[Anonymous]

#1083248

As a school counselor, I would suggest that you work with the counselor and also have your daughter help educate her firends and classmates on this disease so they are more understanding. One of the teens on this site had given a speech in class about it. Kids can be very compassionate when we allow them to be. Be sure your daughter knows that like the rest of us she is attractive no matter what the reading on the scale.

[Anonymous]

#1083249

Please at least order bulleltin #55. It is the best bulletin we have, and talks about “Students and Graves’Disease”. If you join NGDF, it can be one of the six free bulletins you get. Parents have copied it and given it to the school counselor, all teachers, the principal and the school nurse (for starters). We have given it to all the Pediatric Endocrinologists we can, and they say it is great.

Now I’ll quit hogging the board!

[Anonymous]

#1083250

I’m sorry to hear that your daughter is having problems. I know how tough it can be to be in school and have to deal with Graves’. I was diagnosed last year during my senior year of college. I couldn’t sit still in class, I was constantly bouncing my legs around and shifting in my seat, and forget being able to pay attention to what my professors were saying. And studying! It’s hard for us to focus on one thing for any period of time when we’re hyper, let alone try to learn and remember at the same time, since our memories can often be affected. I had to force myself into a calming state before I started studying. More often than not I took my books to a coffee shop or put on relaxing music and lit candles if I had homework to do. It was still difficult, but it helped. If your daughter has a quiet place to work with no distractions, it might be easier for her to focus.

Also, it takes people different amounts of time to get back to feeling normal. I’ve been on beta blockers and Tapazole for 10 months now, and I still have days where my levels are high. Some days are much better than others, though! And as for the weight issue, it took me a while to come to terms with the fact that I have a disease, and the disease affects my weight, and it’s not entirely my fault. That is a very difficult thing to accept, especially if you’ve been thin all your life. I found recently that with a change in my diet (cutting out sugar, soda, junk food, etc.) and doing yoga and pilates when I feel up to it have made a big difference. Yoga and pilates are great because they don’t raise the heart rate as much as running or weight training (which my doctor said I can’t do anymore because of heart palpitations), but I still feel like I’ve made an effort when I’m done. I hope this helps! Let your daughter know I’m pulling for her!

Shenley

[Anonymous]

#1022613

My daughter, who has always been an A student, is really struggling with homework. It is almost as if she has ADD…can’t sit still, up and down a zillion times, can’t concentrate and Hates it with a capital H! I know it is common for kids to have these issues with Graves’ but how long does it usually take to feel somewhat normal again. She has been on Beta Blocker since August and ATD’s since Labor Day. She had to switch from Methimzaole to PTU because of an allergic reaction.

Her other issue right now is weight gain. She never lost weight with all the voracious eating and has probably gained over 20 lbs since the summer. I know, and I’ve told her when she complains, that if I even mention her eating she’ll be furious with me. Any suggestions on how to help her with this? She was skinny to begin with so she’s not overweight but really feels it because she was used to being so thin.

Thanks for any help.

[Anonymous]

#1083251

Thank you all for responding. I will order the bulletin about students with Graves’ and will try to help her with calming, stimulus reducing environment prior to doing homework. I will also mention about educating her friends. She seems reluctant to talk about her disease. I think she’s embarrassed and doesn’t want to be so ‘different’. She says it’s too depressing to talk about and that nobody would want to hear all about it. She really is kind of in the denial, depression anger stage of this disease. She won’t read any of the books I’ve gotten or look at this web-site. So I try to very matter of factly tell her what I’ve learned. I met with her counselor yesterday and we are meeting as a family tomorrow morning. He was incredibly supportive and wants to make whatever accommodations are necessary to help her through this.
My daughter has been through a lot. We adopted her as an infant from Korea so those identity issues of adolescence have been harder. She was also diagnosed with OCD at the end of 8th grade and worked very hard to bring that under control. I sometimes wonder if the stress of OCD is what precipitated the Graves’. At any rate I appreciate this group and have found it so helpful. At some point, my daughter might feel able to post her own questions and responses. Thank you again.

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