[Anonymous August 17, 1997 at 1:24 pm Post count: 93172]

#1158016

I too wonder if the antibodies ever go away.I had RAI 17 years ago, had some damage to my eyes,fatty tissue etc. After being stable for about 12 yrs. I began to have double vision. Now the proptosis is definetly worse.The dr. says, although rare, it is not unheard.All by blood levels are normal and have been for many years.We (patients and drs.) still have a lot to learn.

[Anonymous August 17, 1997 at 1:44 pm Post count: 93172]

#1158017

Boy Em your post just summed up what I have been going though.! I do not know enough about my blood levels yet or my antibodies but the doctors did say all my tests were normal when they tried to figure out why I was so so tired. I got sent to the shrink for depression and yes I did feel lucky when he said I was not and really happy that he did not offer any medications.

Now that I am not tired (like I was before-thought I was going to die) I hope to start keeping a daily record of how I am feeling and what I am eating. I bought vitamins a while ago and did not even start taking them because I did not want to put medicines in me. Glad I quit drinking beer months ago. I am sure that I would have blammed everything on drinking!

Now if I could only stop smoking and drinking coffee! Something that I have done since I was 15- I am now 42.

All I know something is attacking my left eye! Sometimes it is fine even if I am smoking a pack of cigarettes and reading everything on the computer and other times I can just be sitting on the sofa and it waters up and hurts for no reason!

Well, someday they will get to the bottom of this and maybe I will be around to say “I told you so”!

[Anonymous August 17, 1997 at 3:44 pm Post count: 93172]

#1054153

Supposedly , jack wall- thyroidologist–has isolated the antibodies that attack our eyes…..maybe they are the same ones that attack the thyroid as well—-money for research on this is slim…..as i believe the drs feel that we thyroid patients DO blame our hang nails on Graves..and untl we get the truth accross to them many new patients wll go through mental anguish. due to their lack of sympathy ……..BUT they are very sympathetic to the eye disease…..thank God

Hopefully with the research on the eyes it will shed some light on the disease…….and as a matter of fact….i know a woman that got the eye disease 20 yrs after rai

---

not as rare as they say it is—-

my theory is that all all patients that are initially diag with Graves have true hyper symp. and then when they gve us rai—-they off our thyroid so we have hypo symptoms along with other subclinical gland problems due to the loss of our thyroid and also because of the active antibodies
we get hyper symptoms also==== i believe that once given rai

---

we are thrown into a hashi thyrotoxicosis

---

wth symptoms of both….feeling tired and yet nervous….muscle weakness….., etc, etc
At that point u go to the dr and tell him your symp and everyone gets confused ,,,,they throw up their hands after trying 4 or so doses,,,give you more tests—everythng is neg…so …they figure that you are now blaming stress, anx, depression, and your hang nail on Graves and off to the psychologist you go…..thnking your nutso or at least a hypochondriac……BUT if you could think logically—-you never were like this before…..but unfortunately the endo never saw you before Graves and doesnt REAllY know you–and–feel lucky if your not offered antidepressants

one vicious circle

---

until those antibodies calm down……

the dr that sug ptu and syn to me said that if your antibod are still high a yr or two after rai—that she would give the combo to help calm those antibod…..so that synthy could be given alone wthout feeling terrible…..
Could it be less complicated than we think???

Boy i would love to spend a whole day with a dr willing to listen —wouldnt you?????

[Author]

Posts