[snelsen October 24, 2016 at 9:33 pm Post count: 1909]

#1060792

I copied and pasted what I just wrote to answer this question to one person who asked it tonight. Then I decided to post it for everyone. Here ya go! Credit also to Liz, who responded in a similar way.

From: Seattle, Wa.
Registered: 2010-01-01
Posts: 1902
Profile PM
Request immediate response re holistic/dietary treatment

This is a good question. (not related to the posted topic)

Same as Liz. But once I found it I was hooked. People were SO helpful to me with TED, and then I realized I could be be helpful to others, not only with TED, but with Graves’.

There is always someone new on the site, with the same discouragement, depression, anxiety, and fear that I had with both TED and Graves’. It helps to talk to someone who has been down in the depths of all of it, and read that this person is now pretty much “back in the normal population,”and all aspects of it.
It also is very helpful to chat with someone who is trying to plan a family

You feel so alone with this. Unlike a pregnancy, or even a surgical procedure that is more well known, there are a lot of people who really do understand, have been there, and offer helpful advice and support. But there are fewer in the Graves’ TED population, and most of us did not have A CLUE about it, and did not know anyone had “been there, done that.”

That’s about it. All of this (except being pregnant!) is the same for men. If anything, it is even harder for them, since Graves’/TED is so much more rare for them. I like to think that AZ Graves guy got a lot of support from us, and like many others, he has been a valuable asset to the discussion.

Many of us old timers pop on now and then to see what is going on. I think it is reassuring, too, to read posts from the very beginning, when we are truly lost, convinced that life as we knew it is gone forever..then watch the progression to to a place where things are so much better.

[KimberlyOnline Facilitator October 25, 2016 at 10:23 am Post count: 4288]

#1184829

Many folks do disappear once thyroid levels are stabilized or once eye surgeries are complete. So the GDATF is VERY grateful to those who keep checking back to share their experiences and offer support to those who are new to the site!

😎

[emmtee October 28, 2016 at 2:20 am Post count: 148]

#1184831

When I was first diagnosed with Graves’ six years ago, this bulletin board was an important resource for me. Choosing a treatment is such a difficult decision, and it’s helpful to get input from people who have gone through it. I had a difficult case with lots of ups and downs.

I’m fortunate to have a Graves’ support group in my community, so in the years when I wasn’t posting here, I was attending meetings pretty regularly. I recently started reading the bulletin board again and I post here to help newly diagnosed patients the way that I was helped by others in years past. I recently even had a question of my own and got some great answers. This is a chronic disease and it can always change.

[mojon October 28, 2016 at 9:19 am Post count: 25]

#1184832

Speaking for those of us who hope to become an old timer, THANKS for your participation which brings a perspective that we could get no other way.

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