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in reply to: Gardasil Vaccine and Graves Disease #1069555

Haven’t heard of anything. My 15 year old had the series of vaccines last year and we’ve not seen anything. My gut would say it’s a coincidence since she probably had the Graves for a while and it just wasn’t noticed. I’ve been able to think back on my symptoms before I was diagnosed and I’m pretty sure that I had had Graves for a lot longer than I thought. In fact probably several more years.

Hope things are going better for your daughter today.

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in reply to: GD and Emotions..we are new to GD #1070292

Julie3588,
I’m glad that you were savvy enough to recognize your need for help and to get healthy again. I had RAI about 10 weeks ago and it took almost those 10 weeks to start feeling better for me. I am much older than you and had two years of atds and a shorter remission to get to my RAI. This is a great place to ask any question and to get out your feelings good or bad or sad or whatever! Welcome and I hope that the new and old posts will keep helping you.

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in reply to: personal question #1069666

Great news. I know you are relieved in a sad way. I am past having more children but can remember the feeling.

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in reply to: Anxiety/Panic Thread….. #1069953

Runlacie,
Yes I’ll have days when it seems to come in waves and overwhelm me. My heart rate will be fine and then suddenly for no apparent reason go way up. You can feel it and just tell even if you don’t take your pulse. It is getting better now that I am healing after RAI. It’s happening less often.

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in reply to: Can going hypo cause edema? #1069655

Hyperm,
I did enjoy the movie. I wish I could get to England to see Oxford too. I have a "sister" who lives in Essex right now. She was an exchange student with me in high school back in the dark ages.

Hope your anxiety is leveling off. I think the anxiety is always worse than the procedure.

Wednesday will be fabulous.

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in reply to: My big day! RAI tomorrow #1069576

Good luck tomorrow. I am ten weeks out from RAI and am just starting to really feel better. My tremors have really seemed to finally have just disappeared this week and my heart rate was up again for the past two but has gone down again. Keep your beta blocker around for awhile longer. Try and make sure they give you written directions for afterward. You know how a graves brain can forget. I envy your running. I did 3 minutes on a stationary bike today and it was tough. I used to walk 10-12 miles a week and do aerobics etc. It took me two years to get to RAI so I envy you that too.

Let us know how you’re doing when you feel like writing a bit.

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in reply to: Intro #1069620

Cathy,
You have already been a great help to me with the posts you have answered since I became a member of the board. I wish you well with your schooling. Welcome as a moderator. I know you will be a help to many more people. I am striving to feel normal again after RAI and your success gives me hope.

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in reply to: Can going hypo cause edema? #1069653

Hyperm,
Thanks for your professional opinion. It does seem to stay white for a few seconds after I push on it and then goes red. I will definitely try your exercises. I hope that you are doing well today. I am heading to the movies with my family today to see Harry Potter and I will think of you if we have to stand in line! We have free tickets from a survey prize my husband won so I hope we’ll be in in a flash so I can sit down. Your movie story was great fun to read but I’m sure it wasn’t fun to go through. Graves’ rage is a weird thing.

I go to the doctor on Tuesday so I"ll get him to check out my edema.

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in reply to: Can going hypo cause edema? #1069651

Thanks Nancy,
I don’t think they are different now than they were this morning. It’s more of my ankle than my foot but I may not be seeing it correctly since I look at it all the time. I can’t make a dent in it at all. It does make a lighter spot and then reddens up again. I have been trying to keep my feet up but it’s hard. My mom said the same thing about salt. I will try and keep drinking more. I have been off my water so that may be part of it. My period should be coming too and I know that I usually gain some water weight but this is too much.

I see the doctor on Tuesday morning. I’ll let you know what happens.

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in reply to: Headaches #1069679

Just reread my last post I should have typed that the thyroid patients were having allergy symptoms when they weren’t really having an allergic reaction.

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in reply to: personal question #1069660

hyperm,
I don’t know the answer to your question but I can’t think of a real reason why you couldn’t have the surgery during your period. Now being pregnant might be different but you would be so early that I don’t know if that would stop you either since you really need the surgery. I’ll be thinking of you and hope for the best.

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in reply to: Headaches #1069676

Emily,
I’d get your GP to check to see if you are having a sinus infection. It would be bad to let that go unattended. I had many allergy symptoms when I was hyper; headaches, sneezing etc.. I was taking claritin every day. I was sent to see an allergist who told me after testing, that I wasn’t really allergic to anything she had pricked me with. She told me that I would need to come back when my thyroid was under control. She had seen lots of thyroid patients who had "allergy" symptoms when they were really having an allergic reaction. She, along with my uncle, did get me to start using a nasal irrigator every day so I could try and stop the symptoms. It’s kind of like a waterpik for your sinuses. It sounds awful to squirt salt water up your nose but it really did help me get rid of my headaches. Mine broke last week and until I find a new one I am starting to have allergy symptoms again. I had RAI 10 weeks ago so I am hoping that this allergy stuff stops when I get settled.

Hope this helps a little. You could try saline spray or a nettie pot. Both are less expensive.

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in reply to: Anxiety/Panic Thread….. #1069949

Hopeful,
I was going through the same thing the last two weeks. I just passed the 10 week mark from my RAI and this morning I feel better and worse. My BP and pulse are way down. I am showing symptoms of hypo though and that’s been tough. I have puffy ankles, am constipated, my hair is really dry and my nose keeps bleeding from being so dry. I have very sore muscles and joints. I am also putting on a little weight. I have blood drawn on Tuesday so here’s hoping. I would call your provider and ask if you can come in for a blood draw. It would probably make you feel better to know your numbers. I’ve heard of people getting it drawn every week as they are getting close to going hypo so they can catch it.

I don’t know what the headaches are from but I am getting them too. I wonder if the hormones that give you a pre period headache in my case are causing them to come.

Keep hanging in there. I know it stinks to feel so bad after all we’ve been through. I am hoping that by my 46th birthday in a few weeks that I will be on the other side of this.

Remember to be kind to yourself.

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in reply to: Anxiety/Panic Thread….. #1069942

Paloma,
Before I was first diagnosed with Graves I too had what I thought might be a heart attack or related chest pain. I ended up in the hospital emergency room one weekend. After finding nothing and a fiasco with the doctor never really coming to see me…….. I was sent home. I found out later after going to get my hospital records for my own peace of mind that they had ordered a TSH and it was never done. Several weeks later I went to my GP and was so sick. He sent me to a cardiologist just to check and also started blood work on lots of things including thyroid. When I went to the cardiologist he told me after testing me with EKG and treadmill with ultrasound test that my heart wasn’t the issue from what he could see. So I asked him if the pounding would stop and he looked at me funny and said " have you had your thryoid levels tested?" I said yes but they haven’t come back from the GP. He tried to call and see if the tests were back but wasn’t able to connect that day with my GP. I did write him a thank you note after I was diagnosed with the Graves and told him he was right. The chest pain and the palpitations were from the high levels of thyroid hormone in my system. The pain did go away when I finally got settled, or so I thought, with medication. It did come back when I was out of remission and now that I am recovering from RAI, about 10 weeks ago now, I have had a few twinges. I think that it will finally be gone when my levels settle back down. I wouldn’t let them tell you it’s just anxiety. I wanted to make sure my heart wasn’t the problem.

From what I hear anxiety can cause chest pains etc. that might be nothing but then again anxiety can change chemistry in your body and you don’t want damage to occur.

Good luck with figuring it all out. It is hard to have more than one thing happening at a time.

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in reply to: RAI and children #1069774

Hi,
I had RAI about 10 weeks ago and I was told that I had to stay back from people etc. for only three days. Sounds like you’re possibly in Britain or somewhere else in Europe? I don’t know what the recommendations are there. I think it depends on how much i131 you are given. I had 15 millicuries. I would see if your country has a thyroid association that could give you an idea of the practice in your health system for RAI. From what I read before my procedure that would be excessive for a Graves patient. I don’t know about cancer patients as they can get much higher doses of radioactivity.

You’ve come to the right place. Someone here will be able to point you toward information. This board is really helpful.

Good luck,
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