[Ski]

#1067836

You may have a hard time fighting things off while you’re recovering from being hyperthyroid, and most likely that’s the only reason ~ hyperthyroidism takes a toll in every cell of the body, so when you’re trying to do more than just maintain, when your body is trying to actively fight off a virus or bacteria, it may not have all the resources available that it would have if you were completely healthy right now. Take it VERY easy, give your body a break so it can heal, and ask the doctor if there are medications that can support your healing.

Be careful of a persistent high fever and sore throat ~ if you’re on ATDs (methimazole), that can signal a dangerous side effect. If you’re not sure whether you need to be concerned, go ahead and call your doctor’s office to see what they think. It’s always better safe than sorry, and you don’t need to be stressing yourself out unnecessarily either.

[di4nord]

#1067837

Hi,
I was diagnosed with GD a couple of months ago. My doctor indicates that it’s genetic and triggers would be a virus or stress.

I was also wondering if there are "levels" (mild, etc) of hyperthyroidism. I am currently on 10 mg of Methimazole, as she is trying to get the dosage right. I had an elevated ALT of 108 (pre-medication). Two weeks into the Methimazole, it was 94. She took me off the medication, but isn’t the liver level elevated because of the hyperthyroid, and not necessarily due to the med? I’m also on Propranolol to slow down the heart and lower BP.

And one last thing. Is exercise okay with hyperthyroid? I can’t find anything that gives a straight answer. The doctor said no, but did not indicate why. Thank you.

[Ski]

#1067838

First, there is such a thing as mild hyperthyrodism ~ it still needs to be treated, but the likelihood is higher for remission, if the elevation in thyroid hormone levels is "mild" at first.

Second, exercise is not recommended while you are still hyperthyroid. You can resume exercise once your levels are stabilized in the normal range, but in the meantime, keep it down to gentle stretching. There are a couple of reasons. The most important reason is that hyperthyroidism can lead to erratic heart rhythms, which can be fatal if they get out of control. The second reason is that, while we are hyperthyroid, we are experiencing "muscle wasting" in our large muscles. The muscles most affected are the large muscles, those in the upper legs, upper arms, chest and back. It’s because hyperthyroidism "revs up" the muscle destruct mode, and suppresses the muscle rebuild mode. This wasting effect happens *without* exercising, but exercising on top of it can make the wasting even worse, so it’s extremely damaging to your body and can make things much more difficult to repair later.

I hope that helps!

[di4nord]

#1067839

Thank you for your response. Regarding the exercise, I guess I thought that by continuing I wouldn’t lose the muscle. And I thought ef I’m on Proprabolol, the heart would be okay if I didn’t overdue. Right now I’m walking a treadmill at about 2 mph and doing resistence training. I guess I should stop everything? It’ll be hard to do.

And a question I forgot to ask before. I really don’t have stress and haven’t had any viruses. Is it possible that a flu shot could have triggered GD? My endo says no, but according to things I’ve read squalene has caused other auto immune diseases.

Thanks,

[Ski]

#1067840

The only thing we REALLY know about getting autoimmune diseases is that we are genetically predisposed to getting autoimmune diseases, then some type of "trigger" sets everything in motion. Discovering what the triggers are is exactly where the research is focused right now, but very little has been conclusively determined as yet. I know that, rarely, transient hyperthyroidism can be triggered by a virus, but that resolves in six weeks and has nothing to do with Graves’, so we can’t connect those two things (a virus and Graves’ itself).

I have never heard anyone in the medical profession relate flu shots of any kind to triggering Graves’ Disease, but that only means no one has proved, to date, scientifically, that the two could be connected.

[di4nord]

#1067841

Thanks again for the info. I do know that my grandmother and uncle had thyroid problems, so that is where the gene came from. I just can’t figure out the trigger. Maybe more needs to be looked at regarding flu shots. It kind of makes sense to me, since the injection effects the immune system. Anyway, since your previous e-mail I have stopped exercising altogether. I began reading the book Thyroid for Dummies, which also talks about the muscle function with hyperthyroid. I would imagine that most of my weight loss was muscle loss. I guess it’s just a wait and see, and will talk to my endo at my next appt. I find this site very insightful and have learned alot by the posts. It helps to hear things straight from people that share the same issues.

[Ski]

#1067842

I’m so glad you find value in our forum ~ we take a lot of pride in it. ” title=”Very Happy” />

And just a quick comment ~ there’s a LOT regarding autoimmune diseases that needs more research. Unfortunately, as a disease "family," autoimmunity is not getting a lot of attention. Individual diseases get some research money, but autoimmunity in general gets very little. One of our speakers in Charlotte pointed out that, as a disease family, autoimmune conditions are the most prevalent diseases there are, but that has not translated into research money. Yet.

Lots of things would seem to make sense, and yet after research it’s found that they really don’t work that way, so it’s just impossible to say what IS until we have proof that it is.

[di4nord]

#1067843

When all of this started in June I went to my regular doctor. After she ruled out heart issues she did the lab work and told me that it’s a hyperthyroid and looked like Grave’s disease. I asked her what could have caused it and she said genetics, but since most of these diseases can be controlled by medication or other means there isn’t much research being done. So I guess that makes sense. I’m just hoping my medication works, as I think it’s the easiest route to take.

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