[Anonymous]

#1076370

Well, count me in on the 2007 conference. My in-laws are in Canton, OH so that would be wonderful (even though its about 4 hour drive) and an excuse to visit them afterwards. Do they have workshops or something for spouses? Mine has nooooooooo clue what I’m going thru and how unsettling this can be and almost feels “left out”.

Thank you Ski and Jake for the input. I am just glad this website is here for people like me and everyone else that had no clue what Graves was until we were told we had it. Guess its true wehn people say “information is power”. I really cant wait till the books I ordered come in so I can read read read (one of them being by Jake).

Kim

[Anonymous]

#1076371

Hi cheermom604,

They DO have at least a “talk” session just for spouses/relatives at the conference (we split up into a patient group and “relative” group as one of the last activities), and you can also bring your spouse along to any other session that may provide more details on information you feel your spouse is either lacking or just not grasping. The “group” is particularly valuable because it will help your spouse to see how many other spouses/family members feel exactly the way he does. Each year they have a different group of speakers, and I’m sure that’s still in the planning process, but rest assured there will be a lot of GREAT information for both of you! I’m glad to hear it’s near your in-laws, anything to make it easier for you to attend!

~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

[Anonymous]

#1020215

Hi cheermom604 and welcome!

First, I wanted to let you know that we do have dates & location for the NGDF conference 2007, so hold October 26-28 open! The location is Cincinnati this year. Further details will be on the website soon, but I wanted to make sure you knew that our conference is ON for 2007! They are a wealth of information always, and it is such a KICK to meet everyone in person after all this webchatter!

RAI and TED: just to avoid panicking anyone, I want to clarify that there is NO danger of “permanent damage to the eyes” due to RAI, for those with symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). There is a slight chance of “temporary worsening” of TED symptoms after RAI. The ONLY study finding such a connection found that about 16% of TED patients who had RAI experienced this temporary worsening of symptoms (no specific definition for “temporary” or “worsening”). The same study found that, if the patient took a concurrent course of steroids (prednisone, for example) for a short time before & after the RAI (a period of weeks), there were 0% of the patients who experienced the temporary worsening. So RAI is still an option if you are willing to accept the risks of the steroids. I had very slight symptoms of TED, and I did not take steroids with my RAI. I did have a period of a few months where my eyes were a little more swollen and gritty-feeling, but it subsided.

Best of luck with everything ~ let us know how you’re doing!

~Ski
NGDF Assistant Online Facilitator

[Author]

Posts