[honeybee99]

in reply to: Itchy skin #1072558

twhite and SharieS- the very first symptom I had with my GD was the itching, and I had it for a long time. I had a really bad problem with this, and I’ll never forget how awful this was!

It’s not eczema, but a hive-like syndrome which is caused by all the extra thyroid hormone your thyroid’s pumping out into your body, making your circulation go faster (which is why washing with hot water is a no-no, it’ll only pump up your circulation, whch will only worsen the itching).
Aveeno Bath was one of the few things that helped. It also comes in a soap and lotion form. Ivory soap has a lot of alkali in it, and will only dry you out and make you itchier. Baking soda in your bathwater (1/2 cup to your tub) may help you, too. Glycerin soaps (like Neutrogena) are good, too. Your skin is very fragile now, so you need to be very careful with it. The most benign and scentless the soap, the better. You need to keep the moisture in your skin, but get something that your skin will absorb. Baby lotion may help. Try to stay away from lotions with a lot of mineral oil in them, as mineral oil tends to suck the nutrients out of your skin. Glycerin soaps (like Neutrogena) are good, too. Your skin is very fragile now, so you need to be very careful with it. The most benign, calming, and scentless the soaps and lotions, the better.

This sounds impossible to do ” title=”Confused” /> but try not to scratch AT ALL, except to bathe (and even then, washing very gently, no washcloths). This may take the discipline of a superhero (or not), but it can be done. In all seriousness, it’s probably the only reason I have any skin on my legs today. Scratching drives up the histamine level in your skin, and if you do enough of it, it can lead to watery blistering – – that’s what happened to me, and it was horrendous.

Some other things that might help: try using cool compresses if your skin’s emitting a lot of heat. I recall that my legs always felt hot, too, and that helped. Some other things I have tried: witch hazel (not alcohol – that will only dry it out and make it crack). Some people like zinc powder (like Gold Bond), and – – don’t laugh! Desitin. Okay, go ahead and laugh that’s what mamas use for baby’s diaper rash. But for all intents and purposes, that’s what this is pretty damn close to!

Try not drinking the soda. It has a carload of sodium in it and Lord knows how much iodine. aspartame IMO is evil stuff. Water’s much, much better ” title=”Smile” /> Also, the fact that the dr. put you on Tapazole (methimezole) doesn’t help matters, either (it has some notable side effects, and s/he should monitor you carefully while you’re on that), but you’re taking that to in order to suppress your thyroid gland. Did s/he give you a beta blocker (like propranolol)? If not, you may wish to ask them about one, i.e., if your pulse is still racing.That helps to keep your heart rate under control, which is important to keep your heart and circulatory system from getting damaged. This indirectly may also help with the itching.

Good luck and feel better soon…

honeybee ” title=”Smile” />

[honeybee99]

in reply to: Do I need to go on a low iodine diet for my GD? #1072464

Hello everyone ” title=”Smile” /> my name is honeybee. In my search for info on "dietary iodine and Graves’ disease", I was lead to this page.

I was diagnosed 14 years ago with Graves’ but unknowingly had been symptomatic for a few years prior. By the time I was diagnosed, I was pretty ill with it – – to the point where I was actually starting to gain, rather than lose weight. My pulse crested to 140/min., and at one point I’d had a thyroid storm so severe it shut down my kidneys. I had developed a pronounced case of exophthalmos, among other things. My ablation took place about 2 years following my diagnosis. It was a long way back, but I am doing pretty well now. Am still having to watch or eliminate my intake of a lot of things, like sugar, caffeine, chocolate, and alcohol. If I don’t get enough sleep, my eyes get swollen and/or poppy-looking (warm/cold compresses really help a lot, though. Brings the swelling down pretty quickly.). Drinking enough water is a big help, too.

But even now, I am still learning about what I really shouldn’t be doing. The latest challenge is trying to figure out how any extra iodine in my food is affecting me, especially since I am now more than likely in peri-menopause. I’ve never been one to salt my food, and have pretty much avoided really salty and processed stuffs, because I just don’t care for it. I too was under the impression that any iodine in my food didn’t matter, so I ignored it. Well, after all this time, my latest blood tests came back with my TSH low (near zero), and T4 at the upper end of normal. I had been having rheumatic-type pains and carpal tunnel-like symptoms in my hands, feet, and limbs, GI symptoms, sinus issues, etc. My Dr. was puzzled as was I. All my other routine blood tests looked good. When I got home, I took another look at the foods and supplements I was taking.

As it turns out, the multivitimin I had been taking for a couple years has 150 mcg. of iodine in it, so I switched to another. I also love dairy foods, and have only just learned online today that they are also sky-high with iodine. All my life I’ve been eating tons and tons of dairys, and they’d never interfered before (or at least, not since after my ablation). I’ve been taking a fairly high dosage (over 100 mcg.) of levothyroxine, as it was intended to be a replacement for no longer having a thyroid. Even so, in my case the extra iodines could be upping my T4 and suppressing the TSH. I’ve started taking a chewable calcium supplement to make up for what I will now not be getting from my beloved dairys. If switching vitamins and cutting back on the dairy foods doesn’t do the trick, my Dr. will probably lower my dosage, as too much of the levothyroxine could cause osteoporosis. Lord knows I don’t need that on top of the Graves’!!

Anyway – I agree with Ski that most people who have had ablations probably don’t have to worry about dietary iodine. But if some of you out there are still having a difficult time titering to your dosage – – whether you feel hypo, or still hyper – – you might wish to consider with your doctor how much iodine is actually in your diet, and take that into consideration along with the rest of your treatment. Apparently some foods can have high sodium, but low iodine, and vice-versa.

………………………………………………………..

To any who have been newly diagnosed, please hang in there! Find out all you can on Graves’, keep asking questions, and do try to get it under control asap. I know personally how very painful physically and emotionally it can be. But you can learn to live with it, if not beat it outright. There’s lots of issues doctors may not be able to (or want to) get into detail with us about, like how we ought to eat, what kind of exercise, etc. to get. There’s a lot of personal decisions which have to be made. One thing this condition has done in my life was that it compelled me to get to know my body better, because I just can’t get everything I need to know about staying healthy from my doctor. Graves’ is a complex disease, and it damn near killed me. Everyone is different, and it can affect you in so many ways. And how Graves affects you can also change over time. But there are some aspects of it that do impact us all commonly.

This turned out to be much too long a post my apologies…

But good to meet you all ” title=”Very Happy” /> and I look forward to chatting with you!

Have a good weekend,

honeybee ” title=”Smile” />

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