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in reply to: Anyone choosing no treatment? #1172444
Hi Stacey, I’d say definitely if you aren’t going to do treatment have a schedule set up with your doctor for regular labs (like every 3 months) and a list of baseline symptoms to watch so you know if you need to sound the alarm. Like right now get in the habit of taking your blood pressure and pulse at the same time of day – maybe once a week – and recording it. For me those two, particularly the pulse, have been a very reliable barometer of what my thyroid is up to. Looks at the mood too, how easy it is to get angry. And if you get insanely hungry and nothing you eat can possibly satisfy you, watch out!
in reply to: Tomorrow’s the Big Day! #1172481Good luck to you!
in reply to: Scared and panicky #1172404HUGS to you Alexis. I can imagine anticipation up to the big event has got to be tough. Wishing you the very best outcome! Atenolol will help hugely to calm your anxiety and slow down your heart rate. Only negatives really is it will slow you down a lot and you might feel fuzzy headed.
in reply to: My decision #1172331Hey I just put that link out there for general information not trying to sell anybody – it was one of the first legit ones that came up when I googled. They do say they only test ordered through your doctor.
in reply to: My decision #1172327Here’s a genetic testing outfit that says Graves’ has a 64% genetic component.
http://www.navigenics.com/visitor/what_we_offer/conditions_we_cover/graves_disease/
in reply to: ATD dosage change effects #1172394Thanks Ski – I’ll def talk to the doc if it keeps up I was just hoping it was a transient kind of thing.
Just great advice already, but thought I’d add that some hospitals are required to treat people who go to the ER whether they can pay or not. Something to do with federal funding, you could probably find out which ones with internet search. Once you’ve got the scrip for whatever ATD works for you the generics don’t seem to be too expensive. I hope you get some relief soon!
in reply to: Newbie here….questions #1172353Hi Awojo, it took me about three weeks to start to feel a lot more close to normal. The beta-blocker will help with tremors and heart symptoms though I find the brain fog from it a bit much. You can always try it and see how you do.
And on diet does anybody know about fish? I know ocean fish has some iodine but is it enough to matter?
in reply to: What to ask surgeon re thyroidectomy? #1169967Rebecca, I just wanted to thank you for sharing your story in detail – I read through the whole thread from the beginning. You’ve sure been to hell and back and deserve wellness pronto!
in reply to: Tapazole reaction??-now what?? #1172365I have read multiple times of people who say they feel really really sick unless both their FT4 and FT3 are in the upper part of the range. Also that the sweet spot in the range is individual and can be very narrow for each person. So if I were you I’d definitely get a second opinion with an endo who doesn’t dose by TSH. I was very lucky to find one.
I’m on PTU after reacting to methimazole and so far so good, it’s doing the job for me and I feel better than I have in months. My own goal is remission. Even though I know that it’s unlikely to be permanent now is just a really bad time in my life to have surgery and that is what I’d choose instead of RAI. My feeling is there is always time to whack my thyroid later if I have to and I’d like my life to go back to some semblance of normalcy right away (if possible). After all the reading, my feeling is that with Graves “anything goes” there is no choice we can make that guarantees success or failure (other than no treatment at all) so we just do the best we can.
Good luck,
Cat
in reply to: Tapazole reaction??-now what?? #1172359Hi Missionfield, I couldn’t help but wonder if some of those symptoms were hypothyroid. The “normal range” is just a statistical average and there are people who have hypo sometimes, even severe ones, while on the lower half of the normal range. Do you have your lab results and their ranges? Are your free t3 and free t4 being tested in all these emergency trips? The TSH value is inaccurate for a while after a dosage change of ATD’s – that comes straight from my endo.
OTOH I have had bad side effects develop over time taking a drug that I initially tolerated so it certainly could be the methimazole. It does happen, but my money would still be on hypo. I hope you find an answer and feel better soon!
in reply to: Not Stabilizing on Tapazole #1172272VanIsleGal, I’m sorry to hear Graves damaged your heart – how did that happen? I too am trying to go down the medication and remission path but I don’t want to put my heart at risk. It sounds like you wish you’d just done surgery to start with? Good luck with getting the levels where you need them for a successful surgery.
in reply to: Cannot Believe it… #1172312That’s fantastic Darcy! Soon you’ll have glorious glamorous hair. I honestly cannot remember the last time I didn’t have lots of hairs in the drain every time. I clog up the bath drain regularly and frequently use Draino on it. About five years ago I first noticed a slightly thin spot, not quite bald, but thin enough to see at the back crown of my head. The texture and color on some of the hairs changed also.
in reply to: Okay. What would you do? #1172225Good luck to you Alexis, I’m rooting for you!
in reply to: Overwhelmed, frustrated & worried #1172167No ultrasound yet, oh my! This might change your decision a little. This is what I learned just recently as I went through this. The ultrasound is necessary to reveal the location and size of the nodules. If you have a cold nodule(s) that are large enough they will want to biopsy them. If (God forbid) they are cancer that will change way your thyroidectomy will be performed – that comes straight from the specialist I went to who performed my biopsy. So there’s value in having that info before going into surgery.
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