[ewmb]

in reply to: allergies to thyroid hormones #1069301

Sue,
I don’t know anything specific for you to do but keep going with the compounding pharmacy. If you are allergic to the fillers they can certainly find a way to help you out. I work at a pharmacy school here in NC. I am a staff person. I called someone there and they said that you could have your doctor get some help from the nearest Drug Information Center. They are usually at hospitals or in pharmacy schools. You can use an internet search to find one. The one here in our school doesn’t take questions from lay people only medical types so your doctor would have to contact this one. Others may take questions from the public it just depends.

If you want to talk with someone in the nearest pharmacy school ask for the person who teaches pharmaceutics.

Hope that you get some help soon.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: New User – just diagnosed with GD on 6/8/09 : ( #1069354

Hi,
I had the same thing while I was so sick. I would be fine in the day, or I should say tolerable and then at night while I slept my heart would race. No one ever told me why that happened. I am dealing with the heart rate thing again right now as I hope my RAI is working to kill my thyroid. I sometimes hate going to bed because I will feel so bad in the morning. I never took as much beta blocker as you are. I would call your doctor and ask if you can try another beta blocker. The one I was on was just once a day. Maybe that would help instead of having one where the level goes up and down so much during the day if you have to take three a day. You need to get a BP monitor for home if you can. I could never really count fast enough to just use a clock to take my pulse rate. The monitor helped me out with figuring out if I was feeling my heart beat hard or if it was fast and hard or just fast. Your top number on your BP can be really high with Graves and the bottom number can be normal. I was told that this is why you get the palpitations or the heavy beating. Your heart is pumping it out faster than you are taking blood in or is it the other way round?

Anyway, hope that you can find a way to help yourself at night. I am on methimazole again now and this time, after a year off of it, I am taking my dose in the evening so that I will be in the middle of the dose swing when I wake up. It seems to have helped my heart rate a little. I am trying not to go back on the beta blockers. I didn’t like the way they made me feel foggy etc.. and take on water.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Numbers are Back and they’re not good #1069403

Hyperm,
I am at work so that is a change. I won’t be here long though. I feel like I already need a nap at 9:45 am. I hope this methimazole does help but I know that it’s all a waiting game. I am taking it in the evening this time. When I last took it, more than a year ago, I did so in the morning and it always took a few hours to seem to kick in.Glad to hear that your neck feels better.

Take care today.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: New and scared #1069334

Linda,
I have had Graves for over two years, probably longer. I had the same kinds of symptoms that were confusing with menopause, they still are. I had RAI about 3 months ago and am hoping it worked and I am slowly getting better. Sometimes its one step forward and two back with this disease. I haven’t had the eye involvement. You should probably see an eye person if you haven’t been regularly. They can tell you about how the thyroid affects the eyes.

The hand tremors should get better as your levels settle with the medication but I will tell you that they were one of the last symptoms to disappear for me even now after RAI and being off meds for more than a year. I have just started back on methimazole, very low dose, to help me as my thyroid dies.

Everyone here will be able to tell you about themselves and some of it will fit, some things will feel familiar and some will not be you at all. Graves is so different for each individual.

Welcome to the board and I hope you can find the time to read some of the earlier posts. Some of the information will help you out. It made me feel like this was not just me being crazy.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: New User – just diagnosed with GD on 6/8/09 : ( #1069344

Mike,
My father has Graves. It is true that we women get it more than men but it is out there. A man I work with has just been diagnosed with it as well.

Welcome to the board. One of the facilitators is a man named Jake and is will certainly be able to give you the male perspective on things Graves.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Numbers are Back and they’re not good #1069401

Well I started the methimazole again last night. I hope this doesn’t interfere with the dying of my thryoid.

If you have taken methimazole after RAI let me know how it went and how long it took you to go hypo if you did.

Thanks,
ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: HOLY CRAP… #1069364

Armour is made from pig hormone. Synthroid is totally synthetic hormone. Go to the manufacturers web site to see the ingredients that are active and inactive. Sounds like you read something that isn’t true. I thought you weren’t going to read the internet late at night anymore. The Aboutthyroid web site has lots of good information on what’s in the different thyroid hormone choices from different companies.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Numbers are Back and they’re not good #1069396

Hyperm,
I talked to my Mom today too. It does make you feel better doesn’t it. Thanks for the reminder about those less fortunate. My husband came home a little early from work and made dinner. My teenagers are great and seem to know when to stay out of my way and when to come and get/give a hug. My oldest is going to college in a few weeks and I really want to be able to go with my husband to take him there and help move him into his dormitory. I guess I can just tell myself that I will be able to go and see if that helps. My daughter told me to think positively at dinner.

Hopeful- can you get to the library and get some books on hypo that you can read? Sometimes reading something away from the computer can be easier for me. Keep looking forward to August and school starting. The six weeks until your next blood work will fly by if you can keep yourself busy. I know it’s hard to change but you’ve really come so far already.

Hope that tomorrow will be a better day for both of you.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Numbers are Back and they’re not good #1069393

Lacie,
I think he wants to give the rai time to work, the full six months that everyone seems to think it still has an effect before talking about another RAI. He sent my last info etc. to my local GP and I can go there and get blood work done if I feel something has changed. My sitting and waiting is tired out too………. Hate this stinkin’ disease today.

Thanks for the nice words.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Phew I made! I am now thyroid free and home! #1069459

Hyperm,
I wonder if you’re experiencing the hypo low mood etc.. that comes from having no more thyroid. Haven’t had the operation but did talk to a girl who had cancer and had hers removed years ago and she likened it to withdrawal from drugs. Said it was hard for her. Hope that you will call some of your friends and ask them to come by and just play with the kids etc.. I’m sure you’ve done favors for folks. Do you belong to a church? You could tell the minister you need help. Even having someone bring in meals so your husband doesn’t have to cook would be great. When I was little my dad had major surgery and had his inner ear removed. He was in the hospital for a long time as he was allergic, massively, to the penicillan that they gave him. He had to learn how to walk all over again etc.. My mom wouldn’t have made it without the food. You know that kids aren’t any fun when they are hungry.

Hope that you will let your doctor know about the blues. When can you start on some replacement hormone?

Feel better soon,

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: I dropped in on my local DVRS office today #1069531

I didn’t catch the part about ocular migraines until I reread it. I’ve had those too in years past. I didn’t know what they were. We seem to have migraines of one kind and another in my family. My grandmother had what was called sick headaches in the 20s and 30s. My dad said that they prescribed smoking for them. YUCK Apparently she hated it but the cigarettes did act like medication as the nicotine is a vasodialtor? or something like that.

I get rid of my ocular attacks by lying down with a very cold washcloth on my eye and some motrin until they disappear. My eye doctor said they were harmless to my eyes but now that I have graves I will ask again this year.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Need Advice: Methimazole Allergic Reactions #1069425

Leslie,
I had the fast heart rate. That is the graves disease. The chest pain may be too. I had it before I was diagnosed and I thought it was my heart. Make sure you aren’t eating or drinking anything that might speed up your heart rate like caffeine. I found when I was hyper that if I was dehydrated it made me feel worse and my heart rate would go up. Hot peppers make me heat up and my ears do go red. My dad’s doctor told him his red ears were from circulation issues. Tomorrow your doctor can help you out. She might suggest beta blockers for you fast heart rate. I’m sorry about your rash. There are several people who post here who have had to go off the anti thyroid meds for reasons like yours. You might search for reaction to medications or rash or itching and see if you can find those old posts. I had the heartburn too and I think it was the graves and the meds together. It helped me to make sure that my stomach wasn’t ever very empty during the day. Even eating a saltine cracker between meals seemed to help keep the acid down.

Try putting on some slower music and see if you can concentrate and match your breathing to the music. That helped me sometimes.

Hope you can get some sleep tonight. Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. It’s tough but you’ll get through it. One day at a time is a good motto for Graves.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: Question re: weight gain #1069434

Your body can go through some weird things. I did gain weight when on methimazole. Looking back it was when I was changing levels and eventually ended up hypo on the meds. The weight stayed with me until I started back on my weight watchers again. I lost 9 pounds then had RAI and have gained back about 4. I did take on water a lot when I was on the beta blockers. I am struggling with having clothes not fit again but am trying to keep it in perspective. As others have said here you have to be kind to yourself during this time. It does stink though. I really hate feeling out of control and I think that was true when I was losing weight when hyper as well. I think we all want control back and we can’t have that right now so it makes us point to things we think we should be able to control like weight instead of our out of control thyroids.

Comfort foods are really more comfortable when you’re out of control aren’t they? Thanks for the post it’s made we think through my own thoughts tonight.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: interpersonal problems #1069441

It can be hard. I have had times when I knew my husband was very frustrated with things over the past two years. I had RAI 11 weeks ago. Things will get better. Maybe you could get him to read some of the posts here??????? It will be hard to go it alone. Hope you can get some sleep tonight.

ewmb

[ewmb]

in reply to: My big day! RAI tomorrow #1069610

Runlacie,
No numbers yet. The doctor did not call me on Friday. I will hope for Monday but we’ll see. They have to send my labs to a big hospital and sometimes things slow down on paperwork.

Have a great weekend.

ewmb

[Author]

Posts