[elisebeary]

#1019425

Hi,

I was just diagnosed with Graves. I’m considering treatment options and want to also consider alternatives. Doctor said it wasn’t urgent to begin treatment immediately. So, I’m taking a few months to consider options.

My question is, with the current news on swine flu, am I significantly more susceptible to this without being on thyroid medication?

thanks for your help,
Elise

[Ski]

#1071598

Hi Elise,

If you are hyperthyroid, doing nothing for several months could really be dangerous ~ did your doctor mention a reason for the lack of concern over non-treatment? While hyperthyroid, our bodies lose muscle mass, bone mass, we have irregular heart rhythms that can be extremely dangerous, and we risk thyroid storm. On top of that, any part of our body that is weak for other reasons is susceptible to damage because of the excess thyroid hormone, which is literally the fuel for every cell.

Again, while you are hyperthyroid, your body may well be more susceptible to the effects of disease (like swine flu), not because you have an autoimmune disease, but because your body can be extremely run down after a period of hyperthyroidism, so you are in a weakened state prior to contracting the other illness.

An autoimmune disease doesn’t necessarily mean your immune system is weakened ~ as a matter of fact, it has created extra work for itself by creating antibodies to existing tissue in your body, and it’s doing that rather effectively. The complication for us is that when we are sick due to other things, cold or flu for instance, our autoimmune symptoms can spike because the immune system is stimulated and all antibodies will be more active.

In 60 years of dealing with Graves’, no alternative treatments have proven effective for lowering thyroid hormone levels. If any were reliable, I know that 100% of the GD patients I’m acquainted with would have opted for those instead of the three treatment choices we have. Nobody likes to hear that. There are alternative methods for healing the body that you can make use of AFTER your thyroid hormone levels have returned to normal, and those may well minimize your symptoms overall, but they have no power over the excess thyroid hormone itself, and that’s what is really making you sick.

[elisebeary]

#1071599

Hi,

I’m not sure why he said it was ok (he’s a very well regarded endocrinologist though) – he said I could take up to 6 months, and then at that point I should make a choice. I’ve been paying far more attention to my diet and have been looking into different supplements (I was deficient in many things, perhaps from terrible diet?) and have cut way back on cardio and have increased my weight training for exercise and I’ve been closely monitoring my body fat % to get a handle on my muscle mass and it seems to all be staying constant (I was very fit before this diagnosis, so perhaps that helps). Similarly, while my resting heart rate is elevated, it was starting from high 40’s, so it has a lot of room to go up before truly being high… Would be curious what specifically could really happen with a six month lag? I don’t really feel very many symptoms, though my numbers clearly indicate Graves.

thanks
Elise

[Ski]

#1071600

I didn’t think I had many symptoms either (it was such a joy getting everything DONE in a day), but once my levels dropped into normal ranges I finally understood how sick I had really been.

Weight training can be harmful now ~ when you’re hyperthyroid, the "breakdown" process of building muscle is accelerated, and the "rebuild" process is suppressed, so all you end up doing is breaking down muscle tissue, getting nothing back.

All of the things I listed at first are possibilities for hyperthyroid patients who are not treated in any way to bring the thyroid hormone levels down. Loss of muscle mass and bone mass are a given while we are hyperthyroid, heart arrhythmias are likely and can get out of control, plus you risk thyroid storm, which is rare, but can come on rapidly and be life-threatening. At the very least, find out what the symptoms of thyroid storm are so you can get help quickly if it happens to you.

I would discuss all of this further with your doctor for clarification. If you are on either methimazole or PTU, you are being treated (these work to lower thyroid hormone levels), but you are not making an irreversible treatment choice. It’s what we recommend for everyone who wants to investigate the disease, its effects, and the treatments available. It’s difficult to do effective research when we’re hyperthyroid because it’s not easy to think in a straight line and keep focus.

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