[Kimberly]

#1064511

Hi Cindy – Glad you decided to join the boards! I’m sure that others will chime in with ideas, but here are a few comments…

In terms of diet, it’s best to focus on whole, unprocessed foods. I check the ingredients list before I buy foods. I *do* get a craving for Nacho Cheese Doritoes every now and then…but for the most part, I figure that if I can’t pronounce the ingredients, they probably don’t need to be in my body. If you are losing weight, be sure to get plenty of good sources of protein, plus add a serving of *healthy* calorie-dense foods to each meal. (Unsalted nuts, avocado, olive oil, cheese, etc.). Also, when our thyroid levels are too high, it’s best to avoid foods that have tons of iodine. (Like the seaweed wrap that comes with sushi).

It’s up to you whether you want to add honors classes this year. However, keep in mind that until your thyroid levels are under control, you may find concentration and memorization to be more difficult than before. You might want to cut yourself some slack for the next few weeks/months while your body heals.

Check with your doctor on continuing with cross-country, however, most docs recommend that we *not* do strenuous exercise while our thyroid levels are too high. Our hearts and bodies are already working overtime when we are hypER…so until our levels are back to normal, heavy exercise can actually do more harm than good.

Telling your friends is your call. Personally, I didn’t tell people when I was first diagnosed, as I just didn’t have the energy to explain to everyone what the heck Graves’ Disease was. However, I know patients who were a lot more open when they were first diagnosed, and found the extra support to be valuable. Keep in mind that while you are trying to find the right dose of medication to get your thyroid levels into the “normal” range, you probably won’t have the same level of energy as before…so your close friends might notice anyway that something is not right.

I don’t know of any specific things that can improve memory, but most of us have learned to use tricks like writing things down *as soon as* they pop into our heads so we don’t forget. Also, beepers on cell phones and/or watches are useful for reminding us to do things like take our meds.

Everyone’s journey is a little different, so the “hardest part” for one person might not be a problem for you…and vice versa. My most difficult period was the first few weeks on medication while my levels were falling into the “normal” range, as I felt pretty wiped out.

Best of luck…please check back with us when you can!

[scgirl]

#1018398

The important thing is to not stop questioning.

~Albert Eienstien

I have so many questions. I’m only in 8th grade. I just found out yesterday that I have graves disease.
1. Can I be in honnors this year?
2. Should I tell my friends?… my mom doesn’t think I should
3. What will be the hardest part?
4. What do I eat to help the medicine heal me?
5. Can I be on the track team or cross country runners?
6. How can I help my memory?

Thanks, Cindy

[newbie10]

#1064512

I also was wondering about whether GD affects your memory. I always had great memory but over the last year it seems like I hear or am told something and it feels like it goes in one ear and out the next. My kids will tell me that I asked that question 2 or 3 x but I can’t remember their first answer. It’s not always the case of not remembering things most of the time I do. I do try to write stuff down on paper. At work I make sure I take lots of notes. I always tell my kids to make list like I do so you won’t forget things you have or want to do. I am 49 so I know when we get older our memory is not as good as it use to be. But I can’t help wondering how graves affects your memory.

One of the many questions I asked is what foods should you avoid and what food should you eat if you have GD. I’m glad I saw the subject ????? so many questions because even though you are younger then me we have similar questions. Reading over Kimberly’s response to you is also helpful to me. I would like to find good books on the subject. Any suggestions?

I’m so glad that I found the GDF website and message board. I try to read over as many posting as I can to help me learn about other people’s experience and how I can relate to them helps. It has provide a wealth of good information.

Still reading & learning!

[Harpy]

#1064513

X2 everything that Kimberly said.
You will need to make some choices, it sounds like your life was pretty full before your diagnosis with Graves disease and it doesn’t take a genious to work out now it is more than full, so something has to give.
Your first priority has to be your health as everything else will fall by the wayside if you don’t put yourself first.
The medication will get your thyroid hormones back down to a normal level.
A healthy diet will allow your body to restock nutrients that have most likely been depleted by the hyperthyroid state.
Exercise is important but not extreme exertion as this will further deplete your body of essential nutrients.
Minimise any stress impact, obviously you will have a certain amount of stress through your study, look outside of that are there any other things that may be causing you stress, remember every demand you put on yourself will be a stress factor.
Rest is important as well, take time out for yourself doing non stressful things that you enjoy doing.
Your memory will improve as you start to heal and replenish nutrients.
Also have a read of the post: Late teen with hyperthyroidgraves, by Samdrums80
recently posted and not much older than yourself, just a reminder that your not alone in this, even in your own age group.

[Bobbi]

#1064514

Hi, Cindy, and welcome to our board.

Just a word of encouragement: there was an Olympic athlete about ten or twelve years ago, who was in the news as having developed Graves. As Kimberly mentioned in her exercise comment, it was necessary for her to stop her exercise until her thyroid hormone levels were back under control, but then she was able to be back competing in the next Olympics. So, giving up cross country, or track, may be a temporary necessity for you, but you should look forward to being able to go back to it again once you are back to health.

As to whether to tell people or not — it’s a personal call. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, obviously, and you are most definitely ill right now. Your teachers may need to have that information — you and your parents will have to decide. I was a teacher, and it helped me to evaluate a student’s needs and performance if I knew that there was something like this going on. I also think it would add unnecessary stress for you to try to hide being ill from your best friends. The world doesn’t need to know, but a best friend? Yes, I think a best friend would need to know.

Just my take on things. I hope you are feeling better soon.

[scgirl]

#1064515

kimberly,
thank you so much for the advice. I will make sure to follow your advice.
thank you,
cindy

[scgirl]

#1064516

newbie10,
thank you for replying.
i’m new to this, too, so i don’t know much about it, but kimberly is a good person to ask if you want to know something. she has answered all of the questions i have asked, and my mom is thinking about checking out some books from the library on the disease at our local library. but right now she is just looking at alot of stuff about it online. i’ll talk to her and let you know.
best of luck to you and your family,
cindy

[Kimberly]

#1064517

scgirl wrote:kimberly,
thank you so much for the advice. I will make sure to follow your advice.
thank you,
cindy

Hi Cindy – I’m glad you found the information helpful, but keep in mind that I was just giving you some "food for thought". The facilitators here are *not* doctors, but we are all fellow travellers on this journey with Graves’ Disease! Everyone’s experience is a little different, so you will want take any advice under consideration…but ultimately follow your *own* instincts on decisions such as whether to tell your friends or whether to enroll in honors classes this semester. Most doctors advise AGAINST doing strenuous exercise while hypER, but you might wish to have a further discussion with your own doctor on this issue.

Also, you mentioned that your mom was doing a lot of online research. Definitely keep in mind the old saying, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." There are plenty of sites on the Internet who will claim that some particular supplement or "natural" treatment will cure Graves’ Disease. The problem is that in many cases, Graves’ Disease will go into remission on its own…so there’s really no way to know if these treatments actually *work* — or if these people were just one of the lucky ones who would have gone into remission anyway. And in the meantime, ignoring conventional treatment options for hypERthyroidism (Anti-Thyroid Drugs, Surgery, or Radioactive Iodine) can be dangerous if our hypER levels aren’t brought under control.

Take care!

[scgirl]

#1064518

thank you i wil keep that in mind. and i will tell my mom so she is careful not to get false info.

[scgirl]

#1064519

Newbie10, I have found some nooks on the disease and the one I am going to check out is graves disease: what you need to know that the doctors don’t tell you.
Lots of loving luck,
Cindy

[snelsen]

#1064520

newbie10 and scgirl,
It is great that you are on the path to being informed and will work with your endo to be in charge of your health care.
There is A LOT of junk on the internet. This is a a good, reliable and safe place to bring your questions for clarification, as well as your docs, of course. But there is a lot of junk, including off the internet. This site, Kimberly and Bobbi, and all of us, can help by sharing our own experiences. I love this site!
Shirley

[Author]

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