[brondack]

in reply to: How to talk with friends/family about Graves’ #1179671

A litlle more ‘daughter’ humor for the crowd….

My adult daughter, who at the time was living 1200 miles away(she has moved back home for a while for a number of reasons), had gone thru the WHOLE gamut of Graves – from all of the rollercoasting between hyper and hypo – including a couple of visits to the ER because of her heart rate being out of contol. She finally had RAI and eventually stabilzed but unfortunately did experience the TED bulging eyes problem. And last September had bilateral OD surgery – from which she has recovered marvelously and looks as beautiful as she did prior to the TED (I have to add that she never was NOT beautiful because I know she will read this…lol).

Not much humor yet, but here it comes….

Well, I went for my annual physical last November and my PCP informed me that my thyroid numbers looked suspicious and set up an appoinment for me with an endo (and I asked for the same one who had treated my daughter when she moved back). It came as no surprise that the endo informed me that I have Graves, but , having had the knowledge of what my daughter went thru, I at least had a lot of the questions already answered.

So when I got home, I spoke with her and said to her ‘ Thanx, I’ve been diagnosed with Graves and the doctor said it is often hereditary, so I must of gotten it from you!’ She stared at me with a dumbfounded look and said ‘Dad, it doesn’t work that way !’

[brondack]

in reply to: How to talk with friends/family about Graves’ #1179664

CycleColo2013 wrote:

Brondack may have been referring to me when he said Bill – unless there’s another Bill participating on the site. Us guys with GD are small in number…

I didn’t mean to be referring to anyone – other than myself – as I am also a Bill

[brondack]

in reply to: How to talk with friends/family about Graves’ #1179655

Hi misslex,

Bill here and I am one of the minority (male) lol.

I would agree with all of the suggestions that Karen made about being you own advocate – but relying on who ever is close to you as well. The comment about friends / family not seeming to care is quite true since often there are no blatantly visible symptoms – so they think it is nothing to worry about. We all know how incorrect that is.

Yes, you will get a lot of support from the other members of this forum. But, I would also caution you about one thing. This disease affects everyone differently – some much worse that others, some with ‘group A (my term)’ symptoms and some with ‘group B(again my term)’ symptoms, and perhaps a very few with both and some with only mild versions of some symptoms . In your reading of all of the posts here, you might get very worried about experiencing all of the symptoms – and in the worst possible extreme. Is that possible?, Yes of course it is – but it is also very unlikely. So, take everyone’s personal statements as a fact that is true for them, but does not mean that it will be true for you.

You and your doctors need to assess your own situation and take the steps to improve it.

Read as much as you can about Graves, ask questions and take others’ advice after you have considered it carefully.

Good luck and we are all here to help you get through this – as we are going through it ourselves.

[brondack]

in reply to: Become Obsessively Familiar With Your Meds #1179328

Great catch – but understand we can’t possibly catch everything.

In your situation, suppose you got only one bottle and they were all the same size and shape and color.

How would you know whether they were all 10 mg or all 5 mg ?

[brondack]

in reply to: Is this thyroid or anxiety? #1179201

Some people are ‘lucky’ ( or pick your own word). For as long as I can remember, I have risen around 4:00 AM (sleep in until 5:00 AM on weekends -lol) while hitting the hay no earlier than 10:00 PM.

For the record , I was diagnosed with GD last November and have gone thru the well-known rollercoaster of hyper-to-hypo-to-hyper and my sleep habits have not changed. In that time I have been fortunate to not have experienced any of the anxiety issues on one end nor the lethargy issues on the other end.

[brondack]

in reply to: Meds: once a day? #1179214

Sharing of information – of any type – is always appreciated – but, IMHO, not when it comes to recommendations about individual decisions about dosage, frequency and actual choice of medications.

Even if an individual decides on his / her own to make that type of decision for themselves, it could have extremely negative on another individual.

But, everyone is certainly free to choose whether to follow a doctor’s directions or another patient’s direction – and accept the risks and implications of that decision.

[brondack]

in reply to: Meds: once a day? #1179212

I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that some people are saying that personal experience of patients is better than trained medical advice – whether from the doctor or the pharmacist to determine the dosage and frequency of taking ANY medicine. And to say that doctors, especially those specializing in a specific area (thyroid and diabetes) rely only on training that they received a long time ago is insulting to the majority of doctors who constantly are updating their knowledge in their specialty.

[brondack]

in reply to: Meds: once a day? #1179203

I think that this , like all questions regarding taking any medication, should be answered only by your doctor and not anyone on this forum.

[brondack]

in reply to: How do you stay calm? #1178947

How about volunteering some of your time at a veterans or senior center or any other local charitable organization?

That could be a win – win. You would be helping others, getting great satisfaction from it and at the same time, perhaps, taking your mind off your own situation.

[brondack]

in reply to: Beta Blockers and Exercise? #1178907

In the minority – probably, but certainly not the only one. I got the good news about Graves in November of 2012 and have swung from hyper, to borderline hypo, to quite hypo, and back to hyper and I haven’t changed my exercise regimen at all. I work out one hour each morning at my companies fitness center and take several walks with my dog each day.

I guess I am one of the fortunate ones, because in all of the see-sawing, I haven’t experienced any of the anxiety, tremors, etc of hyper, nor the lethargy, etc of hypo either.

[brondack]

in reply to: Goodbye and so much good luck to all. #1178127

Again, for the record:

I DO have GD and I am extremely thankful for the existence of this well-run and moderated forum. It gives me the opprotunity to hear all different sides of the issues we all face with Graves. And it serves as a vehicle for us, if we feel we have the need, to “vent”. But , in my humble opinion, that “venting” is NOT suppossed to be directed at any named individual. I firmly believe that the moderator does a fantastic job for this forum and there are times that she needs to make a statement regarding a poster’s claim regarding a suppossed cure or test that has NOT been scientifically proven.

One last thing, this issue came to a boiling point because there were some individuals who took it upon themselves to bypass the guidelines of this forum and sen private messages to others, trying to bully them into a decision about treatment. Those receiving the message did the right thing and complained to the Board. That is why the moderator made the post that ’caused’ all the furor.
And I give her all the credit in the world for making the policy clear.

But now, let’s get back to the original, intended purpose of this forum – to have a place where we can help each other.

[brondack]

in reply to: Goodbye and so much good luck to all. #1178121

Don’t let the door slam you when you leave ….

On second thought, I hope it knocks you over.

[brondack]

in reply to: Everyone Please Read – Private Messaging Abuse #1178004

Whoa !!! Settle down !

I have been following this forum for about a year – first when my daughter was struggling with all the issues with Graves and then I became a registered member when I was diagnosed with it as well.

While I have not made many posts, I read almost every one. In my experience, I have NEVER had anything but utmost respect for Kimberly in her role as facilitator. There have been numerous times when I know I would have reacted negatively (and almost wanted to) to some posts, but somehow Kimberly always keeps her cool.

In my opinion, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with Kimberly’s post about the abuse of the PM system. For one thing , the post was prompted by complaints from people who received these inappropriate PM’s. Secondly, Kimberly responded in a very professional manner and clearly stated the rules that everyone is expected to follow.

[brondack]

in reply to: Thyroid Storm #1178015

For the record, as Kimberly has said, it is a concern for ANY surgery. As it turns out, I was diagnosed with Graves and a hernia (totally unrelated obviously) at my annual physical last November. I scheduled a pre-op visit with the recommended hernia surgeon and he confirmed (as I expected) that nothing would be scheduled until I was “normal” and he was VERY adamant about that.

I am assuming that he meant thryoid normal rather than brain normal because my kids say I will never have the surgery if that is the case. :}

So, I have been taking Methimazole, in various doses, since then under the direction of a noted Endo and my levels have not yet stabilized to the point of being able to schedule the surgery.

[brondack]

in reply to: Running in place…. literally! #1177580

Hey, at least we got you smiling and laughing – no better cure than that !

[Author]

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