[LaurelM]

#1062404

Hi,

I think Yoga can be great way to reintroduce activity. I’ve been doing Yoga on my Wii as I haven’t figured out how to juggle getting to a class with young children. I think it is a good start but having an instructor to help you with correct form would be useful and does give you some ‘me’ time.

Tai Chi might also be a good option. I used to take a 45 minute class on my lunch hour. It is another activity that you push your body only as far as feels comfortable. It would make me feel comfortably warm but would not make me all sweaty which was good since there wasn’t enough time to shower before I had to get back to my office and look professional. For the rest of the day, I would feel energized and relaxed.

So sorry you have been feeling so nauseated. My suggestion would be to try some the whole fruit popcicles like Breyers Pure Fruit bars or make smoothies to sip. My favorite easy recipe for smoothies is to blend some non-fat plain yogurt (or whatever flavored stuff I have on hand) with a little fruit juice, banana (optional), and frozen fruit (whatever sounds good – strawberries, blueberries, peaches). Kids love them too! You could also check the healthfood store for powered protein and vitamin supplements. When my roommate broke her jaw playing softball and had her jaw wired shut for several weeks, she had to get creative.

Good luck! I hope the nausea eases soon.

Laurel

[Bobbi]

#1062405

I have absolutely no expertise when it comes to h.pylori (sp?) issues, but the BRAT diet doesn’t sound wise from a GD point of view. If you still have your thyroid, the only food you must avoid like the plague is seaweed/kelp. It contains huge quantities of iodine, and can throw off your thyroid function in unpredictable ways. Some boards will have postings telling people to avoid foods that contain goitrogens — chemicals thought to cause goiter. But that isn’t necessary, because the wee amounts of the chemical in the quantities that human beings could eat, would make no difference. (According to my endo when I ran that idea by her.) What we need, while recovering from hyperthyroidism is a diet that is nutritionally dense. I.e., no empty calories, and foods that contain lots of vitamins and minerals and proteins. Proteins because we are trying to regain muscle lost to hyperthyroidism. Calcium because we lose more bone than normal while hyperthyroid. Going on a diet that limits nutrition is not going to help you recover from the Graves.

As to yoga or tai chi –or whatever you try to do physically — start with BABY steps until you know how your muscles are going to react. It is very easy to over do, even with something like yoga.

Perfectionism. Yes, I can identify with that. And I can say that one of the true benefits of having been so horridly ill with hyperthyroidism was that I learned that what I thought I had to do, and what I really "had" to do, were vastly different things. I was ill over Thanksgiving and Christmas, but had the diagnosis. And I decided that I had to pace myself better. I was so exhausted all the time. So I didn’t do more than one-third of what I normally would have done for those holidays, if that much. I didn’t bake for hours at a time. I decorated the Christmas tree and put on Christmas music. But I bought ready made foods that didn’t require a lot of preparation. That was it. Sometime after Christmas my oldest child turned to me and said, "Mom, you really went all out for the holidays this year. It was really nice." I was floored!!! "But I didn’t DO much, " I replied. "Yes, but the house looked beautiful and we had a really good time." I learned a huge lesson with that conversation. My family didn’t need me to do all the stuff that I normally wore myself out doing. They needed me to be present, enjoying them. So I would recommend that you sit down, and prioritize your "should" lists. What do you absolutely have to do? What can you absolutely eliminate? And rank the rest of the stuff on the list in between. Be ruthless, too. You are essential to the well-being of your family by being healthy and able to enjoy them — not because you of any specific activity that you may engage in.

[stamark]

#1018048

Hi again. I have been reading a lot of old posts and have been seeing a lot of advice to lessen stress and have a good diet. I’m wondering if anyone has some specific techniques for these issues that have worked for them. I realize we all react differently to this disease, but I’m just looking for a good place to start.

I’m repeating some info about myself here, but hopefully it will help with any advice anyone is willing to give. I am a full-time high school English teacher (please don’t judge any of my grammatical mistakes, I blame it on the brain fog from the GD ), I am married and have 3 kids under the age of 6. I know I have some stress in my life, but I don’t always feel like it’s all that bad, or that it’s any worse than what other people are dealing with in life. I am, however, starting to suspect that it does have an impact on how I’m feeling from day to day. I’m willing to admit (now) that I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I want to do everything, and I want to do it all the "right" way. That has led me to make myself extremely available to students and their parents, which has led to a lot of things being placed in my lap that really should be the responsibilty of the parents and students; and it has led to me having absolutely no social life or time to do any of the things I enjoy doing. In fact, I’m too exhausted all the time to do anything other than just get through the day. Much of this has been brought on by the GD, but I’m trying to figure out ways to lessen my stress in my overall life so I can get healthy and STAY healthy. I have looked up and found a counselor, but I can’t meet with her for 3 weeks, and she’s new to me so I may have to continue looking if our personalities don’t mesh. I am also thinking about trying Yoga, but can’t decide if I should try a class or get a video. A class might give me a chance out on my own and to possibly make some new friends…

Now on to the diet issue. In the past couple months, I have been diagnosed with GD, gallstones (had gallbladder removed 2-25), and H.Pylori (bacterial infection in stomach). All of these issues have nausea/vomiting as symptoms, and I have not had a day since Thanksgiving that I wasn’t some level of nauseated. Since early January,(when my GP finally "gave in" and saw me) I have basically been on a modified BRAT diet – bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. For breakfast and most dinners I have instant oatmeal, for lunch I have Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, and I incorporate the BRAT part as snacks every couple of hours. I have also occasionally had plain chicken and plain grilled shrimp, and sometimes have oven roasted deli chicken slices between two pieces of plain bread. This has led to a couple of things for me: I am SO depressed about being scared to eat anything! I HATE oatmeal and chicken noodle soup and bananas and applesauce! When I feel o.k. I sometimes JUMP off the wagon and eat total junk b/c I miss food so much. Last week it was a Hershey bar and fruit snacks and fishsticks and I was extremely nauseous for 4 days afterward. So, my question is, are there things I should avoid b/c of the GD? When I’m not nauseated, I have a voracious appetite, but I’m terrified to eat most things – even salads and fruit scare me. I would even be happy if I could eat cheese and crackers as my lunch!

I know no one can give me medical advice, but I would really appreciate any personal experiences you could share with me just to give me a place to start!

Thanks in advance ” title=”Razz” />

[stamark]

#1062406

Thanks so much for the support and the helpful advice! I went back on Prilosec and it seems to be helping w/the stomach issues. I have been trying to eat "real" food, like lean protein, fruit and veggies more. It’s so weird how I react to food these days – my stomach feels off, my ribs hurt (gas pain?), and my chest gets heavy right after I eat just about anything. Haven’t been able to catch up w/the GI thus far, as we’ve been playing phone tag all week. Going to try again tomorrow. I just don’t want to be missing something b/c I’m thinking it’s due to the GD.

I really want to start Yoga, and I suppose I should make it a priority for myself at least once a week, but it’s so easy to talk myself out of it due to lack of energy, too much school work to catch up on, and missing my kids for that time. I suppose this is where I need to learn to prioritize. Tai chi sounds fun, too. I’ll have to check into it and see if our YMCA offers any classes. I’ve heard wonderful things about it.

Bobbi, thanks so much for relating to the perfectionism "bug". Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of "type A" personalities afflicted with Grave’s Disease? I can really relate to your story about the holidays, as I’ve had to majorly scale back on what I normally do around our house and with our kids. All I could think about was all the stuff I’m not getting done for them and awful they must feel about it b/c I feel TONS of guilt for my lack of involvement. Actually, what I’ve discovered is that when I was well, I was spending lots of time spinning my wheels and doing "things" all the time, but not necessarily spending time with my family even when I was home. Granted, there has been a LOT more T.V. watching going on around here the last few months, but I’ve also spent tons of time at home with the kids, not running off to do the next thing, or feeling like we had to rush the kids from here to there to entertain them. I’ve had the notion off and on that this is actually a blessing in the way it’s showing me, very clearly, what the kids need from me. I’m discovering it’s "me" that they need. Now I just have to keep that in mind, and your story in mind as well, when I start to feel better or have a good day and want to hit the road running at 100 mph again.

It’s especially hard to keep things in perspective on this kind of weekend when we have family commitments and I have 60 essays to grade along with 115 short essay tests to grade. That’s where I really need to figure out how to manage stress ” title=”Confused” />

Thanks again for your help!!

[Ladymarye]

#1062407

Hi,
I am sorry for you food issues…or should I say stomach issues….either way I feel your pain! I too, had many digestive issues and like you got to the point where I was almost afraid to eat. My gp suggested the allergy/food intolerance blood test and it came back that I should highly avoid gluten, dairy, eggs, and beef. I was almost paralyzed by that news….what would I eat!? Slowly and carefully I started eliminating those culprits and I can’t tell you how much better my digestive and elimination systems work! IT IS AMAZING!!!!
This might not be the answer for you but I wanted to share my experiences. Please contact me if you have questions or would like to discuss this further. Good Luck!
Best Regards,
Mary

[kyleddoody]

#1062408

If you try to eat a fatty meal after gallbladder surgery, your body may not be able to digest it well. You may experience diarrhea, abdominal bloating and excess gas in the form of belching and/or flatulence. The diarrhea may be severe enough that you can’t control it well.

[connypie]

#1062409

hi,, that sounds so like me 20 years ago.stomach issues,always tired ect ect.this is what helped me.FIRST====Learn to say NO.you cannot be everything to everybody all the time.return the responsobilities to the parents and children you teach.you dont have to be a perfect mother all the time.i know its hard to do.so rid yourself of some of these things that cause you stress.second-you cannot be on a BRAT diet for more then a week,without suffering nutritionally.youre not getting enough nutritiens to function all day.your body is starving itself,wich probably makes the GI issues worse.ask your Gi dr if you have a sliding hernia on your stomach(heavy chest after eating).evaluate your life and simplify it.we all want to be perfect,but none of us are.and maybe speak to your dr about anxiety.did you get the 2 week med treatment for the h.pilori?you have to take every single pill during the course or it will not work.pain in the beh….but it works.ask you husband for help,your family ect.i find in todays society,that most young mothers that work full time are like a double booked dr.s office,always running and juggling this versus that and then the junkfood comes in because there is no time to cook.for me ,the more prepared a food is when i buy,the more preservatives it has,wich will set of my stomach issues.hope this helps,and RELAX.

[Kimberly]

#1062410

I deleted a new post on this thread, because I couldn’t identify the source of the information posted. Please see item #3 on the GDATF’s forum guidelines for more info on links:

http://gdatf.org/forum/topic/43571/

For anyone who is unsure whether a link is OK to post here here, please feel free to send it to info@gdatf.org for review. We respond to all queries within one business day.

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