Hi, welcome to this wonderful board. I sure am sorry you are unable to attend the meeting. I am going there from Seattle, and I am soooooo looking forward to meeting others in my situation, and to listening to the speakers. You will be hearing from the facilitators, but in the meantime, look back at some posts about hyper from Kimberly and Bobbi. Sounds like you are miserably hyper at this time. It is very difficult. AND it is very hard on your body. I am not in a position to talk about doses, but your only goal right now is to take antithyroid drugs (ATD’S) so your body will stop running at warp speed!
You will definitely feel better when you do achieve the state where you do not have too much thyroid. I can’t speak to the doses of meds, but you need to find out why he is uncomfortable increasing your dose. Your biggest goal right now is to get OUT of this damaging hyperthyroid state.
This is one situation where alternative medicine alone is not safe for you. There are many ways you can incorporate a holistic and alternative life style in your world, but you also need a good endocrinologist! There are two good resources to find endos specializing in thyroid disease. If you go to the search engine, you may be able to find them before the facilitators sign on with that information. I am too tired and too busy getting ready for a flight tomorrow to take the time to track them down, sorry.
This is a good, safe and reliable discussion group. A great place to vent, and hear from others in your situation. We are not medical professionals, but all of talk about our medication doses, our frustrations, our decision making and much more.
No doctor should be pushing any one treatment on you. That’s for sure. It is good to have an open mind about the ultimate treatment of your Graves’. Some people on this site have chosen RAI. Others have chosen surgery. A few have stayed on ATD’s for several years. Generally, you have a choice, and it can be your choice, weighing the pros and cons, which exist with all of the treatments. Frequently the con can be totally personal, like, "I know I don’t want RAI. That’s it."
Or, "I absolutely do not want surgery. No discussion." We are all here, and all satisfied with our choices, because we
made them.
The east coasters will probably not write tonight, for it is already midnight there. Until you hear from more people, using the search option above is a really good way for you to go tonight. Just type in the word you want, which is probably hyperthyroid.
This is a disease that does not have a quick fix. Everything takes a long time. Just wanted to mention that if you are taking a lot of supplements, they should be know by your docs, just as regular meds should be known. YOu mist certainly deserve an endo who will not poo poo your life style. They are out there! A smart thing to do because there are some interactions which decrease the efficacy of any given drug, and/or enhance the drug, which can be equally detrimental.
Just curious. Has the atenolol decreased your heart rate at all? What is it now? Has your BP gone down at all? I had every ssymptom you had, and it is really a hellish state to be in. Generally speaking, ATD’s are the first step to have less thyroid racing through your body. i think if you use the search for your ATD drug you will see lots of posts of folks who do talk about their doses. From what I remember, 20mgm/day is not high at all.
If you put in the search box "how to find an endocinologist" you may hit paydirt with those referrals I was mentioning.
I am trying to give you more things to read until you hear from more of us! Off to pack for Iowa now.
Shirley
He is pushing for RAI which I am NOT interested in having. I have had my dose upped, but my Dr. is reluctant to increase from 20mg/day. My labs are all still in the high range, my appetite is crazy, rapid pulse, high BP, shortness of breath, joint pain, incredible itchiness, anxiety, irritability, total loss of concentration.
