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I just want to make sure that I’m understanding you correctly. When I go on the medication it is to see if my body will try and go back to "normal" on it’s own with the help of the medication? If my levels reach a normal level do they then have me go off of the medication to see if my body maintains on it’s own? Now if the medication doesn’t work and another form of treatment is needed (RAI or surgery) then you have to stay on those medications for the rest of your life? This is all so confusing and a lot to absorb!! If my body can’t maintain on it’s own is staying on the Tapazole for the rest of my life and option (that’s if you can tolerate the medication with no side effects) or do you end up having to have RAI or surgery? Who knew that a little gland would cause so many problems!
” title=”Wink” />I’m not able to take BC pills anymore, I’ve tried every one and they give me migranes so that option is out. I’ve been doing hot compresses and between those and motrin they seem to help some. He was going to remove the cyst, do a D&C(the lining is 2 – 3times thicker than it should be) and biopsies checking for endometreosis(sp). My mom had to have a hysterectomy at 29 due to endometreosis and fibroids. I’m trying to avoid that as long as I can. I have not had my levels checked. It’s a complitcated story but I had to find a new gyno because the one that I had been going to for almost 15 years got into trouble and is going to jail and can no longer practice. It was a HUGE shock so on top of having problems I had to find a new doctor. It turned our town upsidedown to say the least.
I have another uptake and scan done on Wednesday and Thursday but what is different than the last time is this one is going to include a scan of my pelvis because the endo said that in rare cases the cyst can produce hormone as well and contribute to my counts not being exactly as what they had expected. I see the endo then on Friday and hopefully I’ll know more then as to what direction I need to go in. I know that I’m ready for some direction that’s for sure because this waiting is driving me nuts!!
I know the endo has been sending stuff to my PCP but I’ll have to check if he’s sending it to my gyno as well. Thank you for all your help and pointers. It’s nice to have someone out there to talk to that knows what your going through I’ll keep you posted
” title=”Very Happy” />I think that we’ve mourned our family that we’ve lost. We can talk about them now without crying and can remember the good times. I know this is a part of life but it’s still hard when it happens and especially when there are so many in a short amount of time.
This might sound like a stupid question but is Graves that big of a deal or as scary as it sounds or am I reading more into this? I even had someone tell me that they looked it up and that it wasn’t that big of a deal so not to worry about it. If it is a bigger deal how do you respond to people that think it’s not?
Like I said before it’s all been a whirlwind for me. I was suppose to have surgery on November 11, was at the hospital, IV in the arm, OR ready when the anastegeologist (sp) called it off after having my uptake and scan and blood work faxed there. He said that there was a real possiblity that I could have a heart attack, stroke, or die because of a thyroid storm if we did surgery that day because I’m not on any meds yet. I wasn’t scared to have surgery before that, I actually wanted it to get rid of the pain (I have a cyst the size of an orange on my ovary so they were going to remove that, do a D & C, and biopsies) but now I’m afraid to ever have surgery again. They said that I can’t have it until my endo gives me clearance but even then I’m scared. So on top of all the symptoms of Graves I’m in pretty much constant pain from the cyst. AAAGGHHH!!!! I’m ready for a vacation
I said in the beginning that I was probably going to have a lot of questions, I didn’t lie
” title=”Smile” /> I really appreciate you taking the time to answer them for me though.Thank you for all of the information that you gave. It does feel a little overwhelming at times I must say. My children are 10 and 13 so unless they are sick they don’t need me in the night but I am the only set of ears at night because my husband works 3rd shift. We’re all starting to learn about Graves because as I said before it’s very new but it will be a change for all of us. My husband and kids are great about helping but there are times I feel like I’m alone in this and I get a little down and frustrated at not feeling good.
You talked about stress being bad for you and I REALLY wish that I could have a life that had less stress in it. We have made some changes with things in the last year trying to eliminate some of that stress but some things can’t be avoided. I have a 16 year old step-daughter that started giving us A LOT of trouble in the last 1 1/2 years (stealing, drugs, bad boyfriend, pregnant, miscarriage, etc.)and basically didn’t want to follow our rules so she quit coming over. We were not willing to let her do as she wanted not only for her sake but also because we have two younger boys that she would be setting an example for so she quit coming. At first this was really hard for us, VERY HARD but then we reached the point where we can’t make her be someone that she doesn’t want to be. It was easier for her to be at her mom’s and do as she wanted than come to our house and follow rules. She told us that we were being too hard on her that we should try and be her friend. She has friends, it’s our job to be the parents. There was a lot of stress, a lot of tears, and a lot of sleepless nights but we had to decide what was in the best interest of our family. We still love her but all we can do at this point is hope that someday she realizes her mistakes and does it before she hurts someone or herself. That was kind of the start of our bad year. We then had a grandparent die, an Aunt die, and a cousin die all within 6 months of each other. My brother-in-law was diagnosed with a disease that’s rare that we take on a day to day basis with him because eventually it will kill him. The doctors have said he is lucky to know because most don’t know until and autopsy. Then my mom is going in for a second CAT scan on December 18th because they have found some spots on her lungs and are checking to see if it’s lung cancer. We just had to put one of our dogs down last week that we had for 13 years and now throw in Graves. That’s my life in a nut shell and for those that know us it’s kind of a joke that our lives should be a soap opera because of everything going on, unfortunately it’s not a made up show. So stress for me is going to be a hard one to avoid. I’m just trying to cope with everything and try and accept the things that are out of my control and make the best of the time I have and make sure that my boys are growing up healthy, happy and turning into loving, respectable grown men. Someday their wives will thank me
I think for most people, my family included, it’s hard to understand because on the outside for the most part I look normal and like I always have. That and the fact that I’ve worked with the public my whole life so I’ve learned how to be "on" no matter how I was feeling. I don’t know what I can do to make my family understand how some days I really feel like crap and don’t feel like doing anything but sitting and usually sleeping. They, like me, are not use to me not going and doing.
One thing that I struggle with as well is the fact that I’m putting on weight, people think I weigh less than I do because I’m tall, but I’m heavier than I have ever been, too tired to work out and I’m afraid that when they put me on meds that I’ll gain even more. This really makes me feel stress out and I can see where I will get depressed if I get heavy. Any suggestions on this one.
I really appreciate you taking the time to answer all of my questions, I’m sure there will be more as things progress for me. The tips are helpful, especially about the cold/flu thing because those already kick my butt because I have asthma and anytime I get something like that it kicks it in and it takes me longer to get over those.
Thanks again for all your help
I just posted for the first time a few minutes ago but I can maybe give you some advise about the hair loss. This may or may not help because I don’t know enough about Graves but I do know hair. I’ve been a hairstylist for 18 years, so you can understand the hair loss issue that I have right now
” title=”Smile” /> There is a procedure that we do at the school that I teach at called a scalp treatment and I’m sure you could find a salon in your area that may do them as well. Basically you are doing a deep conditioning treatment on your hair along with a 20min scalp massage with the conditioner on your hair. The massage will stimulate the blood flow to your scalp which in turn stimulates hair growth. Like I said I don’t know if this will help with Graves but it helps with hair loss as long as the papilla is not dead (which in this case it shouldn’t be) not to mention who wouldn’t enjoy a 20 min scalp massage. If it does nothing for your hair it will at least make you feel better! ” title=”Very Happy” /> You wil also want to watch what you use on your hair. Nothing with high alcohol content, cut down on blow drying, curling iron, flat iron, and coloring because this all can be hard on the hair. If you have to blow dry your hair use a product that will help protect the hair before doing it, a good example is Chi Iron Guard. There are many products like this but I use this and it not only works but smells great too! Hope this helps.
