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Rosetoes,
I can relate; I was 51 when I went on Methimazole and for 23 months to see if doctors could get me into remission. Unfortunately it did not work out as even with dosage changes of 2.5 mg up or down, I either was going too hypothyroid or too hyperthyroid again.
I had the same symptoms as you and was very drug induced hypothyroid in Winter 2011 on 20 mg of Methimazole which I was taking for 3 months. I fought to not go on 30 mg as I was already gaining weight on this medication and I gained total 20 lbs. Then to get off the up and down Methimazole roller coaster I decided on RAI as my endocrinologist said all this up and down for me was not good for my body; I know others though who do quite well for years on a lower dosage of Methimazole to maintain normal levels or went into remission; for me, if I had to do it over again as my Graves was pretty severe prior to medication and I was the one who decided to try the Methimazole for months as my doctors advised against it only because of my circumstances, I would have just gone for the RAI immediately back in August 2010. I gained about 10 lbs after RAI and still trying to lose that and hopefully in time will lose all that weight I gained on Methimazole.
So from what you explain, yes this is all very normal and I insisted on more frequent blood work after I went severely drug induced hypothyroid in Winter 2011. It was so bad I could hardly keep my eyes open at times I was so tired and fat (still am) and sluggish and confused. A person has to be their own health care advocate and I am sorry yet in my Graves journey I found even certain endocrinologists are not very good at working with the patient with this disease as I found this is not a one size fits all kind of ordeal. I check to see if they specialize also in thyroid and not just diabetes! Most important is take care of yourself best you can and good communication with your doctor(s) and you know your body better than they do. You should hear some of my conversations with my doctor(s) as I have learned with this disease to put up with nothing. And if you cannot get through to your doctor to meet your needs, then you may need to move on until you find one who will work with you. Of course too unfortunately symptoms may linger even when numbers are changing I have found and there is a lot of patience involved with this disease as I have also experienced. I found there are no quick miracles or fixes yet it can get better!
I will say though with effort, it does slowly get better. The fears I had before are no longer there and things have got better in some way now post RAI. Yet for me, I hated the Methimazole up and down rollercoaster, yet that was me and not everyone has this experience as I hope others share. I only talk through 2-1/2 years of experience talking and working with many different doctors (4 endos included) and researching medical journals and many thyroid disease books and listening to others here as also I had to be careful not to listen to a lot of hearsay too on some other sites. It can get much better; this can be very normal what you are experiencing and just follow this as carefully as you can communicating with your doctors;I have an excel spreadsheet starting from August 2010 through now 6 months post RAI of all my blood work results and the dates and my physical symptoms and I give this to all my doctors as I know for myself where I feel best at what levels even if “within the ranges!”….Good luck! …. beach
WWW12,
Your welcome! As much as I can help with my experience for people like yourself as it is scary in the beginning and then again if a person is faced with a RAI or TT decision. I advise only as an individual who has gone through much with this disease to try your best working with a good doctor to stay on Methimazole and try to go into remission. A lot of doctors push RAI right away or they say some only allow people to try it for max 24 months. Some people have been on lower doses for years.
It is natural to have that fear of the RAI/I-131 before and after. When I look back I think why was I so fearful actually! The one thing that irritated me the most was going too darn hypothyroid just this end of August and more weight gain; I never even spoke of the hair loss as I had it post RAI, then stopped for a few weeks and since being on this Generic Synthroid hair loss again! I’m not going to fret over that though just yet as I have to give things time. I had relief I did RAI in a way because that Methimazole roller coaster was beating the heck out of my body; yet it does not happen that way for everyone!
I know of TSHs that were much higher! I had to laugh 60! I felt lousy at 3.5 one time on Methimazole and the highest drug induced hypo on Methimazole was TSH of 13. I was though somewhat dehydrated and lost some potassium as a result of too hypo this past August yet I’m much better now in that regards! I’m cautious of endocrinologists and thyroid in my experiences; some are very knowledgeable; some have more experience with diabetes. Only from my own experiences and others I know with endos.
If my experiences can help you and others that makes me happy. I know I’m on the road to being possibly back to almost normal again as I have many signs and even with some of the lingering symptoms and issues I speak of, I feel it is not as bad as I thought and in time I believe in the aftermath things will improve and that someday I may not even think about “Graves” anymore! I hope someday maybe I can put it behind me! You’ll do fine; just take it one day at a time!
WWW12,
Thank you; you are strong too; you have been through a lot!
No a lot of people do not understand this autoimmune Graves stuff and I have even encountered some people who had treatment and had an easier time of it than myself and do not understand; I have run into enough people though who years later after RAI are still struggling!
I am not saying though that is how it happens for everyone; I believe if doctors had caught this in me years ago, I may have been able to achieve remission on ATDs. Yet it was not meant to be.
I was changing dosages of my Methimazole by 2.5 mg and either way up or down I’d find myself going either too much toward hypothyroid or too much toward hyperthyroid. My current endocrinologist was not willing to get me regulated based on 2.5 mg dosages as he said if I was not getting balanced on going 5 mg up or down then I need to move on to RAI or TT.
It was quite a rollercoaster ride for me and probably not very good for my body.
I tried ATDs for 23 months and no balance. My doctor was very worried that my heart rate was still in the high 90s at times even on Methimazole and sometimes going into the 100s again and that up and down he said was not good. I was already in pretty bad shape back in Spring 2010 and I waited until September of 2010 to go on Methimazole thinking that I could attack this thing with natural means and my internist was willing to let me try. He said RAI right away after my radioactive iodine uptake and thyroid scan. I was the one who said let me try Methimazole. Three endocrinologists could not get me to balance/toward remission and my symptoms were all over the place. I basically had no choice and frankly back in 2010 I am surprised I did not have a storm before going on Methimazole. I have also been in the midst of taking care of my elderly mother the past 2 years where it also worsened my Graves symptoms even on Methimazole. She has had surgeries and falls and back damage and again is in rehab for her back and the stress I think took it’s toll on my body as I’m the only caretaker here as family is all up north.
I was scared to death to have RAI yet I spoke to my husband’s cousin who is a doctor who had it at 40; she is 60 now and no major weight gain, walks 5 miles a day, no aches and pains and looks great! I have another friend here had RAI 7 years ago after a horrible thyroid storm experience and she said she has never been the same; yet she looks great and in her mid 40s. The fact that I was never going to achieve remission on Methimazole and who was I kidding I realized I’d better do something as the Graves could be taking it’s toll on my heart and rest of my body; even my husband’s cousin who had RAI warned me. So I went for it May 2012. It was very easy and all the fear I had prior I found was not necessary. I had a very good post RAI experience; a little bit of hyperactivity the first month yet it subsided and then 3 months out I started feeling a cross between hyperthyroid and hypothyroid. That is when I knew I was going to crash to hypothyroid soon as I already was drug induced hypothyroid on 20 mg of Methimazole I was on for 3 months. At the time the doctor wanted me on 30 mg of Methimazole and I said no way as I know how sensitive my body is to medications and I was right. The endo even apologized that she made me “too hypothyroid” on 20 mg of Methimazole for 3 months; why I started trying to self dose as these doctors were impossible! Yet I realize now that I have to work with my doctor and to let them know what my plans are. Anyway, I crashed to hypothyroid about the 3rd week of August 2012 and it was miserable. I ached, could hardly walk, was so clumsy, stopped driving knowing that I was confused, could not think straight, gained 10 lbs in a very short period of time and just all the standard hypo symptoms yet seemed to me about 10x over! I was kind of mad at the endo and I made it clear to him as I told him to test me in 2 weeks instead of waiting the month and that just little bit longer put me over the edge. My TSH was 60. I almost had an accident in my house I was so clumsy as I hit my head. I’m probably one of the most coordinated people going as I used to rollerblade up until a couple years ago (I’m 53) and do fancy stuff and gymnastics many years ago. I was really irritable too and letting me go so severely hypothyroid irritated me more; so important to have very good communication and relationship with your doctor. Anyway, I was put on 75 mcg of Synthroid; no good; still feeling like I was down in the dungeon; then put on 100 mcg Synthroid; a bit more energy and then a real slump again; then my legs were hurting so much I could hardly walk as I felt like I was about 20 years older. So I said let me try Generic Synthroid; it could have been that getting adjusted to the thyroid hormone or moving up too quickly from one dosage to another could have created the extreme leg pain; I don’t know and doctors had no answers for me! So my doctor and I came to a mutual agreement just about 2 months ago to put me on 125 mcg even though he said for my weight that I should go on 112 mcg; my blood test of almost one month ago showed my TSH just below “1” and my FT4 was just a little over the higher end of the range, like .10. My doctor said nothing and I have to call to get another blood test as I see him end of November. My endocrinologist most likely will release me to my internist as he told me once I’m looking somewhat stable, my internist will be able to take over. I got tested once a month with him on Methimazole and same with post RAI except this time around now I am going 2 months in between seeing him.
The good to me, I got off that Methimazole rollercoaster. No hope of remission; wanted to get on with my life as it was somewhat on hold being on that medication and never feeling right; the RAI is not scary as I thought it would be; I feel more calm and I sleep well as I have not had good sleep through this for almost the entire 2-1/2 years and I had problems prior to that also! My menstural cycle seems to have quit at 53 yet who knows maybe it will come back as my family goes through at 55 and my ob/gyn said that typically we follow what happens with our mothers; yet again that is not always true for everyone. My extreme mood swings have quieted as I am more even and calm. I don’t find myself obsessing as much over this disease as I was told by a medical professional that Graves people do this as it is part of the disease itself. I think more clearly again too. I can see a light at the end of the tunnel where on Methimazole there wasn’t any; Yet I see now my Graves was very far along and I may have wasted time on Methimazole yet I wanted to try. I did get to research an awful lot on Graves all through the 2+ years and talk to a lot of people and hear their experiences.
The bad is that I gained a lot of weight on Methimazole and then post RAI 10 extra pounds. Slowly I’m losing that 10 extra and still need to take off at least 15 yet I wish I could go for 20. We’ll see. Plus the leg pain still off and on as we spoke about here which is very frustrating at times. Plus I also get tired more easily. Yet I’ve aged since this started and seeming that I may have gone through changes and this disease can take it’s toll on one’s body and healing takes time as I am seeing. So maybe in 6 more months there may be even more improvement for me; at least I can hope!
The wait to go hypothyroid was not fun.The ugly was going hypothyroid and dealing with doctors and the weight gain. I’ve learned somewhat to live with the pain. I’ve dealt with pain of different sorts for a very long time now off and on for a few years so I kind of do not know what normal is yet I won’t take pain medication; when I was taking so much motrin when I had severe pelvic pain with my ovarian cyst 2008-2009 my heart was racing like crazy all the time; I found out from the first endo it was the motrin doing that and he said Tylenol only; in fact my friend who had RAI 7 years ago here still only uses Tylenol as some medications still make her heart race believe it or not. I guess if it got bad I would have to take stronger stuff yet hopefully that won’t happen. The fact that I was worried about my thyroid eye disease which mine was diagnosed as moderate and I was afraid with RAI that it would worsen in time. My thyroid eye doctor who does specialize in this Graves opthamology and does many eye operations for such says that he needs to monitor me from 3-5 years post RAI as antibodies will still be active as he told me. I never kept weight on me as such in my entire life as I was always very active and ate very healthy and I still have in the last 2-1/2 years yet it does not impact my weight to go down yet I still have hope as I’m slowly losing. My biggest fear is that my endocrinologist will lower my Generic Synthroid dosage and then I’ll feel more hypothyroid again and he has this thing that over 50s should have a certain TSH reading of 2-3 instead of what two other doctors told me, one an endocrinologist to keep it at 1 no matter what age. Plus I may want to try some Armour yet I also go with reservation with that because I know some people with that added T3 can have heart palps and that is the last thing I want again! I read some medical journal there is a timed released T3 available in Europe yet nothing of such that would mimic what the human body would actually need has been developed her in the US. I already discussed this with my endocrinologist who is also a professor at the Medical University and up on the latest and greatest and he said they do things differently over there!
I found for myself it is good to talk and share with others; this is the last thing I would be doing back 2-1/2 years ago. Yet I found writing helps and people have helped me and I want to be able to help people like you with my experiences if I can or if there is anything of worth that I share here. I am glad it helps you as it is not easy and I sympathize with what you are going through; it got easier for me and I think for me if I had it to do over, I would have done RAI right away and I’d be much further along and probably would not have gained as much! Yet it worked out that way for a reason so now I just keep moving forward with hopes that things will keep getting better; there are improvements in myself and I never have to have those horrible heart palps and afib again and my legs were so rubbery I thought many times I was going to fall down the stairs and my hands shaked so much I could no longer write! I look at it so what if I’m heavier at least I feel I am healthier now! You’ll get there! You’ve already reached out and that is a start and when you have the right medical professionals working with you it does make a big difference. Even though my endo and I sometimes butt heads, I am very grateful for him getting me through things as he is a very knowledgeable and intelligent man just that I had to work at getting through to him better and it has worked out pretty well; sometimes with this disease there is not perfection yet we can get better! Hang in there better days will come!
WWW12,
I hear what you are saying as I had my share of run around and issues with doctors my entire life. Two times in my very younger years I could have died due to doctor’s not figuring things out properly.
I had signs of Graves/hyper for years and with a TSH of almost 0 back in 2007 where I was having miserable IBS symptoms and other problems and yet T4 was fine and I had no clue about thyroid back then or what symptoms were as I just did not search things on healthcare issues back then as I did since I was diagnosed with Graves in 2010.
Plus I had a miserable time with pre and post Ovarian surgery to remove the left ovary and cyst which they thought at the time was cancerous yet thank God it was not; and the CT scan with the iodine dye done is most probably what put me over the edge as I read by two doctors that can (the iodine) cause the hyperthyroid condition to come out which it did with me! I know of two other people similar. I’ve gone along for years having faith in doctors and with every treatment or medicine I take more problems occurred! So I hear your frustrations!
I won’t go into more. You have been through a lot and I understand where you are coming from.
I agree a lot of doctors, at least ones I have encountered, either don’t know and act like you the patient don’t know what they are talking about (our own bodies) or they don’t want to be inconvenienced.
I’m very much against medications or treatments and also too many tests like X-rays or scans, etc. I believe less is better if possible. I have a holistic nurse practitioner I deal with from where I came from who taught me this and she also works with traditional medicine too! I only had my ovary out because the cyst was growing and huge and I was in extreme pain for almost 1-1-2 years as I was putting off surgery. My ob/gyn wants me to have the right one out with another cyst growing yet no way unless it starts to pain me like the left one did. The less I do with doctors, the better off I am finding out! It is sad because there are many good doctors out there as people tell me if you can find them! We just cannot lose faith! Many people have good experiences; I’m waiting for myself!
I was told with my heart racing for a very long time it was hormonal. If I had not pushed about the fact something was very wrong I probably would have had a thyroid storm and could have had a heart attack. I was headed that way as I was in bad shape back in 2010.
Plus when women’s hormones are changing getting closer to the change of life, we can become more prone to develop Graves; plus I am told by certain doctors being that the thyroid and ovaries are part of the endocrine system, there is a connection. Some say not though! Sure some of them lie; I see it all the time; and they want to make me look like I’m crazy or just take this medication and mask the real problem; I shove the prescription back at them!
Maybe a “DO” or a Integrative/Naturopathic type of MD would be helpful for you if you have not already pursued in addition to your regular MD? I know for me the latter unfortunately is out of pocket not covered by insurance. I have not gone through what you have yet I’ve had a share of miserable health care experiences and frustrations and I hear what you are saying! Yet for me I keep searching as there are good doctors out there who really care; it sometimes takes time to find. Plus maybe there are others in your area who have thyroid disorder who can give a doctor referral? I hear the same things too from people; or people who expect that now I should be feeling much better and I do not! Many do not understand autoimmune; heck a lot of doctors don’t and there aren’t any cures as we know there are about 80 different autoimmune diseases! I also sought out therapy when I was in a really bad way which helped me a lot. Hopefully you will in time find the doctor and support you need as I hope this site is also helping you! It has gotten better for me and I was losing hope; For me, I’ve also learned to communicate better with my doctors to get my needs better addressed…. Good luck I know it is not easy!
It sounds like you are right on track as I had a cross between hyper and hypo symptoms too post RAI at about 3 months post RAI later than the timeframe you are experiencing.
First two months post RAI I felt great! After being on antithyroid Methimazole about 23 months of horrible up and down and symptoms all over the place, feeling kind of normal was very welcomed. I actually lost weight in that timeframe!
Then about 3 months into my post RAI I had the tremors still like you yet the fatigue and feeling cold and other symptoms you describe here.
I spoke to my endocrinologist who tested me post RAI once a month to test me sooner than that as I felt I was crashing. I was drug induced hypothyroid one time in Winter 2011 on Methimazole so I knew something was wrong.
Then I crashed about 3rd week of August were I got clumsy, confused and felt unsure about driving as I was not myself. I was very cold (which I ran warm for most of my life and worse with Graves!), gained 10 lbs fast in spite of diligent diet and exercise, clumsy, confused, achy all over, extreme bloat, face and around eyes very puffy, sleeping too much yet with sometimes not being able to sleep well, cramps in legs, headaches and very irritable. You talk of not sleeping well as I had that off and on whether hyperthyroid or hypothyroid as when I get to balance I sleep much better. I felt that I should have gotten on thyroid hormone sooner so hopefully your doctor does not let things progress too far. In fact the doctors said I went hypo later than a lot of people with the amount of I-131/RAI that I received yet in my journey I have not been the norm at all! My TSH was 60 and quickly they put me on Synthroid at a higher dose than my endocrinologist normally does for a woman over 50. Now 6 months later and now on Generic Synthroid 125 mcg I’m starting to feel human and my only issues are the weight and joint pain and muscle pain which I am hoping in time with the right amount of thryoid hormone (and type) and working with the right doctor that too will improve. Some more tiredness too than usual yet nothing like when I was post RAI hypo or back when Graves was in full swing before proper treatment! Sounds like you are on a normal post RAI track at least from what I experienced! Good luck with this!
WWW12,
I hear your frustration as I’ve been there throughout this journey; problem is with this thyroid business it is not a one size fits all and I find some of these doctors approach it as such; I have talked with many who did not have the muscle/joint pain that I did along the way in my journey nor the issues with the weight which I have very good diet and exercise habits yet cannot lose one pound and doctors have not answers for that either. The only thing that helped me was my excel spreadsheet which I have all my dosage changes on Methimazole (on it for about 23 months) and then post RAI on thyroid hormone (T4, Synthroid and Generic Synthroid), and all my blood work results and the physical changes; my internist started to realize that when my FT3 and TSH were at certain numbers and not just within range, yet what was appropriate for me, I started feeling better. Any drastic changes in Methimazole or recently with the T4 medication post RAI, I’ve had severe muscle pain in my legs and in my joints. I also had joint pain issues in my fingers and hands. From my experience, I unfortunately cannot totally rely on my doctors realizing that most of my symptoms and issues that I am now having are stemming from my thyroid not being totally right for me; endocrinologists focus predominantly on diabetes; if they do not have a strong background in thyroid and post RAI or TT treatment, I move on. I had a wonderful female endocrinologist by me 6 months who listened and worked with me and I am so sorry she left my area as she would have seen me through my Graves journey in a more understanding fashion; this disease strikes mostly women too if you look at statistics. From my experiences, more research needs to be done and the effects. Plus for me, I do not totally believe my body is going to function the same as it did pre-RAI even if I am starting to feel better as to me there is nothing like having your own natural thyroid. So I had a miserable time on Methimazole and horrible leg pain and joint pain in other areas of my body and I could hardly walk post RAI for a few weeks starting on Synthroid; I switched to Generic Synthroid and that horrible pain went away yet I still stiffen up a lot and I have to move more plus I realize too that some of this has to do with levels and weight gain. Yet I keep searching for that perfect doctor and it does not necessarily have to be an endocrinologist. I have done so much research on this disease for 2-1/2 years now, talking with many doctors, and reading many books on thyroid and Graves disease and reading reliable medical journals online and I have been commended by a couple of doctors on how well educated I am on this disease and one who says I read too much because some doctors do not want you to appear that you may know more; it’s truly been a learning experience for myself and I am slowly getting there yet I had some miserable times and pain and frustration and I am starting to see a light at the end of this tunnel. When you find the right doctor and find out what is the right dosage and treatment for you, you will do well too. Plus remember too that if we have one autoimmune disease we can be more prone to develop another autoimmune disease, like two endocrinologists of mine told me and my recent one said too some people with Graves post RAI develop diabetes. So not to bring out negative points as I know people who had gone into remission on Methimazole or had RAI and years later never developed any other autoimmune disease and all symptoms they had getting to where they needed to be, went away.
Plus myself going into menopause is not helping possibly with the pain issue and we are all so different as I believe the severity of the disease, how long a person had the disease (and I believe mine was undetected for many years as per doctors telling me off and on I was “slightly hyperthyroid”) and the age of the person who develops this disease, are all factors in how severe or not symptoms will be.
Unfortunately I found I had to be my own health care advocate with this Graves journey. I listened to those who had no problems with pain or struggles with weight gain yet I do not fit the perfect mold as I have possibly more problems than others. Yet I keep persisting with my doctors with my research and I even bring medical journal articles that I know that they will not dismiss to back myself up along with my little excel spreadsheet. And if I find I am not having success, I move on and will keep doing that until I find the right fit; no one should settle for 50-75% as I already spoke to my current endocrinologist about this as I want to feel the best I can moving forward without taking other medications to mask “symptoms” and get to the root cause. I don’t think any doctors would settle if they had this disease and I hope and pray in time you find someone who will really work with you! Like my friend here who had RAI 7 years ago and had a horrible thyroid storm before RAI where doctors took over a week to figure out it was thyroid related, was prescribed antidepressants and antianxiety medication for “symptoms” and when they found out that they did not work for her, finally a doctor figured out that it was her thyroid levels that were causing problems. I know it is not easy and I’ve learned to go up against my doctors assertively, yet politely, to get what I need because it is your body and your life and you should get whatever testing and treatments that you need to get to the point where you feel much better. I wish you best of luck and if you ever want to email me here, please do that. I had a miserable time and it is slowly getting better for me so yes there is a light at the end of this tunnel (at least for me almost 2-1/2 years now) yet when you are in it, it is most frustrating and depressing and can sometimes feel debilitating….I hope you find stability and answers soon!
WWW12,
I certainly hope it is not a forever thing this pain; I’m in my early 50s and I feel sometimes like I’m much older since this RAI and being on Generic Synthroid; yet on Methimazole I had issues too; for me it all depends on my levels and then again as I mentioned before the weight gain that I have had from ATDs and post RAI has not helped. For me the calcium/magnesium took a while to work as I find supplements are like that. Yet in my opinion getting to the right levels and working with the right doctor is the key; because it is not a one size fits all with this thyroid business as I am finding out for myself. I’m still searching for the right doctor and I will not settle or get other medications offered to me to bandaid situations.
I hope you find the right doctor to work this through with you. I had very bad issues with muscles prior to getting treated when my Graves was in full swing. Now I have different problems post RAI. I had a time once on Methimazole where I went very hypothyroid and my entire body ached for a long time like I had the flu. When readjusted things got better yet I also have been doing a lot of acupuncture for almost a year too. Plus going into the change of life has probably not helped either with estrogen levels dropping. I hope to get a very good blood workup by an Integrative type MD I have gone to in the past.
It will get better once you get with the right physician who will figure out what is really going on and get you to balance. This journey is not easy at least I find for me and I hate to say with ATDs and then RAI I seem to have aged about 10 years. Yet I have hope with searching and getting to the right medical practitioner that things will get better with pain. Good luck and please keep us posted!
Hi WWW12,
Your welcome; I know of others where the calcium/magnesium helped.
Good luck with that and your doctor.Thanks; I figure in time if I get my levels where they are best for me maybe I’ll feel more normal. I really do not know what normal is now 2-1/2 years. I admit things are better in some ways post RAI and in others not. Yet I know for some it takes longer than others and I too am open to Armour possibly as my internist is willing to try; I am not very big on Synthetic drugs or any drugs for that matter for myself yet many do well on Synthroid alone.
That is interesting what you say about your T3 levels and the joint/muscle pain; I know for me when I went hyper my joints hurt terribly and that was when my T3 was high. When my T3 was low with hypothyroid, my muscles ached more. I may be going a little toward the hyperthyroid side with my generic Synthroid because my last blood work showed my FT4 slightly high and yet my TSH was a little bit under 1. I kept track of all my blood work with levels for the 2-1/2 years on an excel spreadsheet and have blood work results also of my TSH and FT4 from past years pre Graves so I kind of know where my levels need to be; problem is that getting my thyroid hormone just right as what I’m at may be a little too much and if my endocrinologist decreased me it may put me more toward hypothyroid. I kind of know just by my muscles and joints what levels I am at just like with my hair falling out or not. The only thing that puzzles me is that the weight is not budging!
I wish you much luck with this moving forward and that you get your levels best stablized for you moving forward without much trouble. I really wish for myself I had gone into remission on antithyroid drugs yet it just did not work out for me!
Hello,
I had rage for years undiagnosed hyperthyroid/Graves; I did not know that until I got treated. At my full blown Graves in May 2010 my resting heart rate at times was 120-140 bpm and I waited a whole summer until I got on Methimazole and I used some natural stuff for my heart rate with the approval of a naturopathic nurse practitoner and my own doctor yet it is advised to go on a beta blocker right away for such a rapid resting heart rate. I had the rages on Methimazole 20 months as I was up and down too much even with the slightest increases or decreases. I went to a therapist and also to acupuncture. I will say now 6 months post RAI my moods (crossing fingers) are becoming more even and even though I’m struggling with being fat, this is one thing that I am grateful for; being calmer! I believe my levels 2 months on Generic Synthroid are closer to normal for me; I am going through major crisis right now with my mother and her health and health care and I’m not flipping out or screaming or wanting to kill like I did in the past; it was very scary and I did not know how to control it! So I can say from experience if a Graves patient gets treated timely and correctly and balanced right, things improve as believe me it is a miracle as I thought I’d be a raving lunatic the rest of my life! I lived with anxiety my entire life as I probably had thyroid issues off and on for years and was never correctly detected by doctors. I head for the hills from medication as I only believe in natural yet this Graves thing could not be corrected with natural and I had to use medications and it is pretty amazing I am on a Synthetic T4 drug yet I will say something has been working as my moods are more stable.
My TSH was very low for a few years prior to my Graves coming out and I wish someone had tested my Antibodies, TSI at the time! So I look back at moods and similar to what you explain and I say, well there must have been something brewing a long time; yet I am just a fellow poster here and not a doctor and I can only share my experience. Maybe I would have achieved remission on ATDs if I had been caught earlier who knows?!
Best of luck with this and working with a good doctor to guide you through to figure this out for you!….beach
Your welcome! Glad you have a good doctor now! I’m still searching.
My current endo somewhat relates as he had to total thyroidectomy so he knows how it takes a while to get adjusted post TT or RAI. He deals with both diabetes and thyroid. Yet well not with the menopause thing though!
I wish I was one of those who I listen to here or other places who did not have many problems post RAI as I have been yet trying to be optimistic; I’m happy that my hot flashes subsided yet I still struggle with like I said the weight and also hair loss yet I believe somehow in time, this too shall pass with getting balanced.
