[connypie]

in reply to: Update on Vision therapy #1183492

hi kimberley, dequervains is basically the same as carpal tunnel,but it only affects the thumb.i had it 2 years ago and was told then i would have to have surgery down the line.i guess down the line was now.the surgery went well,in and out in 3 hours.i still have some pain,but went back to work 3 days later.with dr s approval.i will probably have to do some therapy after.hope it fixed the nerve damage and returnes my strenghth.but will have to wait patiently.it can take up to a year for the nerve to heal.i hope my decision not to put the surgery off will make for a complete recovery.although it is fun watching my husband do the dishes,tie my shoes ect. connypie

[connypie]

in reply to: Feeling Frustrated #1183373

hi charity, i understand your story quite well.i was once told by a counselor?that i had to see a psychiatrist or she wouldnt prescribe my meds.saw the psych dr.and once i told her i had graves and a child on life support at home.she said i was the most normal person she had seen that day.i was diagnosed at 28,but can retrace to a teenager having symptoms.i was always full of ideas but when it came down to doing the work,i would run out of steam very quickly and had to sit or stop.i was frequently called lazy.great for your self esteem as a teenager.a little sarcasm here.lol.when i was finally diagnosed and got to see a real endo,he put me first in line for RAI.oh what a relief.i also have the eye disease but havent needed surgery.i seem to be one of those that is very sensitive to my levels changing.and stress seems to affect me greatly.but we all have good days and bad.have you ever been tested for other auto immune diseases?my friend has lupus and if there is a cold germ a block away she will catch it.also have you had your vitamin d level checked?mine was less then half.ive been taking vitamin d(prescribed by dr) and it has made a difference.iam less sore and achy.i have had to tell a dr,i gave him a list of symptoms and said this is the problem and it needs to be looked at today and if he is not comfortable treating me i will find another dr.i hope you will find a good dr,that takes you seriously.afterall it is your body and you should know how you feel.merry christmas conny

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183138

Hi you all,Happy Thanksgiving!! Well ive been doing the vision therapy for a while now.the dr said there is improvement.i dont have so many headaches anymore and it seems the double vision has eased up a little.i still have to do about 2 more month of it.with the new glasses i have 20/20 vision.YEAH!!!!on the old eye chart its 2 or 3 lines lower then 6 weeks ago.maybe in a couple of weeks ill try a crossword puzzle again.thankyou everybody for the support and advice.Have a nice Turkey Day!

[connypie]

in reply to: Hello #1183211

Hello swithed,ive had graves diagnosed for 20 years.had RAI 20 years ago.i well remember the insomnia.in the end i was lucky to get 3 hours of sleep at night.i was not functioning well at all.i thought i was going crazy.but once i had the RAI my levels started to go down and i was put on heart rate meds i slept much better.i still get the occasional insomnia,but it is related to anxiety i believe.so i take a happy pill and it calms my mind down so i can fall asleep.I also used to have very funky dreams that would follow me throughout the day.but since i had treatment and started taking levo,its like the lights go out in the evening and are turned back on in the morning when the alarm rings.i was on heart meds for about 4 years,wich is quite long.but i had a child on life support and that raised my stress level to no end,wich didnt help the graves at all.i also had a counselor refuse me meds and she said i had to go see the psychiatrist before she would give me anything.i was so mad,just started to dig myself out of the graves hole and she about labeled me mental.i went and saw the psych. and she laughed and said i was one of the most normal people she has seen.if you add severe graves and very high stress together its a bad combination.but that has left me with a bad taste in my mouth about mental health people.my graves will still act up if iam under a lot of stress,but i have learned to say “no”,wich helps alot.my first day of really feeling good,i rearranged my living room furniture and cleaned the whole house in one morning and then went to my dr appt.i swear it was like somebody had switched bodies with me overnite.lol you will feel better,its a frustrating disease,but it can be managed.

[connypie]

in reply to: Hypo and Hyper at the same time…sigh #1183187

hi annism,hmmm the pituatary gland?i remember when i had my RAI 20 years ago,my gland was not functioning for about 6 month.i have some confusing symptoms too,that doesnt match up with my labwork.im gonna try and wait until january for my new labs and then insist on t3 t4 and tsh.my dr only does tsh.there are some people on this site that have a really low tsh too.maybe theyll have some advice for you.i can be totally within range and feel terrible.the thyroid is a weird thing.hope you get some answers. good luck. conny

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183136

Hi you all, well its been a couple of days.so far im getting improv connypieement with the new glasses,was able to do a bunch of computer work without getting too much eyestrain.with the vision therapy i will have to wait 1 month,before they can tell if there is any improvement.so i will wait it out,somewhat impatiently.lol im feeling better otherwise too.can tell im hypo,im freezing.

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183134

Hello Everybody, i went for my first vision therapy.but before i paid all that money out of pocket,i spoke to the dr about it.i was told,that they are not sure if the double vision is from graves TED,or simply a misalignment of the eyes.i then asked if this does not work am i looking at surgery down the road and he said yes.apparently my eyes are looking wide,instead of straight ahead.so i have a very hard time bringing them in to look up close.i picked up my new glasses on saturday(that was quick) and at first wasnt very impressed in the store.but there was alot of glare coming of everything.on the ride home that night from our part time job,we drove through country roads,i said OH WOW.my husband :What? ME:i can see every blade of grass on the side of the road as we were traveling at 45 mph.and no highbeams.i did not know my night vision was that bad before.i would say 80% improvement.i still have trouble focusing close up,but not as much as before.everything is much crisper and clearer and even a little brighter.i still cant read a license plate at 40 feet without squinting,but its better.of course i was seasick as hell the last 3 days and nauseous,from the new glasses and the therapy,but i was told about that.today so far no headache YEAH. HURRAY for High Definition Lenses.still cant dial cable tv in in them though.lol connypie

[connypie]

in reply to: Graves, Shingles and now this? #1183178

Hi Barbra, yeah isnt life grand!im going trough a bad spell right now too.i hope youre feeling better soon.if you are having pain,you should take the medicine as prescribed by the dr.my husband was in pain management for a little while,and they explained to us.if you wait until the pain becomes too much for you and then take the meds,the meds will be only about 60% effective.and if you are taking ibuproven,its probably for inflammmation too.ask your md,im only a regular person.i dont like taking meds either,but we have learnt the hard way on how to take pain meds.im curious,why did you switch from Levo to Synthroid?i get those days too,when you just cant seem to see the end of all this medical stuff,its pretty frustrating.people sometimes think im lazy when i have a bad day,because they cant see my disease.im waiting for the day when they start doing whole body transplants.ill be first in line.lol connypie

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183130

Hi i just found something interesting.My cancer drug Tamoxifen can affect thyroid labwork.did anybody know this?ive been taking it for 4.5 years.i wonder if it was affecting my bloodwork all this time?and thats why i feel all over the place.ill have to ask my chemo dr next time i see him for my regular checkup.Been cancer free since april 2010,so dont have to worry about that. connypie

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183129

hi guys,yeah flora i get the same pains and muscle aches.told my primary about my weak and hurting wrists.its arthritis,thats always his answer.told me to put wristguards on.Kimberley,i will now read the link that you sent me and i will have a chat with the eye dr tomorrow about this therapy.its a different dr ,same practice.

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183126

Hi Guys ,im back. primary gave me the anxiety meds,told me to take no more then 2 a day.so far im taking one every 2 days,dont want to be doped up.the meds seem to carry over into the next day.my eyes are getting a little worse.cant do alot of computer work anymore.give myself raging migraines with vision disturbances.had my eye glass prescription checked and they are off.one eye got worse with nearsightetness,and my reading part almost doubled on both eyes.eye dr said it would fluctuate,but they didnt tell untill i went back for another appt.and of course freaked myself out until he told me that it was going to go up and down.im talking about the double vision fluctuating not my sight.Geez that was another Graves Fart.thats what i call my brain farts,when i make stupid mistakes.lol im getting new glasses next week.—-$300 DOLLARS—- yeah, you know we will be eating mac and cheese for a while.on friday i go for my first vision therapy appt,wich costs –$250 Dollars—and neither health or eye insurance pays for it.why am i paying them?i think ill need another pill.well gave myself a headache writing this.im getting High Definition Lenses,maybe ill be able to get cable on them.lol.hope you guys are all feeling well,flora hope youll get better soon. connypie

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183122

hi guys.i didnt know there were more of me out there.nothing like feeling alone when you dont feel good.i took a pill last night(anxiety meds) because i was so upset my hands were shaking and i couldnt find a reason for being upset.i had a really good nights sleep and so far its carrying over in today.yes Flora i get the muscle and joint pain too.curiosly i get muscle wasting too,in my knees and now my wrists.my feet hurt and the ankles too.i was on PPU? before i had the RAI and it was no fun .i was 28 and my husband had to help me of the sofa,i felt like i was 80 years old.i dont remember too much from that whole summer,it was terrible.i had no insurance back then so had to go to the clinic for treatment,where i was treated by the training dr.s.one of the nurses there also knew me from my sons clinic visits and said something to the head endo about me not looking good and acting right.he saw me and immediately put me first in line for RAI.i guess i either didnt tolerate the PPu or it wasnt working,i dont remember.i had the RAi and tolerated it,but my papituary gland didnt work for 6 month after.and for probably 4 years after i was taking a betablocker?you know the one that keeps your heart from racing.so i was either still hyper then or i was taking it for the anxiety and panic.well the anxiety never really went away,it would get better and worse,as life treats you.my life has been very stressful back then and again now.but thats life,sometimes you kick it in the butt and sometimes it kicks you.i just wish it didnt have such a big boot.lol

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183119

Well,Sue thats the first time ive heard that.now i dont feel so bad.ive been having whacky symptoms for years.but was always told by dr.s,that im just too sensitive and ill just have to learn to live with it.my levels for the last 2 years are like this.0.29,1.35,1.01,1.43,2.36.the worst i felt with my mental symptoms was when my TSH was 1.43.Wich is well in the normal range,weird huh?i just cant seem to find the sweet spot people are talking about.I had breast cancer almost 5 years ago and now take Tamoxifen.its a cancer drug that removes the estrogen from my body,wich puts me in menopause.and everybody is blaming all my symptons on the menopause,but ive had these symptoms before on and off.i have the sneaking suspicion,that maybe my thyroid is trying to wake up.my levo has been reduced twice in the last 2 years.i used to take 150,now i take 112.i had RAI 20 years ago.i asked the dr for anxiety meds to see if i would feel better,we’ll have to wait and see.im not a big medicine person and dont like taking (psychiatric) drugs at all.my cholesterol is high too and he said if i cant get it down with diet he will put me on meds,but i read here on the site that cholesterol will go up when the levels change.cant remember if up or down,but am hoping it will go down again by itself.ohh and to put the cherry on top,i have cataracts now.baby ones she said.but i tried looking up cataract surgery and graves eye disease and couldnt find bubkus.i was told i couldnt have lasik because of the eye disease a few years ago.so now i worry how that is going to turn out.Geez, i need a drink.if i remember i will ask for TSH T3 and T4 labwork next time i get bloodwork done.(thanks rasberry).im seeing the eye dr on friday for my glasses and hope that will improve my double vision.im artistic and do alot of different crafts and it kills me that i cant focus enough to make them due to lack of focus and doublevision.i gotta go to bed,im tired and cant read anymore.but thankyou for responding to my rant. conny

[connypie]

in reply to: Puzzling Symptoms? #1183115

Hi Snelsen.im seeing my primary on monday.hope he takes me seriousely.went and saw an endo about 3 month ago,before some of the symptoms started and he told me all my mental symptoms came from stress and that i couldnt have had a graves flare since i had the RAI 20 years ago.but then why did i start feeling better when my primary reduced my levo?i didnt ask the endo that,because of these damn mental symptoms,i cant remember squat.im seeing my regular eyedr on the 10. to get new glasses,he is in the same practice as my eye specialist and ill ask him to check my records to see what she wrote down.if she didnt write down due to graves,ill try to make an appt at wills eye hospital. conny

[connypie]

in reply to: poor eye muscle control,part of graves? #1183092

hi snelsen, i thought so too,thats why i thought it was weird,that she asked me if i had graves.she has been my eye dr for 10 years.i specifically asked for somebody with experience with graves back then.she has an md behind her name.unless she had a total brainfart that day.has anybody ever been prescribed vision therapy for this?does it even help?she indicated i would have to do that for a long long time(rest of my life,if i recall).since i have to pay for this out of my pocket i would like to know that i will actually get some benefit from this.i havent looked at my labs yet.but im probably a little low,since my hair is falling out again and im putting weight on.

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