[Anonymous April 29, 2004 at 9:14 pm Post count: 93172]

#1086089

Hi, Kristi. I take Synthroid so I am not sure if the headaches you get are caused my the medicine you take. They could be though. I know that with me the headaches/migraines I was getting were one of things that tipped off my GP to think that maybe I had problems with my thyroid and eventually Graves.
I imagine that it is hard to do this since you have kids to take care of, etc.(I do not have kids so I admit that I do not know about that.) But, if there is any way that you can get a nap in, that may help. It has helped me in the past. Also, hot cloths seem to help relieve some of the tension and sometimes can get rid of the headache.

I do not know why this next thing helps, but sometimes if I eat some ice cream or some crackers, it helps because it keeps my stomach settled down and therefore helps the headache. It is really strange, but it seems to help.

I hope that you feel better soon! Take care and God bless.

[Anonymous April 29, 2004 at 9:54 pm Post count: 93172]

#1023552

Thank you for your post. It would be good to get my levels checked. I’ve only been on meds for a week and a 1/2. I just don’t know. I will ask to get them checked. I am not a water drinker, and I really should be. I am feeling better but its still present. Again, thanks for the encouraging words, KRisti

[Anonymous July 12, 2005 at 4:55 am Post count: 93172]

#1086090

Hi,
I’m having a bad day. Well, a few bad days. This morning I woke up and got ready for work and then started crying. Why is everything so difficult? Its so frustrating. I used to be happy when I woke up and now even though my head tells me I should be happy, I don’t feel it. I feel fear and dread. I hate being like a terrible burden for my family. It hurts them to see me like this. I’m on 20mg of Carbimazole a day and I’ve just started to come off betablockers. After a blood test last week, the doctor wants to take my carbimazole down to 15mg a day, so it must be working. Why do I feel worse this week then? Before I was properly diagnosed, even though my doctor booked me in for a blood test because she suspected a thyroid problem, she told me I was probably pre-disposed to depression. I know I’m not. I have never been even slightly inclined that way. As a result, I went into total overactivity and by the time I got my blood test I could hardly walk or talk. Yet she put me on anti-depressants and diazapam while waiting for results and while she went on holiday. I don’t begrudge the woman a holiday but it meant I was on the wrong medication for longer. Have I got emotional and mental health problems now? Have I seen the last of my old self, I feel like half my personality has disappeared.
danianni

[Anonymous July 12, 2005 at 11:48 am Post count: 93172]

#1086091

I remember one day, when I was still new to Graves, when my teenage son and I were playing/competing with a computer game. He showed his father the “tricks”, and I burst into tears. I knew it was an idiotic thing to do, but there the tears were, streaming down my face. As for why you are emotionally “off” these days, try to remember puberty. Or possibly the early stages of pregnancy. Or the post-partum period. Any time, in other words, when your hormones have been going through a major change. At those times we are irritable, more emotionally volatile. Just like now, with Graves. Thyroid hormone functions all over the body, including in the brain, and imbalances throw everything, including our emotions, off kilter. And that is not even mentioning the fact that thyroid hormone imbalance makes us incredibily ill. Sick people do not have complete control over their emotions. Even once we start to get regulated becuase of either removal of the thyroid or the action of the antithyroid drugs, it can take the body some weeks or months to come back to healthy functioning throughout.

Thyroid imbalance is known to cause some folks to be temporarily depressed. When a psychiatrist sees a patient for depression, often one of the first things they check is the level of thyroid hormones in the blood.

Some of us take antidepressants for a while, during the course of treatment for Graves. Others of us do not. It depends upon the severity of the problem, and perhaps the doctor’s inclinations. Taking these medications is no sign of weakness, and it is not necessarily a sign of long-term problem, either.

You need to work things out with your doctor. And also cut yourself a bit of “slack” –ease up on your expectations. Pamper yourself a bit while you give your body time to heal. My own personal recommendation, however, is that a psychiatrist prescribe any antidepressants. There is a wide range of these drugs, and GPs tend to have more narrow experience with them than the psychiatrists do.

I do hope you are feeling much better, soon.
Bobbi — NGDF Online Facilitator

[Anonymous July 12, 2005 at 7:14 pm Post count: 93172]

#1086092

Boy, can I relate! I felt that way for the first 2 years (even 1-1/2 yrs after RAI). I had all of this anxiety about when “the next shoe would fall.” I slept a lot, felt like crying, had no energy, etc., etc. I was put on Celexa; then, I started seeing a therapist. She really helped me have a “safe” place to talk about this. It is different to know you have a disease that has no cure, that always has to be monitored, medications (cost and trying one, then another), ups and downs of thyroid hormone – plus, I developed fibromyalgia, and that’s a whole different bag of symptoms! I hope you take doc’s advice on this one – this too shall pass. Today, I still take Celexa, but in the lowest dosage, I exercise, have lost 26 of the 45 lbs. I gained, still take a nap (2-3 hrs) a day, and I still try to limit stress. Of course, Hurricane Dennis did not know that – so I still had stress of not having power for 16 hrs and watching parts of my acreage float down the creek! But, today, I took care of myself, had a nap and am back to the only “normal” I know today. So, hang in there – it will get better. Joy in NoGA

[Anonymous July 12, 2005 at 10:39 pm Post count: 93172]

#1086093

Hi dannianni. I have had all these syptoms you describe, especially the personality change. I’m so sorry you are having these problems. Everyone says you have to be patient, but as someone else on this board said one day, telling a graves victim to be patient is like telling boiling water to settle down. ( or something to that effect ) There are all kinds of treatments out there. I happened to have the RAI, and am finally at normal levels, but I don’t feel much better. I have to be patient, because after our bodies are hyperthyroid for so long, it takes months to recover when we achieve normal levels. In the meantime, my doc put me on antidepressants. After the first two weeks of those, I think I might be feeling somewhat ok. Anyway, enough about me. Please try to hang in there. I hate to use the old cliche’, but there really is a light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t see it yet, but it’s there. Take care, Annette

[Anonymous July 13, 2005 at 12:26 pm Post count: 93172]

#1086094

Well today is my first day back at work after surgery. I feel like I am in slow motion. I cant seem to function here. Sometimes I feel shaky other times I am feeling exhaustion. How much longer until things start to level off. I have been on the synthroid 3 1/2 weeks. I thought by now I would see a change. Why is it that we are rushed back to work sometimes before we are ready. Just need to vent. People here just dont understand. There reply is I am sure it will get better with time now can you do this and that and that. It is great to have this support.

Katie

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