[mamabear November 25, 2008 at 3:35 pm Post count: 484]

#1075221

Wanted to say hello and welcome.

I have always thought that if taking any medicine for hypo that there is a possibility that it can make you hyperT but with adjusting the dose will bring you back to where you need/should be. Unless you have a predisposition for it or already have Graves and it is lying dormant. If you went HyperT did your dr. adjust your meds to bring your levels back to normal again?

This info is what I was informed of, i am sure if it is wrong someone will be able to correct meas soon as they see this post. ” title=”Wink” />

[HummingRose6 November 25, 2008 at 5:33 pm Post count: 8]

#1019951

I believe my post of 11/9/08 was lost. So, here it is again.

I am trying to find out whether taking Armour Thyroid for an extended period of time (for approximately 1 and 1/2 years) during which time it was causing hyperthyroidism can trigger Graves’ Disease. Does anyone know anything about this?

When I originally posted this question, Nancy Patterson responded saying that she was going to address the question to the medical consultant or advisor and see what she could find out. Any information yet? This has been a burning question for a long time. I would love to get an answer.

Hoping for an answer!
Michele

[HummingRose6 November 30, 2008 at 7:21 pm Post count: 8]

#1075222

Thank you MamaBear for your response. What happened was the doctor (internist) was giving me thyroid because he felt I was a little low although in the normal range. (According to my endo. my labs were perfectly normal before the supplementation was given.) However, the supplementation actually did make me feel much better than I had been feeling — at first. Then shortly thereafter I became hyperthyroid and I continued to be hyperthyroid for about 1-1/2 to 2 years BECAUSE of the thyroid supplementation that was being given to me during that time. The doctor didn’t understand that the lab results he was getting during that 1-1/2 to 2-year period were hyperT results and he kept giving me the thyroid during that entire time. (The dr. basically didn’t recognize the TSH levels of none to almost none during that 2 yr period as hyperthyroidism. Unfortuantely, I didn’t know enough to know this either until I learned all about it by studying Graves’ and thyroid issues 2 years later.) Then there was a shift in the labs that showed thyroid levels above the normal range along with the non-existent TSH–that is when the dr. recognized the hyperT and stopped the thyroid supplementation. Stopping the supplementation didn’t bring my levels down. So, the tests to find out what was going on with the thyroid gland were done and in about 2 months I was diagnosed with Graves’. So, I am trying to find out whether this "forced" hyperthyroidism for so long could have triggered the Graves’.

Do you know anything about this?

[Ski November 30, 2008 at 8:20 pm Post count: 1569]

#1075223

I have truly never heard a story like this ~ horrifying that a doctor could mix up the meaning of thyroid hormone tests, but my nurse practitioner did just that! Luckily, I knew better and coaxed him into remembering which level meant what… I think the likelihood of your specific circumstances having ben studied is pretty low. I would suggest that you discuss an uptake/scan to confirm your Graves’ diagnosis. In the meantime, if your levels are still testing hyperthyroid, you should at least take ATDs to see if they will bring the level down. This extended period of hyperthyroidism has to have done a real number on your body, and you need to stop that from continuing.

[HummingRose6 December 7, 2008 at 1:54 pm Post count: 8]

#1075224

I can’t tell you how much I wish I had known better at the time! It would have made a huge difference in my health! You are right–it did a huge number on my poor body and it’s taking a long time to get better. I did have a thyroid uptake/scan in early 2007 when the doctor finally realized that I was hyperthyroid. Graves’ has been confirmed by 2 endocrinologists. And, I have been under the care of a good endocrinologist for about a year now and taking AntiT meds. It seems that I am hypersensitive to the drugs and levels keep fluctuating so meds keep having to be adjusted. It’s been a very bumpy road and I am not feeling back to "normal" (good) yet but have felt pretty good at times and hoping to get stabilized long enough to continue feeling pretty good! I still wish I could find an answer to my question. Nancy Patterson said she would check into it before my post was lost. I don’t know what happened with her inquiry. Do you know how I can followup with her to find out where her inquiry stands?

[Ski December 7, 2008 at 8:05 pm Post count: 1569]

#1075225

Sure ~ you can send Nancy a private message (she may send you one when she sees your post). ” title=”Very Happy” />

[npattersonModerator December 27, 2008 at 10:40 pm Post count: 398]

#1075226

Finally, the response from our Medical Director! I am sorry this took so long. He said that it would not cause Graves’ (meaning the autoimmune thyroid disorder). It obviously did cause you to be hyperthyroid, but without the antibodies.

[HummingRose6 December 28, 2008 at 12:53 pm Post count: 8]

#1075227

Thank you. I really appreciate your perseverance in getting an answer for me. It’s a strange coincidence I guess. Have a good holiday.

[elf December 28, 2008 at 1:44 pm Post count: 181]

#1075228

I’ve been harbouring a similar thought about my situation. I never mentioned it to doctors, because I know it would be categorized in the "who knows" category, something that happened 30 years ago.

I consumed a lot of –iodine– medication when I was 9 years old. In those times, a school nurse would check our thyroids about once a year and give a small sweet pill (iodine). It happens that my best friend’s mom was the nurse, and when coming to play to her house, we’d find these bottles of pills laying around, and knowing they were sugary-sweet, we’d eat whole bottles at a time.

In my 30s, I started having slight pain behind my eyes, and after I turned 35, I could feel my thyroid with fingers (it was a bit enlarged). I meant to ask a dr. about it, but never did. My eyes (which I never connected with thyroid) were behaving funky when I was under stress, with not enough sleep (which was a lot in the dot-com years). Again, never knew where to even start to suspect anything.

Two late pregnancies around 40 years old finally kicked my thyroid out of whack, from sub-clinical state to clinical Graves (diagnosed at 41).

So the question about those bottles of iodine pills will always be hanging in the air for me, whether they made me off-balance and more susceptible to the impact of stresses -? My childhood friend doesn’t have Graves visibly, but I don’t know anything else about her (just saw her picture).

With this disease (Graves) you learn with time that some questions will never be answered. "Who knows". The good thing is – I’m better now, I’ve learned a lot, I’m waiting for my eye operation, and just taking life in the way it is.

[Author]

Posts