[cathycnm]

#1018716

Hello everyone – As mentioned in my last post, I am in process with becoming a wellness coach. One thing I am doing is to look at Graves’ as a "teacher". That is, what lessons has it brought to my life:

Slow down and stop being over-responsible
Take care of yourself every day
Trust what your body is telling you
Learn to focus on gratitude and breathe slowly at least once a day
Friends who care are jewels – Family who support are priceless
Physicians are our partners in health – choose them wisely
Focus on three good things everyday – big or small – write them down
Positive connections with people are imperative to our wellness
Eight hours sleep is worth more than a 50K a year raise (OK – I saw the research on this but Graves’ has helped me to experience this)
Eat well, exercise when it becomes safe
Value your eye sight!

That is about all I can think of in the moment. Feel free to add to the thread – what lessons about life has Graves’ taught you? :” title=”Question” />

[Julie3588]

#1066655

Although I am sometimes angry about being diagnosed with a disease like this so early in my life, I cannot help but appreciate how much Graves has taught me about loving life and realizing how precious being healthy is. Not many other 20-somethings get the opportunity to receive such perspective so early on in life and I am so grateful for being able to appreciate each day for all the good that happens. I don’t know many other young adults that appreciate their health as much as I do ” title=”Very Happy” /> That lesson is priceless.

-Julie

[ladybug]

#1066656

I was diagnosed with Graves in April of 2008 during a regular physical. I was very thin, shaky, and couldn’t sit still but was convinced I was just stressed and nothing was wrong with me. Something was wrong with me. My uptake was 78% after a 24 hour period, no TSH traceable and my T3 and T4 were off the charts. I was on PTU for a year (and every time my dr tried to lower my dosage my levels shot up again like crazy), and finally had RAI in April of 2009. My thyroid levels hit bottom in about June of 2009 and now I am fully regulated on synthroid.

After running the full course of the disease, I’ve learned that the body can get better. We’re lucky to live in a country where we can get help and heal. I went through a period of not trusting my body, and feeling somewhat betrayed by it. In the past almost two years my body and I have been through a lot, but we’ve come out the other side with a better understanding of what it means to be healthy. I remember how scary it feels when you’re at the height of the disease and can’t decide which route to take and wondering if you’ll ever feel normal again. I remember reading about the likelihood of getting Graves and wondering how I could have been so unlucky to even have the antibodies in the first place. It all seemed really unfair.

Believe it or not, I sometimes forget that I have Graves now. I take my pill every morning and see my doctor every 3 months, but otherwise it has no impact on my life. My weight has fluctuated 16 pounds (which is a lot when you’re 5’3 and small-boned!) but I am back to the weight I was before Graves. I run, do yoga, bike, and swim with no problems. I can focus and my heart doesn’t flutter anymore!! I have a better awareness and gratitude for everything in my life. I am so grateful that I could be fixed. Sure, it’s not great to take a radioactive pill that ablates an organ – but it was painless and effective. When waiting in my dr office I look around at the diabetics and sufferers of other endocrine illnesses and I feel really sad for them. They aren’t so lucky.

There is life after Graves – a grateful and healthy life. I am getting married in May and we would like to start a family soon after that. My grateful, healthy body and I cannot wait!!

[cathycnm]

#1066657

Julie and Ladybug – I love what you have posted! I was thinking of the Haiti victims pulled out so many days later and thinking – wow, two weeks in rubble without my thyroid replacement would not be so good. I am lucky to live in the US, where healthcare may not be perfect, but it does have strengths. So right that we can heal and get better. One of my nursing students from Nepal was talking about his experience with a serious illness there and how many people in his village die from things we don’t even consider that serious due to their lack of access to healthcare. His village members carried him 20 miles to the nearest hospital – but they had no Xray equipement there so he was finally flown out 3 days later (after a storm) to a larger hospital – he had to give his own IV pain medication on the flight with a syringe (and find a vein). He finally got treatment and got well – most there do not.

Thanks for keeping me focused on my well-side of life. I remember just a year ago feeling like a human Apollo 13 and wondering what system was left unscathed. Now, I just have to make my health more of a priority in order to be healthy. Your stories rock – thank you!!! For those in the "thick of it" I hope this offers a little inspiration to keep going. Yes, it changes us forever but that is not all bad if we look for the gift in it. ” title=”Razz” />

[Corinne]

#1066658

I am really glad all 3 of you posted this thread. Like many posts on here I have felt word for word like this. Its so nice to hear such good things…..and nice to think in that perspective!! Makes me feel a bit better on a sorta-downer day….Thanks!!

and congrats on the wedding ladybug!! ” title=”Wink” />

[cathycnm]

#1066659

A pearl from my wellness coaching course today – "most wellness journeys start with a diagnosis". To me, that means we have to experience illness inorder to truely value and create wellness. I know Graves was the diagnosis that I needed to begin to shift my wellness habits.

[Bobbi]

#1066660

If there is one lesson that I got from Graves that I would love to be able to box and pass along, it is this: Give yourself laughter. I discovered, at a moment when I was discouraged, frustrated, sad about what was happening to me, angry with family and friends for not understanding, that laughter made me feel better. I was watching a movie on TV, and it made me laugh. I felt better. Maybe not terrific or normal, just "better." A little less discouraged and frustrated. A lot less angry. And definitely less sad. So, I began to routinely give myself the gift of laughter by deliberately watching movies or programs that would make me laugh. It helped more than I can say.

[Author]

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