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  • Anonymous
    Participant
    Post count: 93172

    Hi, Tina!

    Welcome to the BB! You’ve certainly come to the right place for support. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had a rough year. Hopefully, your new endo will be able to help.

    My suggestion would be to learn all you can about Graves’ in the next two days, write down symptoms that you’ve been experiencing, make a list of questions to ask your doctor, and bring someone along with you to the appointment. Being prepared and having a second set of ears along with you will help you remember to ask specific questions and understand your doctor’s answers and recommendations.

    The best place to start looking for Graves’ info is at the National Graves’ Disease Foundation’s homepage. You can either click on the foundation’s green logo on the BB’s posts page or go to http://www.ngdf.org . There you will find numerous links and resources available to you. I would recommend joining the foundation (info on the site) and ordering these books at your local bookstore or online at amazon.com (which is linked on the NGDF site):

    “The Thyroid SourceBook: Everything You Need to Know”
    M. Sara Rosenthal
    Lowell House / August 1996

    “Your Thyroid, A Home Reference”
    Drs. Wood, Cooper, Ridgway
    Ballantine Books / July 1996

    Also, try contacting the Thyroid Society (1-800-THYROID) and the Thyroid Foundation of America (1-800-832-8321) for more info.

    To answer your specific quesitons:
    Graves’ name: Diffuse toxic goiter, better known as Graves’ disease, was named after the Irish physician, Robert J. Graves, who was one of the first doctors to study and describe the condition. I think we’d ALL like to make a permanent name change on this one! ;)

    Treatment options: RAI tends to be the preferred treatment of doctors in the U.S. However, you should be aware of two other options – antithyroid drugs and surgery. I will post another reply on the BB regarding the three options and some of their advantages and disadvantages. You should speak to your doctor about which treatment is right for you and your present medical condition.

    Hair loss: Hair loss and premature graying aren’t caused by thyroid meds, but rather occur from unbalanced thyroid levels and/or heredity. “Your Thyroid, A Home Reference” by Drs. Wood, Cooper, and Ridgway states this (p. 106):

    “Changes in thyroid function are associated with a change in the body’s use of oxygen (metabolic rate). If the metabolic rate is too high or too low, hair growth may be imperfect. As a result, you may lose some of your hair if your thyroid is either overactive or underactive from any cause. In most cases your hair loss will be generalized and mild, and your hair growth will return to normal as soon as your thyroid problem is controlled.

    Occasionally, patients with Graves’ or Hashimoto’s disease or their relatives may notice a patchy hair loss instead. This condition, known as alopecia areata, is characterized by bald spots anywhere on the body where hair grows, including your scalp and beard. Generally the condition goes away by itself after several months, regardless of the level of thyroid function and thyroid treatment, but occasionally such hair loss is permanent.

    Physicians have recognized for some time that prematurely gray hair, by which we mean hair that starts to become gray before age thirty, occurs more frequently in patients with thyroid dysfunction than in the general population. This common and easily recognized condition is of course harmless, but it is important because it can be helpful to you in tracing the pattern of inheritance of thyroid diseases within your family.”

    We’re here to help and offer support when you need it, Tina. Please don’t hesitate to ask more questions and share your progress with us.

    Wishing you health and happiness,
    Debby
    OLAF, NGDF

    Anonymous
    Participant
    Post count: 93172

    Thanks for responding! I will be reading up for more info. I guess the more I hear about GR, the scarier it is. It is nice to see such supportive people here. I don’t feel alone anymore.(nor do I feel like I’m going crazy).
    Thanks Again!
    tina

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