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in reply to: Feelings and emotions with Graves Disease #1185692
I am going to chime in here as well. @AZGravesGuy, always a treat to hear your perspective. @Kim3498, I am so sorry that you are going through this. Graves is mind boggling to our loved ones. It is mind boggling to those of us battling the illness as we get tossed to and fro mentally, physically and emotionally, when we are undiagnosed and/or untreated. Cycles of anxiety, anger, and depression (anger turned inward) can rob a person of any kind of feelings, at least for some of us, myself included. Treatment implies cured. But, healing takes a long time. From your post, it seems that the diagnosis has been done, but treatment is on the table. I hope your husband is ready and willing to discuss and find the best treatment for himself. It is heartbreaking that this kind of illness can wreck a family, hang in there, and I know that you are being supportive for him. Just don’t forget to take care of yourself. You are important too. Just by reading a few of the thousands of post on this forum you can see how wrecked our lives become with this illness. I am 10 years post thyroidectomy and I know there is no magical solution. But everyday, I do what I can to make sure I am continually healing. Like Rob mentioned, meditation is amazing. My personal preference is reiki. Any kind of mindfulness is beneficial. This advice is for you as well – to help you cope with the kind of craziness that those with graves inflict upon their loved ones. *hugs*
Hi there- I am sorry you are struggling right now. All of our stories and situations are different with the only thing in common being a feeling of not being able to control our bodies betrayal. That being said, our treatments were also unique to each of us as were our feelings about which one to choose. Do check out all the options throughly- it will give you the peace of mind you need to choose the treatment you feel is best for you. Oh how I wrestled with the options. It took me 3 years to make up my mind. I chose surgery. Whether hyper or hypo, it affects the way we think, feel and behave. It was a very personal decision and even my husband refused to help me make up my mind. The one thing I knew was the crazy had to stop. Now it is nearly 10 years later. You too will feel good again soon. Hang in there.
in reply to: Synthroid to generic -what to expect? #1185667Quick update.
Switching from Synthroid to Generic was a breeze. I guess I got caught up in the hype.
Happy Camper Now.
in reply to: Synthroid to generic -what to expect? #1185666Thank you Kimberly for chiming in. Your advice is always very appreciated. As is your time that you dedicate to this forum.
in reply to: New Labs on Synthroid #1176514As a person who has trifled with adding in 5mcg of Cytomel on 3 different times, I Can tell you this much.
First…run it past your doctor. Believe it or not, sometimes they are not aware that Liothyronine to Synthroid is a 1:5 ratio. I felt good very quickly. Then I casually moved on to hyper mode. For me, the heart palpatation symptoms, did not balance with the minute increase in feeling better mentally. I was very stubborn, and had a doctor that did humor me. Which is why I tried it 3 times over the past 9 years. The “me” today, will not try it again. Hyperthyroidism can waste away our muscle mass, and my heart is a muscle too.
(TT in 2010)
in reply to: New and confused #1184940Pharmon wrote:Hi, I’m 55 and diagnosed with graves in April. I’m due to have surgery on Friday and I feel everything has gone to fast and I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m taking meds but my liver numbers keep rising so we decided to take the thyroid out. Then I googled the procedure and there are so many people that say they are sorry they had it removed . Any suggestions?Today is Friday…so perhaps you have had your TT… For me, it was the hardest decision I have ever had to make. I spent 3 years trying to decide and like you the meds messed with my liver numbers…and you can’t live without your liver either. So I chose TT and that was Fall of 2010. Do I wish it could have been different? Of course. Do I think I could have kept going without having the surgery? No. I believe it was the best of the choices I had to choose from. The rollercoaster of Graves was not a good choice for me. I did not want to do RAI as I was having eye issues. Today, 6 and a half years later, I have minimal eye issues that only flare up if I get feeling a little on the hyper side. Tiny dose adjustments and in a very short time, everything goes back to normal. You will learn to know yourself so well. keep in mind that it takes a while for your body to adapt to the Replacement meds. For some of us, a few months of wondering if we are ever going to feel normal again. Other’s the change was profoundly immediate and fantastic. I hope it works that way for you.Either way, my advice is to “Believe that your choice is the right one for you” – then it will be. I will be watching for your follow up posts, hoping that all goes well.
~Ruby in Reno
in reply to: My husbands behavior is irrational after TT #1184387Dear Patsgirl,
Graves is hard on the whole family. Getting balanced on Thyroid Replacement after a TT (Total Thyroidectomy) can be a bit tricky. He might be resistant to having his levels tested so soon. The trend I see is after the TT the patient is put on too low of a dose and end up hypo for a while. Or put on too much, that doesn’t take in to consideration for the potential thyroid hormone that is still in storage in the body. Taking the thyroid out only stops the pool from being replenished. It takes awhile for the pool of thyroid hormone in our bodies to reach their new “normal” – in your husbands case, it hasn’t even been a month. Men having Graves is less common. I hope one of the “guys” on here can offer you a little more insight. Personally, I was one of the “Crazy Ones”. The anger, the indifference, the lack of need for sleep. I could not talk fast enough to finish my thoughts. After my surgery I was put on a dose that seemed perfect for me…but then, after the “pool” went down I became very hypo. My APN, panicked and put me on a higher dose and from there, I went hyper in record time. It took more than 2 years for me to get balanced. I hope he will get his levels tested soon.
Ruby in Renoin reply to: Share your Success Story! #1183864Recovery is all about treatment that is best for you. Success is achieved by continuing to live our lives undefined by the ravages of the illness, no matter our treatment choice. I know it helped me to know that others had TT or RAI and their lives went on.
It is nearly 5 years since TT. I feel better. I look back sometimes and wish things could have been different, but, I know in my heart that I made the right choice for myself at that time in my life.
Life goes on, no matter what path we choose. I know that, for myself, “success” was achieved when I realized I could go weeks, without obsessing over my thyroid (or, now lack of it).
Wishing you the best on your journey.
Ruby in Reno
in reply to: Graves and swollen lymph nodes? #1183923When we have Grave’s, it is at the forefront of our mind. It is the first thing we think of when something is amiss. I too had a lumpish thing under my arm…and of course was told it was “nothing” after an ultrasound scan. Sometime after that, I went on a cruise and attended a “Health Class” (the kind where there is a decent presentation and then they want you to sign up for their vitamins and seaweed wraps), the young lady that gave the presentation made a huge deal about deodorant. She told us that most deodorants contain aluminum, and that it was toxic to us. Our skin is a large organ, and under our arms are many lymph nodes, (more in women than men, I believe). She recommended a product that can be found at the health food store. I started using it, and the lump went away. Perhaps it was an allergy to my former deodorant choice. It is true for me, that the “more natural product” does not work as long as the products with aluminum and other chemicals. But I am content.
in reply to: Well, here goes! #1173720Just “Chiming in” – I too, have had several dosage changes since the TT in 2010.
In fact, things have been going well “lab test-wise” for awhile on the Synthroid 125’s – or so I thought, until I got labs done last month. My TSH was in range at 0.822 – which for me, feels too low. That’s when I realized I had been grinding my teeth ( in the daytime!) and my heart had been racing now and then, also climbing the stairs was leaving me winded. All symptoms reminiscent of pre -TT days. I did not complain to my doctor, as she thought my “levels” were great, but I did start cutting a pill in half for my Sunday dose, and a month later, all is back to NORMAL. I suspect, that diet can affect how our medications do their job.Interesting to learn about the walnuts, I did not know. I have learned to read the labels on everything unfamiliar, as even natural stimulants can keep me awake all night.
in reply to: Worried thyroid removal will ruin my singing #1181586Jason,
Like you, I feared that I would not be able to sing again. Talking and singing are very different. I only sing for my own enjoyment, but, still it was important to me. It took a few months for me to get to where I felt my true voice was back, but it was there. When singing, a person will use the muscles differently and I had to wait until the “tightness” in my neck, caused by the healing process, dissipated. I believe a skilled surgeon will take good care of you. Also, as a side note, my eyes greatly improved after surgery as the antibody levels went down.I wish you the best on your journey.
Ruby in Reno
in reply to: 13 years of Graves, plan to TT, right decision?? #1180233I understand your concern about removing an organ from your body….I am sure all of us, that have gone through surgery or RAI felt reservations as well. Like you, I was ill for a long time, and…even though I have had a difficult time getting leveled on replacement hormone, I have not wished to turn back the clock. Yes, I did gain a bit more weight, but it is coming off. My eyes, got much better, after the surgery.
It was a hard decision for me to make too.Ruby in Reno
in reply to: My thyroid grew back! #1173980@Elizabeth, Wow! you are the first person who has proof that the gland can rejuvinate. How did the doctors determine that this has happened? Because my labs are still unstable after nearly two years, I keep asking my doctors if this is possible and they say they have never heard of a single case. So, please tell me more!
in reply to: How long has this been going on? #1171510I was actually relieved to discover that I had actually been ill for most of my life, rather than just crazy. I can remember having anxiety, as a preschool child. I can remember eating meals that a grown man would have envied, and was still a skinny stick of a child. So, yes, it was there. I don’t believe I ever had a real lab test untill I was 30.
I was a little angry for awhile, I felt cheated out of having a normal life. Now, I choose to apply the optomistic angle to how I view things. I may never be thin again, but, I can think clearly, and my list goes on and on. No matter, what thing, whether real or imagined, that I can’t change now, I will find “something” that is “better” so that I feel better about the toll this has taken on my life. LIFE after treatment, for me, is so much better.
in reply to: Serotonin levels? #1171257Kimberly,
Thanks for responding. Rollercoaster ride is a bit of an understatement. Still, it looks as though this is a “just me” issue, which actually tells me I need to look at something else for the origin of the issue. I know everything is not always thyroid related, but since I have felt this way for so long, and since I am still not well…..I thought it might be related.Ruby in Reno
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