been diagnosed with a true anxiety or panic disorder, medications can certainly make a difference, but since the primary source of your stress is the medication itself, that doesn’t seem to be very helpful!

I have never heard of a newly diagnosed Graves’ patient taking 20 pills a day, especially for a patient on methimazole, which is the more commonly prescribed anti-thyroid drug. (PTU, the other anti-thyroid drug, has to be taken more frequently and in larger doses, but even then, I don’t think you would get anywhere near 20 pills, even on the maximum dose).

For patients who have other autoimmune conditions, such as MS, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the medication regimen can certainly be more severe.

I’m sure that others would be interested in reading your story, if you’d like to post it here!

[Carito71 August 14, 2012 at 7:36 pm Post count: 333]

#1173073

Hello Naisly,

I’m so glad you have an appointment coming up. It will be here before you know it. I’m also very glad that you have arrived at the determination to take the pills. One step at a time and you’ll get there. You know what the problem is and you are trying to correct it. It is not easy fixing something unless you know the problem and are determined to do something about it

I think a lot of the Drs will prescribe something to ease the nerves and anxiety when the patient is experiencing hyperthyroid symptoms because the symptoms can be very overwhelming. Maybe you should try at least one of the stress pills to see how you do? Who knows, maybe you will do well with it and it will help you take the others for the thyroid. All for the sake of feeling well and getting healthy. Just remember, you are in control, you can take one just to try it out.

I would love to read your story. I love comparing my story to others so if you would like to post it here, you can count on me to read it.

I agree with Kimberly about why some people might take more than one or two pills. Some members might have multiple problems affecting them. I take several, one for the thyroid – Methimazole, one for the heart – Metoprolol. I used to have to take 3 for the thyroid (3 methimazole pills a day) and 6 Propranalol a day but since I got better the # has dropped. Besides that I also take Iron pills b/c I have a history of anemia. I like to take folic acid b/c being a woman it is necessary to avoid a bad pregnancy in case I’m to get pregnant later on and also for the anemia b/c it helps make more cells. To that add my vitamins. You see how it adds up. Some people might have other autoimmune diseases that might require steroids and other medications.

I hope all goes well at your appt. Please keep us posted. I’ll be looking for your post with your story.

Smiles,
Caro

[LaurelM August 15, 2012 at 9:22 am Post count: 216]

#1173074

Hi,

As for the number of pills needed, it can really vary. On my first bout of GD several years ago, I was started on a fairly high dose of Methimazole (I don’t recall exactly) which was tapered down pretty quickly. I only had to take it once per day.

This time I’m on PTU. I noticed that it takes more pills to equal that of Methimazole and I have to take it more often. My initial dose (and a pretty big one) was four 50mg 3 times per day. I was also on 5 pills of the Atenolol. So, my grand total was 17 pills plus my calcium and vitamin supplement but I use the fruity gummy ones just like the kids The pills are all very small which makes them easier to take.

I’m off the Atenolol and the PTU has been reduced to 4 in the AM and 4 at bedtime. I’m hoping we can drop it further at the end of this month. I’ve been feeling so much better – not running any marathons or anything but significantly better.

I prefer to avoid medications/pills in general. Note that I use the gummy vitamins. I suffer my seasonal allergies without them and the cramps have to put me in bed before I take anything for pain. However, I know I have to right now so that I can be a healthy mom for my children.

I’m thinking good thoughts for you on this difficult journey.

Laurel

[Naisly August 18, 2012 at 8:50 am Post count: 143]

#1173075

I’ve read through all you posts again – and again. So I feel I should clarify a bit. Yes I have a phobia, but I can get through it by understanding treatment for me and not just a number.

So in saying this I’l try to explain what goes through my head – Doctors can not possibly know every disease there is (there are over 20,000 diseases) unless they are personally connected to it. The human brain can only retain a certain amount of information, unless they are a rare individual. Here in Canada, most of pharmaceuticals was removed from med school.

That being said – When I first was diagnosed, the dr gave me two prescriptions, beta-blocker and ADT 30mg. He told me to take both and I’ll feel a lot better, then sent me home. He did not explain to me anything about the drug, how to take it, when to take it etc.

Phobia: Of course I did not take either, and began to research the ADT (I know what beta-blockers are). I didn’t even research Graves, just the medication. I went back to the dr. he asked if I had taken the pills, I said no, and began to ask a lot of questions, which he didn’t have any answers.

Shortly after I went into a walk in clinic because my dr was away. I told the on-call dr I had graves, he asked if I was taking ATD’s, I said no, and told him I had a phobia and was working through it. He said that was silly, and brought up graves treatment on his computer (much like those large medical volumes dr’s used to keep lined up on their shelves in their office). He took a quick scan, turned his monitor towards me and pointed, “See, here we go, 30mg of ADT”.

I asked if that was too much, and shouldn’t we first know what my levels are. He pointed at the screen again and said it shows right here that if you have Graves this is the recommended treatment. I asked about dosing, and follow up labs, again he pointed (I think he was getting a tad frustrated) and said all we need is your TSH levels and we dose accordingly.

I walked out of his office even more paranoid and in shock. How on earth can I have this treated properly if the dr’s are using out of date standards? I realize I can take a prescription from my dr, but what about initial dose, and follow up dosing? GP’s can’t order (here) T4 or T3 labs let alone TSI, only TSH. It’s wonder there’s such a small percent of patients who go into remission here.

I hope all is well, and keep up the good work everyone.

~Naisly

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