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Hello to everyone.
Thank you for the replies. I have read them all, and I appreciate your time and your advice.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to stop reading so much about GD, at least right now. I know I really need to try and keep things positive, but I’ve been feeling really depressed the last couple of days. I keep telling myself that it’s not the end of the world, that the diagnosis could have been much worse, but that only goes so far in making me feel better. I’m wondering if I’m expecting too much from myself since I just found out last week. This feels like a “grieving process” because my emotions are all over the place. One minute it’s denial, then it’s anger or something else. It seems to change every other minute. I’m not freaking out, but occasionally I feel like I’m not far from it.
Anyway, I think the best thing for me to do is to stop reading all the miscellaneous crap online about GD. I’m not talking about this forum, just the obsessive behavior of constantly searching for articles and whatnot via Google. And I think I should stop trying to make a decision about which treatment I want to pursue “right this minute” because it seems like a waste of energy and nerves until I’ve seen an endocrinologist.
Otherwise, I still want to come here and ask millions of questions. Feel free to tell me to shut up if I need to hear it.
I don’t have anything else to ask about TED because that’s also a waste of energy and nerves until I get a proper diagnosis from a specialist. By the way, I wasn’t aware that a person’s eyes could also bulge due to a malfunctioning thyroid … I thought you either have TED or don’t, if you know what I mean.
I took your advice, Bobbi, and bought myself some preservative-free eye drops. Genteal. I don’t like them, though, and I’ve only used them a couple of times (my eyes haven’t been bothering me much the last few days). They make my vision blur for several minutes after I use them, and my eyes still feel dry. Additionally, the box says they create a “preservative free environment”, a description which is a little confusing to me. Is that the same thing as actually being without preservatives?
What’s the deal with Tapazole? Works? Doesn’t work? I don’t know if I mentioned this already or not, but I was given prescriptions for a beta blocker and Tapazole. Initially, my doctor said she was going to give me a beta blocker, but she didn’t add the Tapazole until I asked her if there was something I could take to feel better until I made it to a specialist. Then I promptly went home and searched for info on both. Subsequently, I decided I don’t want to take Tapazole, and I haven’t. I called her office the very next day (last Friday) to see if I MUST take it right now, but I’ve yet to hear back (calling them again tomorrow).
I figure I will have to take it whether I like it or not. Seriously, my hair has already gotten thinner, am I going to lose more of it on that drug? I didn’t bother to read anything else on the side effects since that was enough of a drag on its own. (The beta blocker works great, as far as I can tell. I noticed a significant difference in how I felt a few hours after the first dose.)
What about vitamin D? Do I need to be taking supplements or something?
Last question for today: once I get my thyroid under control (whatever method I use), will Graves continue to damage my body? Since Graves is an autoimmune disease and the thyroid dysfunction is only one symptom, does that mean the Graves will still continue doing its thing in other areas? I hope you understand what I mean by that since I’m not sure how to properly phrase it.
Hi, Shirley.
Many thanks for your time, for answering all of my questions. The information you gave me makes me feel better about this diagnosis. I sincerely appreciate it.
I know I definitely need to see an endocrinologist, but I hadn’t really considered that it should be one who has experience dealing with Graves’. That is excellent advice, and it will certainly come into play when I decide which endo I want to use.
As I mentioned, I think RAI is probably the method I will use (of course, it also depends on what the endo has to say). As of now, my biggest concern with using that course of treatment is the possibility it could make my eyes worse. I’ve been looking around online for statistics – or anything, really – that can tell me what the probability is of that happening. I haven’t found anything yet.
Still, I may be assuming too much right now with the eye disease. I knew I had Graves’ before I was diagnosed, but I am not as certain with my eyes since I have a lot of problems with allergies. Most of the symptoms I am experiencing could be a result of allergies, except for the fact that my eyes definitely stand out more … enough that family members noticed and commented quite some time ago. Additionally, my doctor didn’t say definitively that I had TED, she just said that my eyes weren’t bad. I asked her if I should see an ophthalmologist in the near future … she said no. (Regardless, I will be scheduling an appointment with one after taking care of the thyroid.)
All that being said, I still have more questions about TED. If I am understanding what I have read, TED goes through several phases, and then usually levels out (goes cold?) after two or three years. While I can not be certain right now that I have it, I’m fairly sure I do. The protruding was first noticed two years ago, and the watering, sensitivity, etc., started around last May. As of now, the degree that my eyes stand out appears exactly the same to me as it did two years ago, and though bright lights bother me and my eyes still get watery, red and “gritty” at times, there haven’t been any other changes in about six months. Considering that my eyes started changing two years and that I haven’t noticed any anything else recently, and considering every source I have read says the eye disease runs it course within 1 to 3 years, would it be reasonable for me to think my eyes have reached that leveling point? I understand there is no way to be certain without seeing an eye doctor, I’m just speculating mine must be “done” by now (or close to it) when taking factoring in how long they’ve already been this way.
Lastly, if they are done with those stages of hot and cold, are they really done? Does it ever restart (so to speak)? If I do have TED and I haven’t hit the cold phase, is there no way to at least stop it from getting any worse?
All the thyroid issues in my family are hypo, except for me and my aunt who had RAI. I’ve been wondering what her diagnosis was, but she says she doesn’t know. Sounds weird that someone would go through RAI and still be in the dark about the situation, but she was very sick at that time, and dealing with multiple health problems which were life-threatening. She doesn’t remember everything that was going on, and she doesn’t seem to want to know, so I don’t push it.
I’m glad to hear that RAI doesn’t cause other autoimmune diseases. If you are curious, this is where I got that idea. See paragraph 2 under Risk#2:
http://drerico23.hubpages.com/hub/Radioactive-Iodine-Side-Effects-In-People-With-Graves-Disease
Again, thank you for your response! And your patience.
