[Ski]

#1074867

Hi there,

I’m going to have to be brief — accessing theinternet in a rather bizarre way and it’s arduous. I just wanted to say that you don’t have to think of TED as a progressive disease — if you have it mildly now, it’s quite likely that it will continue just as mildly as it is now. The typical course is that it has a period of activity (1-3 years, longer for smokers), then a period of stability, then a period of improvement. I am ten years out from my first symptom and my eyes look mostly the way they did before the whole thing began.

As far as restless leg — I don’t know whether it’s exactly that you’re experiencing, but it should get better as your levels improve.

Let us know how it’s going!

[cathycnm]

#1074868

Dear Shadow – Interesting question. I found I had restless leg syndrome type of symptoms at the time I first had Graves (prior to diagnosis). I had also just started the injectable parathyroid hormone shots for my osteoporosis and I figured it was a side effect of that (leg cramps are listed as a common side effect) – plus I got seasonal affective disorder type symptoms last winter (same time as the restless leg) and gained 15 pounds. I always blamed the weight gain and calcium balance changes. But looking back, it is possible Graves played into it some. I also was on antidepressants at the time for the Graves irritability/anxiety – and some antidepressants may make RLS worse.

You might want to check out the http://www.rls.org site for some more info – the FAQ section seems very complete. Looks like it runs in families and is pretty common with pregnancy – so I suppose menopause could be a factor (I am 53). I am also a women’s health practitioner and don’t know of any direct associations with menopause but it seems plausible.

I remember it drove me nuts for a few months because I woke up several times a night because I just had to move my legs – it was creepy, so to speak. Mine went away when I cut my antidepressant and started loosing weight. It went away before I was diagnosed with Graves – so I have been both hyper and hypo and no recurrence since cutting back the antidepressants and loosing weight. I really suspect mine was partially med related. Not sure which med, though. Let us know how it goes.

[shadowrider]

#1019895

Hi this is my first post; I was diagnosed with Graves last June. I am currently taking 30mgs of methimazole per day. I have only had one near normal blood test during this period. I am feeling mostly okay, certainly much better than I was prior to my diagnosis. I do have a little TED if that is possible for it to be just a little. Mostly puffiness of my eyelids, swelling of my eyeballs and dry eyes. I am still able to wear contact lenses, but not for as long as I used to, and I try to give my eyes a full days rest from wearing lenses a couple of days per week.Reading the posts on this board makes me worried about where I’ll be in 5-10 or 15 years from now. I have to hope I will have some remission in my future. I do not plan to have RAI, my endo does not advise it for me anyway at this time because of my eyes. I’m hoping I’m a long way off from having to take a drastic solution such as surgery.
My Mother has had lupus since she was in her 20’s, now she is 73. So I see it is possible to live with an auto-immune disease, but you have to take good care of yourself.
My question is this: In my sleep I constantly twitch and kick my legs around-but I have no knowledge of doing it, and I don’t feel it at all. It is driving my husband crazy, so it must be pretty bad. This has been going on for as long as I’ve had GD. But not previous to my diagnosis. Does anyone else experience this? Lately I have also been waking up every two hours sweating and hot. This had stopped for a while after I was diagnosed, but it is back again. I’m not even sure anymore what is related to Graves or is it menopause? (I’m 52) My Graves went undiagnosed for a long time because a lot of my symptoms were like menopause, until I started to get tremors, muscle wasting and heart palps. Besides the methimazole, I take 1g of L-acetyl carnitine, 2000mgs of flax seed oil, 1500mgs vit D, and a complete multi vitamin daily. I also see a acupuncturist regularly, and a Naturopathic Dr occasionally. I have just slowly begun doing a little light exercise, which was ok’d by my endo. I have almost no muscle tone in my legs or arms anymore-and I used to be very fit, and active. But I am definitely stronger than I was last Spring. I was able to work all through my worst period- but once I got home it was all downhill, just had to go to bed. My husband has been very helpful and supportive, so I would like to get past this nightly ‘marathon’ in my sleep. Any thoughts? Thanks for all the helpful information. Susan

[sarabear0508]

#1074869

HI! I was diagnosed with Grave’s several days ago. I had restless leg so bad I couldn’t sleep and felt like I was going nuts. The constant moving and that awful feeling like you can’t stop. I found out that Magnesium takes it away immediately. It was my savior. I don’t like taking pills unless it’s necessary and I prefer natural things with no side effects. I’m on a PTU – Beta Blocker and migraine meds. I also have a bad back and take medicine for that. If you have restless legs try take magnesium before bed. Take it long enough before you plan to sleep so you get the full effect.

Hope it helps.

~ Sarabear0508

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