[Ilovestyle October 24, 2018 at 8:49 am Post count: 1]

#1060938

Hi – I was recently diagnosed with Graves Disease. My doc said that I have a mild case? Here are my numbers:

TSH – .001
T3 – 9.20
T4 1.85
Thyroid antibodies – 93
Anti Thy – 42

Does this also say to you that its Mild?

Also, 2 days into the med of Tapizole and I feel a low grade body ache feeling. Is this normal?

Is there a better time of day to take Tapizole?

Also, I have not been stressed as far as lifestyle etc. BUT – I’m 55 and about a year ago started Orange Theory -(very intense work out program) Its a very challenging class and I would say stressful because its so hard. Could this be a reason to have your thyroid go nuts? I lost weight (about 10lbs) but I thought this was due to my working out so hard.

No other symptoms either. My heart rate is low but when I work out my heart rate goes way up but once its over I can get it down easily.

My sister has Hashimotos and I always felt if I did have a problem it would be that. The symptoms listed for Hashi vs. Graves – I feel like I have more hashis.than graves. That is very confusing to me too.

Any comments or advice is welcome! I’m particularly interested in my labs up above. Do you think I have a “mild” case like my doc says?

Thanks so much! Jennifer

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator October 24, 2018 at 6:10 pm Post count: 4288]

#1185505

Hello and welcome – We are fellow patients here and aren’t allowed to interpret labs or make a diagnosis. It would be helpful for you to get hard copies of your labs to see where you are in reference to your lab’s “normal” range.

Report any suspected side effects to your doctor or pharmacist – you definitely want a professional opinion on this!

Also ask your doc about your exercise routine, as you don’t want to overstress your heart at this point.

The current theory is that certain individuals are genetically predisposed to getting an autoimmune disease — and then some “trigger” actually activates the disease. Suspected triggers can include viral illness, stress, something in the environment, or physical trauma.

There’s not a “best time” to take Tapazole that I’m aware of, but it *is* important to pick a time when you know you can be consistent. For most of us, that ends up being first thing in the morning.

Take care – and keep us posted!

[emmtee October 29, 2018 at 10:36 am Post count: 148]

#1185506

As Kimberly said, every lab has a different “normal” range, so you’d have to refer to your lab results in order to see how far off of normal you are. Her suggestion of requesting hard copies of lab results was the best advice I got when I was first diagnosed. I used to have to request them from my endo, but these days you can get them online – much easier and faster. (I no longer have to wait for my appointment). I keep all my results in a spreadsheet so I have easy access to info on how my disease has progressed and medication dosage changes.

If you’ve only been taking the Tapazole for two days, it wouldn’t have had much time to take effect, and your disease has been continuing to progress. I wonder if the soreness you’re experiencing could be from your exercise routine. You should definitely talk to your doctor about it. Graves’ causes you to lose weight, and some of that weight is muscle. If you’re doing strenuous exercise, your body isn’t able to recover like it did before you developed Graves’, so you could be actually making yourself weaker. If your case is really mild, your doctor may give you the okay to continue, but general advice for new patients (while they’re still hyperthyroid) is to stick to mild exercise like walking.

In addition to stress, another thing that is theorized to contribute to the onset of Graves’ is low Vitamin D levels. I had tested low in the past and wasn’t taking my supplement when I first developed symptoms. I tested low again later, so I’m sure I was low at the onset of my disease. You and your sister might want to get your D levels tested. You don’t need to live in the frozen North to be deficient in D, either. I live in Phoenix.

[emmtee October 29, 2018 at 11:31 am Post count: 148]

#1185507

BTW – Just as a comparison, since this was the main point of your inquiry…
Note: When you see this symbol: “<" it means that this is the lowest that the lab can measure - actual results could be lower. My labs at initial diagnosis:
TSH: <0.006 (normal range 0.450 - 4.500)
Free T4: 4.31 (normal range 0.82 – 1.77)
Free T3: Not tested

My labs after 1 month on 20 mg Tapazole (Generic: Methimazole)
TSH: <0.006 (normal range 0.450 - 4.500)
Free T4: 2.50 (normal range 0.82 – 1.77)
Free T3: 8.1 (normal range 2.0 – 4.4)

Note: Changes in TSH tend to lag behind changes in T4 and T3, so it wasn’t unexpected that there was no improvement in my TSH.

I was told I had a severe case. My thyroid antibodies were never tested, though. My Graves’ was diagnosed based on a Thyroid Uptake and Scan (test in which you swallow a pill containing radioactive iodine and then go back and have the radioactivity measured and image made of your thyroid. Note: This is different than RAI – only a test, not a therapy).

[Author]

Posts