[Tina171]

#1059075

Hi everyone,

I’m a 19 year old, first year student studying a biochemistry degree in the UK and living at home. I was just wondering what people’s own experiences have been like with Graves’ disease and studying.

Since falling ill with Graves’ disease in October 2010, a lot of things have changed… My last year of high school, A2-levels was a real struggle and I suffered from anxiety, severe fatigue, depression, memory problems, concentration issues, lack of motivation, muscle pain etc.

I was put on the 18 month treatment plan of carbimazole (40 mg) and levothyroxine (100 mg) and my medication levels were kept the same once my hormone levels were under-control. I have now completed the treatment plan and my first routine blood test medication (April) came back fine…

I have been a bit happier since being off the meds and less edgey but despite all of this, I still feel that I’m still always sleeping too much and continue to have memory and concentration issues and motivation issues which have been greatly affecting me during my degree course. I struggled with the amount of work due in, where in the space of 5 weeks we had 16 pieces of coursework (lab reports and problem sets, problem questions). I just completely crumbled under the pressure, things weren’t going well at all and still aren’t.

I currently have exams and have struggled very badly with revision and have no confidence whatsoever that I have been doing well in these exams. I just don’t know what to do anymore, the university know of my problems but I don’t think they will understand when my grades come back and they’re appauling. I’m deeply unhappy with my situation, I should be feeling better with things, able to do my work, concentrate, be motivated!!!

But I just can’t cope with it all!! I know I’ve taken on far too much this year, and have come to the conclusion that maybe this degree is just too much for me, but I don’t want or quit (I suffered with this through A2 levels only to quit, after all that??) or resit the year or disappoint my parents (who do understand what I’m going through but I know it would disappoint!). And here I am back to square one again, anxiety…

Because of living locally and commuting to and from university, I have found making friends at university has been much more difficult, making my experience at university quite a lonely one to be honest, my confidence has been severely affected.

Everything has just been going in a downward spiral and I don’t know where to go from here and I really don’t know what to do. Even though all of my thyroid levels are coming back okay, I still have terrible memory problems, motivation problems and anxiety. As a result, I’ve stopped enjoying studying a subject I once really loved and to be honest, dislike going to university all together. I have no hope in getting a good grade at the end of this year, if I pass that is…

Sorry it’s such a long ramble, had to get it off my chest.

Thank you,

Tina171

[Kimberly]

#1171962

Tina – Hello and welcome! Hopefully, you will get some responses from fellow students. Graves’ disease can absolutely affect memory, emotions, and concentration — and can make holding down a job or trying to keep up with studies a real challenge.

Following are a couple of bulletins that might be helpful. One is on students & Graves’ and the other deals with the mental/emotional issues that often come with having thyroid hormone levels out of balance.

(Note on links: if you click directly on the following links, you will need to use your browser’s “back” button to return to the boards after viewing. As an alternative, you can right-click the link and open it in a new tab or new window).

http://gdatf.org/about/about-graves-disease/patient-education/whats-wrong-with-me/

http://gdatf.org/about/about-graves-disease/patient-education/students-graves/

I don’t know what the system is like in the UK, but here in the US, there are some regulations that can help students who have specific medical issues obtain needed accommodations that will help them to get through their studies. The article on students touches on this. Perhaps if you have a more detailed discussion with your school’s administrators, they might have some suggestions that could help.

It’s certainly a difficult decision to keep pushing through your studies or to instead take some time off. Just remember that your priority right now is to let your body heal!

Take care — and please keep us posted on how you are doing!

[naumanb]

#1171964

Tina, hello! I am a student as well, in my fourth year of college and recently was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease. It ended up becoming a bit much for me to handle so I am currently taking some time off from school to get myself into a better place before resuming my studies. I have had many issues with concentration as well, along with fairly crippling anxiety and depression. I am also on edge a lot more but I am still in the beginnings of my treatment and attempting to find the right amount of medication to balance everyhthing out. Although I do not know much that can help with concentration there are anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications that can be prescribed to help. I know I plan on going to talk to my doctor about this option soon because i have had more bad days than good. Hang in there though! If you feel taking some time for yourself away from college is the best thing for you, do it! I can honestly tell you that since I stopped with classes I feel a little more at ease and less stressed out and anxious. In all, you have to do what you feel best for you and taking time off instead of paying for school and struggling through may be a better option for you at this time! I hope everything goes well for you!!!

Bri

[bellatini]

#1171965

These are wonderful articles. Thank you Kimberly.

I totally understand your concern about atention span. I have a very fast paced job and have found that I have to remind myself to focus on the task at hand. I make lists and stick to them. I wish you the best!

[Bobbi]

#1171963

It pays to note that in these articles the cognitive issues are associated with HYPERTHYROIDISM, not Graves antibodies. Not when we are back to normal levels of hormone. I don’t know of studies that talk about this cognitive problem persisting once normal levels of hormone are reached and controlled.

[Tina171]

#1171966

Thanks Bri! I’ve done 3 out of 4 of my exams now, one left to go!! I’ve booked an appointment with my university needs assessor who is going to help me figure out what I’m going to do.

Taking time off sounded like a very good plan for you!

Unfortunately I had to make sure I got into uni this year (September 2011) to avoid the huge UK university fees hike before it begins in September 2012 making getting into uni a whole lot more stressful! I think I would have taken a year off maybe to recover if this weren’t the case.

I also thought that being stable on my meds in time for uni, maybe I would feel okay with the first year and that I’d cope better than I did in the last year of high school. I didn’t know what to expect really, but now I know firsthand what it’s like at uni with my condition, hopefully I can plan/arrange my second and third years a lot better and hopefully by then I will be feeling overall a lot better and more able to deal with my health issues and university.

Thank you for sharing your experience!! I really hope that you get much better soon!

[Tina171]

#1171967

Thanks everyone for all of the helpful advice I really appreciate it! I really wish I’d seen the forum when I first became ill! Hope all is well with everyone! hugs

[naumanb]

#1171968

Tina, That is great to hear! Good luck on your fourth exam! I know the hardest thing for me to do is to ask for help when I need it but with everything going on, you have to realize asking for help is ok! So good, I hope you can figure something out that works for you! Just remember to not take on more than you think you can handle but after this first year you now have a better understanding of what you can handle! That is a huge plus! I really hope that you get better as well and feel free to stay in touch!!!

[catstuart7]

#1171969

Bobbi wrote:

It pays to note that in these articles the cognitive issues are associated with HYPERTHYROIDISM, not Graves antibodies. Not when we are back to normal levels of hormone. I don’t know of studies that talk about this cognitive problem persisting once normal levels of hormone are reached and controlled.

I really wonder about this too Bobbi. I hope and pray that once my thyroid hormone levels are normal that I can go back to normal functioning.

Good luck to you Tina! I just wrote a post about these same problems. Hats off to you for dealing with school and this at the same time – I know it must be a challenge.

[kms1246]

#1171970

My sixteen year old sophomore in high school has been symptomatic even while his levels were in “normal range” . Although, I am not the one going through this I can see his struggle. He shares his feelings of anxiety, depression, fatigue, as well as focus issues. We have been told on several occasions that it may be something else, I am not buying it. Prior to the onset of this disease my son was fine.

[Bobbi]

#1171971

Personally, I suspect that some of the medications used to control things play a role as well. That was my experience, anyway. I shudder to think of any student trying to function academically the way MY brain worked while on PTU, even though my levels were supposed to be “normal.”

One thing to keep in mind, though. It takes time AT normal levels for our bodies to heal. Many of us spent months, if not years, with abnormal levels of thyroid hormone, and we need to expect some time for our bodies to recover. If someone gets hit by a truck, we do not expect them to function completely normally right after the surgery that resets the bones, etc. We expect a period of time where they do rehab to restrengthen muscles, and all. And, if they are students, they do not typically go back to a “full load” academically the day after the surgery. Being hyperthyroid is a bit like being hit by a metabolic truck, in my opinion. A big one.

[Tina171]

#1171972

Hi kms1246!

My mum had suspected that there was something a bit off about me the summer the year before I found out that I had hyperthyroidism, as I began sleeping a lot but my grades (GCSEs) didn’t suffer and I was doing really well with high grades achieved and a good work ethic.

After going to the doctors, blood test results that year came back showing that I had the thalassemia minor trait which runs through my family, and that I was slightly anaemic. So, they just put the tiredness down to that, prescribed me iron tablets. Even though I didn’t really think that having the trait would really affect me that much as I would have had it since I was born!

It was the following summer that my grades began to suffer as I began sleeping even more, sleeping through my alarms, not being able to focus properly in lessons as well as before, was getting really confused all the time and not getting my homeworks done quick enough. I began thinking to myself maybe it was because the subjects and exams were harder now as they’re at a higher level as I was in a higher year at school (A-level), these grades are probably what is expected in the beginning and I’ll get better.

Unfortunately by the autumn I got worse and back to the doctors I went where they carried out more tests and I found out that I was hyperthyroid. Ever since, I have found a lot of things in terms of my studies a lot more difficult. Even though I don’t suffer the heart palpitations and muscle aches anymore I do still have anxiety and fatigue but not as extreme as when I was hyperthyroid. All of my revision for exams is a lot harder, I don’t take things in the same way as I used to…

But slowly I think things are going to get better.

I’ve come to the conclusion that things just take time, everybody deals with it in their own ways. I hope your son gets better soon and gets as much help in school as he can i.e. extra time in exams which he is entitled to (I had to get it and still require it even now at uni) and maybe special requirements such as an external exam room seperate from the exam hall.

Best of luck,

Tina

[Author]

Posts