[annax]

in reply to: Remission on ATDs – now what????? #1169114

Hi Rebecca,
This is my first time posting in the forum but I have found reading it, over the last few years of my journey, very helpful and would like to contribute back and perhaps provide some help to others if possible. I am not sure if my story will help you but it might give you some idea of what my remission has been like.

I was lucky to have been diagnosed with Graves Disease fairly early in it’s development. I started on methimazole within 3-6 months of a huge climb of my levels. I took the drug for about 18 months and was able to achieved remission.

Initially I felt great. My hair had stopped falling out, I had energy and could work out regularly again. My anxiety had diminished along with my aches, pains, brain fog, etc. etc. But after a month or so I started to notice my hair start falling out again, my eyes were extremely sensitive to light and blurry, the brain fog and inability to concentrate seemed to be returning. My blood work kept coming back in normal ranges despite my array of symptoms and I got no feedback from my specialist on what the symptoms could be from, other than "not thyroid related" since the numbers were good. And although I was able to workout regularly and eat fairly healthy the scales didn’t budge.

I ended up with a bad case of vertigo which was accompanied by all sorts of eye sensitivities and odd headaches that felt hot and fuzzy at the back of my head. I was given vertigo medication which helped but made me feel sick. I read that vertigo can be caused by allergies, so I tried allergy medication instead and it worked great. No sick feeling. I took the antihistamines for a month or two, then stopped. Seemed to feel fine for a while but the symptoms started to come back, this time with increased anxiety and chest palpitations. Blood work, again, turned up great…

After some digging around online I decided to do a cleanse to see if it might be toxin or diet related. Something had to give! I followed the Master Cleanse and after 24 hours felt wonderful. Fabulous even. Better than I had in years. I completed the 10 days of the cleanse 5 weeks ago and started reintroducing items into my diet. Everything seemed to be going well until i tried wheat (bread). Within 30 minutes of having multi-grain bread i got dizzy and my head started to pound. I went to bed and slept for 3 hours, woke up, my head still pounding and had to go back to bed for the night. I have self-diagnosed myself with a gluten intolerance, which seems to be directly related to autoimmune disorders perhaps a trigger even. Since my cleanse i have felt great unless I eat gluten, sugar or caffeine. (Sugar and caffeine make my heart race). I have lost weight, working out 5 days a week, and finally feel in control of my body mentally and physically for the first time in years. I am sure not everyone with Graves Disease is Gluten Intolerant but i would encourage you to look into it and Celiac Disease if you find some of your symptoms persist.

Folks here know what you have, and are, going through. I found it to be a lonely journey so please let me know if I can be of any comfort to you (or anyone else).

Best,
Anna

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