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in reply to: PTU? #1069806

Sue,
I think if you try "thyroid surgery" you’ll get results in the search. There are several on here that have done it or are getting ready to do it. Graves disease doesn’t ever go away. You can cure the hyperthyroidism by killing the thyroid with RAI or surgery. I’d ask your doctor why RAI isn’t a choice for you. It’s not invasive at all like the surgery but you do have to go through different pains and gains with both.

There are lots of answers on this board. Just keep searching and you’ll find the right things. I think sometimes that just browsing the topic lines is easier to start out with than trying to find certain phrases. You’ll learn the shorthand that people use and then you’ll have an easier time.

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in reply to: PTU? #1069803

Sue,
I went through the muscle aches like you are. It really got better once my numbers started to normalize. I think it’s from the excess thyroid hormone making everything go faster. I had RAI about nine weeks ago and am now experiencing the muscle thing again although not as badly. I did loose the ability to stand up one day when I was on the medication and the doctor on call cut my dose in half and said it was a side effect of too much medication.

Good luck with your appointment.

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in reply to: 22nd of July – date for op very nervous! #1070717

Hyperm,
Just wanted to share with you the mantra that I said to myself as I went for the RAI. My biggest fear was that my legs would quit working and that I would fall down and not be able to get to the hospital. I know that’s irrational but I think you understand where that type of fear comes from. I just kept saying, My legs will work and I will get through this! I never said it out loud or told my husband or anyone that I was saying this. It really did help me. At our church one summer one person said that her mantra that kept her calm was "the breath of God" . Maybe a mantra would help your anxiety too.

Take it one hour at a time and remember if you could give birth to two great boys you can do anything.

Have a great day today.

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in reply to: What causes pulse to go faster? #1069843

Cathy,
Am I right in remembering that Graves hit you right around menopause? I am headed that way and I am unable to sort out what is that and what is RAI healing. Last night my heart rate woke me up at 3:00, around 125, all sweaty etc.. Today it’s not gone well. I had the night sweat last month a few days before my period, such as it was, actually started. I know that when I head toward hypo my period may become heavy. When I went hypo on medication I had an 11 day period after almost 48 hour periods when I was hyper. My gyn did hormone levels and said I was in perimenopause but then I read that being hyper can affect those tests and who knows were I was the day I had the blood drawn last winter.

I am thinking about starting the beta blocker again. The doctor has left it up to me. I hate to do that if this is not from the RAI. I guess it will be ok for a few days. I was taking only a quarter of a tablet at the end of stopping the beta blocker so thought I would start with that. I really just need a good nights sleep and am worried about the extra stress on my heart.

Any advice on sorting out the menopause and the RAI effects would be appreciated.

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in reply to: What causes pulse to go faster? #1069840

Thanks Hyperm for your explanation. I reckon my heart is still in good shape. It certainly has a lot of practice. Hope your resting heart rate won’t go up again but after the surgery I guess you’ll have to deal with a big change too. Hope that everything goes well. Sorry to hear about your siblings and their thyroid problems. My dad has Graves, my Mom hashimotos and I’ve had various cousins of all ages on both sides with either or. I think that the genetics needs to be studied a bit more.

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in reply to: Thinking about moving into a bedroom by myself. #1069851

It is hard to put yourself first with little ones in the house but this may really be the time to ask your husband to take over at night. The separate room might be best for you alone. It sounds easier to keep them with you but in the long run I think it sends a message that they have the control and not you. Graves already makes you feel like you’re out of control anyway.

Like mamabear I had to teach mine to be in their own rooms when they were little. I realized that I couldn’t make them sleep but they could learn that this was a time to be in their rooms or in bed. It takes tears and screams but it wasn’t more than a week to get them to put themselves to sleep. I will say they were under two when I did this.

Whatever your parenting style and we’re all different, now isn’t the time to let things that don’t have to happen keep you from your sleep if at all possible.

Hope things are getting a little easier.

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in reply to: What causes pulse to go faster? #1069837

My RAI was about nine weeks ago. I had several weeks where I thought I was getting some better then about two weeks ago the pulse thing started again. It can be around 110-115 when I wake up. About two or three hours after I’m up it tends to go down and stay closer to the 90s the rest of the day. I am also very sore now all over and I am really tired. I felt like this when I was very hyper so I don’t know if it’s what you said about the excess hormone being released now or if I’m starting to go hypo. I go next week for blood work.

I was only on beta blockers for a few weeks near the time I was to have RAI. I didn’t really like the way I felt and we cut the dosage down which helped but then after my RAI my pulse had gone down so much we stopped the beta blockers. I don’t really want to go back on them again.

I guess I’ll just try and wait it out and try to relax! I find it hard when I thought that as the symptoms went away I wouldn’t feel them again but I guess that’s part of the healing process.

Thanks for the answer.

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in reply to: Does anyone have protruding eyeballs? #1069872

Try searching TED this means thyroid eye disease. I know there are things there about it. Did you look in the archives as well?

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in reply to: Graves & muscle issues question #1069884

Hi,
I don’t know an answer for you but I can tell you that Graves can affect your bone health. I just found out a few months ago that I have osteoporosis in my spine. Pre-menopausal and 45 right now. The doctors told me that the Graves was the most likely cause. They also told me that the Graves can affect the way your body absorbs calcium because a lot of Graves patients have vitamin D deficiency which you need to absorb calcium. So my body was stealing calcium from my spine and my hips. i am now taking 2000mg of D3 a day. My father who also has Graves, had vitamin D levels so low he had to take some whopping doses. He is in his late 70s but also has osteopenia. I’d think about your son’s diet and try to write some things down as they might ask you at the bone specialist. I was asked about coffee, soda, dairy intake and things like that.

Hope you find some answers soon. Maybe some others on the board can tell you more. There are several here with teenagers going through this right now.

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in reply to: Mood Issues #1069886

Hi,
If you search here for Graves Rage you will find some things that might sound familiar. A lot of people seem to become angry at the drop of a hat when they are very hyperthyroid. I don’t think it’s on purpose. One of the facilitators may write you back with more clues to look for in the archives. He does need to find out his levels and most doctors, even your GP could order all the tests for you and then you could talk to potential doctor’s offices on the phone with some lab results in hand. That might help you figure out which offices are most likely to deal with Graves patients. There are some good threads here also about what to ask the doctor when you are first diagnosed.

Hope you find some answers soon .I know it can be hard. I was the grouchy patient in my house. I had RAI about 9 weeks ago and am slowly feeling different if not better yet.

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in reply to: having a virus and GD? #1069899

I just had a bad cold that my daughter brought home from camp. It took me longer to get over it than it did for her. I have been feeling a little more Gravey , if that is a word, when I was sick. I am also going through RAI healing so don’t know that mine isn’t just from that.

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in reply to: Thyroid Hormone at Night? #1069959

Thanks for all the responses. I will read the article. I hoped that I might be able to start hormone soon but my numbers after my RAI were in normal range and then went very hyper again a few weeks after that. I have blood work again in two weeks and we’ll see then. I know it’s a process but I feel like I’m stalling out sometimes.

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in reply to: ovulation hormones and bad day #1070502

Cathycnm,
Sounds like we started this journey about the same time. I first had symptoms in May/June of 07. Took till almost Christmas to get things really diagnosed. I wish I had a way to peer into my thryroid and see what’s left. I have had access to a geiger counter and now at 9 weeks the radiation really is abating.

I’ll look forward to waking up one day feeling like myself. Lately my heart rate has skyrocketed back up to numbers like 110 in the morning! I keep thinking this could be the last burst and then something else happens. This journey is a ride in a bumper car without the padding sometimes.

I’ll let you know how my labs go.

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in reply to: ovulation hormones and bad day #1070500

cathycnm,
Thanks for the response. I guess that maybe upping my calcium would do more good than harm. I have to buy a new bottle this weekend anyway so I will start fresh with more than one tablet. Also thanks for the note about the plateaus. I keep thinking that I may have gone hypo but not yet according to blood work. I go back again in two weeks so we’ll see if the magic has happened then.

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in reply to: ovulation hormones and bad day #1070498

I’ve had mittelschmerz since college and this isn’t like that. It isn’t a pain or anything. I feel like my thryoid related symptoms get worse right around ovulation. My gynecologist says that I might be headed into menopause so maybe that’s a part of it too. I take calcium once a day and have for many years. I had such a bad reaction to it with constipation that I haven’t gone to twice a day. Found out I have osteoporosis in my spine already, I think from the Graves. Maybe I should try now that I am headed toward more normal thyroid numbers after my RAI about two months ago. I was hoping to feel a lot better by now but have hit a plateau. I guess that’s part of the thyroid dying.

Anyone else hit a plateau during their RAI recovery period?

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